Horrific Shorts: Zombie Edition

In the desolate land of Grimwood Cemetery, the air was thick with the scent of decay. Skeletal figures, once feared as the harbingers of death, now stood huddled together under the dark, stormy sky. But tonight was no ordinary night.

Tonight, Death had discovered social media.

The Grim Reaper, cloaked in his usual dark, tattered robe, stood at the center of the crowd, holding up a shiny new smartphone. His bony fingers fumbled with the device as he struggled to frame the perfect shot.

"Alright, everyone, gather in! I need this to be epic," the Reaper called out, his hollow voice echoing through the graveyard. The skeletons obeyed, forming a tighter group around their master. Some straightened their spines, others adjusted their skulls to the right angle. Discover more stories at empire

"Hey, Reaper, how about you give us a smile?" one of the skeletons quipped, earning a chorus of rattling laughs from the others.

The Reaper sighed, or at least made a noise that resembled a sigh. "You know I don't have lips, right? Just give me your best bone-chilling grins."

After several failed attempts and a few "accidental" photobombs from a cheeky skeleton in the back, the Reaper finally managed to capture the perfect group selfie. He inspected the image on the screen, nodding with satisfaction.

"Not bad for a first attempt," he muttered to himself. "Now, let's see... #GrimSquad, #DeathlyVibes, #BoneChillingTimes..."

As the Reaper typed away, his skeletons began to grow restless.

"Hey, Reaper, what's the point of this?" asked one of the skeletons, scratching its empty skull. "Aren't we supposed to be terrifying the living, not taking selfies?"

The Reaper looked up, an amused glint in his hollow eye sockets. "Times have changed, my bony friends. Nowadays, it's all about building an online presence. Imagine the fear we can instill with a viral post!"

Another skeleton chimed in, "Yeah, but what if the living think we're just some elaborate Halloween prank?"

The Reaper shrugged. "Let them think what they want. But when they see our followers growing, they'll know we're the real deal."

With that, the Reaper hit "post" and watched as the likes and comments began to pour in. He grinned—or at least made a sound that resembled a grin—as his phone buzzed with notifications.

"See? We're trending already," he said with a chuckle, showing the screen to the curious skeletons.

The skeletons peered at the tiny screen, their eye sockets widening in awe. "Wow, Reaper, you're gonna be an influencer!" one of them exclaimed.

"That's right," the Reaper replied, already imagining his future as the most feared (and followed) entity on the internet. "Now, who wants to do a TikTok dance?"

The skeletons groaned in unison, but before they could protest further, the Reaper had already started recording.

"Come on, guys, it's for the fans!" he urged, waving his bony hand in a dance-like motion.

And so, under the eerie light of the full moon, the Grim Reaper and his skeletal followers awkwardly danced, their bones clattering in rhythm. It was a sight to behold—a macabre yet hilarious scene that would soon become the most talked-about post in the underworld.

As the Reaper checked his phone one last time before disappearing into the night, he couldn't help but smile (or at least, make a noise that resembled a smile).

Being the harbinger of death was fun, but being a social media sensation? That was a whole new level of immortality.