In the shadows she lingers,
A ghostly form that haunts my dreams,
Her name is whispered on the breeze,
A spectral presence that reigns supreme.
Her long dark hair, a blood stained dress,
Her piercing eyes, a haunting stare,
A chill runs down my spine,
As I feel her ghostly presence there.
Her name is Lisa, so they say,
A ghost girl with a tragic past,
Her spirit wanders through the night,
A memory that will forever last.
What happened to her, no one knows,
But her ghostly form remains,
A haunting reminder of the past,
A presence that forever remains.
So if you see her in the night,
This ghost girl named Lisa,
Remember her tragic story,
And the pain that she has suffered.
Antique store owner Liz brings home a Victorian taxidermy hound from auction, unwittingly unleashing dark forces on her wife and son.
*****
Nat Loman has finally married the love of her life, Liz, and is getting used to her role as stepmother to Liz's 5-year-old son, Liam. The Loman family runs a bustling antique business so they attend a sale where a striking, black taxidermied hound is up for auction. Liz picks it up for the business, but it ends up being stored in their home, where Nat notices strange things occurring. She quickly discovers the past residents had died violently. Then she hears from a friend about the myth of "the devil's dog", a hound that perches in the shadows, tearing families apart from the inside. Soon, people around the Lomans are dying, and Liz is changing, darkening. It's up to Nat to save the woman she loves from the darkness closing in, and to save Liam from danger no matter what she has to sacrifice.
[[Winner of the 2018 Wattys "Hidden Gems" category]]
[[word count: 60,000-70,000 words]]