Night Night (A Short Horror Story)

By R. H. Dixon

A short horror story of 3600 words.

On Monday night Faye finds that her mattress is broken. She doesn't know how it happened, it was fine the night before.

When she buys a new mattress from a backstreet bed shop, awful things she could never have imagined begin to emerge. Things that make her flesh crawl.

Can she possibly make a horrific situation work to her advantage? Or is the cosy life she was used to over for good?

• Language: English
• Publisher: R. H. Dixon
• Release date: Apr 5, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524260293

R. H. Dixon

R. H. Dixon is a horror enthusiast who, when not escaping into the fantastical realms of fiction, lives in the northeast of England with her husband and two whippets. When reading and writing she enjoys exploring the darknesses and weaknesses within the human psyche, and she loves good strong characters that are flawed and put through their paces. Her favourite authors include: Shirley Jackson, John Ajvide Lindqvist, Joe Hill, Susan Hill and Ramsey Campbell.

Book preview

Exclusive Offer! FREE copy of Dempsey’s Demons HERE

Big marshmallow creations lay scattered about inside the shop. Some propped against the walls and others lying flat. Some exposed and others adorned in neutral cottons and deep satins. Faye could imagine how comfy they would be to lie on, unlike her own mattress. She rubbed her back. How it had happened, how the mattress had ended up in such a state, was all quite bizarre. On Sunday night when she’d gone to bed everything had been fine, but somewhere between Monday morning and Monday night that had all changed. Suddenly bed springs were poking through the sateen fabric, biting tender skin, bruising. She’d called to Neil, and he’d come upstairs to have a look. He’d scratched his head in bewilderment, eventually offering to sleep on the couch if she wanted to use his side of the bed instead. But she soon discovered that his side was no better than hers. In the end, she’d slept on the couch and Neil had made do with the floor. The sleeping arrangement wouldn’t do for another night. They needed a new mattress as a matter of urgency.

In recent weeks, on her way to and from work each day, Faye had noticed a new bed and mattress store called Sleep Rite, down a side street near to where she and Neil lived. Hoping to buy a mattress and have it delivered that same evening, she dropped by on her way home. Chimes above the shop door ting-a-linged, a soft dream-catcher sound, when she entered and panpipe music played from speakers somewhere above. There was a sweet and pleasant smell, like Battenberg cake, hanging in the air. Faye pressed against a mattress to her right to test its spring-ability and caught the eye of the shop assistant.

‘Evening,’ the shop assistant said, flashing a smile and making her way over.

The other woman’s gait was slow and goose-like, Faye thought. She looked to be in her late-fifties, had a slender face, large pinked lips, small dark eyes and, although her arms and midriff were slender,