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Hideaway
Meet John Eberhart, age twenty-nine.
Occupation: assistant to the vice-president, ad agency, Mirocaw County, Missouri.
His morning starts like any other—a splash of coffee, followed by gridlock and smog and honking horns. But this morning, John Eberhart has taken an unexpected detour. When he spots the Hideaway motel at the side of the road, he stops for the night.
But the Hideaway is a lot older than he could ever know, and the town in which it exists is not printed on any maps…
In the tradition of The Twilight Zone and Thomas Ligotti, Hamelin Bird delivers a surreal tale of one man’s perilous descent into madness—and, just maybe, his own place in a fractured world.
Occupation: assistant to the vice-president, ad agency, Mirocaw County, Missouri.
His morning starts like any other—a splash of coffee, followed by gridlock and smog and honking horns. But this morning, John Eberhart has taken an unexpected detour. When he spots the Hideaway motel at the side of the road, he stops for the night.
But the Hideaway is a lot older than he could ever know, and the town in which it exists is not printed on any maps…
In the tradition of The Twilight Zone and Thomas Ligotti, Hamelin Bird delivers a surreal tale of one man’s perilous descent into madness—and, just maybe, his own place in a fractured world.
- GenresHorror
Kindle Edition
Published September 3, 2022
1 person is currently reading
32 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 13, 2024
Extremely unique, incredibly creative, & damn cool!! I could have read a whole novel following this unusual, unsettling, & strangely wholesome story.
May 13, 2025
drencrom by hamelin bird is one of my favorite novellas and this short story hit the spot. utterly bizarre and full of dread.
September 19, 2022
One morning John Eberhart decides to say screw it! skip work and drive hundreds of miles down the highway until he crashes and finds himself in a small town full of bizarre characters. He checks into a nearby motel called “THE HIDEAWAY” and spends the night. Upon waking and taking a closer look at the town, he realizes everyone is dressed in the same black and white attire and only communicate in a series of gestures and grunts…these people are mimes!
I picked this up after seeing someone give it an amazing review. But what also drew me in was that damn cool book cover! Creepy faces in makeup is one of my favorite things and when the story within is just as good as the outside then you know you’ve hit gold! And gold is exactly what I’ve found in The Hideaway.
I read this as a person’s descent into a sort of madness. As soon as John skips work, I was rooting for him all the way! How many times have I just wanted to ditch my last job and go far, far away without looking back - I totally understood that! I really love how it reminded me of a Twilight Zone episode called “Walking Distance” but a much darker version. I found the town to be super interesting and I just wanted to spend more time there! Imagine living amongst mimes? For me that’s a dream lol but there were a few creepy characters John runs into on the road that I’d stay away from. They added the horror and suspense to the story that delivered a few frightening moments.
I recommend reading this if you’re looking for a well-written and fast-paced short story about losing love, quitting your job and going off the deep end until you reach…The Hideaway Motel!
So many thanks to the author for being awesome enough to share with me his inspiration behind the story, it made me love it even more! So excited to read more by Hamelin Bird!
I picked this up after seeing someone give it an amazing review. But what also drew me in was that damn cool book cover! Creepy faces in makeup is one of my favorite things and when the story within is just as good as the outside then you know you’ve hit gold! And gold is exactly what I’ve found in The Hideaway.
I read this as a person’s descent into a sort of madness. As soon as John skips work, I was rooting for him all the way! How many times have I just wanted to ditch my last job and go far, far away without looking back - I totally understood that! I really love how it reminded me of a Twilight Zone episode called “Walking Distance” but a much darker version. I found the town to be super interesting and I just wanted to spend more time there! Imagine living amongst mimes? For me that’s a dream lol but there were a few creepy characters John runs into on the road that I’d stay away from. They added the horror and suspense to the story that delivered a few frightening moments.
I recommend reading this if you’re looking for a well-written and fast-paced short story about losing love, quitting your job and going off the deep end until you reach…The Hideaway Motel!
So many thanks to the author for being awesome enough to share with me his inspiration behind the story, it made me love it even more! So excited to read more by Hamelin Bird!
September 5, 2022
A perfect spooky season read, This short story from Bird is my new favorite story to tackle the always unnerving subject matter of mimes! The writing here is so compelling, I was desperate to learn what would await Johnny our MC. The story packed a ton of creep factor into its few pages and gave us a satisfyingly eerie ending, I highly recommend it for a fun quick read.
5 stars
5 stars
November 20, 2022
I love this short story by Hamelin Bird. A man exorcising post-marriage demons, and speeding away from himself, runs into a deliciously creepy...dimension? Bird's writing is pretty damned excellent. This story gave me The Last Feast of Harlequin vibes. It is more than worthy of a Thomas Ligotti comparison. Love.
October 17, 2022
Well that was fun..
