![]() ![]() "The Striding Place" by Gertrude AthertonĪvailable to read for free, online here. ![]() It's concise, nicely paced, and it doesn't take long at all to read. "The Pale Man" is one of my favorite Mini Macabre stories I found in 2016 (the other being "Oh, Whistle and I'll Come to You, My Lad" from last week). But, then, perhaps his smile was meaningless after all and only ambiguous by chance, like that of the Mona Lisa. He acted as if there were between us some secret that I failed to appreciate. ![]() I can not but believe that he meant it to have some significance. He favored me with a smile whose meaning I have tried in vain to decipher. It's easy to relate to the character, as I think we all tend to notice those who look a bit odd wherever we happen to be. I think what really makes this story shine is the fact that it's written in first person, and the personable writing style. The Plot: A pale man is seen in a country hotel. However, given I did find this on a website touting it was one of nine scariest short stories (yes, I did find it scary, but the other ones weren't so scary), I knew there had to be a twist to it. There are reasonable explanations as to why a weirdly pale man might be residing in a hotel and changing rooms- he might be just strangely pale like yours truly. ![]() Page Count: Approximately 5 pages (takes about ten minutes to read) ![]()
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