A Question of Possession by Justin Boote

Is it aliens or demons? Find out in this entertaining horror novella from Justin Boote.

While walking her dog one evening, Amy comes across a distraught naked man. She thinks Greg has been abducted by aliens, just like her, and offers him a place to stay after he’s discharged from hospital. However, hospital psychiatrist, Jane, thinks something else is going on.

Before I review this novella, I thought I’d share my alien encounter story with you.

I woke one night, paralyzed. A large window looked out over a courtyard at the end of my bed, and I hadn’t pulled the curtains, so the full moon shone directly onto my bed and made the part of my room between my bed and the window bright.

Standing at the end of my bed, it’s spindly hand resting on the duvet over my foot, was a grey alien. I’d say it stood four foot tall and was your typical grey alien. Large head with huge black eyes and few other features. A skinny childlike body.

For a few seconds I was filled with terror. Aliens were real and they’d come to take me! I could only move my eyes and it felt like a typical abduction scenario. It didn’t feel as fun as it looked on The X Files.

However, I noticed that my dog and cats were all snoring happily, and I didn’t think they’d be so relaxed if there was an extra terrestrial in the room. I tried to relax and wait it out. In a few minutes I could move and the alien was gone.

Much later I learned that I’d experienced sleep paralysis. It wasn’t my first nor last experience of what I called a waking dream (until I discovered the proper term). It is a state where you can see your surroundings but you’re still asleep and can’t move. People usually experience terrifying hallucinations (I’d call them dreams), often featuring demons, and struggle to breathe. Some people think the legend of the succubus and incubus originate from sleep paralysis.

Enough of highjacking this review.

I enjoyed A Question of Possession. Two of my favorite subjects – aliens and demons – in one novella! Bring it on. Both subjects are handled well, with lots of scary scenes.

I liked the characters. Amy is sympathetic and it’s understandable that she wanted to help Greg when she too had experienced the nightmare of abduction and the added insult of no one believing her.

Joan, the psychiatrist, is also a great character. I loved how she used her knowledge and experience to think outside the box to help Greg and Amy.

There are a few continuity issues that drew me out of the story. Amy’s dog disappears after the first scene (probably just as well), and an old priest who dies in the hospital turns into an old woman a couple of pages later.

I award A Question of Possession…

A Question of Possession is available for $3.04 ebook on Amazon.

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Click here to read my review of Justin Boote’s horror short story, Grandma drinks blood.