

Title: Scairt
Author: Alison Littlewood
In: The Mammoth Book of Ghost Stories by Women (Marie O’Regan)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Ghosts, Horror
Dates read: 7th November 2020
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: Robinson
Year: 2010
5th sentence, 74th page: Away from the path the ground was covered in little mounds, old branches maybe, covered in moss and tight, star-shaped leaves.

She’s moved from her home to Scotland with her grandparents after tragedy struck. But will a walk in the woods lead to another tragedy?

Scairt started out a little bit creepy. And I had this horrible, uneasy feeling from the very beginning. But that slowly disappeared as the story unfolded. And eventually there was a really nice happy ending to the story. Not something that happens often in ghost stories. Or at least, not in my experience.
I love that the ghost in this story was actually protective. Maybe not what you would consider good… but it was most certainly protective. And it was this protective nature that lead to the happily ever after in this story.
Partnering a ghost story featuring children and tragedy with the beauty and eeriness of Scotland worked fantastically. I loved this whole setting and story. It was completely brilliant and a heck of a lot of fun.
3 thoughts on “Scairt by Alison Littlewood”