Review: Dark Corners Collection

Summary

Description: "Don't believe what they say. There really is something to be afraid of in the dark. You'll find it in a quiet motel in the middle of nowhere, on the other side of an attic door, under the bed when the lights go out, and in your own imaginings when your mind starts playing tricks. Whatever your fears may be, the nightmares begin here.

Books:

• Hannah-Beast by Jennifer McMahon: "Thirty-four years ago, on October 31, poor Hannah Talbott took part in a scavenger hunt gone violently wrong. The mean girls made sure of it. To this day, for a haunted local mother, the most unsettling Halloween costume of all is an urban legend they call Hannah-Beast. It's a reminder of the past she can't forget. Especially tonight when it's come back, so close to home." Read Time: 1 hour Rating: 3 stars

• The Sleep Tight Motel by Lisa Unger: "Eve has a fake ID, a .38, and a violent lover receding in the rearview mirror. He'll never find her at the isolated motel, and its kindly manager is happy to ease her fears. But if Eve is the only guest, whom does she keep hearing on the other side of the wall? Eve won't get a good night's rest until she finds out. Read Time: 40 minutes Rating: 2.5 stars

• There's a Giant Trapdoor Spider Under Your Bed by Edgar Cantero: "It's bad enough that its venom-dripping chelicerae can slice through flesh like warm butter. Worse? It's right there under the bunk. It's a fact now. To make it through the night, the children must obey the rules: don't get out of bed, stay out of the shadows, and don't wake the beast. But as the threats multiply, so do the rules of survival. And with the safety of dawn still hours away, the fun is just beginning." Read Time: 30 minutes Rating: 2.25 stars

• Miao Dao by Joyce Carol Oates: "Bad things have been happening since Mia began to mature. Her dad left. Boys at school can't keep their hands to themselves. A lecherous stepfather has moved in. Her only refuge is an abandoned lot on her suburban cul-de-sac, crawling with feral felines - one of which follows Mia home. Ghostly white and affectionate, she is Mia's new companion and - as Mia's tormentors will soon discover - her fierce protector." Read Time: 1 hour Rating: 3 stars

• The Tangled Woods by Emily Raboteau: "Poison-tongued film critic Reginald Wright is known for his creative insults and intolerance for the garbage culture, insufferable rudeness, and thoughtless racism of predictably common people. Now, against his better judgment, and with a marriage in crisis, he's attempting a getaway in the Poconos that quickly fulfills his every low expectation. In fact, it's becoming a nightmare. And that's just what Reginald needs to wake up." Read Time: 1 hour Rating: 2 stars

• The Remedy by Adam Haslett: "After years of traditional treatments and therapies, Derrick still suffers from pain ineluctable enough that it has become his identity. Then he hears of an exclusive, very private New York clinic that promises relief. It comes highly recommended by a friend. The multisession remedy unfolds as a sensorial wonder that's so illuminating it's enough to bring tears to Derrick's eyes. It's all working so well. So unexpectedly well." Read Time: 1 hour Rating: 3 stars

• Oak Avenue by Brandi Reeds: "While renovating her Victorian home, Ana Clementine finds an ornate door buried under forty years of earth. Once she restores it to the attic, she starts hearing whispers, her loving husband becomes a stranger, and her baby daughter learns a chilling new word. Maybe Ana has unlocked the house's secrets. Or maybe she's becoming just a little unhinged herself. Read Time: 2 hours Rating: 3.5 stars

Hannah-Beast by Jennifer McMahon

There were some things I liked about this story, and some things I didn't. Mostly, I liked the parts set in the 1980s, from Hannah's point of view. Although I suspect there was supposed to be more of a sense of dread and horror in the present, I only really felt dread while reading about a lonely girl just trying to fit in and have friends. To me, that was the terrifying, heartbreaking story. Had the story only been the past, I probably would have rated the story higher. I understand that the author was trying to show how the past affected the present, but I just didn't think the author fully succeeded.

The Sleep Tight Motel by Lisa Unger

I was also disappointed by this story. Rather than tension, I just felt it was a little predictable. Yes, a woman is running away from her abusive ex and the cops, she's trapped at a motel, and plot twist - she's dead! But that twist disappointed me because it's what I was expecting. I would have been far more interested if, instead of realizing she was dead, Eve realized that she had stumbled into a worse situation than the one she had left? What if Drew were trying to trap a female traveler with him, and the screaming she hears is his previous victim that he's getting rid of to make room for Eve to take her place? So much could have been done that didn't involve the most obvious plot twist ripped straight from The Sixth Sense.

There's a Giant Trapdoor Spider Under Your Bed by Edgar Cantero

If this story had been marketed as a cute, kids-being-kids slice of life story, I would have really enjoyed this story because that's exactly what it delivered. But I was promised horror. Horror, however, I did not get. I got kids on a sleepover playing make-believe. Even when I was shown the things these kids were so scared of, the nonchalance of their declarations (there's a giant trapdoor spider under your bed, the shadows are antimatter, the mirror people are trying to get you, etc) and their frequent references to Harry Potter, I didn't feel any fear. I'm starting to think I don't like horror because I keep getting disappointed by these stories.

Miao Dao by Joyce Carol Oates

This was one of the better stories in this collection. I still didn't think it was 'horror', but the scenes with the stepfather were tense and unsettling, which is more than I can say for other stories in this collection. The ending was also satisfying (realizing that Miao Dao was in fact, dead, and the real killer was Mia all along) but it felt very American since the characters who died deserved what they got. Part of what makes something scary (for me) is when people who are undeserving of horrible things are the ones who suffer. I didn't get that in this story - instead I felt pretty happy with the 'justice' the characters got.

The Tangled Woods by Emily Raboteau

Like I said above, part of what I like in horror is when undeserving characters get put through hell. That's scary for me. So that's part of why I didn't like this story. The other reason I didn't like it was because the main character was so insufferable it made the story impossible to read. I recognize that the point of the character might have been to be insufferable, but even insufferable characters need some redeeming qualities (if they're the main character) so that you can read from their POV. But man - this guy had no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Bad husband, bad person, poor sport, adulterer (somehow - can't believe someone like him could attract one person, let alone two), snobby, holier-than-thou, superiority complex, and not even a good or attentive father. I hated him, and it made this story unreadable. I felt bad for the guy that got hanged, though (although I still didn't feel the horror aspect).

The Remedy by Adam Haslett

I enjoyed this story. Still, I don't feel like it was a horror story. To me, this felt like a story about a doctor doing something (very) illegal but for the good of her patients. Her patients, including the main character, are clearly all very chronically ill (perhaps terminally so). The doctor helps them come to terms with their lives and gives them the closure they need to accept (a more violent form of) euthanasia. The sentiment I'd use to describe this story is 'bittersweet' rather than, say, 'tense'. But I still thought it was a good story. Just not horror.

Oak Avenue by Brandi Reeds

This was the only story in this whole collection that I'd really classify as 'horror'. It was unsettling from the first page, and it only got worse. There was a little element of the supernatural, but also...I'm not convinced that 'Eddie' wasn't in his right mind when he did everything. Yes, maybe it's following the pattern from long ago, but there are little clues that point to Eddie acting this way because it's who he is. There are signs that point to him being a heavy drinker, and when Ana called the police, he had the presence of mind to rinse with mouthwash before they arrived. So yes, maybe it's a residual evil, but maybe Eddie is an abuser and he's showing his colors now that he's back in his hometown where he knows people will believe him over his wife. In any case, the elements of horror, the ambiguous ending, and the eerie feeling that the only evil is the obvious made this a much more enjoyable story than the rest in this collection.