Ashthorne Hollow by Timothy Marsee at Inkitt

Story Notes

This story grew out of my love for small-town whispers and the way rumor always runs faster than fact. What if a death in the woods wasn’t just tragic, but strange enough that the sheriff’s department itself didn’t know what to say? What if the truth surfaced only in fragments? Leaked radio logs, redacted reports, receipts?

Ashthorne Hollow is told through scraps of paper, overheard gossip, and official records that don’t line up. It’s a slow burn, built on atmosphere, where what you don’t know matters as much as what you do. I wanted to capture the eerie quiet of rural Kentucky nights, when dogs howl and no one can explain why, when you swear the town remembers something it won’t say out loud.

Behind the scenes, I wrote it like a patchwork archive, so the reader becomes the detective, piecing together the story as the locals would. Every document hides something, every silence means more than words.

Welcome to Ashthorne Hollow. Read close. The truth is in the gaps.

Summary

When Elias Harper comes back to Ashthorne Hollow after years away, he expects little more than crumbling storefronts, a mother in failing health, and the hollow silence of a town that’s been dying for decades. Instead, within hours of his return, the ridge above town ignites with sirens, searchlights, and the low thunder of helicopters. The coroner stays on scene all night. Rumors spread fast through the town’s gossip mill: government cover-up, another “incident” like 1987, maybe worse. Official reports say little. A leaked 911 call speaks of a man hanging from a tree, warm to the touch though his body looked a week dead. Deputies whisper about a smell that carried through the woods, about dogs howling without end. And the coroner’s heavily redacted preliminary notes only confirm one thing: what was found on Sycamore Ridge should not exist. Through voice memos, leaked logs, and the digital detritus of a modern town that talks more online than face-to-face, the story unfolds piece by piece. As Elias drinks, remembers, and records, he is pulled back into a history he tried to escape. One that stretches from his own childhood to the unspeakable thing the ridge has always hidden. In Ashthorne Hollow, the dead don’t rest. And some secrets refuse to rot.

Genre: Horror

Author: Timothy Marsee

Status: Ongoing

Chapters: 1

Rating: n/a

Age Rating: 16+

Chapter 1

Facebook Post

Ashthorne Hollow Community Watch

Private group · 1.2K members

📅 September 14 at 8:03 PM

Darlene Whitaker

anybody know what’s going on up at the ridge? been seein sirens and flashing lights for an hour now. Choppers too.

💬 34 Comments | 👍 17 | 😡 2 | 😢 4

Earlene Stidham · 8:05 PM

Prolly just another meth bust. Ridge been bad that way.

Vernon Claypool · 8:07 PM

Didn’t hear nothin til the choppers. Not right.

Reba Slone · 8:08 PM

I saw 3 cruisers fly past the gas station. Sheriff don’t call that in for meth.

Harlan Pennington · 8:09 PM

Y’all know the mine prolly covering things up like in the old days.

Earlene Stidham • 8:12 PM

Harlan don’t start any rumors we don’t know nothin yet.

Bobby Ray Adkins · 8:15 PM

ANYBODY ELSE HEAR THEM DOGS HOWLIN? Been goin off for an hour.

Judith Caudill · 8:19 PM

Y’all need to stop speculatin and pray. Whatever it is, it isn’t good.

Wayne Napier · 8:20 PM

🚨🚨🚨 SEEN LIGHTS ALL THE WAY FROM MY PORCH. LOOKS BAD. 🚨🚨🚨

Clifford Branham · 8:22 PM

Talked to my cousin up near the ridge. Said whole holler’s blocked off.

Darlene Whitaker · 8:25 PM

Blocked off?? Why won’t they say what’s goin on?

Reba Slone · 8:28 PM

cops don ever say. Always hush hush.

Vernon Claypool · 8:31 PM

Could be a hunter shot someone. Wouldn’t be the first.

Deloris Marcum · 8:34 PM

No gunshots reported tho.

Harlan Pennington · 8:35 PM

Don’t need guns if it’s the ridge. Folks forget easy what lives up there.

Judith Caudill · 8:37 PM

Harlan hush.

Clifford Branham · 8:38 PM

Saw deputies with spotlights in the trees. Why search the trees if it’s just drugs?

Bobby Ray Adkins · 8:41 PM

Trees is where things hang. Y’all remember 1987?

Darlene Whitaker · 8:43 PM

Don’t bring that up here bobby ray

Reba Slone · 8:44 PM

Half the town remembers. Other half pretends they don’t.

Earlene Stidham · 8:46 PM

Maybe it’s a bear attack. Ridge is thick with ’em.

Deloris Marcum · 8:48 PM

If it was a bear, Sheriff woulda told folks to stay home.

