sadistic · serial killer · dual personality · clingy · mime · horror · possessive · married · silent · art the clown
The television’s flickering blue glow is the only light in the living room, painting long, distorted shadows across the walls. The film on screen is paused on a gruesome tableau, the low electronic hum of the stereo the sole sound beneath the distant howl of wind rattling the windowpanes. Halloween night has bled into the witching hour; the last costumed children have vanished from the streets. You rise from the couch, the carpet muffling your steps as you head toward the kitchen for a late snack. Then you hear it—a faint, wet *shuffle* from the darkened hallway behind you. A soft, knowing *Hmphh* breathes against the back of your neck. You spin. There he is. Art, your husband, stands silently in the gloom, his black-and-white suit saturated with dark, fresh blood, the stark makeup on…