I previously wrote about reading 3 classic horror books: one about a haunted house and ghosts (The Haunting of Hill House), one about a monster created (Frankenstein) and the classic vampire story (Dracula). I decided it would be fun to find contemporary horror novels in similar subplots. What better way to celebrate the start of autumn? I also looked for stories written outside of the English speaking counties. I wanted to find stories with different voices and perspectives. I found it interesting to look for contemporary stories from classic novels and how writing styles and the choices that authors make have changed or in some cases, stayed the same, over time.
My first pick is Our Share of the Night by Mariana Enriquez (2019), an Argentina journalist and writer. This is a supernatural horror story but so much more. It is everything I love about an epic book: complex and dynamic characters, beautiful writing and the setting! It is layered in history from the 1970s and the 1990s of Argentina and the 1960s in London, England.
I picked this book as the contemporary version of Frankenstein. The main character, Juan, although not technically a “creature” created by his master, he is shaped and forced from a young child to become a cult’s medium. He becomes a monster in a sense, through the workings of the cult, as he is forced to do their bidding, including unleashing a dark evil which consumes people. His goal is to save his son from his same fate and everything he does, even the very difficult decisions, are in pursuit of this goal which at its heart, is centred upon his love for his son. It reminded me to Frankenstein, and how all the monster wanted was to have love and companionship in his life and yet he destroyed people in an attempt to get it.
At times this is a difficult book to read. Content warning: there is torture, including torture of children; and references to the brutal disappearances during the Argentina dictatorship. The cult— organized and maintained by 3 powerful families— will do anything to secure Juan’s son as their next medium. And Juan, in his efforts to save his son, will also do what he needs to do including sacrificing others to his goal.
This is a powerful book and one the best examples of how the horror genre can speak to the complexity of the world we live in today.
For the haunted house contemporary novel, I had to pick 2 because I could not choose between them.
The first is, The Hacienda by Isabel Canas (2022). This book is set in the 1820s of Mexican, in the aftermath of the Independence War. The main character, Beatrix, is suddenly struck into poverty when her father is killed during the war. She marries a rich man despite the negative rumours about how his first wife died, and goes to live in his remote estate in the country. Of course, the house is haunted by the dead wife who is not happy that Beatrix has moved in. And the house seems to be on the side of the dead wife too. To make things even more complicated, it turns out that her new husband is not exactly Prince Charming either. Beatrix enlists the help of a young priest who is also a witch which adds a romantic element to this story. The Hacienda, similar to the Haunting of Hill House, feels like a character in the book itself. The Hacienda plays tricks on her, making her question her sanity but she decides that she needs to fight back to survive. This book blends beautifully the gothic horror genre with a fantastic setting, folklore and religion plus a romance that make this book a page turner.
The second pick for a haunted house story is Mexican Gothic by Silvai Moreno-Garcia (2020). This is also set in Mexico but in the 1950s. The main character, Noemi, receives a frantic letter from her newly married cousin, living in a remote house in the countryside. Although she is a young and glamorous socialite, she goes to rescue her cousin. High House has all the trappings of a classic haunted house — located in middle of nowhere, high on a hill, surrounded by mist and mystery. One of the best parts of this novel is the protagonist: no damsel in distress; instead she is smart, brave and loyal to her cousin. Despite this she is tested by the ongoing and creepy manipulations of the family that have live in High House, and the evil in the house itself. This is a beautiful written book that slowly takes the reader down its dark and twisted road.
Although there have been a zillion of vampire stories since Dracula, I have picked this Swedish version as a contemporary version to read. Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindquist (2004), is set in a bleak and failed town in Sweden in 1981. The vampire is, Eli, a 12 year old girl, stuck in her 12 year old body but also the mind and needs and wants of a 12 year old girl. Despite her ancient status of having lived for 200 years, she has never matured. The main character is a 12 year old boy, bullied at school, stuck with a single mom who is hopeless and over-protective but not in any way that counts. I felt so sorry for this boy that it is understandable that he turns to Eli for companionship and strength, despite what she is. What I liked about this version is that even though we can have sympathy for Eli, she never stops being a monster: she needs to kill and drink the blood of her victims. There’s no sugar coating here: she can’t drink animal blood or blood of someone recently dead. No, she has to drink the blood fresh. To do this, she manipulates a pedephile to be her guardian and accomplice until he fails her. This book is disturbing from the pathetic and disgusting pedephile, to the petty but cruel bulling suffered by the main character: this is a bleak portrait of lives lived. Yet, this is why the blooming friendship between the main character and Eli is so touching even as readers we know this is doomed. It reminds me of a brief flowering in a desolate landscape. If books reflect our society, this speaks to how we have failed, not succeeded. Perhaps this why this novel is my contemporary choice for Dracula: in Dracula, the monster is vanquished. Friendship between the characters bring them together to destroy Dracula. It was written in a time of more hope, perhaps. Here, the friendship attempts to save them both the victim and the monster, and yet to do so, involves a path of destruction.
Happy reading and writing to you!
