Interview: “The Only Thing Left” by Shannon Lawrence
Restoring an old house seemed like a fresh start—but the house’s past, and its restless ghosts, have other plans.
In “The Only Thing Left,” Shannon Lawrence delivers a fiercely emotional haunted house story rooted in grief, rage, and the sheer stubbornness of survival. Sydney’s attempt to start over collides with spectral forces that don’t want her there—and forces her to reclaim her own space, one harrowing step at a time. Unflinching and resonant, this story taps into the deep emotional currents that linger in both broken places and broken hearts.
Interview Questions
What does “haunted” mean to you—and how does that idea show up in your story?
Haunted has a few meanings. We often connect it to ghosts, but in general I think the worst hauntings we suffer are emotional, sometimes involving loss, though we can be haunted by a lot more than that. My story hits both the physical and the emotional haunting of the main character. She’s suffered a lot of loss, and has taken on renovating an old house as a final act of self, to prove she can overcome.
Did this story start with a particular place, moment, or image that stuck with you?
I love a Facebook page called “For the Love of Old Houses,” which lists various old houses that are for sale, always with listing photos. There was a particular house I kept “walking through” to design the house in my story.
Is the haunting in your story something to fear, understand, embrace—or maybe all of those?
It’s definitely all of those things. There are elements to fear, elements to overcome (I’m aware that’s not an option, ha), a past to understand, and life to embrace.
What, to you, makes a place feel truly haunted—not just eerie or unsettling?
A sad past will do that for me, knowing that someone suffered in that home, however that might have been. Of course, just like the word haunted, suffering has a lot of different meanings.
The house feels vivid, almost alive, and the way it’s laid out is unusual for the present day. Is it based on a real place?
It is! I mentioned the “For the Love of Old Houses” site above, but one of the reasons this house stood out to me was that it had some odd elements, such as doors opening outward instead of inward, and a door at the top of the stairs to the second floor. While the real house was actually in lovely shape and in no need of fixing, it wasn’t hard to imagine all that luster and amazing architecture falling into ruin if no one was willing to buy it.
Unusual things start to happen right after Sydney enters the house. She could leave, but the thought doesn’t even cross her mind. How important was it to you that she be strong and determined, not just scared?
Sydney needed to have the kind of strength that could pull her through the blows life (and, in this case, death) delivers. When Sydney walks in that door, she’s already a survivor.
What inspired the ghosts in this story?
That is an excellent question…and one I don’t recall an answer to. I could make something up, but I already did that with the ghosts!
This haunting has a strong physical presence. What do you find compelling about that kind of tangible ghost story?
I feel like a ghost that can’t influence the real world in some way isn’t as creepy. I’m sure I could be proven wrong on that, and I’d love it. In fact, now my brain will probably work overtime trying to figure that out. But what threat is a ghost that can’t hurt you? Existential?
Sydney ends the story battered, shaken, but furious and ready to fight. Do you plan to write about what happens next?
I don’t have any plans to continue at this time.
What are you working on now—and what’s fun or exciting about it?
Way too many things! A sequel to Wendigo Nights (my urban fantasy), a possible new mystery series I’m noodling, killer squirrels horror, and a dating show horror trilogy. And, you know, a billion short stories.
About the Author
A fan of all things fantastical and frightening, Shannon Lawrence writes primarily horror and fantasy. Her short stories can be found in over sixty anthologies and magazines in addition to her four collections. Her nonfiction title, The Business of Short Stories, and debut urban fantasy novel, Myth Stalker: Wendigo Nights, are available now. You can also find her as a co-host of the podcast Mysteries, Monsters, & Mayhem and a columnist for Rocky Mountain Reader. When she’s not writing, she’s hiking through the wilds of Colorado and photographing her magnificent surroundings, where, coincidentally, there’s always a place to hide a body or birth a monster.
Find Shannon at: thewarriormuse.com
Read the Story
“The Only Thing Left” appears in Haunted Places, available now from Blackbird Publishing.
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