29 Comments
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Brenda - A Voice that Wonders's avatar

Oh this left a chill down my spine. Excellent write Gary….

Gary Mucklow's avatar

Thank you… also, sorry 😁

Tom Kewin's avatar

Well, tell her that Tom really liked it - and when she says "Who's Tom?", say don't worry about it. I think it's really sweet that you have your wife as part of the idea process. I might ask my partner, Becca, what she would like to see too. Almost like couple prompts hahaha!

Oh, brilliant - best of luck with the pitch. This definitely has some really good "moments" that you could see adapted.

I think that cats are certainly a staple of yours. I like it! Embrace the nonhuman!

Little Writing Corner's avatar

Very well done! Horror is something I usually recoil from but this just kept drawing me in. 😱 Great writing, Gary - all the very best with the opportunity. 👍

Gary Mucklow's avatar

Thank you. I appreciate it.

A Writer’s Voice's avatar

Wow! This was creepy as hell. I loved it. Great story!

Gary Mucklow's avatar

Thank you very much.

AutumnMelodies's avatar

This is awesome! I’m not normally a horror fan but I would definitely read more of your work

Judith Ashcraft's avatar

Wow, this was excellent. This ought to be published in print somewhere.

Gary Mucklow's avatar

Wow, really? Thank you for that endorsement.

I wrote it as a horror film idea for @Max Winter - happy to say it was selected, among several other great stories, to take back to his team.

One can only try and hope.

Coral Evermore's avatar

Dang Gary!! This was so well done!! I found myself recoiling and being left with a feeling of unease the whole time. The description of that thing in her house?? Disgusting in the best way possible!!

Gary Mucklow's avatar

Thanks Coral. Happy to have disturbed 😁

Ernie Lee's avatar

Very nice. Slowly and matuculously developed.

Gary Mucklow's avatar

Thank you Ernie.

Kelly Xan's avatar

Ah man, body horror scares the crap out of me, and this did not hold back on the terror. This was incredibly written, and well worth the sleepless nights I'll be having for a while.

Gary Mucklow's avatar

Apologies. Beware stray cats… 🐱

Levi Edwards's avatar

Threw me through a loop Gary! I loved it. I helplessly tried to figure out what was going on the whole time. Excellent horror, great job! 👍

Gary Mucklow's avatar

Thanks Levi, glad you enjoyed it.

Jon T's avatar

Great writing. Now I gotta use chitinous somehow too. Hrm.

Gary Mucklow's avatar

Haha, thank you.

Tom Kewin's avatar

This felt like something out of the New Weird subgenre - almost like I was reading Borne by Jeff VanderMeer. Whilst the titular Borne is more of an uneasy hybrid - a biotech assemblage, Moth is more eerie. I really enjoyed the speculative aspect of this. There are so many analogies I could draw to other writers - like M. T. Hill and his novel "Breach" - and they'd all be incredibly positive comparisons. Nonetheless, really enjoyed this - you're definitely delving into the liminal spaces between sci-fi and other genres. Also, really enjoyed the littering of cats in your work - it made me smile, in spite of the context herein.

Gary Mucklow's avatar

Thank you for that Tom, much appreciated.

To be totally transparent, my wife gave me the original concept for the story: she is a huge horror fan and I asked her what she would want to see in a movie.

I also used this as a pitch to a call for horror stories from a producer on here.

You noticed the cats, huh? 😻

Liz Zimmers's avatar

Simply excellent!

A.M. Blackmere | Author's avatar

Gary, you've been dropping some bombs on substack lately. I love it. Awesome story.

Gary Mucklow's avatar

Thank you so much. High praise indeed from you. Very much appreciated.

Gary Mucklow's avatar

Thank you very much Liz.