The Ghost Trio

A story set in Prague that crosses the lines between the living and the dead.

The great love of your life is dead, but that doesn't stop him from communicating with you--or luring you to join him in the afterlife. To remain safe in this world, you accept the help of a professional medium who develops his own emotional agenda.

The Ghost Trio that emerges takes us to pre- and post-World War II Prague where a poignant and chilling love triangle finds its resolution. There we meet great Czech creators of the past including Leos Janácek and Karel Capek. Inspired by the ghost stories of Henry James and Daphne du Maurier, Clyde Derrick introduces three characters whose passions defy time and the accepted boundaries between the dead and the living. The author, who has lived in and visited purportedly haunted sites in advance of writing this novella, contends that this story and its characters found him. Meanwhile, his portrayal of two Pragues--one poised to fall to Hitler's army, the other muted by Communist oppression--offers us insights into the past and reminds us to stay vigilant against dangerous politics. The Ghost Trio is a spiritual excursion in which we ponder the limitations and hazards of romantic love as well as the possibility of other lives in other times.

The Ghost Trio is the winner of the 2020 Omnidawn Fabulist Fiction Chapbook / Novelette Contest, chosen by Molly Gloss.


Author: Clyde Derrick
Publisher: Omnidawn
Published: 03/29/2023
Pages: 45
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.17lbs
Size: 6.77h x 5.35w x 0.32d
ISBN13: 9781632431127
ISBN10: 1632431122
BISAC Categories:
- Fiction | Ghost

About the Author
Clyde Derrick is the author of The Wash. His short film Strider's House has aired on PBS, and his plays Angel's Flight and Teshuvah have been produced in Los Angeles by Write Act Repertory Company. He lives in Claremont, California.