The Hedgehog

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

The snails came in legions, swarming Pauline’s garden to chomp on her flowers, nibble her lettuces and coat the patio in slime.  So when a hedgehog appears, she believes her troubles have ended and not that something far more sinister lurks in the rose bushes.

Information

Status
Completed
Year
2022
Author
Pudding_and_Pie

Tags

FEMALE LEADHORRORSHORT STORY

Royal Road Stats

Rating
5.0/ 5.0
Followers
2
Views
347

Chapters(1 total)

Reviews

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Community Reviews(2)

  • HybaIsWritingRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    This short story was definitely a ride! I enjoyed it a lot, mostly because I could relate to the main character's gardening woes. Insects, pests, and other animals getting into your garden can drive you crazy! In fact, as I write this, I have a swarm of little snails I'm going to have to deal with in my garden. What a relief, then, to see that a nice hedgehog has moved in to the character's garden and has taken care of her snail problem!
    ...Or is it?
    The first term that came to mind when I read this was domestic horror. I'm not certain if it's the right label, but it felt right to me. The idea that the main character gratefully left gifts for the "hedgehog" in order to welcome it into her garden, only to then realize that she had been, in fact, feeding something very much un-hedgehog-y and perfectly monstrous just resonates. It's like opening your home to a guest only to find out there's something very creepy and wrong with them, or adopting an animal only to realize that maybe it's not altogether normal, and in the most horrifying ways...
    I'd take the snails any day, thank you.
    I enjoyed this short story and would recommend it. Definitely worth the read.
  • RznRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    This was an interesting story about garden pests and a creature coming to get rid of the problem. This was a bit over-the-top in some of its description and imagery, but it does get the point across. It was enjoyable because many a gardener has dealt with pests. This was a good read and it was written well.