Listen, Children. Listen!
Wallace West’s “Listen, Children. Listen!” is narrated by Tommy, who recalls childhood on a poor farm with his sister Annette, their grandmother Maw, their father Josiah (“Paw”), and silent Aunt Ellen. Maw is thought fey: she hears omens, predicts arrivals, and waits anxiously at the open door whenever Paw is late returning from the county seat. The children share her fear of threats lingering after the Brown murders, but are always relieved when Paw’s wagon finally creaks up the gravel road, bringing sweets, toys, and small gifts. Aunt Ellen, abandoned long ago by a young man who went to Europe, has withdrawn from speech and spends her life rocking before a huge antique mirror. The mirror, a White family heirloom, dominates the cabin and fascinates the children. Paw, though affectionate, learned, and full of stories, dismisses Maw’s supernatural notions. His death after returning home late breaks Maw’s strength and leaves the household altered. After Paw’s funeral, Maw increasingly listens for his wagon and begins losing herself in visions connected with the mirror. Tommy discovers her speaking to “Mrs. Jones,” who is only Maw’s own reflection. Soon Maw sees reflected images of Tommy and Annette as Mrs. Jones’s children and forces them to apologize to the invisible visitors. The children try desperately to distract her with songs, reading, chores, and outings, but Maw’s imagined companions become increasingly real within the house. Aunt Ellen, who has begun helping with household work, silently understands more than she says. One evening Maw sends Mrs. Jones away, cleans the cabin thoroughly “for when the bridegroom cometh,” and sings the children to sleep. Tommy wakes in terror to find the mirror apparently replaced by an open north-wall doorway, with moonlight and a cold wind entering. Maw stands at it, listening. Though it is spring, katydids sound as they do in autumn. Then Tommy hears the familiar wagon noises. Maw insists Josiah has returned, saying angels would never take him, and goes out to help with his packages. Tommy rushes after her and awakens injured beside the shattered mirror. Maw has vanished. Aunt Ellen, speaking aloud for the first time in years, says she understands. A search finds nothing; later, a woman’s body found far away in White River is assumed to be Maw’s. The family holds a funeral, but Tommy and Annette refuse to attend, retaining their own knowledge of what happened.
By Wallace West · First published 1957 · Genre: Supernatural Horror, Psychological Horror, Ghost Story · 6,430 words
First lines
The old man was long dead -- but his widow still awaited his return. And one night she heard.
_The elements of horror are as many and varied as the threads in a Gobelin tapestry -- with special stimuli for each of us. Perhaps terror lies in the howl of a coyote, in the noises of an old house, in a blaze of fire. Or perhaps it responds to the mournful creak of wheels on a gravel road, to moonlight reflected from a huge old mirror._
What this Textopian page supports
Listen, Children. Listen! is listed on Textopian as a short story by Wallace West, dated 1957 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Short story
- Author: Wallace West
- Date: 1957 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Supernatural Horror, Psychological Horror, Ghost Story, Southern Gothic, Gothic Fiction
- Length: 6,430 words
- Structure: 1 section, 123 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for Listen, Children. Listen! by Wallace West
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
- Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph
Discussion starters
- What should a reader notice first when entering Listen, Children. Listen!?
- How does this short story by Wallace West fit its genre, period, or classroom use?
- Where does Supernatural Horror first become important in the reading?
Similar titles
- A Ghost Child by Bernard Capes
- Foxglove Manor Volume Ii by Robert W. Buchanan
- The Dutiful Son by Ambrose Bierce
- The Beetle Hunter by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
- Foxglove Manor Volume Iii by Robert W. Buchanan
- The Ghost Of The Late Mr James Barber by Charles Dickens
Genres
- Supernatural Horror — The story builds dread around an apparently haunted ancestral mirror, ghostly presences, impossible seasonal sounds, and the grandmother's final passage through the mirror toward her dead husband.
- Psychological Horror — Much of the terror arises from grief, mental deterioration, childhood fear, and the unresolved question of whether Maw's visions are delusions or genuine supernatural events.
- Ghost Story — The narrative centers on the enduring presence of the dead Josiah, spectral visitors seen in the mirror, and a disappearance interpreted as a reunion with the deceased.
- Southern Gothic — Its decaying rural setting, family secrets, murder-haunted countryside, eccentric relatives, inherited relic, death, madness, and grotesque atmosphere strongly suit Southern Gothic conventions.
Tags
science fiction · speculative fiction · short fiction · classic science fiction · mid-century fiction · American literature · English-language fiction · pulp fiction · futurism · future society · science and technology · social commentary