Horror novels and stories are a dying brand of media in today’s world. Once so popular, they now are somewhat of a rarity. While the horror publication has lost its acclaim, it has given way to the rise of the horror movie. It is a shame that films with amateur acting and shoddy writing are replacing these works of art. The classics are forgotten, such as Dracula and Frankenstein, diverting our attention to these inferior film pieces. Therefore, the once exorbitant quantity of horror writers is starting to become a dying breed. Unfortunately it has become quite a dilemma to find quality horror writing and authors. However, there is one story “Holiday” by M. Rickert, which encompasses all of the true elements of a horror story. This story fits the genre of horror due to the display of serious intense fear and unease. It is not similar to the horror pieces of today that revolve around gore and violence, but it sticks to the principles of an original horror story.
First of all, this story is considered a horror story because it has many of the elements of classic scary pieces. In essence it is a ghost story, but deals with much more than the average novels of this type. This narrative revolves around a writer who is visited by a ghost of a small girl around the age of six. As time passes he starts to form a relationship with her, as well as other ghosts of children that have begun to appear. The author’s father was a child molester and he is attempting to write a novel about his father’s life. This story utilizes this revolting back-story to incite fear into the audience. Although the author is not a pedophile like his father, nearly everyone that he interacts with in the story believes him to be one. This is due to the fact that he is attempting to entertain all these ghost children, and thus has to keep buying items for them, such as Shirley Temple DVDs. It is as if only the children know of the author’s innocent nature. Fear is generated in the audience because one concludes that since the author’s father was an abuser of children, he will have to pay for what atrocities his parent committed. It really keeps the reader on edge. This is an excellent feature of the story and a staple of an effective horror piece. “’Horror is not a genre, like the mystery or science fiction or the western. It is not a kind of fiction, meant to be confined to the ghetto of a special shelf in libraries of bookstores. Horror is an emotion.” (Horror Writer, 2009, p. 1). I whole-heartedly agree with this statement and this story does a fantastic job of galvanizing apprehension and fear into the audience. Additionally, the author sets the mood of the story very well. This is a very dark narrative. The elements of a house full of ghost children, a disturbed father, a drug addict brother, and a greedy publisher make it nearly impossible to feel any positive feelings when reading this piece. This is the strength of the work and another effective aspect of the horror genre that is portrayed.
Another substantial feature of this story is the descriptive writing. It puts very creepy and fearful imagery into your head. One passage that really stuck with me was when the main character sees the ghost for the first time. “Her body starts jerking in a strange way as she moves across my bedroom floor, her arms out”. (Rickert, 2009, p. 27). This depiction really was one of the parts that encouraged fear and unease. Another description that was effective and demonstrative of the aspects of the horror genre was when the protagonist decides to research the ghost girl’s story and the reason for her death. “When I read about how her father found her, wrapped in a blanket, as though someone was worried she would be cold, but with that rope around her neck”. (Rickert, 2009, p. 28). That is a terrifying depiction of nearly the worst occurrence that can happen to someone. It was memorable, yet disheartening A third passage that aids in supporting the elements of a horror story is when the main character begins to find that the ghost girl is bringing more ghost children into his house. “’And today is her birthday.’ I turn to the girl who looks up at me with her beautiful black eyes. ‘Your birthday?’ Both girls nod solemnly. This description really does a great job of setting the scene and extenuating a hair-raising vibe. This story goes for unease rather than in your face violence or heart-pounding excitement. It is a consistent depiction of a chilling atmosphere.
Although this story is quite hair-raising, it does have some novelty moments that make it somewhat comical. There are many lines and depictions that stand out for their novelty, rather than their terrifying nature. One in particular was the passage at the beginning. It did an amazing job of instilling intrigue into the reader; as well as urging them read more. “She says her name is Holiday, but I know she’s lying. I remember her face. It was all over the news for weeks, years, even but of course she doesn’t know that. I briefly consider telling her ‘Hey, did you know you’re a star?’ But that would necessitate bringing up the subject of her death, and I’m not clear if she knows that she’s a ghost, or that almost everyone thinks her parents killed her.” (Rickert, 2009, p. 27). This was just great writing by the author, and has to be considered as one of the most effective passages in the story. Another striking depiction was actually one of the few comical occurrences in the piece. It takes place after the protagonist has begun to care for all these ghost children. “Suddenly it’s like I’m running some kind of day care center for dead kids. She keeps bring them to me, I don’t know why. We watch Shirley Temple movies”. (Rickert, 2009, p. 31). This just is a humorous happening within the story, which is one of the few happy elements that occur. The last thing that an individual would expect in a ghost story is that the main character would be running a ghost day care. The last memorable depiction is near the end of the narrative. The protagonist decides to throw a party for the ghost children that he has been taking care of. He also purchases a clown costume for this gathering. “The doorbell rings and I run to answer it, laughing because it’s very funny the way she’s hidden outside but when I open the door, my brother is standing there. ‘Oh, fuck,’ he says. ‘It’s not the way it looks.’” (Rickert, 2009, p. 34). This is a humorous coincidence that occurs in the novel due to these ghost characters. Although the main character attempts to care for them they end up getting him into trouble. In fact, the protagonist is beginning to get the same reputation as his father, except for the fact that he is not abusing anyone. It is possible that the main character feels that he has to take care of these ghost children to make up for the fact that his father was so horrible to adolescents. He may have reasoned that there has to be some type of repentance.
Rickert’s story “Holiday” is a horror story that is chilling and hair-raising. The author does a great job of setting a dark and gloomy mood, by covering disgusting and scary subject matter. There also is effective utilization of the English language, making the piece ripe with memorable passages. The author clearly has a substantial grasp on what is high quality writing. Furthermore, there is clear and efficacious understanding of the elements that should make up a horror story and they are convincingly employed in this piece. Rickert is a rarity in today’s generic and untalented author pool. It is comforting to see that some still value the classic elements of the horror genre and in “Holiday” this is forcefully demonstrated.
References
Horror Writers. (2009) What is Horror Fiction? Web.
Rickert, M. (2009). Holiday. Urbana, IL: Golden Gryphon Press.