T.E.D. Klein (1947–)

So the first story, Petey, focuses on some annoying yuppies with some sinister elements that I struggled to connect together and then a very anticlimactic ending. But the biggest issue was that the sinister creature the ending hinges on is described as like one of those giant ground sloths. This instantly punctures any creepiness. The vast majority of the population finds sloths adorable. There is nothing scary about a giant sloth. Even if it's coming to eat you. I'd probably let it. Frustrating story.

The second story is both much more effectively creepy but also unfortunately very very explicitly racist! I kept reading in the hope it was just a character thing but nope! It's set in 70s NYC, with the constant background of the "crime wave". And it's presented in an incredibly racist way. And without spoiling the horror part of the end, there's a "horde" of Black people and other minority groups at the end and they're not only bad and dangerous criminals, looting etc, but written to directly parallel dangerous and bad inhuman creatures. It's racist as hell. Lovecraft would be proud.

Then the next story is called "black man with a horn". And it opens with a Lovecraft quote. Do I trust a story in this context to not just be incredibly racist again? Probably not. Maybe I'll call it there… (més)

HP Lovecraft and Arthur Machen had a weird, twisted, snake-like baby that is this book. The main character's work on gothic and horror fiction is itself a class on the history of the genre, which is satisfying to read. Yet, it's hard to care about a protagonist who thinks things like this: "Deborah ... was cleaning up in here when we arrived, on her knees scrubbing the floor. Something curiously erotic about a woman in that position, exerting herself while you're at your ease." Ugh. He also talks shit about Shirley Jackson.

In general, the politics are of their time and therefore difficult, and the characters sometimes shift to fit the roles they are supposed to play (e.g., women getting randomly bitchy when they showed no sign of being so before). Also, I'm sick to death of the whole "virgin needed for ancient rite" plot device. It forces Carol into the role of a thing rather than allowing her to be a full and interesting character. It also means she must be saved by "her man", when all along I was hoping that she would save herself somehow. The only other interesting female character, Mrs. Poroth, is just as much a stereotype, cold and unmotherly, who is killed by the walking corpse of her son, offscreen. As if she's being punished for the lack of emotional care a woman is supposed to show. I was hoping she'd have SOME role to play, at least, but aside from smashing an altar, no.

Lastly, you would think that someone who is so well-versed in the literature of the supernatural would recognize some of the supernatural events occurring around him, or at least comment on how similar these things feel to the books he's reading? Is that a comment on the uselessness of academia? Still, there are truly creepy things in here, which have since become tropes of the genre. So, ups and downs. Recommended for horror fans.… (més)