By amateur I mean so Steven King, no Lovecraft, just some story by some random person, probably on the interwebs but maybe around a campfire. I’d say “creepypasta”, but I avoided it due to possible problems with connotation.
I think right now my favorite is Afterpeople. It’s the only one to get a rise out of me in a while. A real sinking feeling, not just an academic “hmm, yes, quite, this is indeed well written!” I mean a genuine feeling of dread. Not really throughout, just due to the absolutely superb punchline (for lack of a better term).
Honestly, it’s was still only “almost amazing”, if it had ended a single sentence sooner it would have been one of the best creepypastas I’ve ever read, but I wish the writer had ended it on
I would forever hear Nia chewing.
Hell, they could’ve ended it on
“A meat!”
And it probably would have been amazingly effective. Oh well, the final line isn’t that bad. I just think that it detracts from the otherwise amazing punchline by bringing us back to the rather superfluous narrator.