LoreWeaver
Weaving Worlds with Words
Kat's Short Story
"The Final Lesson"
Appearing in:
Requiem: Tales of the undead
When Death comes calling, Marjorie Croft expects the end—not a new student. But Death has a request: piano lessons.
A simple bargain turns into an unlikely friendship, shaped by music, memory, and the steady approach of a final, perfect performance.
Anthology Description
Death comes for us all. But for some, it doesn’t stay.
Mythology and lore are full of undead creatures, and each one has a story to tell—of their life, their death, or their afterlife.
From a haunting melody that leads a ghost to her killer, to a piano that provides salvation during a zombie apocalypse, to a song that grants passage back from death, Requiem: Tales of the Undead offers a chilling chorus of monstrous melodies and ghostly harmonies.
These nineteen imaginative stories feature a wide variety of the undead, each woven with a distinct musical element that explores the connection between life, death, and the supernatural. A vampire working in law enforcement learns that “The driver picks the music.” A mummy trapped in a corporate cubicle struggles to break free and pursue his own song. Death takes piano lessons. And when a special song is played on a specific gramophone, the dead are allowed to answer three final questions.
These aren’t just stories about the undead. They’re about what we remember, what we mourn, and the songs that stay with us—long after the last breath fades.
So, listen closely. The dead have stories to tell. And they’re set to music.
Edited by Lisa Mangum with Wendy Christensen, this collection includes stories from the alumni of Superstars Writing Seminars: Jonathan Maberry, Mary Pletsch, Carol Hightshoe, Aynsley J Fraser, Edward J. Knight, H.T. Ashmead, J. L. Smyser, L. Briar, Jason Kristopher, Caitlin Barbera, Aaron Canton, Kat Farrow, Lehua Parker, Mike Strickland, Victoria Rivera, Jason P. Crawford, Gabbie Gibson, Lou J Berger, Elizabeth Lowham.
Cover art created by CL Fors.
eBook ISBN: 978-1-68057-819-5
Trade paperback ISBN: 978-1-68057-820-1
Jacketed Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-68057-821-8
2026 WordFire Press
Printed in USA