The Evil You Know

Warning! Mention of rape and child abuse

I recently listened to a horror podcast called The Magnus Archives (more on that in a different post) and its writing is brilliant, its narrative compelling and the way it builds horror and unease is amazing. But no matter how many upsetting eldritch creatures it introduces, how many creepy, disturbing and deeply unsettling stories it tells, nothing fucks me up like that one character's completely mundane backstory.

Part of the reason for my intense emotions, surely, is the fascinating way the podcast developed its characters, so that the backstory could take its full devastating effect, but another part of it is the phenomenon I want to talk about now: the evil we know is more terrifying.

We can easily see this phenomenon take shape in fandom spaces. While only very few people actually like Voldemort, for example, his evil is abstract in a grandiose genocidal way (though not without its clear real world counterpart). So while people generally don't like him, any dislike is (for the most part) impersonal in nature. Dolores Umbridge, on the other hand, is easily one of the most hated - if not THE most hated - characters in the Harry Potter franchise. And while misogyny might be, in this case, at least partially to blame, another reason is that the evil Umbridge represents is much more tangible for some people. A lot of people have had to deal with cruel and unfair teachers in their lives that made school a living hell. The emotions she invokes, therefore, are much closer to the audience' everyday lives.

A similar case can be found in Supernatural, where a large part of the fandom definitely likes some of the big bads the show has to offer. Lucifer, for example, who planned to kill all of humanity and hurt and murdered characters is actually pretty popular. What he does, is clearly fantastical in nature and, therefore, easy to ignore. The Winchesters' father, however, is markedly less popular, even though the show itself doesn't even position him as anything less than a tragic anti-hero. As a neglectful and at least emotionally abusive father, his misdeeds strike a chord with audience members, who might have their own difficult relationships with their fathers.

When Iwan Rheon (Ramsay Bolton's actor in Game of Thrones) wondered why people were more upset about season 5's rape scenes than they were about the horrific torture earlier, he missed the point. Torture as shown in the show is clearly medieval and so far removed from anything any of the audience is likely to experience that, while it is upsetting to watch, it is not the same as rape since rape is a very real danger that people face in their everyday lives. 

Coming back to what I started out with: The Magnus Archives is full of wonderfully disturbing horror stories, featuring nightmare scenarios like wandering an empty world until your body gives out, being buried alive and unable to die, falling through an empty sky forever, being overtaken by a hive of worms and many more. And still, the worst I've felt while listening, is that one backstory that doesn't have any supernatural elements at all. Instead it's a father leaving the family when the mother gets sick and a mother who from then on starts hating the son forced to take care of her.

I've wondered why this is so much worse for me even though it lacks the classic horror elements. 

And now I think it's - at least partially - BECAUSE it lacks those elements. Its horror is real.

Satori over and out

Recommendation: 4 short stories of The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2017

Last year I bought the book The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2017 edited by Charles Yu. I have never read many short stories before and almost never for fun. That changed with my discovery of this book in one of our local stores. I enjoyed it immensely, not only because science fiction and fantasy are two of my favorite genres but also - and more importantly - because the stories collected where so varied and different from each other. It is still the case, that most novels that land on store shelves are written by white men. This is not to say that novels by white men aren't worthwhile or shouldn't be read or bought, far from it. It's just to say that reading stories from a variety of perspectives is good and fun since it not only broadens your horizon but also introduces you to ideas and themes and writing styles that you might not have read about before.

Anyway. Because this is my blog and I'd like to pretend that my opinion on things matters, I will recommend to you four of my favorite stories from the 2017 collection (I'm currently reading the 2016 collection and might do a recommendation for that as well). The recommendation is not based on any objective standard but rather on my own feelings and impressions. And anyway, I'd actually recommend reading the whole book because even though not every story resonated with me, they are all worthwhile.

1) My absolute favorite story of that collection is N.K. Jemisin's The City Born Great. It is high-key poetic and just made me feel very emotional. A homeless teenager living on the streets of New York meets a mysterious stranger who talks a lot of apparent nonsense about living cities and the role the teen still has to play. Its a both melancholic and passionate meditation on what makes a city, but at the same time it's a very human look into the everyday life of a teenager that has been cast out and away. All of this meshed with just a bit of cosmic horror to set the stage.

2) Catherynne M. Valente's The Future is Blue probably appeals to me because it's set in a bleak post-apocalyptic world whose protagonist goes about her day in a relentlessly optimistic way. In the future when the whole of earth is one big ocean a pocket of society lives on and in and with a swimming mountain of trash. The story is told piece by piece in flashback subchapters titled with insults people call the outcast protagonist who takes it all in stride because she knows that even the possiblity of hope is what keeps her society alive. Not only is the construction of the post-apocalyptic society wonderfully unique and imaginative (and utterly believable), the main character's thought and decision-making processes are a joy to read.

3) I like Everyone From Themis Sends Letters Home by Genevieve Valentine because it sets up a mystery that even after its conclusion keeps the story rolling. There are scientists on a research station going about their days, recording notes and mission reports and writing to friends, family members or superiors that they left at home. However, something's not quite right with either the station or the people and whatever it is, it's definitely going to be a problem in the future. Apart from enjoying the beautifully executed plot twist (if you can even call it that since it develops so organically), I greatly enjoy the story's themes of responsibility and consequences.

4) Brian Evenson's Smear is a quiet horror story that pulled me in and didn't let me go. There's a man on a ship and there's something wrong with it, he just has to figure out what it is and he'll be fine. I can't really say much more or I'll ruin the story for you which would be a shame, since its ominous narrative that feels like danger building is just very good. The ending, however, is what really sells it for me.

As you can see, these stories can be accessed on the internet, so you have a chance to enjoy them even without buying the book. If you are able to, though, buy the book, because it was very hard for me to pick just these few stories since they're all so very different and valuable.

Satori over and out