Short Story Review – Double Dare by Serena Jayne

Double Dare by Serena Jayne is a modern twist on a classic horror formula. A person desecrates a grave, corpse, or some other artifact of a dead person that is part of their proper funeral rites. The person is then punished for this transgression, usually with some supernatural curse.

In this story a therapist, who is in desperate need of therapy herself, decides to get a little post mortem revenge on the corpse of a former high school bully. The modern twist to the story comes when social media gets involved. The story concludes with our main character experiencing both practical and potentially supernatural consequences for her actions.

Though the plot is predictable to anyone who has ever heard a ghost story, I don’t necessarily think that this is a bad thing. There’s a reason that this particular tale comes up again and again across multiple cultures, and I think Serena Jayne’s is a fine addition to the collection of grave desecration stories! It is well written. It does not overstay it’s welcome. The punishment the character receives is both poetic and relevant to the modern age.

Final Verdict

Pretty good story. Won’t blow your mind, but I had fun reading it. Serena Jayne seems like a writer who works in multiple genres, but I’d be really interested in reading some longer-form horror from her.

7 arbitrary stars out of 10 arbitrary stars.

I found this story in Issue #15 of Unnerving Magazine.