The Man on the Stairs and More Strange Stories

By Edward Farber

A quartet of mystifying stories by master story-teller, Edward Farber, each exploring the unexplainable. In brief but enjoyable reads, you will find yourself in an old, decaying plantation house at midnight where the impossible happens, peer into a mirror with strange consequences, discover an old journal that defies rational explanation, and visit with Madame Pompadour, infamous mistress of King Louis XV, of France in a baffling encounter. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Timberwood Press
• Release date: May 11, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393854296

Book preview

The Man on the Stairs

And More Strange Stories

Edward Farber

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters,

places, and events are the product of the author's

imagination, or used fictitiously.

Copyright © Edward Farber, 2021

All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof,

may not be reproduced in any form

without permission except for a reviewer

who may quote brief passages in a review.

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What Readers Have Written about

The Man on the Stairs and More Strange Stories

THE STORIES WERE INTERESTING, although the book was short. The short stories were mainly about someone being about the wrong place in history. The author has written many books, on a range of subjects, so it might be worth while to look into the others.  D.L. Kelly

Quick easy read. Stories were entertaining. I would recommend this collection and look forward to reading more from this author. Kym

"This is a collection of short stories with a gothic haunted flare to them. Each one is intriguing and takes us on a lovely journey. The writing style is beautiful and explorative, creating some interesting situations. It's a quick read at only 40 pages...Siobhan Falan

DEAR READER,

Your review of The Man on The Stairs and More Strange Stories would be greatly appreciated. It need not be long or scholarly, just your honest opinion about the book. To submit your review, return to where you purchased this book and follow their directions for submitting a review. Thank you.

Contents

The Man on the Stairs

The Mirror

The Journal of Nathaniel Goodwin

Madame Pompadour’s Bracelet

The Man on the Stairs

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I HAVE NEVER TOLD A soul what really happened to Frank Dent the night he disappeared. If I had, they would have considered me a candidate for a lobotomy, or at the very least, thought my imagination was in overdrive. Everyone in town believed Frank ran away. He was planning to do just that. I know. I was with him on that night many years ago.

We were walking along the old gravel road at the south end of town headed for the Beauchamp house where Frank intended to hide out until he could slip away. The creepy Beauchamp house. While growing up and filled with the round-eyed gullibility of youth, I had been convinced that the Beauchamp place was haunted. It certainly looked haunted, even in daylight—a deserted, decaying, former plantation-house that had seen its glory years before the Civil War. Now, as we approached the old ruin in the darkness, the childhood stories I had heard about it kept bubbling up, chipping away at my teenage bravado.

Man, cops or no cops, you couldn’t get me to stay there tonight, I said.

Al, you know I have to. I can’t go home, and I can’t walk the streets. It’s the only place I can think of to hide. I’ll get away tomorrow before daylight and leave town, Frank said.

What a bummer. Just because they found pot in your locker, I offered as a form of comfort. After all, Frank was my friend, and I had been the one to warn him that the sheriff was after