Deathly Quiet

Deathly Quiet

A Short Story by Lisa Forget

Genre: Dark Fiction

Editor: Christine I. Speakman

Line editor: Ellee Braun

Cover artist: Mike Zambrano

Words: 5704

Pages: 23

ISBN: 978-1-927361-15-3

Price: $2.50

Blurb:

When Moira Murphy stops by Sebastopol Row to visit the handsome young Percy Brown–the man her heart desires -she finds nothing but empty stables and a pool of dripping blood. With a large black crow watching her every move while black clouds and rolling thunder suddenly fill the skies above her, fear propels her into the Brown family home. The moment she crosses the threshold, stepping into the dark and seemingly empty house, Moira knows something is very wrong.

Dread races through her and dark shadows take on a human-like shape. When long, razor-sharp canines glint in the candlelight Moira realizes what lies within the deathly quiet of that house is a fate even her vivid imagination cannot fathom.

Excerpt: 

I trudged through the grassy field and emerged onto the dirt road across from Percy’s house. Mr. and Mrs. Alistair Brown and their sons lived in one of the oldest houses in St. Charles’ Point, our village, just west of Montreal’s harbour. With its crumbling corners, and vines clinging to the mortar and stone, it resembled the mysterious buildings described in my favourite gothic tales. It inspired many ghost stories, frightening and thrilling my friends and me when we were younger, for we were convinced the place was haunted. At eighteen, I was long past believing in childish things. I knew ghosts did not exist, and was certain the only thing one would find living in that house was kind, hardworking people.

Standing on the dusty road, I noticed the curtains were drawn and the windows closed despite the warm late summer air. I found it odd not to see Percy’s mother sitting by the window enjoying the beautiful evening breeze as she usually did.

At the very moment I thought that, a crow cawed from atop its perch in an Ash tree, startling me. Narrowing my eyes at the bird, I put out of my head the unusual and strange thoughts his presence evoked and continued on my way.

About the Author:

Lisa Forget lives in Quebec, Canada with her husband and three daughters. A singer and entertainer by profession, she enjoys writing paranormal, romantic and young adult fiction as an extension of her artistic expression. In the fall of 2011, four of her flash fiction stories will be published in Pill Hill Press’ Daily Flash 2012 (The Leap Year Edition) anthology.  Her short story entitled “Hope” has been acquired by Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing LLC and is under consideration for the “O Canada” edition, scheduled for a November 2011 release. This past February, her twisted 50 word story "Writer's Block" was published online at fiftywordstories.com. An active member of author Kelley Armstrong's online writing group, she successfully completed the NaNoWriMo writing challenge in November 2010 and is currently hard at work on several projects, including both novels and short stories.

Customer Reviews:

This is a vampire story in the classic style. I mention this to differentiate it from the current movies and television series which, although immensely popular, are about as terrifying as a wet teddy bear. In Deathly Quiet, Lisa Forget evokes the very real terror that an encounter with the Undead would produce; and the subsequent total despair of being under the complete domination of a vampire with no hope of escape. The setting is Sebastopol Row, at the edge of that part of town, lonely and remote. This is for people who love vampire stories.

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