A woman, orphaned and divorced, goes to her father’s lake home, which has been empty for a long time; she spends a terrifying night hiding in a wardrobe.
Another story from “When Things Get Dark,” the collection of stories inspired by Shirley Jackson, this is an economical and tense sketch. It has some typical Jackson tropes – the empty house, the disquieting locals, the dark woods – and does a good job of keeping its central horror shrouded in mystery. There may be some hints as to what visited the house in the middle of the night, but they might be red herrings – nothing is resolved. This felt a bit like the first chapter of a novel that I’d enjoy reading.