Oates, Joyce Carol (1938 -) - Joyce Carol Oates (Story Date 1996)
JOYCE CAROL OATES (STORY DATE 1996)
SOURCE: Oates, Joyce Carol. "The Temple." In American Gothic Tales, edited by Joyce Carol Oates, pp. 346-48. New York: Plume, 1996.
The following short story originally appeared in the collection Demon and Other Tales in 1996.
There, again, the vexing, mysterious sound!—a faint mewing cry followed by a muffled scratching, as of something being raked by nails, or claws. At first the woman believed the sound must be coming from somewhere inside the house, a small animal, perhaps a squirrel, trapped in the attic beneath the eaves, or in a remote corner of the earthen-floored cellar; after she searched the house thoroughly, she had to conclude that it emanated from somewhere outside, at the bottom of the old garden, perhaps. It was far more distinct at certain times than at others, depending upon the direction and velocity of the wind.
How like a baby's cry,...
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