A while back I talked about an upcoming anthology with a new short story of mine, “The Breaker Boy.” Well, the anthology is here and you’ve got a great chance to pick one up.

The anthology is Undead Appalachia: The New Voices of Folk Horror from the fine folks at Brood XIV Books.

I

went searching for something different around which to base this story. I didn’t want to do a typical “undead” situation like, say, zombies (done that!). I wound up learning about creature from Latvian folklore called a lietuvēns.

It’s a ghost, of sorts, a restless spirit. What really intrigued me was that it was linked to sleep paralysis, the terrifying condition where you’re basically awake in a body that’s asleep and unable to move (one explanation for a lot of the regular symptoms of alien abduction stories). It likes to get up on your chest and keep you from breathing. There can also be audio or visual hallucinations. In other words, pretty damned scary!

The Latvian aspect appealed, as well, as Latvians were among those who came to West Virginia in the late 19th/earth 20th century as the coal mines were booming. The idea of some secret knowledge inside a coal camp provided a basis for the story. A breaker boy was a boy (yes, a child) who processed coal on a conveyer belt outside the mine. Many died or were maimed in machinery accidents.

The main character, Lucy, moves to a new coal town with her husband, an overseer for the mine. She’s quickly set upon by something frightening and mystifying. Here’s a taste:

Lucy was awake. She knew that, but it didn’t feel like she was awake. Her eyes were open, but she couldn’t blink. Her arms, laying by her side on the bed, were like heavy lead weights and could not be moved. Her legs felt just the same. It was as if someone had locked her in her own body.

She tried to speak, to wake Cullen, who lay with his back next to her. No matter what she tried, she couldn’t call out.

Then she stopped breathing.

It was as if her throat was collapsing and she was unable to get any air into her lungs. She gasped, trying with all her might just to take a breath.

As she struggled, that’s when she saw him. It looked like a child, a young boy, dressed in shredded and worn grey clothing. He was on top of her, straddling her, pressing her down, but he was also barely there, like fog hanging around at dawn. His lips were moving, but all Lucy could hear was a groan, weak and guttural.

Cullen must have seen him! He was awake, now, and furiously shaking her. The boy melted away, into the darkness of the room. Lucy’s body slowly relaxed and she started swaying in her husband’s hands.

She was able to blink again, to move. She sat up and clutched at her husband.

“Are you all right, love?” he asked. “What happened?”

“There was something,” she said, fighting through tears, “someone. On the bed, on top of me!”

Cullen turned and looked out into empty house.

“Please check,” she said, begging him to believe her. “Please, Cullen. I’m so scared.”

Cullen left her in bed, lit a lantern, and went out into the house. He came back in a few moments. “Nothing there, love. All the doors are locked, windows closed.” He paused. “Are you sure you saw something?”

For more, you’ll have to get the anthology! It’s available as a paperback here and here and as an ebook here (in multiple formats). But the best place to get it is at Cicada Books & Coffee on October 17:

More details here. Normally I’d take part but I’m otherwise committed, but don’t let that stop you!