Fear of the Dark

Fear of the Dark 

Fear of the Dark is the latest short story to cross my path, and it was an interesting one, to say the least. I found I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected to, especially with such limited information about it when I started reading. 

“It was like I was asleep, but awake at the same time. Strange when that happens.” 

Orlando Rodrigues, Fear of the Dark

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Have you read Fear of the Dark from author Orlando Rodrigues? Come on in and let me tell you about it! 

About Fear of the Dark 

A writer takes refuge in a country house to finish her book. Everything seemed ideal, until dreams and nightmares took over her mind. 

Thoughts on Fear of the Dark 

“There was a lot of blood on the track. Another car started to burn, while its occupants creamed desperately to get out of the wreckage that held them. I panicked and accelerated. I felt the impact of the car passing over that decapitated body.” 

Orlando Rodrigues, Fear of the Dark

When I read about this short story, my first thought was something like the movie Secret Window, and it certainly captured my attention. There was very little information regarding it, just a single two star rating, with no actual review. It made me curious! 

“The bloodied man who punched the driver’s door window suddenly appeared in front of me. I braked sharply, but I couldn’t stop the car and ran over it.” 

Orlando Rodrigues, Fear of the Dark

Fear of the Dark is a short story, at just fourteen pages long, that I read this morning with my coffee. I am really grateful that I read it this morning and not before bed! This is the kind of story that nightmares come from, and happens to be the premise of the story. 

In this story, we meet an author who is traveling to a remote cottage for a long weekend to cure the writer’s block she is suffering from. Seems like an excellent idea to have a change of scenery and get the creative juices flowing again. 

“I found myself in the midst of everyone; my characters, the people in the accident, the stories told by my ancestors and the man who hit the window of my car, leaving it with bloodstains.” 

But then the nightmares start, and it is really hard to distinguish what is going on and what parts are her nightmares. That may have been the author’s intent, and it works quite well. I appreciated the mystery aspect of this short horror story. 

Final Thoughts on Fear of the Dark 

I’m kind of curious why this story was given a two star review with nothing written about it. I enjoyed it. It was simple, yet graphic and horrific, but what nightmare isn’t graphic and horrific? That’s the idea. 

If this was a full novel, there would be a lot lacking, but it certainly works well as a simple and short story, that I enjoyed more than I expected I would. 

If you want an interesting way to spend fifteen minutes of your day, this is an excellent way to do so, reading Fear of the Dark. I prefer a short story to mindlessly scrolling through social media, especially something like this where it keeps my attention, and also gets me thinking about nightmares and other things. 

Discussion 

Have you read Fear of the Dark or any other writing from Orlando Rodrigues? Are you a fan of short stories? Let me know your thoughts in the comments! 

About the Author 

Orlando Rodrigues is an administrator, with specialization in human resources and master in education with more than 40 years of professional activity in these areas. 

He is a coach, speaker, teacher, consultant and writer with published texts in the fields of fiction and non-fiction. 

Purchasing Fear of the Dark 

If you are interested in buying the Kindle version of Fear of the Dark, click here.

Click here for my favorite Kindle I currently own.

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