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This is the first short story I wrote that I was actually proud of.  Before I wrote this story I’d written a lot of “starter” or “practice” short stories, along with a bunch of poetry.  These “starter” stories were frankly pretty lame, but they gave me an opportunity to practice a bit.  I started this particular short story around 1994 or 1995 but during the writing process I took some time off to focus on my band.  Once the band broke up I used the opportunity to refocus on my writing again.  I ended up finishing this story in September of 1997.

The synopsis:

Sarah McClure is a young, unhappy woman with an overweight cheating husband, a crumbling marriage, and a bleak future.  Both she and her husband Kevin, an unsuccessful car salesman, are living in the old cottage Kevin’s late grandfather built near the edge of a vast and encroaching forest.  Sarah is strangely uncomfortable with the deep, dark woods; something about it just seems…wrong.  When Kevin leaves town for a few days Sarah is left alone in the house to discover that the forest holds a deadly secret she can’t even imagine.

My inspiration for this story was my own fear of the forest at night.  I love the woods but at night it becomes an all around different thing.  My mind wanders and creates a multitude of creatures that may or may not exist and may or may not want to kill and eat me.  I thought I’d translate that fear into something entertaining.

There’s a mildly amusing story around writing this piece.  While I was writing the “scary” parts, which would have been sometime in 1994 or 1995, I was still living with my parents.  I would have been around 20 or 21 years old then.  My parents were out of town so I was home alone.  I actually spooked myself a bit while writing and had to take a little break, turn on the television, and take my mind off it.  I’m not sure if that’s an objective measure of success, but it was proof enough to me that I’d made it scary enough for my taste.

You can download “The Forest” below.  Feel free to comment on what you thought and/or assign a rating you find appropriate.  I hope you like it.

  The Forest (204.3 KiB, 30 hits)

©1997, Brian James Jarrett

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