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The Hanging Game
Sometimes a game, even a sacred game, can have far-reaching consequences. In bear country, young Skye learns just how far she is willing to go to play the game properly in order carry on the traditions that came before her and will most likely continue long after she is gone.
At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.
At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.
33 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 13, 2013
About the author
Helen Marshall
116 books195 followersHelen Marshall (manuscriptgal.com) is an award-winning author, editor, and bibliophile.
Her poetry and short fiction have been published in The Chiaroscuro, Paper Crow, Abyss & Apex, Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet and Tor.com. In 2011, she released a collection of poems entitled Skeleton Leaves from Kelp Queen Press and her collection of short stories Hair Side, Flesh Side was released from ChiZine Publications in 2012. This collection won the 2013 British Fantasy Sydney J. Bounds Award and was short-listed for a 2013 Aurora Award for Best Related Work. It was named one of the top ten F/SF books of 2012 by January Magazine. Her second fiction collection Gifts for the One Who Comes After launched in September 2014.
Her poetry and short fiction have been published in The Chiaroscuro, Paper Crow, Abyss & Apex, Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet and Tor.com. In 2011, she released a collection of poems entitled Skeleton Leaves from Kelp Queen Press and her collection of short stories Hair Side, Flesh Side was released from ChiZine Publications in 2012. This collection won the 2013 British Fantasy Sydney J. Bounds Award and was short-listed for a 2013 Aurora Award for Best Related Work. It was named one of the top ten F/SF books of 2012 by January Magazine. Her second fiction collection Gifts for the One Who Comes After launched in September 2014.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 109 reviews
June 14, 2020
i have been choosing these free tor shorts the same way i choose wine: whatever looks dark and has a pretty picture. it has served me less well in wine than it has in these stories.
and this story is just what i like, and will appeal to fans of Karen Russell, Kelly Link, and Tender Morsels
it's a coming of age story that shimmers with dark magical realism, about a group of children who play a hanging game; a hometown tradition with the weight of mythology.
it is about bears and fate and tithes. it is about the unstated prices for the things we do, and the debts handed down to us from our parents. it is about the ordinary fears of adolescence compounded with the terrors that children in fairy tales must confront. it is absolutely a perfect jewel of a story.
i would drink this wine, and i will read more by this author for sure.
read it for yourself here:
http://www.tor.com/stories/2013/03/th...
come to my blog!
and this story is just what i like, and will appeal to fans of Karen Russell, Kelly Link, and Tender Morsels
it's a coming of age story that shimmers with dark magical realism, about a group of children who play a hanging game; a hometown tradition with the weight of mythology.
There were rules for the hanging game. This is what they were. It had to be highrigging rope, like I said, and you had to steal it. Also it had to be an ash tree. Also you had to do it willingly. No one could force you to play the hanging game. It couldn’t be a dare or a bluff or a tease, or else it wouldn’t work.
it is about bears and fate and tithes. it is about the unstated prices for the things we do, and the debts handed down to us from our parents. it is about the ordinary fears of adolescence compounded with the terrors that children in fairy tales must confront. it is absolutely a perfect jewel of a story.
i would drink this wine, and i will read more by this author for sure.
read it for yourself here:
http://www.tor.com/stories/2013/03/th...
come to my blog!
January 23, 2015
There were rules for the hanging game. This is what they were. It had to be highrigging rope, like I said, and you had to steal it. Also it had to be an ash tree. Also you had to do it willingly. No one could force you to play the hanging game. It couldn’t be a dare or a bluff or a tease, or else it wouldn’t work.
This book is seriously strange and I adore it. Dark and magical realism have never been so deliciously combined.
I've been devouring Tor shorts lately, and so far they have yet to disappoint. I was initially attracted to this through cover lust - but then when I started reading it, I couldn't stop. The way it was written was perfectly engaging and familiar.
I remember the rope rubbing rough against my neck. It was a sort of chafing feeling, odd, like wearing a badly knit scarf, but it didn't hurt, not at first.
Skye is only a young girl when her and three other children decide to play the hanging game. Though on this particular day in bear country, the game becomes more than just a game, and the consequences are absolutely horrifying.
Since this read, I have also become infatuated with the other works of Helen Marshall.
