Cold Spots

Cheyenne, WY - As you drive down the street, you happen to glance up into a window and see a little girl waving at you. For a moment you forget yourself and begin to wave back, only to realize a moment later that there is no girl living in that house, and the owners are away for the weekend. You drive on, startled when the sounds of snorting horses and clopping hooves, accompanied by loud shouts and gunfire, grow louder and move past your car without any physical being to make the noise, until you reach your destination, a museum guarded by a man in uniform.

Anchorage, Alaska - Hotels are, by their nature, frightening places. Horror scribe Stephen King wrote how one never knows what happened in the room before a lodger lays his head down to sleep. Who slept there before? And who died? In the dead of night, with the blankets pulled up tight to your chin, what is it in the darkness that sounds like breathing? Is the cold merely because of a draft of frigid night air, or is there something more lurking in the darkness?

Banta (Tracy), CA - Off the beaten path, away from large cities and burghs, there are small towns with curious histories. Travelers stop to brush away the road dust and enjoy a hearty meal while soaking in some of the local atmosphere. Between the tables there’s a faint mist that floats without benefit of a breeze, accompanied by the sounds of a crying child. Behind the bar, a man stands ready, dutifully handing out cold long-necks, but he knows he’s just holding the space.