Interview: “Drip, Drip, Drip” by Jeff Wood

In “Drip, Drip, Drip,” nine-year-old Tommy wakes to find his little brother standing alone in the dark kitchen, staring into the sink. Something is talking to him from the drain—something that’s been waiting in the pipes since long, long before the house was built.

Interview Questions

Did a real place or moment inspire part of your story?

Back in the day, when I lived in Minneapolis, a friend of mine who I worked with at the Magic Pan lost nearly everything when his apartment building caught on fire. This was pre-GoFundMe (pre-internet of any kind!), so we held a fundraiser to help him get back on his feet. As a reward, my friend—a talented visual artist—offered to draw each of the contributors a drawing of whatever we liked. Off the top of my head, I chose an anglerfish. I don’t think I even knew the actual name for the fish, I just said “one of those scary deep-sea fish.” They looked scary and cool at the same time, and I thought it would make a good subject for a drawing. A couple of weeks later, my friend presented me with a fine chalk drawing of a very realistic anglerfish. I immediately put it up on my apartment wall. That picture was on display in every apartment I lived in for decades. I eventually framed it.

Sometime in the intervening years between then and now, I lost the drawing. But I remember the image clearly. Vibrant colors, sharp teeth, dead eyes, and that crazy bioluminescent lure hanging just over those scary teeth. That chalk anglerfish picture was my template for what anglerfish look like in real life. That image sat in my head, waiting patiently, until I wrote this story. The image is still there, and has lost none of its power.

Was there a moment where the story changed direction on you?

I had the image of the anglerfish in my head, and the idea of a faucet of a sink looking eerily similar to the stalk at the top of an anglerfish head. But I didn’t know what the monster in the story actually was. At the same time I was writing this story, I was in the middle of writing a novel about a monstrous being hiding in plain sight in a placid Iowa cornfield. I didn’t know exactly what the monster in the novel was either. Gradually, the idea of an evil entity as a “hole” began to form, an emptiness floating in time and space, existing long before the Earth (and the universe) formed. The hole in the story is, to my mind, a primordial black hole, something that has existed since the beginning of time and space, malevolent, floating patiently, waiting for its prey. It has no beginning, no end, no agenda except to feed its insatiable hunger.

It has many tricks to try and lure its victims closer (placing images and ideas into the victim’s mind), but no real power. The victim has to choose to approach the hole.

“Drip, Drip, Drip” takes a leaking faucet and turns it into something terrifying. What sparked the idea?

I wanted to pair the exotic idea of an empty hole floating in time and space with something familiar, like a kitchen faucet. The childhood fear of garbage disposals is nearly universal, and it’s not hard to see why. The loud noise, the grinding gears, the possibility of blood and carnage, the simple on/off switch on the wall with no visible safety mechanism. It’s the kind of machine built for children’s nightmares. I suspect that fear has followed many a kid into adulthood.

Do you think the voice is only in Tommy’s head—or is it something darker and real?

Although there is a passing reference to Tommy having heard voices in his head before, the hole in the story is very real. Tommy has a vivid imagination, and so can talk more easily to the hole. The hole remembers being a knot in a log, a hole in the ground, a chasm at the bottom of the ocean. It’s been around much longer than its surroundings. It’s always been there, and always will be. It simply “is.” When the hole finds a good spot, it hunkers down and stays, waiting for prey to find its way to that hungry mouth. It only moves along when there’s nothing more to prey on. Look for it in the shadows. Ignore it at your peril.

What are you working on now—and what’s fun or exciting about it?

I’m at work on my next novel. I’m interested in observing the dynamics of small midwestern towns. The current novel explores what might happen if something demonic discovers an entry into our cellphone-choked modern world by using old, discarded technology—think 8-track tapes, shortwave radios, cathode-tube televisions, Walkmans—to captivate the children of the town, and lure them away.

About the Author

Jeff Wood lives in Colorado with his wife and their cats, where they all spend too much time staring at the night sky. Jeff’s short stories have been published over forty times, across multiple genres. Representative publications include the No Sleep podcast (multiple times), the New York Press, the Boston Phoenix, Bright Desire, the Mooncalves anthology, and Dark Moon Digest. His writing for Split Lip magazine recently earned a Pushcart Prize nomination.

Find out more about Jeff at: jeffmwood.com

Read the Story

“Drip, Drip, Drip” appears in Haunted Waters, available now from Blackbird Publishing.

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