First published 1992
A professor cannot escape the voice of his deceased colleague, whose unwavering beliefs now torment the living man's mind. Elsewhere, a tutor faces a terrible revelation when an eight year old child confides a secret about death that no child should carry. Aunt Selena's performing bear returns from the grave, defying the natural order that should keep the dead buried. These supernatural encounters blur the boundaries that separate existence from extinction. The living meet the dead in ordinary settings where the impossible becomes real. A. L. Barker's ghost stories question whether good and evil can be clearly distinguished, whether the animate and inanimate occupy separate realms, and whether death truly ends our influence on the world. Each tale brings the otherworldly into familiar spaces, forcing characters to confront mysteries that reason cannot explain.
Genres: fiction, 20th-century, horror, ghost-stories, 21st-century, academic
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, thought-provoking
Tropes: the-supernatural, unreliable-narrator
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
170 pages · Paperback · Vintage
Content warnings: death