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Disorder #2
Loam
When three siblings return to their hometown for their estranged father’s funeral, burying the ghosts of the past proves to be impossible in this chilling story by the author of Mysterious Skin.
Forty years ago, triplets Miriam, Louise, and Edward were swept up in a case of rural mass hysteria. Coerced into fabricating unspeakable lies about their first-grade teacher and her adult son, they were complicit in destroying two lives. Ever since, they have believed they are being followed by a presence still seeking retribution for their childhood sins. Unless their guilty consciences are conjuring as many monsters as their innocent minds once did.
Loam is part of Disorder, a collection of six short stories of living nightmares, chilling visions, and uncanny imagination that explore a world losing its balance in terrifying ways. Each piece can be read or listened to in a single disorienting sitting.
Forty years ago, triplets Miriam, Louise, and Edward were swept up in a case of rural mass hysteria. Coerced into fabricating unspeakable lies about their first-grade teacher and her adult son, they were complicit in destroying two lives. Ever since, they have believed they are being followed by a presence still seeking retribution for their childhood sins. Unless their guilty consciences are conjuring as many monsters as their innocent minds once did.
Loam is part of Disorder, a collection of six short stories of living nightmares, chilling visions, and uncanny imagination that explore a world losing its balance in terrifying ways. Each piece can be read or listened to in a single disorienting sitting.
41 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 27, 2019
431 people are currently reading
832 people want to read
About the author
Scott Heim
14 books541 followersScott Heim was born in Hutchinson, Kansas in 1966. He grew up in a small farming community there, and later attended the University of Kansas in Lawrence, earning a B.A. in English and Art History in 1989 and an M.A. in English Literature in 1991. He attended the M.F.A. program in Writing at Columbia University, where he wrote his first novel, Mysterious Skin. HarperCollins published that book in 1995, and Scott followed it with another novel, In Awe, in 1997.
Scott has won fellowships to the London Arts Board as their International Writer-in-Residence, and to the Sundance Screenwriters Lab for his adaptation of Mysterious Skin. He is also the author of a book of poems, Saved From Drowning (1993).
After living eleven years in New York, he relocated to Boston in 2002. Mysterious Skin was adapted for the stage, premiering in San Francisco; it was subsequently adapted to film by director Gregg Araki and Antidote Films. Scott's third novel is We Disappear (HarperCollins), published in February 2008.
Scott has won fellowships to the London Arts Board as their International Writer-in-Residence, and to the Sundance Screenwriters Lab for his adaptation of Mysterious Skin. He is also the author of a book of poems, Saved From Drowning (1993).
After living eleven years in New York, he relocated to Boston in 2002. Mysterious Skin was adapted for the stage, premiering in San Francisco; it was subsequently adapted to film by director Gregg Araki and Antidote Films. Scott's third novel is We Disappear (HarperCollins), published in February 2008.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 252 reviews
March 29, 2021
Three siblings (who are triplets) reluctantly return to their hometown after many years away to attend their estranged father’s funeral. The three of them are confronting bad and unwelcome memories from back when they were first-graders--when the children in their class (themselves included) were coerced into lying about their teacher and her adult son, which resulted in destroying two lives. This short story was on the dark and depressing side, but it held me captivated, nonetheless. Well-written and atmospheric, this made for a good quick read.
March 9, 2022
My favorite so far of the Disorder collection. Such an interesting story. Kept me interested and surprised me at the end!
August 24, 2025
I loved the atmospheric vibes in this read! Plot follows 3 siblings who are triplets go back to their hometown for their father’s funeral, on the way they stop at an antique shop only to find a box of photos of them and their class mates being abused but they're sure that these photos are portraying things that didn't happen! It wasn't as dark as I would've liked ( it takes a lot for me to consider a read dark 😂) but for a short read this was decent in terms of vibes and gripping plot!
