Willy and Marianne recently moved to Hobomeck, a small town in Maine where religious folk are known as Sin-Planters, which is not creepy at all. One of the locals loans Willy an antique baby carriage so he can cart his groceries home. Also not creepy.
“Leave it here,” she said, her voice a kind of angry whisper. “Just leave it.”
Before long, Willy begins to hear a baby in the carriage, a baby that doesn’t exist.
Although I’ve had good intentions for years, this was my first Joe Hill read. It was easy to get into and I enjoyed the growing dread as the story progressed.
Willy’s story highlights, in a way that only horror can, that when resentment and grief are allowed to fester, it can result in something, well, not great. I was convinced I could hear the sound effects associated with the body horror.
One of my favourite bookish things, accidental learning, came into play here. I’m loving learning more about the Ship of Theseus.
I already own a bunch of Joe Hill books. I think it’s about time for a binge.
Content warnings include miscarriage.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for the opportunity to read this short story.
Once Upon a Blurb
A husband’s obsessive desire for a child leads to an unexpected manifestation of his yearning in a nightmarish short story about fatherhood dreams by New York Times bestselling author Joe Hill.
Willy and Marianne’s farmhouse in Maine has acres of meadow and fresh air, and a lonesome bridle path in the forest along which Willy daydreams and ambles. When he’s loaned a decrepit old baby stroller to cart his groceries home, the rickety squeak of the wheels comforts him. So do the sweet coos of a baby Willy knows can’t be real. Can it? In this twisted thicket, wishes come true — with a price.
Schizanthus Nerd 