Monsters Exist Author Expose - Philip W. Kleaver -- The Voice from the Bottom of the Well

Our next author in the expose is Philip Kleaver--nice last name for a horror writer, no? His story is about a girl who hears voices from a well. How many horrific things can you think of happening from that premise? Without further adu, here's Philip with how his tale came to be. 

The Voice from the Bottom of the Well

By: Philip Kleaver 

For me, a story always comes together piece by piece. On the first of January, I was with some friends in Baltimore's Leakin Park. (Fans of Serial or The Wire might know it as the place where many of the city's homicides are dumped, but it's actually a charming little place.) Alongside one of the trails, we saw this dark hole in the earth, leading to an underground drainage pipe. The smell coming from it was stale and sickening. It stuck with me. A few weeks later, I was waiting for a plane and letting my mind wander. I started to think about what would happen if I had approached the hole alone... and heard something inside. With that, my basic plot was in place. The setting came next. I drew on my memories of growing up in rural Massachusetts and all the languid summer days spent in the shade of the forests around my home. Finally, I knew that I wanted to tell my story through the eyes of a child... luckily, I teach middle school. I had a "Wednesday Addams" type in one of my classes this year. I added in a few fictional details, but mostly just plopped the student into the story and let her run wild. My main goal (besides scaring the reader) was to explore the blurring of reality and imagination that happens during childhood, and how many of us are encouraged to "grow out" of it. Hopefully, I created an interesting tale, too!

-Phil