New Short Story: “Break Time”

In my early 20s, I worked for a consulting firm that served companies operating around the clock. Factories, hospitals, trucking, logistics—anyone running an overnight shift. It was a niche business. For four years, I lived and breathed circadian rhythms and shift schedules. To this day, I retain a fascination with night shifts. The quiet pre-dawn hours, the 3 A.M. dinner breaks, the camaraderie of working an upside-down schedule, keeping things running while most people sleep.

From that background came “Break Time,” a tale of strange happenings during an otherwise routine night shift at a warehouse. Though one of the characters meets a tragic fate, the atmosphere was just as important to me as the plot. Some of my favorite horror stories involve ordinary settings with regular people where something’s “off” just enough to be creepy and unsettling. I hope I’ve managed to hit that note here.

Read Break Time, Whisper House Press’s featured story for August 2025.

And stay tuned for lots more short story news this month!