The Haunting of Hill House

- The Haunting of Hill House. Shirley Jackson. Dreamy, somewhat childlike Eleanor has been invited to take place in a most unusual experiment: to spend a summer in famously haunted Hill House along with paranormal researcher Dr. Montague, psychic Theodora and salacious Luke, the next in line to inherit Hill House. Eleanor sees in the experiment an escape from her nightmare of a regular life, while Montague seeks to exploit her untapped psychic abilities. But Hill House offers neither escape nor answers and soon it will feed on these people’s obsessions, seeking to consume the loneliest soul amongst them…

Classic haunted house novel, a landmark in the Horror genre from an often hard to classify writer. This book is every bit as good as you have heard and more. Forget for a moment the many screen adaptations (while recognizing the power of the 1961 movie and of the recent Netflix tv series): This unique novel needs to be experienced on its’ own terms, beyond expectations, fame, and considerations for genre. 

A spooky tale very much recommended for the season. 

A head full of ghosts.

- A head full of ghosts. Paul Tremblay. Fourteen-year-old Marjorie Barrett has been displaying bizarre, increasingly disturbing behavior. Undiagnosed illness or demonic possession? Either way, her family does not have the means to treat it properly. Father John’s borderline zealotry and mother Sarah’s skepticism both crash against the harsh reality of poverty. And so, they opt for an unlikely solution: Allow themselves to be filmed for an horror reality tv show called ‘The Possession’, which will culminate with a live broadcast of an exorcism! Years later Marjorie’s younger sister, Meredith, is giving a tell-all interview even as blogger Karen reviews “The Possession” episode by episode —will they solve the puzzle at the heart of the real horror that went beyond the existence of demons? 

What could easily be mistaken for yet another run-of-the-mill possession tale is quickly revealed to be much more interested in meta-textual games than in cliché scares. Much is made of the tropes found in famous horror fiction and the ways in which they shape our own expectations of where these stories are supposed to go. Much, too, of the often exploitative nature of mass media, be it reality tv, viral publicity, paid rabble-rousers at protests, assorted clergy and medical personnel hired as publicists... 

Now, one problem with the book is that for most of it it’s very interesting… but never quite scary. The actual possession often strikes us as unconvincing. And while we feel for eight-year-old Meredith (or “Merry”, hint-hint), for most of the book she fells less like a survivor of trauma than as an adult romanticizing her childhood memories. 

All of which is, in fact, part of this book’s ultimately clever misdirection…

SPOILERS AHEAD!

Because as it turns out, every voice we have been hearing in this book, every ghost in the head (or in the machine?) is Merry herself. Blogger Karen is a pen name, and both past and present are narrated by her. And it’s only in the last chapters were we discover how carefully she has crafted a story to cover the real horror. 

And what is the horror? Not the possession, but that a month after “The possession” ended, John supposedly poisoned and killed himself and his family, with Merry the only survivor. 

Except, that is also a lie. Merry is the one who poisoned them! 

Why, the reader is immediately compelled to ask. Under orders of Marjorie? Because Merry was the one possessed all along? 

We don’t know and we can’t know —because what we do know is that she has perfected the technique of using stories to hide the truth, whatever it might be. Even as a child, she and Marjorie would make up yarns to hint at what they were planning to do and what they desired (a story about pets, a murder mystery about a wicked father). As Karen, she is able to separate herself from her own real life in order to turn it into a Gothic tale, disturbing reporter Rachel in the process. 

Even in the midst of her confession, it would seem that we have been distracted by a “is the girl possessed or not” yarn so we would fail to notice the other story: “Is the father having a breakdown and everybody failed to notice?”. But even that is a story, half-remembered memories rearranged into a seemingly coherent narrative. 

Perhaps the head full of ghosts is that of Merry, and that of Marjorie and probably that of Rachel as well: It is the head of the story-teller. 

SPOILERS END

The result is a book that recalls the best carefully constructed fictions of Ira Levin, Peter Straub and even the best William Peter Blatty —not that of ‘The exorcist’, but that of the much-maligned and quite underrated “Twinkle, twinkle Killer Kane” (rather than his own more banal remake, “The ninth configuration”). An intriguing read, more recommended for fans of ‘weird fiction’ than of only horror per se. 

P. S. For those interested in literary themes, notice the recurrent allusions to Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s classic gothic yarn (or is it?) “The yellow wallpaper”, and see if you can deduce how it ties to the story we have been reading. 

Big Little Lies.

- Big Little Lies. Liane Moriarty. Sidney, Australia. Pirriwee Public School is the ideal place for children, learning in view of the ocean and with a zero-bullying policy. Well, it would be ideal if not for the parents. Their constant, almost feverish competitions and petty fights with each other. That sometimes lead to violence even amongst their children. That sometimes lead to wrong accusations. That sometimes lead to murder...

A mix of social satire and chilling thriller, peopled with unforgettable characters and plenty of dark humor. While some of the plot twists can feel over-the-top, the novel is at its' best when examining the haunting consequences of domestic abuse. As one character remarks, there are so many levels of evil in the world. Recommended overall. 

Later adapted to a TV series that's itself worth a look, despite the change in setting. 

Rocketman (2019).

- Rocketman (UK / US. Dir. Dexter Fletcher, 2019). The life and times of Elton John --specifically, his neglected childhood, rise to fame, successful partnership with Bernie Taupin, torrid relationship with John Reid, and his constant battle against addiction and excess. 