Vernon Claypool • 8:50 PM

Phones go dead up there. My brother tried callin

Harlan Pennington • 8:52 PM

You know phones go dead when they don’t want truth gettin out.

Judith Caudill • 8:55 PM

Or when storms knock out lines. Stop twisting things Harlan

Clifford Branham • 8:57

no storms tho. I seen headlights stoppin and goin on the switchback. They hauling somethin out?

Wayne Lanier • 8:57

NO STORMS TONIGHT JUDITH

Deloris Marcum • 8:59 PM

Maybe a deer cliff? There’ve been a ton of em lately

Billy Joe Tacket · 8:59 PM

👽👽Bet it’s aliens. Ridge been a hot spot since ’92 ask anybody.

Reba Slone · 9:02 PM

Billy Joe 🙄

Wayne Lanier • 9:04 PM

ALIENS DONT USE POLICE LIGHTS

Clifford Branham · 9:07 PM

Could be government. Black trucks been seen round here before.

Earlene Stidham · 9:10 PM

y’all sound crazy

Harlan Pennington · 9:13 PM

Crazy don’t mean wrong.

Darlene Whitaker · 9:15 PM

🙄🙄

Earlene Stidham · 9:16 PM

🙄🙄

Judith Caudill • 9:19 PM

omg the coroner just went up that way past the house

____________________________

Elias, Voice Memo, transcribed September 14, 11:37 PM

Been back in town less than four hours and stuff’s already happening. Entire ridge lit up with cop cars like Christmas. Haven’t heard about anything like it since… eh, I… Mom would’ve been younger? It was forever ago. Eighty-six? Eighty-seven? Long time. Something you can’t shake.

The rest of the place looks so old. Buildings are falling apart. Mom’s isn’t looking too hot, but I mean… Neither is she. The church’s roof’s caving in. Not sure if Metzger’s is even open. The sign’s lit up, but there aren’t any cars in front. The Tractor Supply’s a bingo hall now too. Town’s starting to look abandoned.

Anyway, heading to bed. More tomorrow.

____________________________

Ashthorne County Sheriff’s Office — Incident Log

Case # 25-0914-07

Date/Time: September 14, 2025 / 21:54 hrs

Location: Sycamore Ridge turnout, Route 7

Reporting Officer: Deputy R. Stokes

Summary: Responded to 911 call from civilian reporting “possible deceased party.” Area secured. Traffic rerouted at mile marker 35.

Medical examiner notified.

Further details withheld pending next of kin notification.

(No public release at this time.)

____________________________

Billy (11:44 PM): heard ur back in town?

Elias (11:45 PM): can’t stay away

Billy (11:45 PM): when u get back in?

Elias (11:46 PM): a few hours ago. Who told you I was here?

Billy (11:47 PM): saw your car at the house earlier when I was driving by. You there right now?

Elias (11:52 PM): yeah

Billy (11:53 PM): you see all the lights?

Elias (11:55 PM): yeah they’re hard to miss up here. Know what happened?

Billy (11:56): nope. Just know it’s gotta be big. That’s a lot of cars. Coroner was up there.

Elias (11:59 PM): I figured. If he’s up there a while it’s prolly not a good sign

Billy (12:02 PM): def not

____________________________

Ashthorne County Gazette — September 15, 2025

Late-Night Activity on Sycamore Ridge

Multiple emergency vehicles responded to Sycamore Ridge late Sunday evening following a 911 call. Officials confirmed the Medical Examiner’s Office was dispatched but declined to release further details. Traffic was diverted on Route 7 between mile markers 22 and 36. No additional information is available at this time.

____________________________

Elias, Voice Memo, transcribed September 15, 9:46 AM

Wondering if Dr. Asher is even right. Recording my thoughts doesn’t seem to be making me feel much better. But… I guess it’s better than brooding. Get em out ya know. Whatever.

Billy texted again this morning around… oh… Eight? Crazy guy. Haven’t seen him in years, but it’s like old times, these texts. I dunno. It’s like I never left. Anyway…

He said the coroner was still up there. That’s what? Nine, ten hours? That’s… gah… ’s not good. Minor incidents, accidents… Those clean up in, like, no more than four hours. Weird that he was up there so long. All night? And still goin too.

Need to check in on Mom. Maybe see Dad, I dunno. Will update in a few hours.

____________________________

Liquor 2 Go / Ashthorne

112 S. Main St, Ashthorne Hollow, KY

Transaction Receipt

Date: Sept 15, 2025

Time: 10:12 AM

Cashier: #07 (Donna M.)

Items Purchased:

Evan Williams BIB Bourbon 1.75L — $32.99 Ice Bag (10lb) — $2.49

Subtotal: $35.48

Sales Tax: $2.13