The Fog

By Stephen Riggs

In New Haven, Pennsylvania, a renowned fog city, a small family moves in after a strange incident drove them away from their home. As the fog rolls in, strange occurrences begin. Their daughter Alice becomes more enthralled with the fog, hearing it call to her, beckoning her outside. As the threat of the fog grows, Mary and Frank find their pasts have chased them and now linger in the fog, calling for them too to step in and face what haunts them.
The Fog is a timeless tale of human nature and the mental barriers we place after traumatic events, our inner demons, and navigating the path ahead.

About the Author
Stephen Riggs is a pen name used by the author Olivia Silvia, she is just 19 years old and is coming out with her first work ever published, The Fog. The short story was inspired by the dark personal traps man creates for himself if he’s not careful, and the voices that sometimes creep through the veil when we’re not looking. Needing to shine a gloomy light on the subject, Stephen took it into their own hands to figure out the real meaning of human desire and why it makes certain thoughts go “bump” in the night.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dorrance Publishing Company
• Release date: Dec 5, 2023
• ISBN: 9798890276926

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The contents of this work, including, but not limited to, the accuracy of events, people, and places depicted; opinions expressed; permission to use previously published materials included; and any advice given or actions advocated are solely the responsibility of the author, who assumes all liability for said work and indemnifies the publisher against any claims stemming from publication of the work.

All Rights Reserved

Copyright © 2023 by Stephen Riggs

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted, downloaded, distributed, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, including photocopying and recording, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented without permission in writing from the publisher.

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The Fog

Alice Chaney was five years old when she first learned about the fog. New Haven, Pennsylvania, was the world’s most renowned fog city, undistinguishable gray skies from ground. When the fog settles in, there is no escape from the blinding atmosphere; it encapsulates you, holds you. Her parents, Mary and Frank Chaney, moved from Angel’s Bay, located in the UK’s most scenic country, Wales (so it says in most travel brochures), to the busy little town of New Haven. Beautiful, lovely, and timeless, the family spent all of Alice’s upbringing in the quaint vast spaces of green by the cliffsides of crystal bustling waters. It was all Alice knew, and by her accord all she wanted to know. The water was like home to her; it sat deep beneath her feet when she put them over the rocks’ edge and swirled up around her when she would go to the beaches with her parents. It would sing her low, humming songs at night when she couldn’t fall asleep; now she would listen to the horns of cars and the rush of traffic through all hours of the night, but everything fell silent when the fog came in. It was a Tuesday when Alice’s kindergarten teacher phoned Mrs. Chaney, telling her that Alice had the day off because class was canceled due to the fog, along with the rest of the schools in town. Curious, she asked her what a bit of fog had the obligation of doing to shut down the schools.

The fog she began, doesn’t just shut down the schools, ma’am, it takes over the whole town.

Now confused and somewhat worried, she tried to press further but was subjected to the static of a dropped call. The voice on the other end was cut off abruptly, but before it did, Alice’s teacher said something that Mrs. Chaney sensed was not quite right; it wasn’t what she said but the tone in her voice that spooked her, as if she was…in a trance.

"I have to leave now before it closes in; if not then I’m afraid I’ll never make it back."

The time was six a.m., right on the dot, and the sky was still a kaleidoscope of jet black and dark blue. The phone call had ended, but Alice stood in the hall, listening to her mother murmuring to herself; she had to rush to the window to see the sight for herself. Expecting the whole world to be covered in the thickness of the mist, she ran to the window in her room. Alice peered over the windowsill, her little hands grasping it out of excitement. The only thing that greeted her was the