Human: A Ghost Story

by Brian Rowe

Abigail has been stuck in the same room, in the same house, for twenty-two years, ever since the night her father drowned her in the tub. She wants nothing more than to escape the confines of her ghostly prison, but her dad, who committed suicide the same night, won't let her leave. Even though she's a ghost, she can't move past the upper staircase without choking, without feeling like she's going to die all over again.

But when a new family comes to stay at the house, and a troubled boy named Percy becomes her new best friend, Abigail finds the courage to finally face her hateful father, and discover a secret about her future that will change her life forever.

Genres: Short Stories, Horror, Ghosts

16 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 9, 2013

About the author

Brian Rowe is an author, teacher, book devotee, and film fanatic. He received his MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Nevada, Reno, and is represented by Kortney Price at the Corvisiero Agency.

Reviews

[Cindi · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Abigail has been stuck in limbo for the past twenty-two years. Her ghost is stuck in the home where her father drowned her all those years ago. Her father committed suicide immediately after the murder so his ghost is stuck in the house as well, only downstairs compared to Abigail being upstairs. She has tried to escape but the only way out is by going downstairs through her father and that is not an option. She has tried but each time her throat has closed up and she has been in agony with each step she tried to take on the stairs. When a family moves into the house and Abigail is forced to watch as a young boy (Percy, who sleeps in her room) is brutally bullied she knows she has to find a way to get beyond her father so she can help the boy.

This is a nice YA story. It's not scary, though the cover kind of implies otherwise. It's about a woman wanting to do the right thing. The ending was a bit odd and raised some questions but not enough where I was left unsatisfied with the resolution. An enjoyable short.

[John Hennessy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Human: A Ghost Story is a very interesting story that has posed a great challenge for me - the whole review could end up being a spoiler, so what can I do?

Here goes. Abby is a girl who, over the course of the pages, discovers things about herself that are rather shocking. When she befriend a boy who is being bullied at school, she feels protective over him and wants to help him.

The issue is, Abby is fighting her own demons and in one vivid and shocking scene, we learn that all is not well in the Abby household.

The events that take place lead on to another big story reveal, and it is so good, I will just say 'please read the book', as it won't take you long, is FREE, for heaven's sake (!) and will have you thinking about it afterwards - now that is the sign of a great storyteller.

[Tammy K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I write a review for a short story, I find it difficult to come up with something to say without giving the story away.
So I am just going to recap the synopsis and say that "Despite the cover image, this is not a horror story."
It is a story of a girl who has been trapped as a ghost for over twenty years. Through her friendship with Percy, the young lad who is now living in her old room, she finds courage to face her fears and move forward.
There is no strong violence and no sex and so I would say it's appropriate for readers of the ages 12+.
I enjoyed this story a lot.
It is well written, flows nicely and the characters are fairly developed when you consider its brevity.
I wish it was longer. Yet at its' current size it makes a nice, quick, lunch hour read.

[Videoclimber(AKA)MTsLilSis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this short story. I thought the writing was well done. I appreciated that the main character was a diabetic, as you don't see that done well very often. I thought Rowe did a nice job with the diabetic aspects of the character, and no major mistakes were made, as in many diabetic characters.

[AmandaEmma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute and a tinge creepy

[Kimberly A. Bettes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is well-written, the characters well developed and real. It's not easy to have sub-plots in a short story but the author does it and does it well. Very pleasant read.

[Dwayne Fry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is cute, sweet and nicely done. No real surprises, though. A short way in you will guess how it's all going to end up.

[Jeanine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good, very short.

[Alicia Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Get ready to be spooked. I was a bit confused at first, but then I got into it and couldn't put it down

[Lanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's much better than the last several short stories I've read.

Thank God.

I've been reading a bunch of free short stories I got off Amazon, and most have been god awful pieces of shit.

But not "human". :) it's actually OK, & I'm glad.

The writing is good & the story is interesting.

But, sadly, it's not nearly as scary as the cover seems to imply, despite the fact that our narrator is a ghost. :/ If there's a ghost, I wanna be scared to go outside in the dark 4 a few days!

Then ending, too, leaves much to be desired. Its confusing and i dont really understand the hows or whys of what happened.

I would have liked to learn more about Abby & Percy, But it was still a fun, quick little read. Recommended for teens who like ghost stories.

[KiWi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wouldn't mind if the story continued...

I was actually pleasantly surprised that this story didn't scare me out of my wits... it actually has a relatable sense to it...in a sort of ghostly way. I would have loved for it to continue on, but definitely liked what I read as a whole. =)

[Viki Scheldrup · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good.

Petty good for a short one. Not really a fan of short fiction but... I will read more by him.