So the first two stories in Burke's collection are great, but they aren't really scary. They are more somber, I might even say they're romantic in their examination of the supernatural, even if they are kind of sad. They are more melancholy than terrifying, and I thought this was going to be an ongoing motif throughout the collection.
WRONG.
The next story, Mr. Goodnight, is a straight up monster story. It totally reminded me of Norman Partridge's Dark Harvest, and this is a very good thing. It tells a familiar story of two boys, in the middle of nowhere, digging a large hole in a field and unearthing a demonic force. In a horror story, you just know that digging can never lead to any good. Leave the earth alone dammit! Anyhow, the two boys first find a strange black goo, and this goo soon becomes some kind of terrible creature called Mr. Goodnight. And while the beginnings of this tale are familiar, some might argue cliche, I would argue conventional but well executed, the ending packs a punch of gruesome terror.
I read this story while in bed, something I do on a nightly basis. But I needed something more comforting to fall asleep to, and I thought that maybe the next story would be more like the first two.
WRONG. DOUBLE WRONG.
The next story, Empathy, is disgusting, and terrifying, and disturbing. The horror here is birthed from something ubiquitous, a thing that you are using right now: the internet; the catalyst: curiosity. I'm sure many of us have one of those friends who sends around links with remarks like, "Hey, watch this, it's disgusting!" Or perhaps this friend pulls a surprise Goatse on you, or tricks you into watching 2girls1cup (something I've never seen - thank God!).
What has been seen cannot be unseen.
But what if the thing that has been seen causes you to loose your freaking mind? And, what's worse, what if this newly discovered insanity physically manifests itself and causes irreversible, violent harm?
Be careful what you click on. You just never know what's out there.
This morning I read the subsequent story, Peekers, and it, too, is fantastic. I may never think of hide and go seek the same again. Burke has an ability to describe in a few words memorable and frightening situations and scenarios. I think he really understands the things that scare people, and because his prose is so effortless to read, the scares hit you with real force. While these stories are quickly devoured, they are not easily forgotten.
This is a great collection.
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