"As the monastery swallowed the last morsel of daylight, he didn't notice the murder of magpies gathering on the roof and window ledges..."

As the countdown to Hallowe'en begins, this month's spotlight is on short story "Bluebell", a tale of present-day haunting and historical mystery.

Behind the Story

Part of the concept for "Bluebell" first came to me many years ago. I was on my way to a date and thinking of a new crime story, the title and the twist already formed, considering the idea of a date as the hook, a man trying to move on but haunted by the unsolved disappearance of his wife. As I walked, a single magpie flew past and landed ahead of me. Those elements coalesced and remained linked in my mind.

I returned to "Bluebell" several years later when working on my short story collection. I combined the original crime story with gothic horror and a historical mystery to be solved from the present day, with a streak of feminism running through the tale. Probably the most traditionally gothic story in the collection, with the crumbling presence of the monastery ever-looming, it is set on Hallowe'en night and also serves as a love letter to autumn.

"Bluebell" was the final story I wrote of the seven featured in "Whispers from the Dead of Night". I remember writing the final words and the incredible sense of achievement and excitement I felt at that moment. Perhaps due in part to this, if I had to choose my favourite or the story of which I'm most proud among those short stories, it would probably be this one.

Let the chill of autumn pull you into its embrace and get yourself a warm drink, ready to join me for mystery, romance, and an investigation into a haunted monastery...
___

"Now the monastery's secrets were for all to find, if they could decipher the clues left under the weight of years gone by."

An investigation into a haunted monastery...

During a chance meeting, Emily and David arrange their first date. Despite the chill of autumn, the hope of romance is in the air.

But David cannot escape the visions of a wraith haunting his step, while Emily's fascination with a crumbling monastery may lead her into jeopardy.

For it is Hallowe'en night, when the veil between the living and the dead is at its thinnest, and the past and present collide...
___

Opening Scene

The decaying remnants of a life long ago lived stood at the peak of a gentle slope, descending to a field at the front and woodland at the rear. The church tower and lopsided walls framed the façade, while the ghost of the moon’s glow filtered through the cracked stonework. Stars winked through hollow windows.

The wind strummed the weeds and grass that had grown around the gravestones that lined the inner wall of the garth like soldiers. Percussive against the weathered stone, it drummed its beat along with a whistling accompaniment through the cracks in the crumbling stone.

So it had stood and played its melodies for centuries, more shrivelled year by year, but ever present. Sometimes, it sounded as if nature’s tunes were accompanied by a choir singing, the harmony not of the wind, but voices, once human but no longer. In years past, the locals steered clear of the ruins by night, still wary by day.

As the years fell away, the fear was forgotten, relegated to myth, the choir now a campfire tale. Many sought out the ruins to listen for it. Few could claim honestly to have heard it.

So it was that many a still night lit by the moon would not be greeted by music or the voices of a choir. The wind rocked against the plants, rustling tree branches, leaves floating to the ground. The moonlight shone through the broken roof and walls, lighting the windowless voids from within. In a rear window, a shadow moved, framed in the moonlight. Its shape appeared human, perhaps possessed by something that once was. But there was no one there to see it.

Want to continue reading? "Bluebell" is available as part of the original "Whispers from the Dead of Night" short story collection in ebook and paperback and the deluxe collection in ebook, paperback and hardcover.

Order "Whispers from the Dead of Night"
Order "Whispers from the Dead of Night - The Deluxe Collection"

Visit me on Facebook
Follow me on Twitter
Follow me on Instagram