Michael struggles to come to terms with the death of his wife. He has visions of her calling to him, inviting him to the beyond.
At the Bereaved Partners’ Group, he learns that he is not the only one left behind who can hear the departed beckon them… to the Mill.
A story about grief, guilt and coughing ghosts.
"The Mill" was originally published in the acclaimed Pendragon Press anthology "We Fade To Grey" (edited by Gary McMahon) and is now available in print and digital editions from Greyhart Press.
"One of the most moving pieces of writing I have read in a long time..."
- Mark Morris, author of "Toady" and "Vampire Circus", from the introduction
"West’s keenly felt prose brings the sorrow of the main character to compelling life and forces the reader to share in his desperation and recognise that our conditions for a happy ending may be different to his."
- Peter Tennant, Black Static
"The emotional content genuinely is moving and is never mawkish or sentimental and the conclusion fits in perfectly with - and is as moving as - everything that's gone before."
- Anthony Watson, Dark Musings
"THE MILL is a haunting tale about loss and grief and the lengths people might go to just to spend one more minute with their dearly departed. A ghost story in the Susan Hill mould, THE MILL is gentle in its writing, offering respect for the subject matter as opposed to continuosly heading for the gullet."
- Shaun Hamilton, at the Horrifically Horrifying Horror Blog
"West treats what could be difficult subject matter with a delicate, reverential touch and it shows. Subtle and affecting, this is a captivating read."
- Pablo Cheesecake, at The Eloquent Page
“…An amazing novellette that is packed with more emotion and feeling than you could imagine would be possible in a story of this length. The Mill cements Mark West's place in the ranks of the new wave of quality UK horror authors, who are turning out intelligent, thought provoking and extremely well written stories.”
- Jim Mcleod, Ginger Nuts Of Horror
"The Mill is a heartbreaking ghost story that has a freshness to it that raises it above the recognisable genre tropes that are inevitable in a gothic story of guilt and loss. The prose is a delight but ultimately it is the well developed characters which enable this story to tug at the heart-strings and ensure its place amongst the very best in the ghost story tradition."
- Ross Warren, This Is Horror
"West's writing had me turning the pages, but I also had to take breaks for fear my heart would shatter."
- Jennifer, The Book Den
"This one grabs your heart-strings and twists them like a knife."
- Matthew Fryer, Welcome To The Hellforge
"West convincingly writes about...grief and isolation - at times this was a heart-wrenching read, making its bleak atmosphere feel even more dark and unremitting."
- James Everington, Scattershot Writing
“It is eerie and sometimes chokes you up to read, but read it you should.”
- Peter Mark May, The Novel Blog
"THE MILL is a depressing yet eerie ghost story featuring some sharp writing and a dark yet comforting ending."
- Nick Cato, Antibacterial Pope
Available now
Paperback from amazon.com ($4.99) | amazon.co.uk (£3.75)
It's realy cool to see a blog who tell about short story of horror (sorry for my english, I'm french).
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