March 9 - "Don't Ask Jack"

“Don’t Ask Jack”
by Neil Gaiman
Smoke and Mirrors (1998)

* * * (Good) Supernatural

The Jack-in-the-Box would not open. The children would tell stories of that hidden Jack, but could barely stand to touch it, or look upon its intricately carved box, until the night it called them each forth to play.

For as short as this story is in length, it packs quite a peck of ominous feeling. It is the type of short tale that aches to be expanded. The story ends with more questions left dangling than answers neatly tied in bows. With some stories those unanswered questions add to the strength – the atmosphere – of the overall tale, but here they need answered. They are holes without explanation. Still, you can’t fault a story that leaves lingering snapshots of horror out on the table of your mind, scenes of small children inching closer to a hidden, malevolent, Jack, smiling and whispering. There’s some fine, fantastic, imagery in these few quick pages.