“Cabin 28” by Mary Thorson, published in BULL, is a creepy tale set in a cabin in the woods: “starkly quiet,” with lots of trees, and “darkness blocked out the window.”

It’s the scene for something terrible to happen, but before all the bad stuff, there’s Jim, Sarah, and Deb. Jim and Sarah are a married couple, and Deb is their friend. Deb is married to Charlie who, at the last moment, couldn’t join them on the cabin outing. There are things going on between Jim, Sarah, and Deb, as Jim “winks” at Deb while resting his hand on Sarah’s thigh. While Sarah is checking in at the cabin, Jim stood next to Deb, and “snaked his hand behind her back.”

Later, they are in bed together. Without Sarah knowing.

But before that, they get to the cabin, they have drinks, and Sarah gets blottoed, to the point of needing help.

The tension in the story is a combination of the location, the illicit relationship between Jim and Deb, and also the alternating storylines.

The other storyline is that of Charlie, Deb’s husband, and Thomas, the cabin clerk who is responsible for tracking down Deb, who Charlie hasn’t heard from in too long of a time period. He needs to hear from her asap, and he implores Thomas to “…physically walk [his] ass over to [his] wife’s cabin, knock on the door, and not leave until a Deborah Ann Fishly opens and says ‘Yes, I’ll call my husband right away’.”

While both storylines add to the overall narrative, Thomas’s storyline is the revelatory part of the story. If you’re a reader who enjoys dark, eerie suspense, then “Cabin 28” is calling your name. Watch out for open windows.

Read the story here.

Mary Thorson lives and writes in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her short story, “Book of Ruth,” was included in Best American Mystery & Suspense, ’24, edited by Steph Cha and S.A. Cosby. Her short story, “Casadastraphobia,” was included in Best American Mystery & Suspense, ’25, edited by Steph Cha and Don Winslow. Her work has been nominated for Best American Short Stories, A Derringer, and a Pushcart Prize. She hangs out with her two feisty daughters, the best husband, and a dog named Pam when she isn’t teaching high school English, reading, or writing ghost stories. She is represented by Lori Galvin at Aevitas Creative Management. Her debut short story collection A Woman’s Guide to True Crime is coming out with Rock and a Hard Place Press in 2026. She is currently working on a novel. You can find her on Instagram and Threads: @mfranzen88 and on Bluesky @marythor.bsky.social.