Trying To Be So Quiet & Other Hauntings

by James Everington

Trying To Be So Quiet & Other Stories presents three stories about love, loss and the horror that comes when grief removes our reason for living from the world. In ‘The Second Wish’, a son coping with the sudden death of his parents returns to his childhood home only to find that, despite everything being familiar, things inside seem increasingly unreal. In ‘Damage’ a grieving lover loses all sensation of pain as she tries to make sense of her enduring grief. The title story is a novella telling of a husband’s struggle with the reality of his wife’s death as he remembers their life together. Although haunted, he struggles to find the ghosts that assail him as meaningful as the bleak fact that he is now alone. But that doesn’t stop him seeing them…

Kindle Edition

First published April 27, 2019

About the author

I'm a writer from Nottingham, England- most of what I write is dark, supernatural fiction, although not necessarily 'horror' in the blood and guts sense. My main influences are writers like Ramsey Campbell, Shirley Jackson, and Robert Aickman. I enjoy the unexplained, the psychological, and the ambiguous in my fiction.

I drink Guinness, if anyone's offering.

Infinity Plus published my second collection of short stories, Falling Over (2013) and the novel The Quarantined City in (2016).

This year also saw the release of the limited edition novella Trying To Be So Quiet from Boo Books, and my first book as editor, The Hyde Hotel.

Reviews

[W.A Parkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grief. That most palpable of emotional responses. Yet rare is the time that a writer adequately captures it. Happily, James Everington is able to succeed in the three stories offered here, each providing moving and realistic portrayals of people trying their best to either hold on or purge themselves of anything related to their own devastating loss, whether it be material or, extremely, their own being.

The deaths of loved ones (whether it be partners or parents) is the common thread throughout this short collection. Everington does a superb job of placing us clearly in the minds of the characters struggling to cope with being the ones left behind. Anyone who has been in that position will know the conflicting range of emotions that can build up to almost drown you - one moment you are reminiscing about the start of a beautiful relationship, the next you are overcome with seething anger at those that are able to go on with their lives, totally uninhibited by your plight. Everington captures this so well, and portrays how little moments in life, seemingly inconsequential at the time, can take on a deeper meaning in a wider, more poignant, context… and how these instances can haunt you. There are ghosts here, and they come in many forms.

Everington is a deeply thoughtful writer, his stories steering well clear of garish shocks, explicit gore or obvious clichés and opting instead for a more insidious form of horror which is only too familiar to those grieving for a loved one. These are slow, seeping disturbances born out of very real and relatable emotions. The three tales here are powerful and, particularly in the case of the titular ‘Trying To Be So Quiet’, utterly heart-breaking - their potency developing hours after reading the final pages. In ‘Trying To Be So Quiet & Other Hauntings’, James Everington succeeds in creeping up on you.

[Cristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've recently read an interesting book by Irvin Yalom about the fear of death; our own death, that of a partner or a parent, and how to cope with it. I read it more as a study, as it is intended I suppose, rather than for comfort. While it was a good read, from a clinical point of view, I got it out of my system quite easily.

Death has always been an awkward topic for me. I never know what to say or how to feel. I'm not even sure if I know what grief means, and most times I just try to move forward and not think much about it.

Reading these 3 short stories was quite intense. I had to pause between them, to take it all in. I was genuinely moved by each one of them and their awkwardness. I loved the simplicity of the memories.The style is so delicate and beautiful; it makes the hurt palpable, so much that it lingered in my mind afterwards, as I wondered how would I react if I were in their stead.

[Richard Barber · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's oh so quiet

I'll be honest, when I started reading the first story in this collection I was underwhelmed. Nothing was happening. And then gradually the essence of the story bloomed into a painful, delicate portrayal of loss and grief. These stories are difficult to read, imbued with a sense of quiet despair.

A great collection, but be prepared to need a few moments alone to recover afterwards.

[Benjamin Langley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed James Everington's trio of hauntings. They're all very different approaches to grief, and the hauntings that go with that. Sometimes we see a haunting here as a manifestation of that extreme grief, and the emotion is captured in each story with great care. We have the loss of partners in the first and last stories, and of parents in the second. Each is done in a different way, whether that be in coming to terms with the loss, being forced to face it, or just letting yourself go wild, all are really thoughtful pieces which I thoroughly enjoyed.

[Happy Goat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full review at Happy Goat Horror:
https://happygoathorror.com/2022/09/1...

Very enjoyable collection of three great stories. Wonderful story-telling.