‘Thomas,’ Keziah whispered, ‘don’t bury me deep.’ Thomas’s life has changed in a few short days, and so has his beloved Keziah. After an attack one night, by a creature that shouldn’t exist, Keziah tries to prepare them both for what is to come, but can Thomas do his part? Can he make the right choice and live or die by the consequences?I can count on my two hands the number of short stories I’ve read in my life, and most of them were school curriculum selected. In general, they’re not my thing....

The first few paragraphs of Beneath the Willow were a little too poetically sentence structured for my tastes, perhaps to set an atmosphere through tone and description. (As if that sentence was any better) They didn't work for me, but the rest of the story did. Overall, this was a fairly standard vampire-type tale. What sets it apart is the mood and overall creepiness brought out by the author's well chosen words and slow-paced story. I mean that last bit in a good way. The pacing was perfect f...

Gemma Farrow’s ‘Beneath the Willow’ is a short, but eerily effective piece that draws to mind classic works from the likes of Poe and Blackwood, with its dark sombre settings and emotional themes.It is the tale of lovers Thomas and Keziah, their lives profoundly changed forever on a fateful night when a trip out to go clubbing for Keziah turns into something much more.It’s a vampire story, but it spurns the standard approach for such fare, instead cultivating and escalating tension, and making a...

A deft combination of short and scary“Beneath the Willow” is a creepy short story about a young man who loses his girlfriend to a vampire attack … or does he? Even though this is a short story, author Gemma Farrow manages to create an atmospheric and compelling narrative.While the very beginning may have belabored the grief of the main character, Thomas, it soon picks up and relates the events through a series of flashbacks inter-cut between current events that is very effective, and strings the...

A well written, intense, psychological short storyI have to say, this was a very good short story. I'm not a fan of short stories in general, but I was intrigued that this was a horror, and I was in need of some scary creepiness. That being said, Beneath the Willow imparts a psychological bang rather than a scare/shock/gore tactic which I appreciated. But geez, that under-the-bed scene made me freak a little! And I enjoyed seeing a story deviate from the normal scheme of vampire/zombie clichés (...

Beneath the Willow by Gemma Farrow is about the love that Thomas has for Keziah. He would do anything for her. But when a night out turns into a nightmare and she is bitten can he stand by her as she turns into a vampire? What she asks him to do next is even more horrifying, does he love her enough to do as she asks?Very well written and I was entranced from page one as the authors descriptions of her characters and the story-line brings you in quickly.This is not a long read but from beginning ...

MIND. BLOWN. Every time I tried reading short stories, they have always disappointed me. With undeveloped characters, misleading story and fast ending, I never found something that blows me away. Beneath the Willow is different. From the beginning I sensed the sadness, the love and the betrayal that Thomas experienced. His emotions that were mixed with terror and love were so overpowering, I couldn’t stop reading. "I'd be a mindless thing, Thomas. A screaming, violent thin...

Beneath the Willow is a short horror story that serves as a powerful reminder of what the genre is about. Horror stories should unsettle you, give you an uncomfortable feeling in your gut, and the author successfully accomplishes that. Gemma's story has all of the elements of good horror. As you uncover more and more of the event taking place, the protagonist's feelings for what he's lost make it impossible for him to turn back, as he heads toward the inevitable. So what is it about? It is a vam...

A short horror story written to keep you reading and wondering how it ends. It's a story of love, horror and the ultimate test of faith in that love.Writing a short story can be more difficult than you think because you have to tell a compelling story, limit any excursions or deep details, and yet propel the characters forward to a speedy ending that the reader will remember and enjoy.Some authors have an ability to do just that, and do it well. Gemma is one of them. I am not much of a reader fo...

This very entertaining short story captivated me and I will surely be reading more from this author. It had just the right amount of suspense and made me think on what I might do if I were in Thomas's position. I feared for Thomas but at the same time I felt so bad for Kaziah! It is so hard for me to speak without spoiling it for the next reader! So, I leave you with this... Awesome job, this is a story I would recommend to horror fans and I for one will be searching out more of Miss Farrows sto...