Ghost Swim

by Sara Brooke

Dark and still, the pool waits for Rachel Blanchard. She's about to dive in for an evening swim, but the waters may not be as empty as they appear. Deep within, something is waiting. And it doesn't want to her to leave. Ever.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Ebooks

35 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 24, 2012

About the author

Sara Brooke is a horror and suspense novelist living in South Florida. A lifelong avid reader of all things scary, Sara's childhood dream was to write horror books that force readers to sleep with their lights on.
Her first novel, Still Lake, was released Spring 2012.

Reviews

[Zoeytron · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was not able to buy into this one at all, sorry. The plot line was faulty and the story was just too short for it to have a chance to redeem itself.

[Tamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fine Writing!

The opening line demanded my complete attention ... which the story held straight through to the end. Brooke is a word master to be admired with a deep tale to impart. Pick up a copy of this must-read! You may look at swimming pools differently after this ...

[Aniko Carmean · Rating 2 out of 5]

The drains at the bottom of swimming pools frighten me. Like many fears born in childhood, this fear is irrational and persistent. In Night Swim, Brooke captures the essence of that fear: the sensation of something ill-intentioned lurking behind the grate, the certainty a hand will grip your ankle, the precarious nature of being an air-breathing creature submerged in water. If Night Swim had stuck to diving into this fear (oh, yes, that pun is intentional!), it would have been a nightmare-inducing addition to the annals of psychological horror. Instead, there is a "twist" at the end for which I could find no foreshadowing, and which detracts from the overall creepy mood of the first half of the story. The story lacks a cohesive internal logic, and then tries to recover from this by having a secondary character explain to the reader what is really going on in the swimming pool. This story has an excellent premise, but ultimately tried to be more clever and shocking than the story could support.

[Wanda Hartzenberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ghost Swim by Sara Brooke
A short thriller with a nice twist and an engaging story line. This could well have been a longer novella but I think in the process it would have lost some of the punch it packs now as a short.
Am not likely to ever go to a public swimming pool after dark again. Ever.
WaAr

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

short 14 page story. Although short I am now interested in this authors ability to grab me with her writing.

[Tiffany Apan · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 (rounding up to a 4)
Sara Brooke's Ghost Swim is a cool ghost story that's great if you want something creepy, but a quick read. It sort of brought me back to some of the old Christopher Pike books I used to read (and still pick up every once in a while) as a kid. The story offers a chilling atmosphere and a pretty compelling main character. I do think this would be cool as a novella where we might delve deeper into the history of the building and the characters. Is it my favorite Sara Brooke story? No (that would be Kransen House). But would I want to maybe read it again on a bleak, overcast afternoon? Sure.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

First a small warning, as this is a real short story, so don't expect to get your full amount of pages that amazon promises...

The story is well built, with tension that goes growing towards the end and the final part that makes you wonder how someone would still go to swim in the evening in aa big dark pool.

Nicely done, fitted well on a dark rainy evening in September, before going to sleep!

Would have preferred it a bit longer, but that would have been dangerous, as the speed could have suffered from it!

[Lucy Pireel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ghost Swim by Sarah Brooke

I expected a ghostly story and that was exactly what I got, albeit with an unexpected twist to send me on my way after reading. A very entertaining read and one I will have to read again, just because I liked it that much.
Short but sweet, and it didn’t leave me guessing while it did at the same time. Well balanced and rounded out. Plus it held my attention from start to end.
I will certainly look for other works by this author.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Blink and you miss it The set-up for this one was kind of good, but it was really too short to get the full measure of the main character.  It felt, as the main character comments on at one point) an old episode of The Twilight Zone, complete with ending that was more than a little cheesy.  Still, it was enjoyable for the time it took to read.

[G.A. Miller · Rating 1 out of 5]

Seriously? The story is a mediocre ghost story, but the real "surprise ending" occurs when the story concludes at less than 70%, because the rest is pages full of advertisements! This, like the upcoming disaster called Windows 10, is a Facebook wannabe, whose primary purpose is to port unwanted advertisements.

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. The author does a great job at grabbing the reader's undivided attention and putting them in the middle of the story. I know I won't be swimming alone for a long time.

This author made it into my must read author list.

[Bethany · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have a love/hate relationship with short stories. This one grabbed me at first and then the end I felt like I just got a condensed version of a "Twilight Zone-ish" story. Not the best, but certainly not the worst short story I have ever read.

[Julie Powell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although this story was very short, it was well written and certainly chilling and a somewhat unexpected ending. I noticed there were quite a few other stories listed on this read, maybe they'd be better put into one book.

[Flamingcrystal Flamingcrystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

An eerie short story, and by using your imagination, it would let you look differently at those drains in your swimming pool. The ending of the story feels a little bit rushed, but I like the author's writing style and would read more books written by her.

[J. Lynne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This short story was okay. The idea was good, but I wanted more creepiness. It felt rushed. I wanted to feel the fear and confusion at the pool. Don't tell the reader that the character is scared. Show us!

[Icy_Space_Cobwebs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review soon

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good introduction to this author. Well written.I will be searching out more.A great new voice in horror.

[Jessy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Creepy good shorty story! I can't wait to read more from this author! Great job on giving me the heebies jeebies!!

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice short little story, but very sad though.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brooke has in 'Ghost Swim' an eerie short story set around an indoor swimming pool that ends with a twist that I did not see coming. I'd definitely plan on checking out some of her other works.

[Addy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely made me think twice about pools! Very creepy.

[M.A. Robbins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great use of atmosphere. The kind of story I like to read and would pay for. I'll be looking for more.

[Jeanine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short little ghost story with a nice plot.

[Tammy Duvall · Rating 4 out of 5]

great book

[Kimberly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another short short story downloaded off kindle...

[Victoria Horochowski · Rating 2 out of 5]

This short story was ok. I'm in a Halloween mood so a ghost story hit the spot.. Even though it was pretty basic.

[Kathryn Parry · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great little story.

[Wayne's · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quiet spooky!

[wjkb · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good suspenseful ghost book!!!

[Teena · Rating 1 out of 5]

Could not get passed chapter 2, I couldn't read anymore.