You Know How the Story Goes by Thomas Olde Heuvelt


You Know How the Story Goes by Thomas Olde Heuvelt
Publisher: Tor Books
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Horror, Paranormal, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (32 pages)
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

It’s the same old story. Take a chance and pick up a hitchhiker. But only after midnight and only when you need some company. Of course, the hitchhiker will disappear. That’s the way the story goes, right? But this time you are the hitchhiker. And there’s a tunnel up ahead.

Be sure to lock all of the doors and windows before diving into this ghost story.

The unnamed main character was such a likeable guy. The fact that he ignored the little voice in his head that warned him not to get into the car with the person who offered him a ride was understandable. It’s something a lot of people would do if they’d been waiting for a ride for as long as he had been, and I couldn’t fault him for making a mistake there. What really endeared me to him was how he reacted once he realized just how much danger he was in. His response to that situation was perfect, and it also provided a nice contrast to the more naive side of his personality that he’d shown earlier.

I would have liked to see a little more time developing the backstory of the strange woman who picked up hitchhikers. She played such an important role in the main character’s horrifying experiences. The details the author shared about who and what she really was were chilling. Had there been more of them, I would have felt comfortable giving this tale a perfect rating. Everything else about it was perfect.

My favorite kind of horror is the type that isn’t gory at all. The author did an excellent job of scaring me by slowly revealing details of everything that was wrong with the hitchhiking situation the main character found himself in. There were so many small signs that something was seriously off about this ride that discovering them was all I needed to feel deeply afraid of what might happen next.

You Know How the Story Goes was one of the creepiest things I’ve read in a long time. I’d heartily recommend it to anyone who is in the mood to be frightened.

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