Summer Stories 2023: Ghost Stories

Now in its 10th year, The Spokesman-Review's Summer Stories series is getting spooky. Ghost Stories will feature works by acclaimed regional writers Shawn Vestal, Tiffany Midge, Sam Ligon, Sharma Shields, Bruce Holbert and Jamie Ford. This year's series, which runs through Labor Day weekend, will feature four first-time Summer Series participants: Edgar Award-winning writer Tamara Berry, Lisa Gardner, April R. Eberhardt and Jackson Holbert, whose debut poetry collection, "Winter Stranger," won the Max Ritvo prize from Milkweed Press.

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Latest Stories

‘The Angel Bryce’

By Shawn Vestal

Jacob wakes with a start, sits up and kicks off the covers. Something has roused him, but he can’t tell what. He twists his fists against his eyes and listens to the night – the wind in the trees, a car somewhere, the summer darkness like a …
‘Will There Be Any Unusual Side Effects?’

By Tiffany Midge

The last time I saw my mother alive she hadn’t been entirely, well … alive. My auntie had conveyed this with an authority risen from experience, having taken care of other people through their ends of life. She was no stranger.
‘General’s Ghost’

By Lisa Gardner

“Not in the house; he has to stay in the garage!”

That was the rule for our new puppy, General. He was technically my Uncle’s puppy – a full-bred boxer. I didn’t like dogs and agreed with my grandmother’s rule: the dog must stay outside.
‘He’s Gone’

By Samuel Ligon

My father suffered a massive heart attack at the Bell Rock vortex in Sedona, a fantastic upflow site according to my mother. He was only 87. “It must have been the energy from the vortex,” my mom said.

“That killed him?” I said.

“That comforted him,” Mom …
‘Natural Causes’

By Tamara Berry

Until recently, arriving at the scene of a death was always my favorite part of being a Reaper. There was something so exciting – so full of possibility – about all that fresh grief and empty flesh. Why, the soul in my charge could belong to anyone. …
‘Tips for Sharing a Home with a Ghost’

By Sharma Shields

When you first notice your ghost’s presence – the jagged crying, the whirl of a lace skirt in the corner of a room, the sudden, overwhelming smell of rosewater and blood – remain openminded. Offer your ghost a gift, a piece of costume jewelry, a polished stone, …
‘The Callback: Black Butterfly’

By April Rivers Eberhardt

On a brisk February morning, I attempted a morning workout on the treadmill. In routine fashion, I turned on my cellphone to get my music ready when a deluge of Facebook notifications poured onto my screen. I was being summoned to call home.
"It’s your mother.”

…
‘Leviathan’

By Bruce Holbert

I am not sure if I exist now in the ether or surrounded by brimstone. The latter seems more likely. My sins outnumber my virtues. If it were this act or that habit that put me in error, I could have corrected my course, but I was …
‘Leviathan’

By Jackson Holbert

I can hear him in the quiet moments, when everyone has crouched down to light their fireworks. I had been hearing something like his voice for most of the day, which is why I came out to the dam – to drown it out. I wasn’t particularly …
‘Porta Infernus’

By Jamie Ford

F. Lewis Clark had been married to his beautiful wife Winifred for 18 years, and in that time, she’d never once been faithful. You see, Winifred was an artist, who’s favored medium was infidelity – who’s canvases were the finest sateen sheets, as she dabbled in exotic …