First, I liked how you paced the action. Seems to me that’s the key for successful chillers. When she’s tearing back out of the SoFla hammock to get away from the zombie Seminole monsters the sentences get shorter & more staccato, but not so that it’s really obvious to the reader. Just enough that their ‘mind’s eye’ starts racing with the character through the brush.

I read this late Halloween night, even though I was wary of tempting fate – at least those fates who’re responsible for distributing nightmares to the subconscious imagination of people trying to sleep. But your short story didn’t give me a nightmare night before last.

That honor went instead to the movie I watched Halloween evening: Dead Calm, a flick I try to watch every Oct 31 because it creeps the bejeesus out of me more than any other for some reason. (I think being female and having done some sailing out in the middle of nowhere with nothing and no one else visible on the 360 degree horizon for days on end helps ramp up the fear factor on that one.)

But your story seems to have had a delayed reaction for me. Last night I was dreaming about a bathroom renovation I am planning (spent part of yesterday looking at tile for it). It’s a long story how all the warped details figure into the narrative, but via whichever subconscious mechanism that transmogrifies the ‘real’ into the surreal in dream states, the accent band of porcelain tile in my reno somehow turned into neatly arrayed….bloody teeth! LOL!!!

Eeeew. I think I’m gonna have to completely rethink my color scheme for that bathroom now.

Excellent suggestions! I love both of those movies. I’m deeply apprehensive about the upcoming American remake of “Let the Right One In.” The original was just about perfect as it was.

Doctor Zero on October 30, 2009 at 9:16 AM

Yup, me too. While I like the remake’s director’s previous movie – Cloverfield – I don’t see how they can improve upon LTROI. The Swedish language adds to the atmosphere and the alien quality of the vampire – I don’t much want to hear her with an American twang…

Doc, and all others, Check out The Orphanage (2007 Spanish movie) – wonderful movie, easily one of the best ghost stories of recent years.

And Let The Right One In, fantastically original Swedish vampire movie.

Both perfect for this weekend.

Track-A-’Crat on October 30, 2009 at 8:59 AM

Excellent suggestions! I love both of those movies. I’m deeply apprehensive about the upcoming American remake of “Let the Right One In.” The original was just about perfect as it was.

And Let The Right One In, fantastically original Swedish vampire movie.

Both perfect for this weekend.

Can we now expect more?

(You’ve set yourself up in more ways than one, heh, heh)