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Then She Said Hush
There is nothing so delightful, or primal, as gathering around a fire to tell tales. You huddle closer to the flames to feel the heat on your face while the darkness gathers at your back. With nothing but open emptiness behind you, the ancient dread of the unknown creeps down your spine. You force yourself not to glance over your shoulder into the inky black. Is there any moment quite so frightening as when somebody freezes and What was that?
Cordelia Kelly shares seven chilling stories of survival, darkness, and a hint of witchcraft in Then She Said Hush, including award-winning post-apocalyptic tale “Unfreeze.”
Enjoy. And bring a flashlight.
Cordelia Kelly shares seven chilling stories of survival, darkness, and a hint of witchcraft in Then She Said Hush, including award-winning post-apocalyptic tale “Unfreeze.”
Enjoy. And bring a flashlight.
63 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 3, 2023
6 people want to read
About the author
Cordelia Kelly
10 books16 followersCordelia Kelly is the author of the Port of Lost Souls series and the YA fantasy The Sibyl and the Thief.
Her short stories, including “Herbalista” (Prairie Witch) and “Dare to Survive” (Dark & Stormy), have been featured in several horror anthologies. She also self-published a collection of horror stories, Then She Said Hush.
Fun fact: together with her sister, Kelly blogged recaps of the entire Fear Street series on Shadyside Snark, a project that continues to attract over 10,000 hits per month.
Her short stories, including “Herbalista” (Prairie Witch) and “Dare to Survive” (Dark & Stormy), have been featured in several horror anthologies. She also self-published a collection of horror stories, Then She Said Hush.
Fun fact: together with her sister, Kelly blogged recaps of the entire Fear Street series on Shadyside Snark, a project that continues to attract over 10,000 hits per month.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 17, 2023
The read I have today is an interesting one, regarding who it comes from. In the late 2000’s, as part of the snarky reviewer boom, one of them was the blog Shadyside Snark. It did what the name implies, snarky Fear Street recaps and whatnot. They ended up finishing everything so when they stopped, it wasn’t cuz they dropped off the Earth. They have come back on and off for new developments like the relaunch books and of course, the 2021 film trilogy.
Just last year, they actually covered Just Beyond so that’s neat. It’s nice that they’re still a thing to some extent, while others of their type have fully moved on. I always enjoyed them and in hindsight they have aged better than the rest, as there was less mean-nesss to their coverage and it felt a bit more loving so it’s not as awkward to come back to post the snarky reviewer backlash.
And now one of them, Cordelia Kelly, is an author. Mostly in that self published space which is neat. She only has a few works so far and she took to the blog to advertise this one, and I figured why not look at it. It’s short and is a short story collection with 7 stories so we’ve got that again. Let’s just dive in.
Unfreeze: Evie and Kit try to survive in a shelter in the cold. We start with a quick one that mostly hints at this bigger history. Might be an apocalyptic thing? The intro says it was meant to be tied to a full book and I can see that. As quick as it is, I liike what we have with the bond of the characters and hints of the history. Just this little slice has enough to make it decent, even if I wanted a bit more.
Delicious in Tarts: A family goes foraging. This one gets into time loop stuff, and that’s fun. It just feels too short to quite leave an impact. There’s an amusing ending though. It’s there and it’s fine, but the little slice element hurts it a bit.
Pressure Cooker: A woman tries to blow off stress in a sauna but it goes wrong. This was a solid slice here, with a good setup that leads to a dark ending. We get info about the sort of backstory here and some things are left vague in a good way. I sort of wish there was more in some ways but the nature of it still works as it is.
A Life for a Life; A group of witches is tasked with healing a man’s child. This had some weight to it with the setup and I liked it for that. The tone works and there is some emotion as I do feel for the guy and his wife despite being a piece of work. The payoff is satisfying although the ending note is a tad confusing. Still, it’s good.
The Dueling Houses of Warwick and Stone: We basically explore a witch family feud. This is pure comedy and it’s fun. The idea carries it with amusing back and forth, telling us the crazy things these families have done to each other. There’s mild emotion at the end but it’s mostly just fun. So yeah I got a kick out of it.
The Witnesses: We follow the perspective of a forest as it deals with intruders. A unique kind of setup and it works. It’s not exactly plot driven but the writing is good here with this more spiritual approach. The ending is good and it worked as a unique story, when I was worried it could be just vague and dull. So that’s good.
The Lost Art of Listening: A woman goes out in nature and doesn’t quite heed the warning of a fortune teller. We end on a story that is a bit longer and more atmosphere driven. It’s done well with solid build up involving this beast. The idea of listening to nature is done well. I wish it had a darker ending but the Hollywood ending works alright too. Good one to end on.