May 14, 2020
'Loam' is a brilliant story and, for me, the standout of the Disorder collection. 51-year-old triplets Edward, Louise and Miriam are returning to their hometown for their father's funeral. On the way, they stop at a junk shop and make a horrifying discovery: a box of old photographs depicting children, including them, being abused. The problem is that the photographs portray things the siblings know for sure didn't happen. Everything about 'Loam' is fantastic – the pacing is superb, it's intriguing, its events and settings are vividly sketched. The atmosphere is killer, but what will really stick with me is the characters and how Heim portrays them with such compassion and empathy. I wasn't previously familiar with the author, but on the basis of this story I would definitely consider reading more of his work.
Read as part of the Amazon Original Stories Disorder collection.
TinyLetter
Read as part of the Amazon Original Stories Disorder collection.
TinyLetter
January 28, 2024
Regret
A set of triplets, grown now, return to their childhood hometown for the funeral of their father they hadn’t seen in many years. A visit to their old home brought back awful memories of truth or lies?
A set of triplets, grown now, return to their childhood hometown for the funeral of their father they hadn’t seen in many years. A visit to their old home brought back awful memories of truth or lies?
December 14, 2023
Existential dread seeps through the pages of this quietly brutal and disquieting story by the author of 'Mysterious Skin', who takes an unflinching look at the dark heart of vengeance, and its true cost.
January 13, 2025
this was saying a whole lot of nothing in 41 pages
↳ short story #2 of Amazon’s Disorder collection. 🤫
↳ short story #2 of Amazon’s Disorder collection. 🤫
January 1, 2020
I'm going with 3.5 Stars. Strange story but also interesting about false memories in children. I think...
3.5 Stars
Listened to this on audible.
3.5 Stars
Listened to this on audible.
July 6, 2019
*Read for free with kindle Unlimited and audible for the audiobook *
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This was scattered, like it was confused about who/what it was trying to be.
Some elements were intriguing but fell by the wayside. I think this one should have been a novella or novel.. it was wasted as a short story.
The writing is good, it has that going for it.
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This was scattered, like it was confused about who/what it was trying to be.
Some elements were intriguing but fell by the wayside. I think this one should have been a novella or novel.. it was wasted as a short story.
The writing is good, it has that going for it.
July 16, 2019
So what happened?!
Started great: a creepy story involving “Satanic Panic,” coercion, paranormal activity—but then it just ends very abruptly, without really giving much of a conclusion. The ending was a major let down, but up until the last 5 pages or so, I was enjoying the book.
Started great: a creepy story involving “Satanic Panic,” coercion, paranormal activity—but then it just ends very abruptly, without really giving much of a conclusion. The ending was a major let down, but up until the last 5 pages or so, I was enjoying the book.
March 10, 2024
This is the second in the Disorder series of short stories. Three sisters return to their home town for the funeral of their father, with whom it appears they had a difficult relationship, and have to confront a tragedy in which they were involved.
September 1, 2021
Of all the tales in the Disorder series, this is my personal favourite. Three siblings return to the town of their youth on their father's death, and are reminded of their part in destroying the lives of a primary school teacher and her mentally-challenged son as a part of mass hysteria, reminiscent of the Salem witch trials.
The author walks the fine tightrope between reality and fantasy, masterfully; never quite crossing over, yet never retreating.
The author walks the fine tightrope between reality and fantasy, masterfully; never quite crossing over, yet never retreating.
January 15, 2021
3.75 ⭐️
Ohk.. weird doesn’t cover what i felt about the book.
The book has Edward, Mirian and Louise, triplets, going home for their father’s funeral. They chance upon an antique shop, to sell of the things from their old home, and come across some photos, what seems like from their childhood. Each of them, along with their other first grade classmates are found in photographs, depicted as they described themselves to be “exploited” by the Burneys back then.
The book explores how a collective mindset, of children, led to the ruin of their first grade teacher.. and of her son, who apparently came to haunt them back.
They felt haunted by a presence at home... and find themselves occationally experiencing the said things they told about the guy, after they went to sleep.
The vook was beyond weird.
