The Pealing was published online by Coffin Bell magazine.

Helen’s mother was a ghost during her final years of life: creaking around the house at midnight, whispering unintelligibly, unable to articulate her needs and desires. When she went into hospice, it was somehow worse. Helen had grown used to the creaks in the dark, and had taken comfort in the disquiet night. The silence of the dispossessed and un-haunted house was unsettling. When mother finally died, Helen hoped she’d return to the house wearing her white robe, filling the dark hours with whispers and finally allowing Helen a good night’s sleep, but she never did.

Read it in its entirety here.