Among Strangling Roots

A dark fairy tale in a modern German setting. After inheriting her mother's dilapidated farm, Marion suffers nightmare visions and a monster from old nursery tales that stalks her daughter in the fields. When Marion returns to the house she grew up in, she is haunted by her past and her own inability to connect with her eight-year-old daughter, Lilli. As her mind unravels, Marion finds herself plagued by waking nightmares and visions of the Rye Aunt: a terrifying, tar-stained shadow that stalks the fields and steals away naughty children. This is a standalone tale of about 7,500 words, and is the fourth installment in the Dark Folklore series. Content warning: please be advised, this story contains reference to child abuse, mental illness, postnatal depression, and substance abuse.