Short stories are slowly becoming some of my favorites. It’s not an easy task to tell an intriguing creepy story in so few pages but Hamelin did it in this one. I enjoyed it.
Short stories are slowly becoming some of my favorites. It’s not an easy task to tell an intriguing creepy story in so few pages but Hamelin did it in this one. I enjoyed it.
January 4, 2023
This short disturbing story hit the ground running.
Literally.
Our MC John decides to leave everything behind and just start driving. With an important meeting he's expected to be at, John laughs to himself at the idea of his absence putting a wrench in things.
He rolls down his windows and laughs even harder as all his important documents for said meeting go flying.
As I'm reading this all play out I'm thinking "nice. I kinda wanna watch Falling Down now." Within the next few paragraphs that exact movie is referenced and I geeked out a bit. 🤣
John starts coming to his senses a bit and realizes he needs to find a place to rest. He sees a sign that reads "Hideaway" and pulls in.
Nothing he was running away from could have been worth what he encounters here.
Nothing could have prepared him for what the folks in this town have in store.
Bonus points for the Missouri setting. I loved the Mizzou references! 🐯
I love that this book has that one specific trope that I'm constantly trying to find in horror stories. It's rare to see it executed so well. (I can't share because I don't want to spoil it.)
Loved everything about this one.
I devoured it and read Bird's short story Woolie immediately afterwards. That's how much I enjoyed it.
Literally.
Our MC John decides to leave everything behind and just start driving. With an important meeting he's expected to be at, John laughs to himself at the idea of his absence putting a wrench in things.
He rolls down his windows and laughs even harder as all his important documents for said meeting go flying.
As I'm reading this all play out I'm thinking "nice. I kinda wanna watch Falling Down now." Within the next few paragraphs that exact movie is referenced and I geeked out a bit. 🤣
John starts coming to his senses a bit and realizes he needs to find a place to rest. He sees a sign that reads "Hideaway" and pulls in.
Nothing he was running away from could have been worth what he encounters here.
Nothing could have prepared him for what the folks in this town have in store.
Bonus points for the Missouri setting. I loved the Mizzou references! 🐯
I love that this book has that one specific trope that I'm constantly trying to find in horror stories. It's rare to see it executed so well. (I can't share because I don't want to spoil it.)
Loved everything about this one.
I devoured it and read Bird's short story Woolie immediately afterwards. That's how much I enjoyed it.
September 15, 2022
first fell in love with Hamelin’s writing when I read his novel WAYWARD SONS earlier this year. This short story has convinced me that he’s the real deal when it comes to writing horror.
It follows protagonist Johnny when he finds himself lost in a town full of mime-like people. Mimes and clowns scare the hell out of me so I knew this was going to creep me out and I was right. This story is creepy with a capital C.
Here’s a sample of why I love Hamelin’s writing: “Stepping inside the motel’s main office, the first thing he noticed—pardoning the stale, attic-like stench—was the silence. Only this wasn’t just silence, wasn’t merely the absence of sound; this silence seemed to drench the walls, to cloud the air and hover like a wraith from the water-stained ceiling.”
Hamelin has a gift for writing beautiful, descriptive prose. I picked up on some strong Stephen King vibes here.
HIDEAWAY is a quick spooky read that’ll keep you on the edge of your seat. I can’t wait to see what this author comes up with next!
It follows protagonist Johnny when he finds himself lost in a town full of mime-like people. Mimes and clowns scare the hell out of me so I knew this was going to creep me out and I was right. This story is creepy with a capital C.
Here’s a sample of why I love Hamelin’s writing: “Stepping inside the motel’s main office, the first thing he noticed—pardoning the stale, attic-like stench—was the silence. Only this wasn’t just silence, wasn’t merely the absence of sound; this silence seemed to drench the walls, to cloud the air and hover like a wraith from the water-stained ceiling.”
Hamelin has a gift for writing beautiful, descriptive prose. I picked up on some strong Stephen King vibes here.
HIDEAWAY is a quick spooky read that’ll keep you on the edge of your seat. I can’t wait to see what this author comes up with next!
November 1, 2023
To abandon all the people and places that treated you badly, to just up and leave. The elation and EUPHORIA of it, I have experienced it. To imagine them all burn to the ground, to imagine them helpless and humiliated when they realise you are not there to do their bidding anymore, the glee! How do you top that freedom?
Well, this author had an idea. Welcome to “Hideaway,” where speech became unnecessary, where a temporary stay became… longer, where you one day realised that .
Well, this author had an idea. Welcome to “Hideaway,” where speech became unnecessary, where a temporary stay became… longer, where you one day realised that .
November 2, 2023
A fantastic, dread-inducing read that sweeps you into a nightmarish, alternate reality in only a matter of pages. Bird’s writing is smooth, detailed, and full of character. HIDEAWAY captivated me from intriguing start to gut-churning finish.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews