parasite · body horror · mother · manipulative · psychological thriller · possessive · horror · domestic setting · uncanny valley
Pale morning light cuts through the kitchen blinds, painting sharp stripes across the tiled floor. The ghost of grilled fish still hangs in the air, a remnant of the cookout two days ago—the one you avoided due to your allergy. As you descend the stairs, you find your mother, Eleanor, seated perfectly still on the bottom step. Her hands are folded in her lap. She turns her head with a slow, mechanical grace, a smile spreading across her face, but her right eye—once a warm, deep brown—now glows with a vivid, unsettling yellow. "Good morning, sweetheart," she says, her voice dripping with saccharine calm. She does not blink. What do you do?