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FLICKER

A supernatural horror short story

Flicker

Don’t stop moving.
Never let the candle burn out.

Written by Jed Shepherd

Illustrated by Trevor Henderson

From a co-writer of Host

A seated woman, her face concealed beneath a white towel.
Illustration © 2022 Trevor Henderson

The interview

Her most famous film
was her last.

Veronica Joy was a horror icon.
Then she disappeared.

Now a young film journalist has an invitation to her Hollywood mansion. He’s there to mark the anniversary of The Flicker Man, the movie he grew up watching.

He wants to know why its star walked away. Veronica wants him to understand what happened on set—and why the film must never be remade.

The stories of gruesome deaths were true.
The horror didn’t end when the cameras stopped.

A journalist sits opposite Veronica Joy among framed horror movie posters.
Illustration © 2022 Trevor Henderson

The ritual

Keep moving.
Keep the candle lit.
Until 3:30 a.m.

He knows the film by heart.
Now he has to survive it.

At midnight, the journalist performs the ritual from his favorite horror movie. Something appears in the room. Its edges blur. Its movements flicker, as though frames are missing.

There is a reason Veronica lives in a house this big. He has three and a half hours to keep walking—and one small flame between him and the dark.

The frightened journalist shields a candle as the Flicker Man follows close behind.
Illustration © 2022 Trevor Henderson

Screen adaptation

For film and television

  • A cursed film. A real monster.A fan’s dream interview becomes first-hand proof that the movie’s ritual worked—and its curse never ended.
  • Two rules. One deadline.Keep moving and keep the candle lit until 3:30 a.m. The simplest actions become matters of survival.
  • One house, full of horror history.A reclusive star’s Hollywood mansion, crowded with movie memorabilia, becomes a maze for a night-long pursuit.
  • A monster made for the camera.Missing-frame movement and Trevor Henderson’s creature design give the Flicker Man a distinctive screen presence.

Set up at QCScreenwriter attached Jed Shepherd

Illustration © 2022 Trevor Henderson

A story by Jed Shepherd

Read the book.

“A short, sharp whisper in the dark that plays with the unsettling rumors and legends surrounding the making of certain horror films. This candle burns bright.”Brian Keene Author of The Rising and End of the Road
Read the book

Jed Shepherd co-wrote and executive produced Host. His fiction brings the same love of horror to the page.

Trevor Henderson is a horror writer and illustrator whose work conjures monsters, ghosts and other unsettling entities.

Flicker by Jed Shepherd, with art by Trevor Henderson. Book cover.

Text © 2022 Jed Shepherd · Illustrations © 2022 Trevor Henderson