In “Midnight Picnic,” a young man named Bram comes upon the bones of a child behind his home in West Virginia. Shortly thereafter, the ghost of the boy appears demanding that Bram help him carry out revenge against his murderer. The death of the boy’s killer is only the beginning, as Bram and the ghost enter an eerily stark borderland between death and the afterlife.
Flashbacks seen through Bram’s eyes reveal startling truths about the lives of the boy and his killer, while a mysterious visitor attempts to contact Bram and stop him from becoming forever lost in a place where he doesn’t belong.
“Midnight Picnic” is one of the most genuinely haunting stories I’ve read in years. A darkly beautiful tale of love, loss, and loneliness. Antosca is definitely an author I’m going to be keeping my eye on in the future.
<a href="” target=”_blank”>”Midnight Picnic” is the winner of the 2009 Shirley Jackson Award for Best Novella. It was published by Word Riot Press.
Filed under: Ian Rogers, The Biblio-Files
