A Walk in the Woods

by Rebecca M. Senese

The old woman loves the woods, loves the childhood stories of the wolves chasing little girls in the woods. So today when she felt well, it’s time for a walk in the woods. As she slips away from her nasty servant, she goes for a walk in the woods. Only to find, some of those tales were real… A Walk in the Woods is 1,823 words.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fiction, Ebooks, Fantasy

9 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 15, 2011

About the author

Based in Toronto, Ontario, I weave words of horror, mystery, contemporary fantasy, and science fiction. I am the author of the contemporary fantasy series, the Noel Kringle Chronicles featuring the son of Santa Claus working as a private detective in Toronto. Garnering an Honorable Mention in “The Year’s Best Science Fiction” and nominated for numerous Aurora Awards, my work has appeared in Bitter Mountain Moonlight: A Cave Creek Anthology, Promise in the Gold: A Cave Creek Anthology, Pulphouse Fiction Magazine, Home for the Howlidays, Unmasked: Tales of Risk and Revelation, the Obsessions Anthology, Fiction River: Superpowers, Fiction River: Visions of the Apocalypse, Fiction River: Sparks, Fiction River: Recycled Pulp, Tesseracts 16: Parnassus Unbound, Ride the Moon, Tesseracts 15: A Case of Quite Curious Tales, TransVersions, and Storyteller, amongst others.

Reviews

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

An old woman would like to escape from Gertrude, the caregiver her daughter has arranged for her. The woman remembers with fondness the stories her father used to tell her about the woods - especially about the wolves. She awakes early one morning and sneaks out to the woods, enjoying her walk until suddenly she realizes it is getting dark. Now she is worried if she can get home safely and will she be scolded by Gertrude?

This is very short but builds a character and twists appropriate to the macabre humor that can be found in horror. I was impressed how much was conveyed in this short work and would like to read more by Ms. Senese. Any reader who enjoys horror (that isn't overly graphic) should give this a read.

[Colleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was well written and I loved the first half because of how adeptly the author built suspense. But, man, the end was disappointing! If the story had been longer, I could have maybe overlooked the weird resolution and given it a higher rating but the whole thing is only 5 1/2 (computer screen) pages long so the ending was a pretty substantial part. I got the story for free on Amazon but I feel like it's more of an advertisement for the author's other not-free books than it is a solid stand-alone piece.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an author I have not read before and am happy to have this short introduction. This is of course a short story that reads a lot like a fairy tale or dark fable. While this did not pull me in right away it did eventually catch and keep my attention through the end. There is no major character development but that can be forgiven since it is so short and the story itself is interesting enough. I will admit that it drags a bit but still stand by my thoughts on it.

The old woman loves the woods, loves the childhood stories of the wolves chasing little girls. So today she felt well, it is time for a walk in the woods. As she slips away from her nasty servant, she goes for a walk in the woods. What she discovers is that some tales are very real.

There is one heck of a twist that I did not see coming. I think it is a nice little fable and should be enjoyed as such.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short "short story", but kept my interest

Obviously, its a quick read; nice progression and detail in the writing.
I only gave it 3 stars because it went too fast. 😁
I would definitely give this author and her writing another try.

[Tricia Cassavaugh · Rating 3 out of 5]

3

[Tara]

Awesome great short story.AN old lady who is always told she is to old to help out with the things around her house by her daughter and house keeper Gertrude.Wakes up one morrning feeling great,she's gonna go for a walk into the woods.She has to sneak out because Gertrude would get mad at her if she knew and would stop her.Getting dressed she fights back giggles,she is so excitted and happy.She gets to the woods and walks feeling like a little girl again.She remembers storys her daddy used to tell her,her favorite was little red ridding hood.She starts wondering what happened to the wolves who got chased away.Then a wolf starts chasing her,she runs as fast and as long as she can.She falls the wolf jumps on her,then Gertrude rips of the wolf mask and says I told you not to go into the woods.Then a hunter ends up shooting Gertrude and says I couldn;t let that wolf eat you you still got to get to your grandmothers.Funny,heart touchung story.Loved it..

[Chris · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was an amazon kindle freebee and I’m so glad I didn’t pay for it. I of course was intrigued by the part of the title that said a “Horror Story”. This was not scary at all. It is about an old woman who is sick and stuck at home. She hates her caregiver and while the caregiver is asleep she rushes out of the house to take a walk in the woods. I will not spoil the ending but that is 75% of the story.

It is very tough to write a short story since there is very little time to build characters and suspense. That being said, I have read several horror short stories that left me with goose bumps. I’ve read it, it was free, I’m done and it has been deleted. That is about all I am going to say about this story.

[Carl J. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disappointing, June 3, 2012


Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: A Walk in the Woods: A Horror Short Story (Kindle Edition)
From the first sentence on, this book was a disappointment. The sentences are clunky, the language almost too formal. The story itself is uninspired, a retelling of the same Red Riding Hood story we've heard retold a hundred times before. The "twist" isn't, nor does it even make sense. If Senese had labeled this an "interpretation" then maybe I'd be a bit more gratuitous, but as a horror tale, it's just not very original. Nor is it that horrifying.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

A new twist on the traditional Red Riding Hood story with a surprising ending. This is quite an entertaining quick read with simple and flowing prose that keeps the story moving well. The only downside is that I would have liked it to be a bit longer with a bit more background and detail, other than that this is a fantastic little story.

[Adam Vanzant · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was short and I think it was perfect. I had a slight suspicion about Gertrude but I wasn't sure, then I ended up being very surprised, to the point where I apparently made auditory noise since the guy next to me is looking at me crazy. I enjoyed this very much. :)

[Shelly Hammond · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very well written, captivating, fun short story. I really enjoyed the authors style of writing and the direction she took the story in. Very entertaining story that took just a little bit of time to read. Well worth reading.

[Big Book Theory · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyable!! The story was scary and the tension was perfectly layered. From the beginning, it had that feel of the olden day scary stories I used to hear as a child. I could not help but laugh at the end though - it was so ironic. This was a truly awesome read.

[Book Gremlin Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting. I would have loved if it was a longer story, to get in some more plot. But even as short as it was I liked it.

[Naomi · Rating 1 out of 5]

WTH??? This short story is a perfect reason on why I am not crazy about short stories. There was less than no character developement and the story made ABSOLUTELY no sense!

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. I like the way it turned out, but overall this short is lacking in depth and description. Read for free online here

[Briana · Rating 2 out of 5]

This free short story from Amazon.com was quite the different take on the basic "Little Red Riding Hood."

[Wendy · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is not a horror story at all. I was glad that this was a short story thought, and the only reason I would tell someone to read this story was because it was free.

[Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book horror filled. it is short but very very detailed. The charecters are well thought out and they are strange

[Saša Varjohukka · Rating 2 out of 5]

Krátká hororová povídečka. Nic speciálního, ale dá se to. Z Amazonu zadara, tak proč ne.

[Rabbit {Paint me like one of your 19th century gothic heroines!} · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was way too short and it needs an editor.

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short story was kind of like a new twist to Red Riding Hood, the ending was quite entertaining lol, KARMA!

[Lottie Eve · Rating 3 out of 5]

review to come!

[Jeanine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good story.