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David Perlmutter's avatar

This reminded me of Theodore Sturgeon's "It'" (not to be confused with Stephen King's) in its setting, characters and milieu,

Ricky Champagne's avatar

Nicely done. I could so clearly picture Elmer sitting on the porch in the rocking chair with the shotgun, just waiting. Full-on creepy.

Cassondra Tempest's avatar

Loved this. It reminded me of the river children story I read up on earlier in the year. The idea of these big eared menaces felt so creepy as they just linger and cause panic. Excellently done.

Waylon Graves's avatar

Thank you, Cassondra. Are the river children the same as the Ohio mud mermaids or is that a different tale?

Cassondra Tempest's avatar

I think they’re West Virginia based actually- you can read about them in ENCOUNTERS with Cryptids by Andrew Cull and Trevor Henderson. They did a cryptid compilation anthology with a lot of guest authors. Really good read.

Kayla Michelle Miller's avatar

This was amazingly well written and the content is right up my...holler! haha. Seriously, love this kind of stuff and it was neat learning about a legendary creature I've not yet heard of in my home state.

You should check out the Mushroom Mines legend if you haven't heard of it yet! I have been inside before it was closed off to visitors and it's a very creepy place. You could feel the dark energy there.

Waylon Graves's avatar

Glad you enjoyed the post. Mushroom Mines sound like a great subject for Eerie Appalachia. Thank you Kayla!

Logan Raith's avatar

The story rings a bell. I think I’ve come across this case before, but this was a well-written refresher. Love that art.