username: Tickles_Times
charming name: Harm
gender: None
unusual fear: Linonophobia (fear of ropes)
This Charming has often been spotted by hunters, sneaking about
in the forest. Its glowing eyes and bright colored horns has given it quite the reputation. Many have sought to hunt it for sport to show off to their friends. This charming lives in constant fear.
Most of these “hunters” (who hunt Charmings despite being an endangered species) simply go out in the forest with a shotgun or even just a simple pocket-knife, but one of them stepped up their game.
He had a rope. He had been out fishing in the nearby lake, spotting a reddish shape under the water he decided that was enough time alone for him today, as he thought he was hallucinating. On his way back home he took a shortcut through the forest and spotted something red there as well! He thought he was going mad, why would there be some many red creatures all over? Maybe it was a hangover or just sleep deprivation.
Upon closer look though, a pair of bright red eyes shone upon him, and he knew this would make an amazing bar story. He took the rope attached to his anchor, hoping for it to strangle the beast, and attached it in a criss-cross pattern to a pair of trees, waiting for the creature to walk right into it. When it didn’t, he took matters into his own hands and threw a stick just behind the Charming. Startled, it ran right into the net and got stuck.
The man walked over slowly, chuckling to himself as he looked for his pocket-knife. The Charming screeched as the shiny tip met the dazed light of dawn.
It woke up, feeling light and… tired. It looked around but didn’t seem to be in the forest at all! It couldn’t feel the warm sun, couldn’t smell the sweet flowers and couldn’t hear the raccoon jumping in front of it. Yet they could see all this! The net was gone, and so was the man.
He got his trophy and bar story, showing off the bright red horns that same night with his friends. But some have seen bright red eyes between the tree-trunks still, and are unsure of the truth in the story.
***
A giggling sounded from inside the cabin. A little girl was running around in the living room with two red horns poised on her head. As she looked outside, she was mesmerized by the hundreds of thousands of stars in the sky. As she was about to call for her dad to tell her a story about it, just like he always does before bed, her gaze fell lower, into the forest in front of her. A pair of red eyes gazed back at her, a vague shimmer fluttering in the wind around it. She wiped the thin layer of ice off the window, but as she looked back there was only darkness.
“
If you put this rope on your windowsill, you’ll be safe.”
You thought I’d make something goofy about a goofy fear?? No. Take this horror story and eat it like a burger.
By the way, the “red thing” under the water surface is a reference to
this charming
