Edition Details:
Format : E-book
Page Count: 44
ASIN: B07NK6ZKBV
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| The Boggart by R J Stone |
First Sentence:
“Have you got your eyes closed?”
Story:
Rosebank Cottage in melby village had belonged to Jeff’s estranged father Arthur. So, when Arthur died it was Jeff who got to inherit it.
Jeff always wanted a life away from the hustle and bustle of the city and he knew this beautiful country house would be perfect for him and his family. And so, Jeff and his family decided to move here permanently.
But little did they knew that something else was also residing in their house.
Something sinister.
And it was waiting for them.
Main Characters:
Alice – The narrator of the story
Jeff – Alice’s husband
Polly- Alice’s and Jeff’s daughter
Arthur – Jeff’s father
Harry – Jeff’s friend
Tommy Rawlins – Local historian and local postman of Melby Village
Mathew – The police contstable
My View:
Boggart is a story by R J Stone. At 44 pages i think it’s more of a novellete than a short story. The story is based in a village of Yorkshire in England and is woven around England’s local folklore.
Boggarts are mythical creatures of English folklore which are supposed to live in marshes and wild places. They are supposed to be mischievous. If a Boggart is living in a house then it can cause various bad things to happen like milk turning sour, things missing from their places and dogs going lame. People of northern England also believe that naming a Boggart makes them vicious and so one must never name them. This story takes these local beliefs into account and is created around them.
Boggart basically is a haunted house story and i love reading haunted house stories. Home is something where you are supposed to feel safe. It’s a place where you generally let your guard down. And so a premise of this safe abode being infested with some evil presence, it may or may not be supernatural, is very scary and very thrilling at the same time. You are scared for the people who are in this situation and you want to see how they would survive this situation. I think this is what that attracts me towards such stories.
Boggart as a story begins nicely. You are pulled into it from the start. The characters are nicely drawn. There are one or two kooky characters that add that colour to the story. The village life is painted in such a way that you want to know more about it. And when creepy things start happening then you want to see where it would lead. The book holds your interest till the end.
I enjoyed reading it. I think what the story lags a little bit in is its ending. It’s like one moment creepy things start happening and then in the next moment everything is done. I wish author would have taken sometime to reach the end. He could have created an atmosphere of dread which he could have stretched for some time and then would have gone for the final shot. I would have liked that. I would have wanted the feeling of dread to linger for sometime.
Here i would like to mention that the author does say in the beginning that this is his first foray in to writing horror literature and for that i would say it’s a good story.
I would be looking forward to reading more works by the author in horror.
Rating: 2.5/5
You can get the book from the following link:
Kindle
Other novelette that i have read:
Novelette
I liked reading horror. Other works of horror that i have read:
Horror
© विकास नैनवाल ‘अंजान’
