"The Family Buried" by W.R. Parrish

“I am recording this for two reasons.  The first: so you understand…And second: to preserve”.  This is where “The Family Buried” by W.R. Parrish, tells us the reason for this short story.  And yet, it is so vague, as to entice reader to read on about the account of a man.  A lonely man, whose sanity is in question very early in the story.    The story is based on a single character who finds a dreadful secret about his family; a secret so gruesome as to drive any normal man to the brink of insanity.   “ …I’d been led to the container by mysterious circumstances.”  

The style of this story is no different from “One Day in October”, a novel written by Mr. Parrish.  It is full of metaphors that describe the surroundings so well, that the reader can see in their mind’s eye, feel, taste, hear, and smell what our character experiences. This narrative left me with the same feeling of dread that the character felt, which only goes to show how well Parrish writes. 

 In his background, he has a mixture of religion and a love of horror movies, both of which are prevalent in his writing.  Although I am not a fan of the horror genre, I am a fan of Mr. Parrish, and I would read anything that he wrote.  “The Family Buried” is 20 pages long and a tale that reads very fast.  One warning:  do not read at night!