Cathartic Horror (and Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Days)

There is someone in my book club who loves quoting the idea that we tell ourselves stories in order to live, a notion that he holds onto courtesy of Joan Didion. But stories are not just the narrative we place on our own lives. I think that fiction (either that we read or write) or any craft in which we can lose ourselves while keeping an eye on the world offers itself as a sacrifice to the feeling of catharsis. We want a safe space to let go of emotions. Books are interesting because the work and the letting go is almost entirely hidden, a solitary act. But whether someone is in a theater, surrounded by people, or at home in a chair, or even at the park on a bench, when we are engaging with a story, it presents an opportunity for release. 

 

I was reading a little bit about the history of the Theater of the Grotesque when thinking about this but it also put to mind the perennial children’s book Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Both of these creative expressions find humor and release in the unknowable absurdity of the universe. They give us collective space to both feel bad, and to laugh. Sometimes, as someone who did not grow up loving horror, my favorite way to engage with it is to talk about it afterward. It allows me to locate myself outside of it while still appreciating the places it took me. 

 

And so: it is almost October and Halloween season, and maybe we could all use some catharsis. May we all have a good day and find someone (or someones) to talk about these books with (synopses, and a link to their DC Public Library availability below):

 

 

The lives of the Barretts, a normal suburban New England family, are torn apart when fourteen-year-old Marjorie begins to display signs of acute schizophrenia. To her parents' despair, the doctors are unable to stop Marjorie's bizarre outbursts and subsequent descent into madness. As their home devolves into a house of horrors, they reluctantly turn to a local Catholic priest for help. Father Wanderly suggests an exorcism; he believes the vulnerable teenager is the victim of demonic possession. In an acutely sadistic turn, he also contacts a production company that is eager to document the Barretts plight for a reality television show.

 

 

 

 

Incidents Around the House is a chilling, wholly unique tale of true horror about a family as haunted as their home. To eight-year-old Bela, her family is her world. There's Mommy, Daddo, and Grandma Ruth. But there is also Other Mommy, a malevolent entity who asks her every day: "Can I go inside your heart?" 

 

When horrifying incidents around the house signal that Other Mommy is growing tired of asking Bela the question over and over, Bela understands that unless she says yes, her family will soon pay.

 

Other Mommy is getting restless, stronger, bolder. Only the bonds of family can keep Bela safe, but other incidents show cracks in her parents' marriage. The safety Bela relies on is about to unravel. 

 

But Other Mommy needs an answer.

 

Evil is invisible, and it is everywhere. That is the only way to explain the series of misfortunes that have plagued the wagon train known as the Donner Party. Depleted rations, bitter quarrels, and the mysterious death of a little boy have driven the isolated travelers to the brink of madness. Though they dream of what awaits them in the West, long-buried secrets begin to emerge, and dissent among them escalates to the point of murder and chaos. They cannot seem to escape tragedy ... or the feelings that someone -- or something -- is stalking them. Whether it's a curse from the beautiful Tamsen Donner (who some think might be a witch), their ill-advised choice of route through uncharted terrain, or just plain bad luck, the ninety men, women, and children of the Donner Party are heading into one of one of the deadliest and most disastrous Western adventures in American history. As members of the group begin to disappear, the survivors start to wonder if there really is something disturbing, and hungry, waiting for them in the mountains ... and whether the evil that has unfolded around them may have in fact been growing within them all along.

 

(Side note that this is my book club book for October and I can’t wait to talk about it!)

 

From New York Times bestselling author Stephen Graham Jones comes a novel that is equal parts psychological horror and cutting social commentary on identity politics and the American Indian experience. Fans of Jordan Peele and Tommy Orange will love this story as it follows the lives of four American Indian men and their families, all haunted by a disturbing, deadly event that took place in their youth. Years later, they find themselves tracked by an entity bent on revenge, totally helpless as the culture and traditions they left behind catch up to them in a violent, vengeful way. This book had a lot of buzz in 2020, and if you didn’t read it then, this might be your sign to dip into it!

 

 

Not being a short story person, this is maybe one of the story collections I could be convinced to read. But especially if you do enjoy the shorter pieces, this might be a good fit for you: "You like it darker? Fine, so do I," writes Stephen King in the afterword to this magnificent new collection of twelve stories that delve into the darker part of life--both metaphorical and literal. King has, for half a century, been a master of the form, and these stories, about fate, mortality, luck, and the folds in reality where anything can happen, are as rich and riveting as his novels, both weighty in theme and a huge pleasure to read. King writes to feel "the exhilaration of leaving ordinary day-to-day life behind," and in You Like It Darker, readers will feel that exhilaration too, again and again.

 

"Two Talented Bastids" explores the long-hidden secret of how the eponymous gentlemen got their skills. In "Danny Coughlin's Bad Dream," a brief and unprecedented psychic flash upends dozens of lives, Danny's most catastrophically. In "Rattlesnakes," a sequel to Cujo, a grieving widower travels to Florida for respite and instead receives an unexpected inheritance--with major strings attached. In "The Dreamers," a taciturn Vietnam vet answers a job ad and learns that there are some corners of the universe best left unexplored. "The Answer Man" asks if prescience is good luck or bad and reminds us that a life marked by unbearable tragedy can still be meaningful.

 

King's ability to surprise, amaze, and bring us both terror and solace remains unsurpassed. Each of these stories holds its own thrills, joys, and mysteries; each feels iconic. You like it darker? You got it.