Crawl Space: a short horror story

by Dona Fox

Claustrophobic, disturbing, and creepy. A lost girl is kidnapped and held for years by a dangerous man. Her doll takes the brunt of his abuse in place of the girl. Then the man is killed in a bloody and brutal attack. Now she must protect her own child from the jealous, intrusive, and sometimes vicious toy. Who will survive when they enter the crawl space under the house? Quiet horror that punches all the buttons.

Genres: Horror

14 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 13, 2018

About the author

Dona Fox writes short stories and poetry - horror, dark fantasy and science fiction.

In the early 1990's Dona lived in an amazing Queen Anne Gothic house. All of the interior doors had been painted black. There were secret passages inside the closets. That house inspired her to write stories and poetry that were published in Cemetery Dance (Issue #1), Eldritch Tales, New Blood, Thin Ice, Haunts, Scavenger's, and Beyond.

Now Dona lives beside a quiet gully in the shadows of several giant sequoias. It is one of the most frightening places she has ever lived.

New Stories and Poetry are in the books listed below. Enjoy your visit.

You can find Dona at www.facebook.com/dona.foxsturgess and Twitter @_DonaFox.

Reviews

[D.J. Doyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this psychological short. The author is very talented with words and held my attention throughout. I was a little confused at the start, but I think it was intentional. Figuring out what is driving the character was disturbing but could be so true to life, it makes it upsetting.
The ending (oh how I love a twist or surprise ending) is a credit to the author. I'll definitely be reading more from this author.

[Bauschan Mann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very suspencefull !!!! Very horror

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this short story. The narration was odd at first, but it worked well with the tale. I loved the argument with Red at the end. The whole thing was nice and creepy.

[Rachel]

*I'm not going to give you the 'what this book is about' blurb - you can read that elsewhere.

1. The narration of the audiobook was great. Pleasant voice but also added a bit of drama/creepiness into the story.
2. There's a bit of ambiguity throughout the book. Ie: what the main character actually experienced. It's clear that she went through something, but you get to use your imagination on what that was exactly, and depending on your imagination, it can be really dark and creepy!
3. I got some Shirley Jackson vibes on this story. Hot take: I don't usually care for Shirley Jackson, but this story I liked, it did just feel like something creepy that she would have written.
4. The ending is also a bit ambiguous. Sometimes an indistinct ending bothers me, but in the case of this short story, it did not. There are 2 very clear (to me) options that could be at work here, and both are terrifying. I enjoyed puzzling on it for a while after and imagining each scenario a bit more.

[Beverly Laude · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short, but oh so creepy story by the talented Dona Fox! This is the second short story that I have read by Ms. Fox and she definitely knows how to give you nightmares.

I love that the author doesn't go into gory, graphic details of the storyteller's trauma, but instead lets the reader imagine the horror all on their own. Even after finishing the story, I'm not sure if there was a true monster or just a traumatized young woman at work. And, if you aren't claustrophobic before reading this one, you probably will be afterward! And, I'm glad that I'm too old for dolls!

The narrator did a good job of adding to the creepiness of the story. I loved her subtle Southern accent too.

I received a copy of this story from the author and chose to review it.

[David Burnham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where do I begin? This story was my introduction to Dona Fox’s work but it won’t be the last of her work I read. “Crawl Space” is short and disturbing and the scares within pack a punch with every word. The more you read, the darker the story becomes. A must read for fans of the horror genre.

[Mark Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really entertaining. There were a few 'laugh out loud' lines. Red is quite creepy. It's really claustrophobic and dread inducing with a great back story. 'Crawl Space' is a quick read - in length and heart rate. It's anything but 'Child's Play.'

[Artist_carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

really short but disturbing, one of those that make you think, apparently the doll is cursed and wants pay back. I received this aduiobook on a fb group page and voluntarily choose to reveiw.