Occultober Day 5: On a Winter???s Eve by Chris L. Adams

Occultober Day 5: On a Winter’s Eve by Chris L. Adams

For the fifth day of Occultober, we turn to the unnerving prose of Chris L. Adams. On a Winter’s Eve is the story of a very troubled man and how a horrific event in his youth continues to affect him in his old age. The trauma was so great that he has had himself institutionalized more than once to stop the nightmares from rearing their heads in his waking hours. So right up front he’s confessing you can’t trust him, even as he insists that he’s sane and what he’s going to report is true… It’s a great beginning to a very creepy tale that would have found a comfortable home in the writings of H.P. Lovecraft.

 

The narrator goes on to tell of a long-ago night when the snow fell thick in the deep woods. Peering out a window he found a set of hellish eyes peering back at him. What is even more troubling is that when he screams in fright, his parents don’t seem to think he was having a nightmare. Instead, they prepare for the most desperate kind of war.

 

I can’t say more of the plot without spoiling the story, but I will make a note on the writing itself. Adams’s prose is particularly vivid and striking, even when he’s describing truly horrific things. It helps confirm the age of the narrator in the reader’s mind, as well as to leave absolutely no doubt about what happened on that Winter’s Eve—whether the narrator is ultimately trustworthy or not.

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01...

 

If you’re interested in On a Winter’s Eve, why not join the discussion on my author page at Facebook? https://www.facebook.com/GilbertStack...