Petra's Ghost

by C.S. O’Cinneide

That night Daniel dreams in the sparse bunk bed of the albergue at Obanos. What he saw then. What he sees now. It all comes together into an impossible tangle in his subconscious. Like the waxy-leafed trees that line the path in his mind, choking out the light as he loses his way on the road to Santiago. In the dream, he has just spread Petra’s ashes, but they blow up against him as he walks, clinging to his hiking pants along with the greasy wet leaves that have fallen on the trail. Petra appears behind him, then on either side. A ghost in triplicate, each version a beast with a different type of claws. One as she was, one as she became, and one as he last saw her, dark with death. The three versions of his wife rise up in front of him like mountains, then become one, blocking his way. He falls to his knees on the sharp gravel of the path and begs for her forgiveness. In answer, she turns to stone. He will never get past her now. The sun sets on the slab of her face, as he sobs into his hands. She knows his story, and she will never let him forget it.

Petra's Ghost has been nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award for Horror. Don't forget to vote! I find people either read the creepy parts as madness, and decide it is psychological suspense, or read it as supernatural and decide it's modern day gothic. What do you think? Feel free to share some of your own highlights to back up your claim.