But aside from that, the story ended with kind of an ending that made no sense, and sometimes felt like a peak into a bigger story, without facts. Like why they did not want to be with their father? What happened after the fateful night at the basement? Why did their classmate come to their father’s funeral? And for what? From where did the pictures come?
So many unanswered questions
Ohk.. weird doesn’t cover what i felt about the book.
The book has Edward, Mirian and Louise, triplets, going home for their father’s funeral. They chance upon an antique shop, to sell of the things from their old home, and come across some photos, what seems like from their childhood. Each of them, along with their other first grade classmates are found in photographs, depicted as they described themselves to be “exploited” by the Burneys back then.
The book explores how a collective mindset, of children, led to the ruin of their first grade teacher.. and of her son, who apparently came to haunt them back.
They felt haunted by a presence at home... and find themselves occationally experiencing the said things they told about the guy, after they went to sleep.
The vook was beyond weird.
But aside from that, the story ended with kind of an ending that made no sense, and sometimes felt like a peak into a bigger story, without facts. Like why they did not want to be with their father? What happened after the fateful night at the basement? Why did their classmate come to their father’s funeral? And for what? From where did the pictures come?
So many unanswered questions
October 24, 2019
Surely about to give me nightmares
April 27, 2022
This book illustrates why child testimony is unreliable with a supernatural twist. I enjoyed it even if I did read before bed and parts seemed like it was careening down a spooky ally.
June 29, 2019
Either something is going on in this story and I have no clue what it is, or it's a complete waste of time. It was interesting and catchy at times but it managed to raise very few questions and in the end it seems to have made no effort to answer most of these questions.
A story doesn't have to be all about questions and answers but other than the sense of curiosity it had no spirit anyway. The story and the characters were weak, the writing was dependent on the elements of mystery. The author did his best to write something dark, suspenseful and maybe supernatural, and he also tried to delve into some sociological issues, but in the end none of his efforts stay with the reader I believe.
A story doesn't have to be all about questions and answers but other than the sense of curiosity it had no spirit anyway. The story and the characters were weak, the writing was dependent on the elements of mystery. The author did his best to write something dark, suspenseful and maybe supernatural, and he also tried to delve into some sociological issues, but in the end none of his efforts stay with the reader I believe.
November 18, 2020
Mass Confirmation Bias
Review of the Amazon Original Kindle eBook edition (July 2019)
This was a effective creepy story about the mass haunting of a small town as a result of their own persecution of a family. There is no specific true-life basis stated, but it does seem inspired by the notorious McMartin Preschool case.
Loam is 1 of 6 short stories/novellas in the Amazon Original Disorder Series. Stories that get inside your head. From small-town witch hunts to mass incarceration to exploitations of the flesh, this chilling collection of twisted short stories imagines the horrors of a modern world not unlike our own.
Review of the Amazon Original Kindle eBook edition (July 2019)
This was a effective creepy story about the mass haunting of a small town as a result of their own persecution of a family. There is no specific true-life basis stated, but it does seem inspired by the notorious McMartin Preschool case.
Loam is 1 of 6 short stories/novellas in the Amazon Original Disorder Series. Stories that get inside your head. From small-town witch hunts to mass incarceration to exploitations of the flesh, this chilling collection of twisted short stories imagines the horrors of a modern world not unlike our own.
August 13, 2021
Was free on audible so i gave it a quick listen while making dinner.
I feel like it ended to fast or i just didnt understand the ending. I think its about how childrens memories are easy manipulated?
But it bothered me i never got answers.
It was a bit eerie and creepy tho.
I feel like it ended to fast or i just didnt understand the ending. I think its about how childrens memories are easy manipulated?
But it bothered me i never got answers.
It was a bit eerie and creepy tho.
August 10, 2022
All I'll say is that when you find out why this is called 'Loam', you may find you enjoy this a little more. Over one of the better short stories I have read or listened to.
October 23, 2020
'Loam' is a short story dealing with some hard-hitting themes, including the devastating consequences of childhood trauma and the possibility of false memories. There are significant content warnings associated with this story as a result, so be sure to check these before choosing to read this.
