Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    The Spider's Children
    The Spider's Children
    The Spider's Children
    Ebook42 pages21 minutes

    The Spider's Children

    By Leah Cutter

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    The corn husk doll Lizzie always carries has promised to teach Lizzie about power. Maybe even enough to grant all her wishes.

    Lizzie just wants Pa to smile again. And maybe for Ma to get well. As for her brother being less mean, well, even a magic wish might not be strong enough for that.

    But the doll refuses to teach Lizzie NOW, though her need is mighty.

    While the spider...the spider also promises to teach Lizzie about power. Today. The spider just wants a home for her and her children.

    This historic horror story delves into wild magic and strange relationships, as well as the consequences of wishes coming true. Be prepared to shiver, then be haunted by "what ifs". 

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherLeah Cutter
    Release dateDec 21, 2017
    ISBN9781386310655
    The Spider's Children
    Author

    Leah Cutter

    Leah Cutter--a Crawford Award Finalist--writes page-turning fiction in exotic locations, such as New Orleans, ancient China, the Oregon coast, ancient Japan, rual Kentucky, Seattle, Minneapolis, Budapest, etc.  Find more fiction by Leah Cutter at www.KnottedRoadPress.com. Follow her blog at www.LeahCutter.com.

    Read more from Leah Cutter

    Related to The Spider's Children

    Related ebooks

    Horror Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Left To Lose

      Jul 10, 2022

      Around the time she gives up her name, it starts to feel like this entire revolution isn’t worth it anymore. The world is probably lucky that Kelian—she still remembers Kelian, in spite of everything—is there to pick up the pieces, the way he always

      11 min read

    • Article

      Dolly’s Star Turn

      Jul 12, 2023

      Dolly’s Star Turn
      7 min read

    • Article

      The Silence of Witches

      Dec 10, 2019

      The Silence of Witches
      6 min read

    • Article

      Dolly’s Star Turn

      Aug 9, 2023

      Dolly’s Star Turn
      7 min read

    • Article

      Dolly’s Star Turn

      Jul 12, 2023

      Dolly’s Star Turn
      7 min read

    • Article

      Little CHARMS

      Oct 19, 2022

      Little CHARMS
      6 min read

    • Article

      Lost Children

      Aug 4, 2022

      Lost Children
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Quiet Boy

      Jan 28, 2019

      The Quiet Boy
      29 min read

    • Article

      The Library of Gromma

      Jul 10, 2023

      Zac was sweating and panting as he reached the top of the hill. The crooked beams of the library loomed over him. He dropped the buckets of water, swore at the few drops that spilled, and escaped the piercing morning sun in the shade of the library.

      22 min read

    • Article

      Hauntings

      Jul 5, 2023

      Hauntings
      11 min read

    • Article

      The Library Of Gromma

      Feb 10, 2021

      Zac was sweating and panting as he reached the top of the hill. The crooked beams of the library loomed over him. He dropped the buckets of water, swore at the few drops that spilt, and escaped the piercing morning sun in the shade of the library. He

      22 min read

    • Article

      All AT SEA

      Jan 17, 2023

      All AT SEA
      6 min read

    • Article

      Cricket League

      Jan 1, 2022

      It was an unusual birthday. Colorful banners blanketed the backyard. Kids chased each other through the grass. Adults talked. It all went downhill from there. My little sister was turning five. On her birthday cake, painted in frosting, was a fat, pi

      7 min read

    • Article

      Wounds That Won’t Heal

      Oct 30, 2017

      Wounds That Won’t Heal
      7 min read

    • Article

      Watching The World Go By

      Aug 3, 2021

      I think almost every house in Kansas had a porch swing. It was 1950 and no one had air conditioning, so we waited until the sun had gone down below the giant elm trees, and then people would wander out to their porches to sit in their porch swings an

      4 min read

    • Article

      Salt On The WIND

      Apr 1, 2020

      Salt On The WIND
      6 min read

    • Article

      Seedlings

      May 6, 2021

      Seedlings
      9 min read

    • Article

      Happy Endings

      Sep 1, 2023

      Happy Endings
      5 min read

    • Article

      “I Miss Dad Every Single Day”

      Jun 15, 2022

      “I Miss Dad Every Single Day”
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Postmenopausal Fairy Tale

      Feb 4, 2019

      The Postmenopausal Fairy Tale
      9 min read

    • Article

      ‘In the Country of Women’: Featured Nonfiction from Susan Straight

      Nov 19, 2019

      In our latest edition of featured nonfiction, we present an excerpt from National Book Award finalist Susan Straight’s new novel, In the Country of Women, out now from Catapult. The post ‘In the Country of Women’: Featured Nonfiction from Susan Strai

      8 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for The Spider's Children

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      The Spider's Children - Leah Cutter

      The Spider’s Children

      The Spider’s Children

      Leah Cutter

      Knotted Road Press

      Contents

      The Spider’s Children

      About the Author

      Also by Leah Cutter

      About Knotted Road Press

      The Spider’s Children

      Make a wish! Lizzie said, holding out the oak tree twig to Thomas, her older brother. She’d searched all morning for just the right one, in between helping Ma churn the butter and picking up kindling for the wood stove.

      The twig just fit in her six-year-old hand, and was shaped exactly like the wishbone that Ma had given Thomas had gotten the night before, that he’d had to share with Lizzie. He’d pulled so hard making his wish that he’d snapped the bone right out of

      Lizzie’s

      hand

      .

      Then he’d gotten to make a wish.

      Not

      her

      .

      She was sure that it was a selfish wish. Thomas was four years older than her, and he’d turned cruel just that

      last

      year

      .

      Today, though, it was gonna be her turn. She had a big wish to make. Pa was gonna smile again. She’d make sure

      of

      it

      .

      What’s that? Thomas asked. He yanked the twig away from her, then held it over his head when she made to grab it again.

      Ow. Lizzie put her thumb into her mouth from where a knot in the wood had snagged her skin. With her left arm, she clutched her cornhusk doll closer to her chest. They weren’t too far from the cabin, just under the pine trees past the backyard, but far enough that if Thomas hit her, no one

      would

      see

      .

      Not that Ma would stop him. She was too tired all the time from the new baby she carried

      inside

      her

      .

      "Ye can’t just use a branch

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1