CRAWLSPACE is
a punchy short story about a man with an unloving, nagging wife and a secret
girlfriend. His wife agrees to get out of his hair for a week so he can sort
out the crawlspace which is causing the house to rot - but Tom has other ideas.
He intends to get the crawlspace sorted in one day, and then get his lover -
Miranda - over for a week of blissful sex. But when he gets into the tiny,
smelly, freezing space under the house, someone shuts the heavy steel door, and
he is trapped.
This story is very effective and well written. I felt
sorry for Tom, trapped in the crawlspace for a potentially infinite amount of
time, in the intense chilliness of the space with no food or light (who knows
what might be down there with him, in the inky darkness). Light’s skilful
writing creates a terrifying sense of intense claustrophobia, suffocation and
panic; I felt as though I was trapped in the crawlspace with Tom, stuck in the
cramped, smelly tomb, filled with mud and spiders (amongst other nasty things), in the pitch dark.
I’m sure some people would say that Tom deserved what he
got, but not me. I felt the author displayed him in a sympathetic light, rather
than someone who was getting his just desserts for cheating. I wanted him to
escape and exact grisly revenge. I really enjoyed this short story and I will
definitely read more by this author in the future; it is perfect if you want an
incredibly quick, grisly, and satisfying horror.
Rating: 8/10
I've had this on my TBR shelf for a while. Great review! Now I need to get around to reading it.
ReplyDeleteI think you would like it; it's perfect when you want a quick horror fix!
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