My Two Cents (Book Review): THE STATION MASTER by Desiree Horton

How far would you go to be granted your heart's desire? Four teenagers discover the brutal answer when they follow a network of abandoned subway tunnels in search of an infamous urban legend in Desiree Horton's short story "The Station Master."

Benson is a shy, earnest young man harboring a secret crush on classmate Shannon. He sees an opportunity to impress her when Shannon invites him along as she seeks out "the Station Master," an enigmatic figure said to grant wishes. According to local lore, the Station Master lives deep within the labyrinthian, abandoned subway tunnels beneath their town, and although Benson has reservations, he agrees to go. When they're joined by handsome, athletic Matt and the beautiful, popular Sabriel, Benson's ascension into the school's upper social tier seems guaranteed, as do his chances with Shannon. However, the deeper underground they go, the stranger their surroundings seem, and Benson quickly discovers that even tall tales have dark truths lurking behind them.

I was introduced to Horton's writing with "The Curse of Marystown" at the end of 2025. As with that story, "The Station Master" is rich with atmospheric dread. The prose feels as claustrophobic and unsettling as the tunnels in which the story unfolds. Benson's apprehension becomes the reader's own from the very first page, and Horton builds upon that until the story's grim -- and grisly -- conclusion. No one rides for free, as the old saying goes, and for the Station Master, that's definitely the case.

Quick, captivating, and dark, "The Station Master" would make a hell of a great horror movie, its titular antagonist as potentially iconic as any Cenobite.

"The Station Master" is available here.