Sob in the Silence

Publication(s)

  • First publication
    • Strange Birds, 2006
  • Anthologies
    • The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror: Volume Eighteen, 2007
    • The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 2007: Twentieth Annual Collection, 2007
    • The Best Science Fiction And Fantasy of the Year: Volume One, 2007

Summary

A horror writer kidnaps the young daughter of guests at his home, and throws her into an abandoned well in hopes of breaking her will and enslaving her. But when he climbs down into the muddy well himself to get her out, vengeful spirits strike back.

Analysis

  • The title is from Elizabeth Barrett Browning's poem The Cry of the Children: "But the child's sob in the silence curses deeper than the strong man in his wrath."
  • The name Kiara is of Irish origin and means "dark."
  • The ugly yellow stucco walls are like the walls around the house in The Same Dog by Robert Aickman.

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