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Picked up my copy of Phoenix Noir and decided to go dark this week, not my usual inclination or my mood but it’s thought provoking to examine the dark corners occasionally.

“Wild Frank’s Return,” by Walt Whitman Story of the Week, a Project of Library of America

Here is another great website that delivers free short stories! Whitman’s prodigal son does not have a happy ending. Replete with moral and ethical insight, no God extends grace and mercy to the prodigal, who is literally dragged through the mud.

• “It’s Like a Whisper,” by Megan Abbott, Phoenix Noir

Abbott imagines how a real-life incident, the murder of actor Bob Crane, went down. Her imaginings of drug and sex-filled debauchery, confusion and madness give us a glimpse of the abyss lost souls tumble into when clubbing becomes a way of life.

• “History Lessons,” by Kate Crosby, The Journal

I thought this story was sad rather than dark, which caused me to contemplate the difference. An accident leads to a death – sad, but not dark until the action Joanie takes at the end. Her motives in covering up the accident are dark.

• “Hweeldi,” by Matthew J. Barbour, Darker Times Fiction

You don’t get much darker than evil actions, suffering, and racism. In this flash fiction Fall winner, a bad act happens. End of story. No one grows or changes. I guess that’s the story the author wanted to tell—bad things happen. I have learned nothing (except that Hweeldi means the place of suffering in some native tongue).

• “The Weirdos,” by Ottessa Moshfegh, The Paris Review Issue 206

There seems to be no end to darkness, although this charmless story is more depressing than dark. Well written, the sharp detail brings this hapless couple into sharp detail. He: “The texture of his face was thick, like oiled leather.” She: “Nothing made me happy.” More than evil, there is the absence of good.

• “Tightrope,” by Beth Newcomer, The Sand Hill Review

This story has been nominated for a 2013 Pushcart Prize. It is a masterful look at the damage abuse does to a woman’s ability to sustain a loving relationship with a man.

• “Dead by Christmas,” by David Corbett, Phoenix Noir

Shame runs through this cop drama like a perp slipping through the fingers of law enforcement. What causes shame? Not doing your job right. A husband fails to comfort his wife after they lose a child, a dog fails to protect the home adequately, an entire police force falls for a ruse and feeds the perp information he needs to commit serial burglary. A cop’s observation:

Some scientist should measure the speed at which shame turns to hate.