August 11, 2020
The narrator's voice just didn't ring true to me.
And if everyone knows that killing bears requires this direct repayment that punishes their kids, why are they doing it?
And if everyone knows that killing bears requires this direct repayment that punishes their kids, why are they doing it?
April 3, 2024
You can read this short, sinister tale for free on hoopla or here:
https://reactormag.com/the-hanging-game/
..."For us the hanging game was a sacred thing, the most sacred thing we knew ..."
Basically, these older kids hand the younger ones from a noose until they have a vision or prophecy and then they cut 'em loose. It's very Shirley Jackson-esque...a dangerous, macabre, ritualistic game played by kids--tempting death. It reminded me of The Lottery
https://reactormag.com/the-hanging-game/
..."For us the hanging game was a sacred thing, the most sacred thing we knew ..."
Basically, these older kids hand the younger ones from a noose until they have a vision or prophecy and then they cut 'em loose. It's very Shirley Jackson-esque...a dangerous, macabre, ritualistic game played by kids--tempting death. It reminded me of The Lottery
October 23, 2014
For us the hanging game was a sacred thing, the most sacred thing we knew save for one other, which I’ll have to tell you about too, and that was the bears.
This was a wonderful short. The perfect mingling of childhood antics and darkness, for this tor-a-holic.
Skye read a bit like Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird which, from me, is a high fucking compliment. I love the shit out of Scout!!
The darkness here is played so skillfully that you can smell the fruition before it happens, but not in a way that seems trite or over sold. There is a mystical element but, again, it is incredibly well done. I almost wish I had been read this story while sitting around a fire at night, it has the ghost story feel to it.
Does anyone really forget their childhood, or the prices many of us had to pay to grow up?
I loved Travers, I always had, and I remembered what it was like to hold his hand out there by the tree. I remembered the hanging game.
February 26, 2017
A riveting creepy little story.
November 24, 2017
m is for Marshall
I’m wondering about the things our parents leave us, the good and the bad, and whether a thing is ever truly over.
I haven't been in a reading mood lately, but this evening, finding myself full on turkey and stuffing, pecan pie, black forest stout, football, and large doses of nostalgia, I decided to once again wander the world of tor.com and landed on this grit-lit folktale.
This author had a sort of weird rambling writing style that took some getting used to, but overall I found it added to the relevance of the story itself. Though not explicitly told, the author hints at a Pacific Northwest setting (redwoods, logging, bears) though the tone of the story feels very Appalachian. The author tells the story of Skye, a young redheaded lass with a reverence for her older brother Travers, a crush on the older, dark-haired Barth, and as it seems, a lot of time on her hands. And kids in the woods with lots of time on their hands play games. Some games are innocent in nature. Some are not. Sometimes the desire for knowledge can be a razor-sharp double-edged sword.
I enjoyed this story very much. Definitely a Native American folklore-y vibe resonates with the reader, and it is a story about penance and sacrifice, reverence for nature, and loss of innocence which comes in the form of knowledge and foretelling. Kinda in parts reminded me of the scene in Big Fish where the bored kids in town sneak out to see the old witch and her future-telling eye.
This short is also one of the shortest stories I've read on the site, and its also free to read with the link below. A perfect little gem to peruse during the post-holiday blues.
4 stars.
https://www.tor.com/2013/03/13/the-ha...
May 20, 2021
In a small and isolated village, where every person knows each other, we follow our main character, a 12 year old girl named Skye. Skye is born and raised in a poor family, which is a part of a community that its main characteristic is slaying bears.
As Skye becomes a teenager, she is invited by her brother to the forest, where he and the other teens of the village play a little game called the hanging game. The purpose of it is to pass on to a stage between life and death, and that's where you will see what the future holds for you.
But one day, the hanging game turns deadly, the characters' fates are sealed by sorrow and death and only blood will repay for life.
I enjoyed this short story and its messed up themes of balancing between life and death, paying for someone else's sins etc etc. It gave me cult/mysticism like vibes and it had me guessing how it was going to end.
I will admit though that the ending was not as dark as I expected, because at least it gives you a hint of hope -which of course I am not opposed to.-
I am giving it *3.5/5 stars because even though it was a fun 15 minutes and I can see the author's potential, I think it could be a little longer and a little darker as well.
