In lunch and war
Finding Horrific Inspiration at a Quaint New England Restaurant
Last summer, my wife and I spent a couple of weeks house and dog-sitting for my parents at their home in the woods of northern Connecticut near the Massachusetts border. Their town is little more than a crossroads in what’s known as the “Quiet Corner” of Connecticut. Union boasts literally only one restaurant: a quirky, charming establishment called Traveler Food and Books, just off Exit 74 on I-84.
To horror’s fearless females
To those of you who don’t already know Shirley Jackson: she is my goddess. Yes, I’ve admitted to worshipping at her figurative-altar. Yes, I’ve yipped aloud when the New Yorkerran a whole Sunday edition devoted to her awesomeness. Yes, I’ve read The Haunting of Hill Housein a single sitting, which was a mistake because by the time I finished it was 2 am and I was too terrified to sleep.Read More
The monster on the moors: Wuthering Heights as horror
‘Hell is other people.’
M.P. Diedrich referenced the famous Sartre quote at our recent panel for the anthology First Came Fear. It seems fitting to utilize it once again as I make a case for Emily Brontë’s gothic masterpiece, Wuthering Heights, to sit comfortably within the horror genre. Although tales of horror can include both the fantastical and the supernatural, my own training in psychology has taught me that if humanity itself possesses the potential for infinite kindness, it just as proficiently exercises the deployment of infinite harm. And no soil more richly cultivates cruelty than that of love.Read More
