In the short story “Haunted Memories” by Heather Smith in the October 2011 issue, she talks about fear. She just moved back into her former house that her mom and her mom’s boyfriend lived in. They had been in a car accident and died, and now she has to look over the house until her other family members arrive. In that time, she experiences haunted memories of her childhood. As she remembers, there is a lady that comes and haunts her as she is trying to sleep. The whole short story states background information and her encounter with past fears.
I felt as if Heather Smith wrote a very realatable, descriptive, and suspenseful yet entertaining piece. She uses a lot of details, which creates imagery in her story. It is almost like I am in the room with her as she experiences this event. She explains both her past memories of this fearful lady and her new encounter with her as well. She uses great details such as “The last time I say her, her hair was black, instead of her usual auburn beauty, and her eyes were blood red.” Also, “Now her skin was sickly green, and flaking, revealing an ugly black underneath.” My favorite part of her short story is her word choice. She uses words to help the reader understand and visualize the story as it goes on. Pieces such as “electric yellow” “…with red pupils staring into my soul” describing the eyes of the lady. Overall the story is excellent with every detail wrote.