Come along and join in with Rochelle’s Friday Fictioneers. Rochelle asks that we use the photo prompt (©DaleRogerson) and limit our words to 100 or less. Click on the frog to read more stories.
Genre: Horror
Word Count: 100
Tales from the Beyond: Woodbury Piles No. 13
M.R. of Woodbury is “E-tonic” to Oxbridge friends. He retires nightly with a tonic, his Eton tie, and an e-book of M.R. James, his namesake, until McQuin, his uncommonly phlegmatic valet, comes to softly extinguish the lights. McQuin says he has “the mind of a nice child.”
Tonight he reads, “saw someone crawling towards him on all fours with his eye hanging out on his cheek,” when he does. See someone. Like that.
“McQuin, when you’ve husbanded the modicum of blood left in you . . . ” he says.
Just before McQuin slips its thin arms round his neck.
Today’s tale brought to you by the inspiration of that master of horror, M.R. James, whose story, “The Mezzotint,” is happily alluded to.
Dreams from a Pilgrimage 
It has something of the atmosphere of M.R. James
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Thank you, Neil.
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Yeek, eye hanging out 😮
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You love it, Ali. 😉
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I do 🙂
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🙂
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Haha! His patience finally snapped….
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There’s only so much a valet can take …. 😂
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I don’t know MR James’s work, but your story does have some comical elements of the butler and master conflict, in my view.
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The master/servant relationship can either be fraught with terror or tolerance: I went with terror but I’m glad you spotted the humor too. 🙂
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And here I thought they were too old codgers content in each other’s company!
This was so original!
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One codger, one THING from the beyond. But you never know till it’s too late of course. Thank you Dale. 🥰🙂
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Yes, indeed… always when it’s too late! 🙂
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😭
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Right!
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Well, that’s gory and scary enough to give me interesting dreams tonight 🙂
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Let’s hope not! 😱
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what a twist in the end. you left me speechless. 🙂
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A silent scream will do, hahaha!
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Just loved this! 🙂 Perfect timing.
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Thank you, Sandra, a great compliment coming from one I regard as a master of timing! 😀
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Scary description! The fact I wasn’t expecting it heightens it
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It was a fun homage to a British writer of horror stories and he thrived on such twists and grisly details.
What a blessed Sunday morning, brother! Praying for you as you preach from God’s word. 🙏✝️
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Oh thanks for filling me in more about this short story! Thanks for your prayers
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Blessings to you, Jimmy.
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Aww thanks
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Dear Dora,
So subtly chilling with McQuinn slipping “its” arms around him. Well done.
Shalom u’vracha,
Rochelle
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Dear Rochelle,
M.R. just didn’t see that coming! It wasn’t in character you see. Thank you so much. 🙂
Shalom uv’racha,
Dora
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A cleverly written piece with a great choice of words, and very reminiscent of the great writer himself. Excellent Dora.
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Thank you so much, Keith. Very kind of you.
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Wow, spooky atmosphere and great twist!
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Thank you, Brenda. Well, Christmas is just around the corner, so time to brush off some spooky tales in proper British fashion. 🙂
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Horror, with its direct and deliberate evocation of strong emotion, is a very ‘pure’ form of fiction, don’t you think? You time this story very well.
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Thank you, Penny. What an interesting train of thought you’ve set me on! We enjoy the stories that terrorize our imagination and rob of us sleep perhaps because of that very quality: pure, visceral terror. A kind of catharsis of our worst fears perhaps.
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Ooooo creepy!
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😱
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