Doorways in the Gloom

By Dawn Vogel

Doorways can lead to many marvelous places. In this collection, however, the scenes they reveal are shrouded in gloom and darkness. See where the doorways take you in flash fiction, poetry, and two short stories at the darker end of the spectrum.

• Language: English
• Publisher: DefCon One Publishing
• Release date: Apr 12, 2022
• ISBN: 9780463991763

Dawn Vogel

Dawn Vogel has been published as a short fiction author and an editor of both fiction and non-fiction. Her academic background is in history, so it’s not surprising that much of her fiction is set in earlier times. By day, she edits reports for historians and archaeologists. In her alleged spare time, she runs a craft business, helps edit Mad Scientist Journal, and tries to find time for writing. She lives in Seattle with her awesome husband (and fellow author), Jeremy Zimmerman, and their herd of cats.

Book preview

Doorways in the Gloom

Dawn Vogel

Coffin Coffee Table and Definitely Not Haunted are copyright 2019.

A Modern Mary Shelley is copyright 2020.

Just Smile is copyright 2021.

All other stories and poems are copyright 2022.

All rights reserved.

Cover art photo by Ryan Gerrard on Unsplash. Cover layout by Dawn Vogel.

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Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of these authors.

Table of Contents

Content Notes

A Modern Mary Shelley

Swamp Witch

Coffin Coffee Table

The Briar Princess

What Will Happen Next

The Thing in the Swamp

Beach Day

Swing

Dangers of the Deep

Darkened Souls

The Sun Has Shunned Us

If the Light is Constant

Dark Readings

Lost Skulls

The House Provides

Definitely Not Haunted

The Elves on Solstice

Rory

15 Ghosts

Just Smile

About the Author

Content Notes

Many of the stories and poems within this collection include references to death. Some also include references to blood. In general, these are not graphic references. Additional specific content notes for some stories and poems are included below.

A Modern Mary Shelley includes body mutilation.

Swamp Witch includes implied animal death.

Coffin Coffee Table includes a physical, non-sexual violation of consent and an IV needle.

The Briar Princess includes unintentional self-harm.

The Thing in the Swamp references human sacrifice.

If the Light is Constant references mental illness and institutionalization.

The House Provides includes physical harm coming to children.

Definitely Not Haunted references animal death.

The Elves on Solstice includes non-graphic cannibalism.

Rory references child loss.

Just Smile includes body mutilation and implied cannibalism.

Thanks to Kelsey Dawn Scott and Rohit Kadam for reviewing and suggestion additional content notes.

A Modern Mary Shelley

Mary's the sort of girl most people don't really notice. She sits in the back of the classroom, always scribbling in her notebook. She sits by herself at lunch, though you're not sure she eats, because she's still writing while the chaos of the cafeteria swirls around her.

You track her down on social media, picking her out among all the other Mary S. accounts. She only posts beautiful things, but if you dig a little farther, you realize they're both beautiful and morbid—skulls and bones and decay, carefully arranged into something lovely.

She's got quite the following online, other artists like her, all with the same aesthetic. The compliments they pay each other read like poetry, and you lose yourself in their world for a little while.

Mary shies away from you the first time you say hello. She's not accustomed to people being friendly to her, nor is she much of a conversationalist. But she'll listen as you talk, prodding you to continue with appropriate nods and sympathetic noises. You've tried just sitting in silence in her presence, but her pen is always rasping over paper when she's not expected to participate in something, and even sometimes when she is.

You invite her over for dinner, because that's what new friends do, even if it means exposing her to your family and siblings. You hope they'll be on their best behavior if you bring home a guest. But it doesn't come to pass, because she demurs, citing other plans.

She never invites you over to her house. Maybe her family is worse than yours.