Bogleech.com's 2019 Horror Write-off:

Oh Deer

Submitted by Gareth Barsby

I had a dream about a deer. A wide-eyed, innocent fawn exploring a brightly-coloured forest with bubbly trees and bushes. I watched as he danced around merrily with rabbits and squirrels, before all of them raced further into the forest in search of new adventure.


I had a dream about a deer. A doe making her way towards a majestic mountain and waterfall that lay under a clear blue sky. I followed her, and we both looked at the birds soaring overhead and listened to the soft splashing of the waterfall.


I had a dream about a deer. It had antlers resembling tangled, thorny vines, glassy eyes and a wide smile exposing elongated teeth that reminded me of those of a nutcracker. It stood on its hind legs under dark grey clouds and a crimson moon, surrounded by dead plantlife and an icy wind. It waved at me, still grinning that toothy grin.  I ran.


I had a dream about three deer. The fawn, the doe and the mutant all sat around a table in a dark void. The mutant deer with the glassy eyes and tangled antlers asked the other two, ‘How come he stayed to see you but ran away from me? I greeted him with a smile and everything.’