Ever since he was a teenager, Eddie Apple was stricken with immense headaches, causing sharp pain behind his right eye-socket that he often described by saying, “It feels like a worm is burrowing into my sinuses.” Not ONCE did Eddie actually believe that, in fact, something was trying to burrow OUT of his sinuses…

When the incident finally happened, Eddie will never forget the sounds and smells he endured as his skull cracked and his scalp slid away from his face, all while realizing that his right eye-ball was ALIVE. Although he was writhing in pain, Eddie Apple couldn’t help laugh at the irony behind his last name. In a way, it WAS a worm all along that was wiggling around in his head.

Created by Alex Pardee, using a composite of an original pen-and-ink drawing and separate watercolor textures, then painted digitally in Procreate and Photoshop. 2021.

"EDDIE APPLE" is part of Alex’s ongoing “TALES FROM THE CRYPTO” collection, where he combines his signature BRIGHTMARE-style illustrations with (questionably true) stories.