If you made it this far, congratulations!
'Til next time, take care :) :) :)
As Skye becomes a teenager, she is invited by her brother to the forest, where he and the other teens of the village play a little game called the hanging game. The purpose of it is to pass on to a stage between life and death, and that's where you will see what the future holds for you.
But one day, the hanging game turns deadly, the characters' fates are sealed by sorrow and death and only blood will repay for life.
I enjoyed this short story and its messed up themes of balancing between life and death, paying for someone else's sins etc etc. It gave me cult/mysticism like vibes and it had me guessing how it was going to end.
I will admit though that the ending was not as dark as I expected, because at least it gives you a hint of hope -which of course I am not opposed to.-
I am giving it *3.5/5 stars because even though it was a fun 15 minutes and I can see the author's potential, I think it could be a little longer and a little darker as well.
If you made it this far, congratulations!
'Til next time, take care :) :) :)
May 2, 2014
Creepy little story about hillbilly kids, a noose, and some sort of (I think) god of bears.
It only takes about 5 minutes to read, but it's interesting and free.
Freeeeeee!
It only takes about 5 minutes to read, but it's interesting and free.
Freeeeeee!
April 17, 2024
Just because it's a long kept tradition it doesn't make it good, oh and beware the sins of the fathers. A creepy and disturbing little tale.
February 19, 2015
"That was the kind of crazy we got into. Bears and hanging."
What's up with those Tor short stories? They're creepy, CREEPY!
Tor.com is probably my favorite web page right now. Free dark short stories. HELL YES!
This one was very good. And a little twisted at the end.
I'm selecting the ones with the creepiest covers so...
...I guess you get it. XD
"I’m wondering about the things our parents leave us, the good and the bad, and whether a thing is ever truly over."
April 27, 2022
Interesting story. I liked it!
November 24, 2021
Not all games are fun. Some have disturbing origins. Some are terrifying and deadly, yet certain types of people thrive on the thrill of danger. Playing dangerous games often come with consequences that will haunt you for the rest of your life. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes as the old saying goes.
Skye and her friends are such daredevils. There's a sacred game in their country that's been passed down from generation to generation, where children have to willingly hang themselves from an ancient tree in order to be possessed by the spirit of a bear god that reads them their future for everyone around them to hear. Sounds like a totally normal and fun game to play with your buddies, right?
Despite an odd premise, the moral of the story is a relatable one. It's about how traditions can be harmful. Some traditions are good but some are outdated and have no place in a modern world. It's about the sins of the father being imposed on their children. It's about the next generation being punished because of the foolish actions of the previous, all told in the style of a grim fairy tale.
***
If you're looking for some dark ambient music for reading horror, dark fantasy and other books like this one, then be sure to check out my YouTube Channel called Nightmarish Compositions: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPPs...
Skye and her friends are such daredevils. There's a sacred game in their country that's been passed down from generation to generation, where children have to willingly hang themselves from an ancient tree in order to be possessed by the spirit of a bear god that reads them their future for everyone around them to hear. Sounds like a totally normal and fun game to play with your buddies, right?
Despite an odd premise, the moral of the story is a relatable one. It's about how traditions can be harmful. Some traditions are good but some are outdated and have no place in a modern world. It's about the sins of the father being imposed on their children. It's about the next generation being punished because of the foolish actions of the previous, all told in the style of a grim fairy tale.
***
If you're looking for some dark ambient music for reading horror, dark fantasy and other books like this one, then be sure to check out my YouTube Channel called Nightmarish Compositions: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPPs...
April 9, 2013
Found this on Tor... http://www.tor.com/stories/2013/03/th...
This is a dark and haunting tale.
It's usually the short stories that manage to crawl under my skin and stay with me longest. They blind side me and make me think. I definitely believe that, if properly done, less is more.
This is a dark and haunting tale.
It's usually the short stories that manage to crawl under my skin and stay with me longest. They blind side me and make me think. I definitely believe that, if properly done, less is more.
April 3, 2022
The Hanging Game by Helen Marshall is a horror short you can read for free on the Tor.com site https://www.tor.com/2013/03/13/the-ha...