The story discusses the impact of a horrifying child abuse scandal on the lives of those involved, noting the dark influence of suspicion amongst the residents of the small town in which the alleged abuse took place. Doubt as to the validity of the accusations is cast, leaving the reader to decide for themselves if the abuse really happened or not. It is a difficult topic, and therefore a difficult read.
I thought the story had impact and it has left me thinking. I can't say it was an enjoyable read, as of course that isn't right in terms of this kind of story. But I did think it was well written and I appreciated the ambiguity, as it seemed to be the right outcome for the story as a whole.
The story discusses the impact of a horrifying child abuse scandal on the lives of those involved, noting the dark influence of suspicion amongst the residents of the small town in which the alleged abuse took place. Doubt as to the validity of the accusations is cast, leaving the reader to decide for themselves if the abuse really happened or not. It is a difficult topic, and therefore a difficult read.
I thought the story had impact and it has left me thinking. I can't say it was an enjoyable read, as of course that isn't right in terms of this kind of story. But I did think it was well written and I appreciated the ambiguity, as it seemed to be the right outcome for the story as a whole.
February 14, 2020
A creepy story of ghosts and false memories.
April 2, 2024
My Rating 2⭐️⭐️ it started out alright but got weird and not good weird.
Number 2 in the series, this has been my least favourite of the Disorder Collection so far. Kind of supernatural but not really and I didn’t really like the conclusion.
Number 2 in the series, this has been my least favourite of the Disorder Collection so far. Kind of supernatural but not really and I didn’t really like the conclusion.
June 19, 2024
Three siblings returned to their hometown, decades after the lies they told during childhood had ruined the lives of a teacher and her adult son. The short story had some spooky and shock factors and a good pace, but the end was disappointingly tame. 2.5 rounded up to 3 stars.
July 4, 2020
3.5*
Felt it ended abruptly. I need closure!!!
Felt it ended abruptly. I need closure!!!
December 22, 2019
I really enjoyed this second entry in the Disorder collection. This is the first story I’ve read by Scott Heim, and I really liked his writing style. It pulled me into the story right away, and it kept me engaged all the way through. The atmosphere was creepy and compelling with an intriguing plot.
The ending for this one could have been a bit stronger, but overall it was a great entry in the collection, and I’m glad I read it. I recommend this to fans of chilling stories about family mysteries.
The ending for this one could have been a bit stronger, but overall it was a great entry in the collection, and I’m glad I read it. I recommend this to fans of chilling stories about family mysteries.
July 3, 2022
Wow! I have heard of situations like this in real life False memories and leading intervention techniques.
The rules and laws have since changed, but I wonder how many lives have been ruined by the innocent due to the corruptive forces from their parents and others.
I also wonder how much of the "hauntings" were meant to be an aspect of sibling intuitiveness (a mental closeness believed to be part of the multiple birth experience) vs. trauma bonding.
The rules and laws have since changed, but I wonder how many lives have been ruined by the innocent due to the corruptive forces from their parents and others.
I also wonder how much of the "hauntings" were meant to be an aspect of sibling intuitiveness (a mental closeness believed to be part of the multiple birth experience) vs. trauma bonding.
June 9, 2020
A weird, creepy little story that ends way too abruptly.
October 5, 2025
This was well written and a fast and easy suspenseful read.
I enjoyed the themes of satanic panic and vengeance as it brought depth to the story.
I enjoyed the themes of satanic panic and vengeance as it brought depth to the story.
July 11, 2019
Quietly Sinister
I would describe the manner in which this piece delivers its payload as 'quietly sinister’. Rather than bludgeoning the reader with the plot, it slickly slithers into your brain and festers into fruition. Good work!
I would describe the manner in which this piece delivers its payload as 'quietly sinister’. Rather than bludgeoning the reader with the plot, it slickly slithers into your brain and festers into fruition. Good work!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 252 reviews