Matlock Cove

By D.F. Francischelli

After graduating from high school, two friends decide to go on a trip to Matlock Cove, Washington. Little do they know the dark secret that lurks below the surface of the lake the town sits on.

• Language: English
• Publisher: D.F. Francischelli
• Release date: Mar 26, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224006236

D.F. Francischelli

As a young adult pioneer in the field of writing, D.F. has been telling stories since he was a child. As a recent graduate of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program, he is using my knowledge to create masterful stories. His writing is influenced by a variety of sources, including his time in the states of Minnesota and Vermont. Growing up reading the works of R.L. Stine, H.P. Lovecraft, and Steven King promoted his love for horror and the paranormal in literature. Being a young adult himself, many of D.F.'s novels and short stories are based on middle-grade or teen protagonists!

Book preview

Matlock Cove.

It’s a nice name. It’s a name that reminds one of a quaint seaside town up north, nestled in the spot where pine forests overlook green waters. Matlock Cove is a name that conjures up smells of briny rotted docks and salty air combined with a moist, misty musk that hangs low. A name that, when heard, bathes your ears in audible sounds of seagulls cawing, waves crashing against a rocky coastline, and wooden planks creaking as townsfolk pass over them, discussing the weather. For the most part, the evoked vision of Matlock Cove is pleasant, if you fancy that sort of thing.

But not for me.

No, the name Matlock Cove doesn’t surface images of quaintness or faint salty scents. Whenever I see that name written in front of me the only images, sounds, and smells that entertain my head are blackness. The kind of blackness that suffocates your body and soul, the kind that death wishes it possessed. I only say these things because I know the truth, or at least the truths my mind is willing to comprehend.

Matlock Cove is only one thing to those who venture there: death.

My name is John Hawthorne, and I feel I have an obligation to tell my story regardless of outside opinion. To tell the story of what happened one hellish weekend at Matlock Cove.

THIS DEMENTED TALE began when my senior year had ended at Cedar Pryce High School in Chumley, Minnesota. I was finally liberated from the South Metro Public School District’s education system. Even though college was that coming fall, I still felt the freedom that came with graduating.

My closest friend, Jackson Williamson, also felt the same way; I know this because we discussed it often. He was my friend since first grade, and we were both eager to graduate and get out of the Midwest. During our seemingly endless senior year, the two of us debated what we would do the summer before