Bonfire Boys
Tiny Hauntings Fiction
By MJ McGinn (Haunter) & Hannah Dondero (Architect)
The night smelled like fire. The three boys stood, facing the burning pallets, watching them crackle and spark. Jenny didn’t want to be there, but that was the winter she followed Don Paisley around like a mosquito.
Jeff, the oldest of the three brothers, and the one with the fake ID, was telling a story like he’d told it a hundred times before, “In the backcountry of the American Southwest rests an old hogan, left behind to crumble into the earth it rose from. The hogan was sculpted into a perfect dome, smoothed by the hands of its mysterious inhabitant.”
Jenny whispered to Don, “I don’t like this.”
He pulled her closer into the warmth of his Carhartt jacket.
“The desert’s natural fauna doesn’t dare to grow too close. Whatever unnatural acts were committed in the home have seeped into the land and spoiled all that rests upon it.”
Devon, the youngest, splashed vodka at the fire, making it rage. Jenny huddled closer into Don’s chest.
“After dark, the moon shines light through the dilapidated roof to reveal the floor littered with animal hides and bones. The care taken in erecting the hogan wasn’t there when the animals were skinned. The skins lie matted on the floor, looking like empty versions of deer and coyote. Locals rest, knowing the skinwalker who once lived there was banished from the region, but during long winter nights, they’re not so sure.”
Devon giggled, walking towards the woods, saying, “I need to piss.”
Jenny was all goosebumps. She whispered, “Can you take me home?”
Don smiled, “That story’s not even true.”
Jeff tossed another pallet on the fire with ease, laughing.
The moon shone. A howl came from the woods. Don said, “There were three skinwalkers,” as his teeth grew into fangs.
MJ McGinn received his MFA from Adelphi University and was a VCCA resident in 2019. His work has been included in the Wigleaf 50 best very short stories and has previously appeared in the Guernica/PEN Flash Series, Necessary Fiction, Lost Balloon, X-R-A-Y Literary Magazine, LIT Magazine, and elsewhere. He lives and teaches middle school in Philadelphia.
Hannah Dondero is a Las Vegas native. Hannah is a graphic designer and occasional writer. When she’s not working, you can find her working on zines, frolicking outside, or petting her cats. You can find Hannah on instagram @hexgirlhan
