“The Dead Children” is a short-story from Sabina Murray’s excellent collection of Gothic/Horror tales entitled Muckross Abbey and Other Stories. Murray really understands Gothic. The contemporary writer I would most compare her to Susan Hill. She is that good.

At a quiet Vermont college Professor Judith is stopped by a woman she initially doesn’t recognize. Eventually she learns that the woman is Mrs. Begley, the mother of Judith’s long-dead childhood friend, Emma, who perished in Australia four decades ago.

Though a wave of chilling dread washes over her, Judith agrees to answer Mrs. Begley’s questions about Emma’s death. What begins as an inquiry soon descends into a disturbing interrogation, spiraling into a nightmarish confrontation involving a homemade Ouija board, a terrifying encounter with a disturbed nun, and the unsettling return of buried secrets.

“The Dead Children” is easily one of the creepiest stories I have read in a long time. It hit all the right chords: perfect Gothic-tone, Ouija board/seance, childhood ghosts, creepy nuns. I give it my highest recommendation. It is the perfect story for a dark, October evening.