Hold Them Tight

By C. L. ATKINS

Stanley knows Elaine is dead. The house seems less certain.

After fifty years of marriage, her absence fills every room: the chair facing the television, the cup he no longer needs to fill, the empty half of their bed.

Then the mattress lowers behind him.

The weight is familiar. So are the small kindnesses that begin appearing around the house. Coffee made before he wakes. A place waiting at the table. Whatever has entered his home knows exactly where Elaine belongs.

Stanley knows he should be afraid. He is afraid. But the nights are long, and the comfort is difficult to refuse. As ordinary routines turn unsettling, he must decide how close he can let this presence come.

Hold Them Tight is a standalone supernatural horror novella about grief, loneliness, and the terror of finding comfort in something you cannot see.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0HMT7V6GG
• ISBN13: 9798162048893
• Release Date: October 2026
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 104 Pages
• Weight: 0.33 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"