Part biopic, part full musical, this movie is above all an amazing spectacle. This would almost be trivial were it not also about a key figure in Queer culture. This is listed as the first major Hollywood production to feature a gay male sex scene on-screen (of course, the fact that it took until freaking 2019 for that says a lot about how retrograde mainstream culture has always been. Still...), and wears its themes on the sleeve. 

Very much a recommended film, as both musical and movie in general. 

*

Us (2019).

- Us (2019. Dir. Jordan Peele). The Wilsons (father Gabe, mother Adelaide, daughter Zora and son Jason) take a vacation in Santa Cruz, despite Adelaide’s misgivings. As a child, she had gotten lost in a hall of mirrors —and seemingly came to face to face with her doppelgänger. Perhaps it was just her imagination —or perhaps not, because that very night the Wilsons find their home invaded by four strangers… who are their exact replicas! 

Director Peele’s follow-up to his groundbreaking “Get Out” is another terrific horror movie. The chilling atmosphere and complex script are buoyed a fine cast (in particular lead Lupita Nyong’o), all effectively giving double performances: The laidback, often kooky real people and their deranged evil duplicates. Much has been discussed about the movie’s themes and message, not to mention the divisive third act. I would argue that “Us” simply follows a tradition of strong, challenging horror films that invite multiple viewings. To be sure, it’s one of those movies where the last twist forces you to reconsider everything that’s gone before in a whole new light. 

All in all, a terrific horror film, recommend both for genre fans and not. 

Panic.

- Panic. Lauren Oliver. The impoverished town of Carp, New York, has an annual tradition: the Panic game. During the summer, all willing high school graduates will compete in a high-risk series of dares for a jackpot that might give them a chance to flee their stifling town and start a new life. Heather, out for meaning and Dodge, out for revenge, are seemingly the strongest contestants this time. But life is full of harsh, unexpected twists and turns…

Oliver, of “Before I fall”, gives us another YA thriller with a finely developed teenage cast. The plot is intriguing, though a couple plot twists are fairly easy to guess and the resolution is somewhat unsatisfying. But the real virtue is the characters, their believable motivations, contradictions and increasing desperation as the game draws to a close. 

While not quite on par with “Before”, this is nevertheless a perfectly serviceable suspense yarn, worth at least one look. 

Grandpa's monster movies.

- Grandpa’s monster movies (Deadtime stories #10). A. G. Gascone. Snooty city cousins C. T. and Lea are not having a good time at their family reunion. Oh, Grandpa and Grandma are okay, mostly on account they serve fried chicken. But the lower-class uncle and his wife and kids who eat stuff that doesn’t come out of a KFC? And the single uncle who likes animals and happens to be very hairy! They keep EXISTING and, like, not apologizing for it, how dare they! And there is also a man-eating monster on the loose, but really, that’s noting compared to the fact that these poor privileged middle-class kids are expected not to spit on their ugly poor relatives. The horror. 

“Deadtime Stories” was one of several children’s horror knock-offs that littered the 90’s in the wake of the success of “Goosebumps” (and several predecessors). Some, like “Shivers”, tended to be even better than the series the publishers wished to ape. And some, like this series offered by sisters Annette and Gina Gascone under a shared pen name, reminds us that 90% of everything is at best mediocre. 

To be sure: In terms of plot itself, this book is neither particularly bad or good: It’s a fairly standard monster story that takes a specific horror sub-genre ant presents a somewhat watered-down version to make it suitable for —not for children, exactly (good authors for children know that they are often much more resilient than adults and teenagers), bur rather suitable for mainstream publishers. The genre in question here is equal parts “Southern Gothic” (as the name implies, Gothic tales set in rural South US) and what one might call “Hillbilly horror”. 

And it’s this second part that is the problem: The atmosphere and the violence might be toned down, but the classicism inherent in the sub-genre is present in full (the only thing not applied is anything sexual —and frankly, the book is *this* close to insinuating that one set of characters are inbred and that the single uncle is a zoophile). Every description of the rural, blue-collar characters is meant to evoke revulsion from the reader, or at the bare minimum a nervous titter. I have seen at least one review that comes this close to agreeing with this viewpoint, too. Small surprise. Appealing to the lowest common denominator usually finds the vilest kind of sympathy. 

One might say —okay, but what if we ignore all of that and just focus on the monster part? Well, first, it’s difficult, because the book is 90% gross descriptions of relatives, 10% plot. And the plot itself is… undercooked, to say the least. The concept isn’t bad: A “wild pet” that has been kept captive and secret for at least three generations but which gets loose every so often and wrecks havoc. But the actual execution is riddled with plot holes: How can this creature be kept a secret when it has killed people in plain sight, even registered in film? (Why, yes, the title is literal. Grandpa kept home movies of the monster for reasons that are left as an exercise for the reader). How unfortunate does a man have to be to be stuck by lightning SIXTEEN times and also get a literal monster at an arcade? Where did that arcade machine come from and why was it in the middle of a county fair? How can one take a cartoonish plot like blowing up a monster with TNT seriously? (Some might argue that the ending is meant to be silly, but nothing in the prose suggests that the Gascone sisters are playing it tongue-in-cheek. Involuntarily hilarious is more like it). 

The result, then, is a book that is more a curiosity (an often irritating curiosity), a sampling of a specific era, than a good story on its own right.