The Knocking

by Maggie Holman

Four hundred years after the Great Flood of 1607, student Megan Wallace spends the summer in the Forest of Dean to investigate local attitudes to the disaster, but as she begins her research, her rented cottage seems to be giving up some Great Flood secrets of its own. What is the reappearing puddle at the front door? Whose footsteps wake her in the night? As Megan searches for answers, the tragedy of the past entwines itself in the present, in a way which Megan will never forget.

29 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 11, 2017

About the author

Maggie Holman writes speculative fiction for all ages. Her love of the fantastical stems from early childhood, when she would often withdraw into imaginary worlds. In her writing, she loves to explore the possibilities that lie outside and alongside the real world.

Four of her books - 'The Wishing Sisters & Other Forest Tales' (2008), the children's story 'Footprints in the Snow' (2011), 'The Knocking (2017) and 'Save the White Stag' (2021) - were all inspired by the fifteen years she spent in the beautiful and atmospheric Forest of Dean. 'The Things We've Seen' (2021) marked a departure from this Forest-based fiction.

Although born in the UK, Maggie has lived in Europe since 2009, where she can explore her second passion, travelling on motorbike road trips with her husband.

Find Maggie at:
www.twitter.com/runjumpjive
and
www.facebook.com/maggieholmanwriter

Reviews

[Kirsty · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful short story - simple, engaging, and charming. Based on real history, with a real sense of a small community with kind characters, it's a beautiful ghost story

[Χρυσόστομος Τσαπραΐλης · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short novella set in the English countryside, in a small village where a devastating flood happened 4 centuries ago. The flood is the fuel behind the story, since the protagonist, a young psychology student, arrives at the village to conduct a series of interviews with the locals, concerning their perception of said flood. Hints of eerie manifestations appear early on, establishing the book into weird literature terrain (with a pinch of folklore).

This was a nice, quick (2-hour) read which I quite enjoyed. The setting is nice, infused with a bucolic rural attitude; the pace is quite relaxing throughout (apart from the last pages, which does make sense), the writing is not too ornate, with simple yet effective dialogue and a page-turning efficiency. There is an ecological undercurrent, while the role of the supernatural is subtle yet wholesome.

All in all, a nice surprise, and I'm looking forward to the writer's other books.

[Elizabeth de Visser · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a light and easy read. I especially loved the creepy, scary parts. I wish I hadn’t read some of the chapters late at night! :) Definitely recommend!