Alice Through the Plastic Sheet

by Robert Shearman

Alan and Alice have problem neighbours - they play the music too loud, they leave rubbish in the garden, they're plastic and inhuman. From Remember Why You Fear Me, this story is one of a set of deliciously frightening and darkly satirical tales by Robert Shearman, winner of the World Fantasy Award, the British Fantasy Award, the Shirley Jackson Award, and the Edge Hill Reader's Prize.

ChiZine Publications (CZP) curates the best of the bizarre, bringing you the most excitingly weird, subtle, dark, and disturbing literary fiction. Look for more titles in the ChiZine short stories collection to build your digital library.

Genres: Short Stories, Horror

25 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 29, 2013

About the author

Robert Shearman has worked as a writer for television, radio and the stage. He was appointed resident dramatist at the Northcott Theatre in Exeter and has received several international awards for his theatrical work, including the Sunday Times Playwriting Award, the World Drama Trust Award and the Guinness Award for Ingenuity in association with the Royal National Theatre. His plays have been regularly produced by Alan Ayckbourn, and on BBC Radio by Martin Jarvis. However, he is probably best known as a writer for Doctor Who, reintroducing the Daleks for its BAFTA winning first series, in an episode nominated for a Hugo Award.

His first collection of short stories, Tiny Deaths, was published by Comma Press in 2007. It won the World Fantasy Award for best collection, was shortlisted for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize and nominated for the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Prize. One of the stories from it was selected by the National Library Board of Singapore as part of the annual Read! Singapore campaign. In 2008 his short story project for BBC7, The Chain Gang, won him a Sony Award, and he provided a second series for them in 2009.

He is now at work on his first novel.

Reviews

[Cobagibu · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wonder sometimes what makes people frightened. This story was boring at best and not scary. If it hadn't been recommended by a friend I would have never bothered with it.

[Stuart Mccaskell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not entirely sure what the hell happened but the first half was good at building a sense of unease.

[Lashoun · Rating 2 out of 5]

As another reviewer said, I'm not sure what happened in the end but some scenes were so eerie that they sent shivers down my spine. Pretty disappointing finale though.

[Rosella Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was sucked in from the first paragraph to the last. It's quite effective in evoking an 'something's wrong here but you're not sure what,' kind of feeling. A couple of unexpected narrative turns also ratchets up the disquiet. The best description I can come up with is that it's like peeking into the brain of someone quietly going mad.

I do enjoy subtle, creeping horror and this one was right up my alley.

[Loth · Rating 1 out of 5]

You can read this story for free at Nightmare Magazine. Not that I recommend it.

I kept reading hoping this story would go somewhere but it was just a long, pointless trip through a desperate, mediocre suburban white man's feelings of inadequacy. I'm mad I wasted time injecting this into my brain, I would like it scrubbed out of there, please. I can't imagine living a life so dull that it makes me think hatred and fear of a new neighbor is good material for a horror story. "Get off my lawn" isn't a story so throw in some "my family doesn't love me," "my job is in jeopardy," and "my dog is sick" for good measure? What? Get this mid-life crisis offa my innanets.