A woman struggling for survival after the death of her husband leaves her hometown to make a fresh start for her family. She stumbles upon Willows Grove, a town with an evil past and steeped in folklore. Unable to find work, she and her two daughters take shelter in an old church adjacent to a haunted playground and meet inescapable horror.
I like good a good mystery, one that keeps you guessing and wondering until the very end. I like to feel that I’m right in the middle of a story, a story where I can actually hear, see and feel what the characters hear, see and feel. And most of all, I like when the writing sings, which I think is a rare talent for an author to possess. E. Denise Billups does all of this within a few pages.
Billups creates compelling characters, high tension, and suspense in a hurry. She brings your heart into the mix straightaway by revealing a family already in distress and crisis and then ups the ante. And only when you think you’ve settled in does she flip the script and the twist comes in a big way, as it should, with a satisfying resolution that makes you ponder the past, our past. My only disappointment was turning that last page and having no more words to experience. The good news is I get to read more from this new author. Yay!
A short review, for a short read. This story took me less than thirty minutes to read and it was fantastic! Very quick, eerie, creative and easy to devour super fast. A woman lost her husband to a tragedy and was forced to sell all of their belongings in order to get by and raise her two small children. When they came across a small town with an endearing church to stay at for a short time, they were met with a very unfortunate fate.
You see, there is a dark entity there, one with a grudge and a very dark determination to seek revenge for what happened to him and his family several decades prior. The woman and her children suffer greatly.
Years later, a group of teens are out to prove to the community that their superstitions are purely that – and that no man in a cloak is there to haunt the town, nor is there anything strange going on at the playground across the way… Oh were they so very wrong! What they find is bone chilling!! 5 stars for me. I highly recommend this story, especially to anyone who uses KU!
A good short story is difficult to write. E. Denise Billups has perfected it. A dash of horror. A sprinkling of mystery. A dollop of fear. An amazing plot that just makes you want to know immediately what’s really happening underneath the surface. With The Playground: A Supernatural Short Story, Billups manages to show you her writing chops in less than a few thousand words. I’ve admired the author for a few years, and when she can lure you in with a mother and two children who disappeared, only to show up again in various forms years later, there’s an elaborate but wonderful connection between reader and writer. I enjoyed this one immensely, and my quest to devour all the short stories in her vast collection is quickly coming to a close. I can’t wait to say I’ve finished reading everything Billups has published, and be ready for what I’m always assured will be her next best release – she’s truly someone who keeps you wanting more and always feeling thrilled and excited by what you’ve read.