Haunting Names Novels & Stories

I asked. Celeste's eyes lit up. "Exactly." I then asked, "Do you have Howard's number?" Howard Johnson was the school heartthrob and the person my shadow had been seeing. I asked because I knew Celeste and Howard moved in the same social circles. Sure enough, Celeste puffed up her chest and proudly answered, "Not only do I have Howard's number, but I also have his girlfriend, Helena's number. She's my cousin's best friend, a true lady from an old family."

he muttered to himself. Then it hit him—Hades. The name that had haunted the criminal underworld for generations. He quickly typed "Hades" into the search bar, his fingers flying across the keyboard. He knew that Hades was more than just a name; it was a title, passed down to the leader of the Hell’s Gang. A shadowy figure who controlled a vast criminal empire.

Her name was Karen. Or Kim. Or something else that started with a K. Ben honestly wasn’t sure, and at this point, it didn’t matter. They met at the bar after a long, exhausting week of him proving to himself that his house was not haunted. She caught his eye from across the room, all confidence and bare skin, a strappy little dress that left very little to the imagination. He bought her a drink. She smiled. The rest followed a familiar script.

I felt I needed to learn more about communicating with ghosts and all that, so I decided to watch some of what Trisha had called the pros. I’d noticed that YouTube ghost hunters talked a lot about one Brandon Price, leader of a team called Haunters, like he was the grandfather of paranormal investigation, even over the Warrens and Hans Holzer. A quick search taught me that even though Haunters hadn’t been among the pioneers of that particular TV niche, they already had nine seasons and counting. And they were considered the best of the best.

Kael. I hadn’t been able to get her out of my head since that night. Scarlet Red. A name that sounded like sin and burned into my skull every time I closed my eyes. It didn’t matter how much I drank or how many times I tried to bury myself in other things, she haunted me like a ghost lingering in the deepest part of my veins.

I’m not even sure that she was ever anything more than a fantasy story told to hatchlings to help them make sense of the confusing world we live in. “Did your parents name you for The Mother of Us All?” I ask casually, keeping my tone light. “I’ve never met another Oaestr.” “Nor have I,” the drakaina smiles, tilting her head. “It’s a unique name. But all of us have individual names. We don’t repeat names here,” she explains. “We are hatched in batches.” Batches? It reminds me a bit of what Ona explained to me about the underground facilities. Hatchlings born in those places weren’t given names, but designations. CX125 might mean “facility C, row X, egg #125.”

Normal. “Names,” I say. “They need names, before someone else names them.” Rowan tilts her head. “You, give.” Draven looks at Caiden. Caiden nods, once. “This one,” I touch the smaller bundle, a girl, “Lyana, for the mother I lost.” The baby blinks. “And him,” I touch the boy, “Geralt, so the name dies with honor instead of hate.” Caiden flinches. Then: “Good, make it mean something new.”

I looked at him and asked, "Who are you?" "Shhh." He shut me up again saying, "Let's talk later." I grabbed his collar and said, "Answer me." He sighed and came closer whispering, “Ghost, Spectre, Apparition, The Undead, Remnants of Evil things. You have many names for us. The most popular of these are Vampires."

Lance replied, eating another sandwich. “It makes me wonder how many vampires I interact with and don’t even know it,” I said as I spread pâté on two crackers, then handed one to Lance. I bit into the other and the taste was phenomenal. “Probably more than you realize,” Lance commented, then added, “or other supernatural beings.” “Such as?” “Werewolves, dhampirs, witches, shifters …” Lance’s voice trailed off. I shook my head, realizing that this wasn’t the world that I thought it was. “Lance, what do you want to name the baby?”