Tale of the Rain Frog: A Southern Gothic Novella

In this haunting Southern Gothic novella, secrets run as deep as the old rock quarry’s black waters in Madison County, where Harry Clifton has spent forty-three years trying to forget that rainy night in 1982. But the rain-frogs—those mysterious harbingers of truth—are calling again, and long-buried secrets are rising to the surface.

When Harry receives an anonymous note stating “I saw you,” his carefully constructed life begins to unravel. His wife Alyson’s recent death might not have been the natural cause everyone believed, and the local diner waitress seems to know more than she’s shared in thirty years of pouring coffee. As the quarry is scheduled for draining, Sheriff Cole’s desperate attempts to keep the past buried trigger a cascade of revelations that will shake their small Georgia town to its core.

Haunted by ghostly visions, pursued by vengeful survivors, and tormented by the chorus of rain-frogs that foretell each new dark discovery, Harry must finally confront the truth: the accident that started it all might be the least of his sins. With the help of Alyson’s posthumous letters and evidence she carefully hid before her death, Harry faces an impossible choice between redemption and justice.

“Tale of the Rain-Frog” weaves a taut narrative where guilt, redemption, and supernatural omens converge in a story as deep and dark as the quarry itself. Some secrets refuse to stay submerged, especially when the rain begins to fall and the frogs start their knowing chorus.

A compelling Southern novella perfect for readers who enjoy their small-town mysteries with a supernatural twist and a dash of Southern Gothic atmosphere.