Another in Amazon's series of short horror stories, this was well written and, for me, far more effective than "It Waits in the Woods". Willy and Marianne move to an old house in Maine, trying to escape the painful memories of Marianne's miscarriage. As they settle in, Marianne is at last recovering from depression, but it is obvious that Willy is bottling up his own feelings of loss. In his POV, the reader sees that he has bitter resentment against God and the universe for robbing him of the chance to be a father (since Marianne has said she can't go through the trauma of being pregnant again), but I suspected that he was hiding from himself that his resentment is really against his wife.

Willy takes a pleasant woodland shortcut to the local farm shop where the genial British host lends him a grotty old pram (I believe Americans would normally term it a baby carriage) in which to wheel his heavy groceries home. Gradually, Willy develops a fixation with this pram and what it represents, and the story quite cleverly balances the question of how much is down to Willy's emotional state and how much might be sinister and supernatural. Without giving a spoiler, the aftereffects of COVID suffered by Willy play nicely into his inability to detect something that would make the pram repellent to anyone else. I did find the Grand Guignol ending a bit over the top, so can't quite give it full marks, but will definitely look out for more of the work of this author, who I've since discovered is a son of Stephen King. So 4 stars from me. ( )

Marianne and Willy lose their baby when Marianne has a miscarriage. They eventually decide to leave their Brooklyn home, to get away from old memories. They move to a farmhouse in Hobomeck, Maine. While shopping in town one day the store owner gives Willy a pram to push his many purchases home. The pram is dirty and smelly, but Willy uses it anyway, it’s better than carrying his purchases on the long walk home. While pushing the pram through the eerie forest, he thinks he hears a baby’s cry. It seems like a baby is in the pram. Days later, Willy’s wife discovers the pram in the shed behind their house and wants to get rid of it. But Willy refuses. It seems that he has become attached to the pram… This was a captivating, strange, and unusual story. It had some very creepy moments, especially with the pram and the baby. The book also had good atmosphere. An entertaining and scary read by Joe Hill. ( )

Just in time for the spooky reading season is The Pram, a short story by Joe Hill. A young couple moves to the country in Maine following a heartbreaking miscarriage. The story focuses on Willy, who works from home and is aching for a family. He visits a small grocery store nearby and the owner offers him an old, rickety baby stroller to carry his groceries home. In true Joe Hill fashion, this story took me on quite the creepy journey.

The Pram short story is part of the Creature Feature collection available through Amazon. I listened to the audiobook for free through my Audible membership. Narration by Robert Petkoff was excellent.

I have photos and additional information that I'm unable to include here. It can all be found on my blog, in the link below.
A Book And A Dog ( )

Captivating in its darkness lit by glimmers of hope, this story has a satisfying fullness as it pulls you along the shadowed track towards its conclusion. The familiar horror of grief mixes with something otherworldly, creating a distinctly creepy atmosphere. ( )

This was a fun short story. I enjoy horror that includes some element of the human condition like rage or grief and this one had the latter in spades. ( )