Have You Read This? Infidel by Pornsak Pichetshote and Aaron Campbell

Horror stories, like any story, does not exist in a vacuum. Rather, it is influenced by not only the author but the time period in which it was written. Dracula, for example, isn’t just about a supernatural being that controls rats or drinks blood. Critical pieces abound that mark the eponymous vampire as a symbol of Victorian repression, the encroaching modern times, the fear of the other, etc. There are many horror stories that reflect the era they originated while also exploring universal terrors that keep us all up at night (or up during the daytime, if you’re a vampire). One of these stories is the graphic novel Infidel, a seemingly by-the-numbers ghost story that explores prejudices and xenophobia that shows up on way too many media outlets.

Writer Pornsak Pichetshote’s story has a building haunted not just by something supernatural but by a recent bombing that has many of the residents on edge, including Aisha, a Muslim woman. She is marrying a non-Muslim and trying to get along with her mother-in-law, who hasn’t always been the most open-minded. On top of that, there’s something that visits her at night, something that feeds on hatred and fear.

The story follows the template used in other ghost stories. It begins with the protagonists, singular or plural, person or couple, moving into a haunted place, the haunted place attacks but in ways that can be dismissed as imagination or a more logical explanation. Later, as the attacks worsen, the protagonists realize what they up against and by then it may already be too late. Another aspect, especially for stories that stand out from the rest, is that the people trapped usually bring their own issues to haunt them. For Aisha, she is being assaulted from disapproval from her parents for marrying a non-Muslim, as well as anger from her husband Tom who is not ready to forgive his mother’s mistakes. The spirit haunting their building feeds on these strong emotions, the hate and fear that Aisha and others produce. Far from the standard ghost story, the spirit, drawn as a surreal, hateful monstrosity by artist Aaron Campbell, goes beyond just wearing a sheet and surreally nightmarish mosaic of human parts into grotesque (think Goya paintings made into a collage) constructions. Adding to this is the lettering of the creature’s thoughts that it broadcasts to its victims, a litany of racial slurs crashing together, depicting a relentless mental assault.

One thing that helps Infidel stand out is how it deals with the very contemporary issue of racial hatred and stereotypes, particularly how they travel and fester like viruses. The book deals with this explosive topic without being trite or didactic. The book explores how this isn’t a problem that will simply go away. Such ideas, such reactions, are buried too deep. Rather than simply saying that prejudice is ugly, it says that we can all fall victim to preconceived notions and solving the problem will only come after both sides try to understand the other, no matter how horrific the other seems.