Lynn Combs

This is an expanded version of another contest winner, I Told Him To Take A Lantern.

Every guest who stays at Hollow Ridge Inn is told the same thing: when night falls, do not leave the porch without a lantern.

For twenty-five years, the innkeeper and his wife have kept the lights burning—vanilla and sage candles, steeped in old magic—to hold back what waits in the mist. Most visitors laugh off the warning. Some never laugh again.

When a restless young traveler named Jerry dismisses the legend, the night turns hungry, and the fog begins to stir. What follows is a chilling tale of loss, love, and the ancient shadow that feeds on the forgotten dead.

Because when the mist comes down from the hills, the living aren’t the only ones who walk the earth.

This Story took Third Place in the From Dusk To Dawn Contest at the 2025 OCW (Ozarks Creative Writers) Conference.