Sometimes a game, even a sacred game, can have far-reaching consequences. In bear country young Skye learns just how far she is willing to go to play the game properly in order carry on the traditions that came before her and will most likely continue long after she is gone.
Disturbing and intriguing story.
Themes: tempting Old Hangjaw, the stupid and dangerous games kids play, the sins of the father.
4 Stars
Sometimes a game, even a sacred game, can have far-reaching consequences. In bear country young Skye learns just how far she is willing to go to play the game properly in order carry on the traditions that came before her and will most likely continue long after she is gone.
Disturbing and intriguing story.
Themes: tempting Old Hangjaw, the stupid and dangerous games kids play, the sins of the father.
4 Stars
November 12, 2019
The Hanging Game is a short story about a group of kids whose fathers were bear hunters. While their dads were out hunting bears, the kids would perform a sort of ritual by hanging themselves briefly and - seconds before death - they would prophesy how they would pay in the future for their father's blood-spilling hobby. And then they would take the rope off and continue with their lives, not knowing what they prophesied.
The story, however dark and sinister it may seem, is still a very beautifully written allegory. Whatever we or our parents did in our lives, the next generation or the ones that come after the next one will face the consequences and will pay their parents' debts - sooner or later.
You can read the story yourself here: https://www.tor.com/2013/03/13/the-ha...
The story, however dark and sinister it may seem, is still a very beautifully written allegory. Whatever we or our parents did in our lives, the next generation or the ones that come after the next one will face the consequences and will pay their parents' debts - sooner or later.
You can read the story yourself here: https://www.tor.com/2013/03/13/the-ha...
April 29, 2014
What a queer little thing. A fairy tale of sorts, and incredibly awkward. The writing was gorgeous, I just felt disconnected from the piece. The magical realism was perfectly constructed for such a short story, but also lost a bit because of the lack of depth. It read like a really great proposal for a novel. I guess the reason I am only giving it two stars is my own lack of personal connection and desire for more length. I'm sure there are lots of you out there who will love this. It's not a poorly written story at all.
December 26, 2018
3.5
Qué historia oscura! Aunque con esa imagen y título no se puede esperar otra cosa.
Es una elección bastante perturbadora de argumento, pero francamente atrapante. El final no me resultó tan impactante como me hubiera gustado, pero al margen de eso está muy bien escrito.
Y es gratis. El link está en la ficha del libro.
Qué historia oscura! Aunque con esa imagen y título no se puede esperar otra cosa.
Es una elección bastante perturbadora de argumento, pero francamente atrapante. El final no me resultó tan impactante como me hubiera gustado, pero al margen de eso está muy bien escrito.
Y es gratis. El link está en la ficha del libro.
May 2, 2014
Oh wow! this had my heart racing almost all the way through. It's so disturbing, I love it!
April 21, 2024
Nešto mi je ovde nedostajalo za jači efekat.
May 4, 2016
I came across this story, as I usually do, through Tor.com, one of the greatest websites for science-fiction and fantasy stories. I was not looking for anything more than a fun time, and then I came out with the darkest story I had read in months.
“There were rules for the hanging game. This is what they were. It had to be highrigging rope, like I said, and you had to steal it. Also it had to be an ash tree. Also you had to do it willingly. No one could force you to play the hanging game. It couldn’t be a dare or a bluff or a tease, or else it wouldn’t work.”
It has been mostly interpreted as the result of the debts transferred down from parent to child, and the meaning of tithes. I would agree with this view, but it is a story, much like “”Repent, Harlequin!” Said the Ticktockman,” in which we can get something different out of it every time the story is read. For example, does the game played tell the future? Is there really a bear god that calls for payment? Are children stupid or idealistic? I do not know, I would love to, but I don’t.
“There were rules for the hanging game. This is what they were. It had to be highrigging rope, like I said, and you had to steal it. Also it had to be an ash tree. Also you had to do it willingly. No one could force you to play the hanging game. It couldn’t be a dare or a bluff or a tease, or else it wouldn’t work.”
It has been mostly interpreted as the result of the debts transferred down from parent to child, and the meaning of tithes. I would agree with this view, but it is a story, much like “”Repent, Harlequin!” Said the Ticktockman,” in which we can get something different out of it every time the story is read. For example, does the game played tell the future? Is there really a bear god that calls for payment? Are children stupid or idealistic? I do not know, I would love to, but I don’t.