And that’s it. Overall, I liked this well enough. The stories are maybe a bit too short to leave a big impact but all are done well to some extent. They’re meant to have a campfire story feel which it captures well. The writing is generally decent and most have a good mood to them. I’d say my favorite is Warwick and Stone, as well as A Life for a Life and Lost Art of Listening.
Not quite in love with any here but none were bad or anything. There’s some solid talent on display here and I enjoyed it. It being quick was certainly good for me. It is nice to see people I was aware of ages ago still thriving. The blog gets mentioned in the about the author page and directly linked in the book which was cool.
Overall, a solid little collection, not much else to say. So for next time, I got Stinetinglers 2 lined up and one more Kindle Unlimited one that is also a story collection but a bit beefier so who knows which will be done first. See ya then.
Just last year, they actually covered Just Beyond so that’s neat. It’s nice that they’re still a thing to some extent, while others of their type have fully moved on. I always enjoyed them and in hindsight they have aged better than the rest, as there was less mean-nesss to their coverage and it felt a bit more loving so it’s not as awkward to come back to post the snarky reviewer backlash.
And now one of them, Cordelia Kelly, is an author. Mostly in that self published space which is neat. She only has a few works so far and she took to the blog to advertise this one, and I figured why not look at it. It’s short and is a short story collection with 7 stories so we’ve got that again. Let’s just dive in.
Unfreeze: Evie and Kit try to survive in a shelter in the cold. We start with a quick one that mostly hints at this bigger history. Might be an apocalyptic thing? The intro says it was meant to be tied to a full book and I can see that. As quick as it is, I liike what we have with the bond of the characters and hints of the history. Just this little slice has enough to make it decent, even if I wanted a bit more.
Delicious in Tarts: A family goes foraging. This one gets into time loop stuff, and that’s fun. It just feels too short to quite leave an impact. There’s an amusing ending though. It’s there and it’s fine, but the little slice element hurts it a bit.
Pressure Cooker: A woman tries to blow off stress in a sauna but it goes wrong. This was a solid slice here, with a good setup that leads to a dark ending. We get info about the sort of backstory here and some things are left vague in a good way. I sort of wish there was more in some ways but the nature of it still works as it is.
A Life for a Life; A group of witches is tasked with healing a man’s child. This had some weight to it with the setup and I liked it for that. The tone works and there is some emotion as I do feel for the guy and his wife despite being a piece of work. The payoff is satisfying although the ending note is a tad confusing. Still, it’s good.
The Dueling Houses of Warwick and Stone: We basically explore a witch family feud. This is pure comedy and it’s fun. The idea carries it with amusing back and forth, telling us the crazy things these families have done to each other. There’s mild emotion at the end but it’s mostly just fun. So yeah I got a kick out of it.
The Witnesses: We follow the perspective of a forest as it deals with intruders. A unique kind of setup and it works. It’s not exactly plot driven but the writing is good here with this more spiritual approach. The ending is good and it worked as a unique story, when I was worried it could be just vague and dull. So that’s good.
The Lost Art of Listening: A woman goes out in nature and doesn’t quite heed the warning of a fortune teller. We end on a story that is a bit longer and more atmosphere driven. It’s done well with solid build up involving this beast. The idea of listening to nature is done well. I wish it had a darker ending but the Hollywood ending works alright too. Good one to end on.
And that’s it. Overall, I liked this well enough. The stories are maybe a bit too short to leave a big impact but all are done well to some extent. They’re meant to have a campfire story feel which it captures well. The writing is generally decent and most have a good mood to them. I’d say my favorite is Warwick and Stone, as well as A Life for a Life and Lost Art of Listening.
Not quite in love with any here but none were bad or anything. There’s some solid talent on display here and I enjoyed it. It being quick was certainly good for me. It is nice to see people I was aware of ages ago still thriving. The blog gets mentioned in the about the author page and directly linked in the book which was cool.
Overall, a solid little collection, not much else to say. So for next time, I got Stinetinglers 2 lined up and one more Kindle Unlimited one that is also a story collection but a bit beefier so who knows which will be done first. See ya then.
December 15, 2025
The seven short stories that made up the free gift from the author were varied and cleverly written responses to writing prompts and questions arising from innocent thoughts. Each had its own twist and unexpected outcome. I enjoyed the style of writing and marvel at the way the author Cordelia Kelly packs so much information and action into such a short tale. Then, she said Hush is a highly recommended short horror story extravaganza for those who enjoy the genre. I am more than happy to leave an honest, unbiased, and unsolicited review.
September 21, 2023
This collection of short fiction by Cordelia Kelly, one of the voices behind the legendary blog Shadyside Snark, is a treat! All seven eerie tales are unique and haunting in their own way, and each is preceded by a short introduction and illustration from the author. I think my favorite story is the penultimate one, “The Witnesses.”
May 24, 2023
What a delightful book of short stories to read. All seven of them are very entertaining, creepy and spooky. Perfect to read in the dark around the campfire!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews