“An Illustrated Warning” is a carefully crafted and creepy tale designed to unsettle and chill you. You’ll be held rapt to attention as the dread sets in and things go from odd to eerie and then from eerie to utterly frightening. There is plenty of fright in this story, which is made up of several elements that work together to create a terrifying whole.

• The mystery of a young man’s missing grandfather

• A collection of bizarre and horrid illustrations that serves as a warning against entering a forbidden room

• A slowly revealed discovery of exactly what dark secret the room holds

• A seemingly inexplicable nightmare for the main characters

• A suspenseful attempt to escape

• The aftermath of their traumatic experience.

“An Illustrated Warning” allows readers who want to give themselves chills to share the experience of the two main characters. It will draw you in and make you think twice before going into rooms in basements. If you want to get the maximum scare quotient, read it alone, at night, in a large house with a dark, musty basement. The frightening pictures found early on are only the beginning of a much more terrifying truth.

Short Story Press publishes short stories written by everyday writers.