February 14, 2015
Another Tor.com short story.
This creepy story is completely believable to me. I remember being a child and building mystical rules and games of great dignity. I had goosebumps just reading it.
This creepy story is completely believable to me. I remember being a child and building mystical rules and games of great dignity. I had goosebumps just reading it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 24, 2015
Don't play this at home, kids!
Disturbing short story. So, we pay for the sins of our fathers.
Link here :http://www.tor.com/stories/2013/03/th...
Disturbing short story. So, we pay for the sins of our fathers.
Link here :http://www.tor.com/stories/2013/03/th...
October 17, 2016
Now this is one crazy shortstory. I liked the beginning a lot, the writing style was nice as well, but somehow the ending was a little to gross :/ bad-gross.
April 27, 2017
Creepy.
January 1, 2020
did i find the shortest book on my tbr and read it to hit an even 75 books for my goodreads challenge, 8 hours before the new year?
yes. yes i did.
yes. yes i did.
February 8, 2021
This truly was a “Sins of the father are to be laid upon the children.” story. It had a strong whiff of the Appalachian folklore to it. Wonderful tale.
December 26, 2014
The Hanging Game is so deliciously dark and terrible. (Not terrible as in it's a bad story - terrible as in the story's subject matter is unpleasant.)
The game itself is bad enough, but there's also a magical realism element to the story, which doesn't give the reader a definite answer. Does the game foretell the future? Is there really a bear god that exacts payment for each of his people? Maybe, maybe not. But there's an awful lot of coincidence going on in bear country.
The story captures the innocent stupidity of children, the lack of foresight they don't seem to possess. The children see absolutely nothing wrong with playing a game where they nearly hang themselves. Although when the game finally *does* go wrong, the children act as though they had been expecting it - they had been waiting for the bear god to claim his price.
In the end, that's all they can do, whether the god is real or imagined.
The game itself is bad enough, but there's also a magical realism element to the story, which doesn't give the reader a definite answer. Does the game foretell the future? Is there really a bear god that exacts payment for each of his people? Maybe, maybe not. But there's an awful lot of coincidence going on in bear country.
The story captures the innocent stupidity of children, the lack of foresight they don't seem to possess. The children see absolutely nothing wrong with playing a game where they nearly hang themselves. Although when the game finally *does* go wrong, the children act as though they had been expecting it - they had been waiting for the bear god to claim his price.
In the end, that's all they can do, whether the god is real or imagined.
May 12, 2014
Such a great little read.
Coming from someone who is not a fan of short stories, this is a huge compliment. Typically short stories don't stratify my urge for complex plots and intense character development, and mind you, this is no exception.
I loved the dark magic, though not quite supernatural, twist to this story. I thought the writing was so beautiful, that I definitely would read a full length novel version.
The narrator doesn't seem extraordinary; all her childhood predictions about her future eventually come true, and she seems so be a bystander in all the major events. However, this arrangement works because this is a short story and not a 300 page novel.
Overall entertaining.
Coming from someone who is not a fan of short stories, this is a huge compliment. Typically short stories don't stratify my urge for complex plots and intense character development, and mind you, this is no exception.
I loved the dark magic, though not quite supernatural, twist to this story. I thought the writing was so beautiful, that I definitely would read a full length novel version.
The narrator doesn't seem extraordinary; all her childhood predictions about her future eventually come true, and she seems so be a bystander in all the major events. However, this arrangement works because this is a short story and not a 300 page novel.
Overall entertaining.
March 8, 2017
This little story only took a few moments to read and that is o.k. as I found it disturbing and to near to reality to be fun. The hanging game is one that has been played by generations and although the reason for playing if are slightly different, it bears a close resemblance to the fainting game or the choking game. These are silly games that come into favour at some stage during most generations and I remember the fainting game when I was a young teen. I never took part but I do know that in this era it is called the choking game and some young people have died whilst playing it. I do not want to give away the actual effect of the game in the story as that would spoil it for others readers, a little too close to reality for me. At the same time very dark and creepy.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 109 reviews