Strange Rogue Beasts

By Jessica Ripley

Set in a 1920s institution, Gina's insomnia has her witnessing strange happenings at night. Is it her imagination, or is someone playing a Halloween prank on the ladies inside?

 

Gina's about to find out about that paranormal creatures really exist… namely, werewolves.

 

A historical horror mystery short story originally published in the Shifting Shards anthology. It has been lightly revised and edited, but the core story remains the same.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Eighth Ripple Press
• Release date: Oct 15, 2019
• ISBN: 9781989565117

Book preview

1

It was dark out. Quiet. Still. I could stare up at the crystal, black sky, and see the ocean of stars that went on forever, like tiny, sparkling diamonds. Around me, I could still make out the trees and the spread of lush grass. It’s amazing that this feeling of profound freedom only comes to me when I’m in my safe place, the Shiloah Institution for Women.

You wouldn’t know this place was any type of institution if you weren’t told so. From the outside, it just looks like a large accommodation, like a governor’s mansion or something. If you ran into us while we were gardening or enjoying a cool glass of lemonade you would think we were just sweet ladies enjoying a day outdoors together; not women who, for some reason or another, couldn’t be part of normal society and were sent away to get better.

Some of us really did need to get better, physically. Tuberculosis was still a problem here in the twenties, even though rumor has it that France had found some sort of vaccine for it. That didn’t matter much for the poor delicate souls who ended up here to take in the warmth and the rest. Five of the women here had the illness, and they mostly stayed off to themselves so as to not infect the rest of us. I could just imagine how much they wanted to get home to their families. Nevertheless, I felt envy toward them because, unlike those of us who were addled with diseases of the mind, those with diseases of the body would likely become whole again and get back to a normal life. For the rest of us, there was no guarantee that whatever was wrong in our minds could ever be fixed.

I was still looking up at those sparkling stars when I heard it. The psst sound that drew my attention down from the sky to the ground, as it told me that he made the trip up the mountain from the mine just to see me again. My beau, Robert. I smiled and waved down at him, and he waved back, his hat in his hands. How are you tonight, Gina? he asked me.

As well as ever, thanks to seeing you. I meant what I said. If ever there was hope for me in the world, it’s with Robert. When I was with him, I felt happiness, and I felt like life was manageable. It only lasted so long though, before my thoughts started rushing and my fear of everything around me started again. It wasn’t fair for Robert to try to be the one to save me. Which is why I liked being in the institution. It kept Robert safe from what was ailing me.

I took our nightly meetings as a gift, the best kind of gift a girl could ask for, and I drank in his