A Good Read, by Gordon Lawrie

'Tis the season...

Really, she wasn't afraid of the dark. The owner assured her that stories of evil spirits were nonsense. Anyway, she was a grown woman: she ought to be able to take holidays in the countryside on her own.
 
Mind over matter. Read a good book.
 
She settled down by the fire and began reading by the "mother and child" floor lamp's soft light. Her book soon had her attention completely. Quietly, the lower "child" lamp reached out from behind to grab her by the throat. She didn't stand a chance.
 
It wasn't the dark she needed to be wary of.