Sunday, 4 October 2020

The Shooting of Achnaleish

I thought I would quickly give a reading suggestion for everybody here who is doing the countdown to Halloween. This is a short horror story (or ghost story as they were labeled back then) by E.F. Benson, a writer I am slowly starting to discover and so far I am really impressed. I can even say that I have been pleasantly spooked. So anyway, one of the horror stories I have really enjoyed of him is The Shooting of Achnaleish. Without giving too much away, it starts with Englishmen and women going on a hunting trip in mysterious and eerie Scotland. Well, in a mysterious and eerie part of Scotland, the small village of Achnaleish. Things quickly take a dramatic turn. The story is a proof that you do not need a big monster with fangs and claws to create terror. Sometimes, all you need is a few superstitious and suspicious villagers, some old folklore about witches and... black hares. Anyway, tell me what you thought of it in the comments.

1 comment:

  1. It was interesting but I kind of wished that snotty entitled Englishman had gotten his comeuppance. It also made me a little sick to my stomach - the description of how many animals they slaughtered in one morning in the name of sport. It was well written however.

    ReplyDelete