“Trance” by Aleena Bright was a thrilling horror story that left me with the urge to know what happens next. It begins by describing a mysterious woman sitting in a room. She is acting carefree and extremely deceiving. She seems to be drunk, and proceeds to approach the narrator. They meet in the middle of the room and are in “the merciless dark of the evening” shortly after. The story comes to a close with a curiosity inducing cliffhanger.
The entire piece is written ominously descriptively, and it sets the mood for the ending. The line that I found most sinister was the final line, “And before I register it, her teeth sink easily into the side of my neck.” The way this line was written really delivered the full fright that this thriller was meant to deliver. This story definitely captures the Halloween spirit, and has an effect on the reader that very few pieces can achieve.