Book Review: Pig Man by Dan Dillard

Dan Dillard’s short story Pig Man is the prime example of that tin platitude, a little bit goes a long way. Clocking in at only eleven pages, Pig Man, successfully delivers the chilling creeps that loiter well past the fifteen or so minutes it takes to read it the story.

Pig Man begins with a mother home alone with her young daughter and their dog while her husband is out of town on a business trip. After a few typical late night bad dreams, her daughter explains that she sees an ugly and terrifying pig looking man at the bottom of the stairs. Experiencing a few witty but skittish bumps in the night herself, the mother begins to believe her daughter’s claims a little too soon for reality, but eventually realize both of their fears are not without warrant.

A terse little tromp through the fear that we've all experienced while home alone, hearing those foreboding knocks and bumps in the night. Dillard gives the reader just enough details to put themselves in that unsettling situation without dictating every detail of the story. As the last pages are wrapped up into a sinister confrontation, much more of an ending is left to be desired, however, some of the best horror is where there’s enough humor to personify the story and the bad guy wins just because he can.

CC

Associate Editor/Horror Literature/Podcast Guest

CC is the High Priestess of BGH. She's into creeping around in the shadows and loves animals, but especially baby bats and puppies.