Stream to Scream: Horror Noire and Ghost Summer

 

Horror often puts a supernatural mask on our own very real fears, exploring our own very real phobias through a narrative that we convince ourselves is trapped in its pages and can’t escape them once the book is closed. And we can also close the newspaper, turn off social media, but that news, and the consequences of what’s happening, is still out there. Many times, horror often creates a more palpable way to consider and even discuss these real world terrors by putting them in the guise of a killer clown of vengeful spirit. A master of this is Tananarive Due, who has not only written scholarly works on the genre, but is also an accomplished author of horror fiction. Her skills in relevant and revealing storytelling are revealed in the anthology movie Horror Noire and in Due's short story collection Ghost Summer.

Following up on the Horror Noire documentary that looks at the many black voices in horror, this anthology that shares the same name features six supernatural stories that explore contemporary societal issues and monsters that may or may not be supernatural (the first entry “The Lake” is a prime example of this). The stories run the gamut from Southern Gothic tales like “Bride Before You” and more comedic horror fare in “Sundown.” As with many anthology stories, the quality of the tales can be uneven, with “Brand of Evil” and “Daddy” being some of the lesser quality ones, but all the stories do evoke a moral  in a way that doesn’t sound pedantic, which is a true accomplishment in storytelling.

Ghost Summer is an obvious collection to link with this movie anthology because Due’s story “The Lake” can be found at the beginning of the book. While “The Lake” tricks the reader into sympathizing with the monster who is also the protagonist, stories like “Summer” explore how our own emotional burdens can create monstrous thoughts. There are also stories that look at the pervading effects of America’s history of racism. The story “Ghost Summer” excavates the consequences of a town’s brutally racist past with a breezy coming-of-age tale about a boy determined to discover ghosts on his grandparents’ property. “Free Jim’s Mine,” on the other hand, is a historical tale that explores how freedom can come with a very terrible price. “Trial Day” explores what black people in the racist South to be if not accepted then at least tolerated. Due’s fiction and Horror Noire both explore darker parts of our history that might make some people uncomfortable, but the fact that these feelings and attitudes are still rippling across current events means they are still worth tackling.

Fearsome Five: Top Five Reimaginings of Frankenstein

On February 1st, 1851, Mary Shelley passed away but not before she cemented her legacy in the burgeoning horror genre. Frankenstein, her seminal story about monsters and the men that don't think about the consequences of creating them, lives on in everything from classic movies to cereal mascots. Its longevity is, in part, because this story, like all good horror and science fiction, hits on some timeless and timely themes, ranging from relationships with creators (parents?) to hubris disguised as the pursuit of science, has allowed this tale to come back in a myriad of forms, like its monster, pieced together from our own experiences, cultures, and folklore. On this, the anniversary of her death, to celebrate the monster she has brought to life and we keep resuscitating, here are my top five Frankenstein-inspired reading suggestions.
5) Made Men: Getting the Gang Back Together: It's a continuation of the Frankenstein mythos with a little Kill Bill and Lethal Weapon thrown into the mix. Easily one of the more original takes, this graphic novel, written by Paul Tobin of Colder fame, features Jutte, a police officer and ancestor of the infamous Doctor Frankenstein. When a bust goes wrong, she brings her team back from the dead, more or less, and back together to get revenge on the lowlifes that tried to kill them. This book features hard-boiled modern noir and a guy with a lion's head, if you're into one or the other. Or even both.
4) Monster: A Novel of Frankenstein: David Zeltserman's novel is told from the monster's perspective, and he turns out to be more sympathetic in many ways than in the original story. The monster, named Friedrich, evolves throughout the story into a hero who must stop the evil doctor Victor Frankenstein, a depraved individual and the man responsible for Friedrich's resurrection. Friedrich has his share of supernatural adventures, encountering vampires and Satanists, but still manages to keep the focus on the dichotomy between the monster at its maker. 
3) Mary Shelley Monster Hunter: Vol. 1 Abomination: Not only does this graphic novel retell the Frankenstein story but also weaves within it the story of its creator. The tale begins in a Mary Shelley museum and goes back to Mary Shelley's inspiration for the tale, a trip with her fiancee Percy Shelley as well as their companion Lord Byron. Forced out of their accommodations, the group must spend the winter in the castle of Dr. Victoria Frankenstein, where Shelley discovers her real-life attempts to create life. This feminist take, with the doctor and monster maker being a woman, doesn't skimp on the horror and suspense, and authors Adam Glass and Olivia Cuartero-Briggs create something unique while paying homage to a well-known story. It's a tightrope they seem to walk with ease.
2) Frankenstein in Baghdad: Ahmed Saadawi takes the familiar tale far from its European roots and creates a timely fantastic tale in the process. Hadi scavenges up the parts of people and stitches them together in order for the dead to be recognized by the government and given a proper burial. However, Hadi soon discovers that his creation gets a mind of its own, a mind centered on revenge and on keeping itself alive by stealing replacement parts. This story excels in showing the struggles of war-torn Iraq using the lens of the fantastic.
1) Victor LaValle's Destroyer: Another timely retelling/continuation of the Frankenstein mythos that leans into the tragedy of police shootings, the tension of contemporary race relations, and the all-too familiar narrative of lives taken too soon. Dr. Baker is a mother who loses her young son to a police shooting. Of course, as a scientist and a descendant of Dr. Frankenstein's, she has the tools to rectify this situation and seek revenge on the world that allowed this tragedy to happen. Expect lots of superscience and secret government organizations, but LaValle's work also forces us to look at what our society has become and whether or not we can do anything about it.

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.