Ghosties

Alright, focus. None of these books are remotely festive in any way, unless you count the fact that one of them mentions Charles Dickens, once. In point of fact, they're all about dead people.

Try not to read any subconscious angst into it, if you can.


The Corpse Rat King
By Lee Battersby

Here's the premise: Once upon a time, a corpse rat and his young apprentice are out on a battle field scavenging riches from the pockets of the fallen. In a case of mistaken identity, the corpse rat finds himself in the underworld, where a city of dead people try to make him their king. The problem, of course, is that he himself is NOT dead and has no desire to rule them (crazy, right?). He's given an ultimatum: find a king to rule in his place, or wind up in their legions forever.

It's a creative premise, I was totally drawn in by the cover and the blurb on the back. The book's biggest successes are it's wildly imaginative moments. What happens when a dead man ends up at the bottom of the ocean? What passes for conversation in a tomb long-dead kings? How does one build a palace out of bones? This is a humorous book and I am loath to make these sort of statements, but I feel like this is a dude book all the way. There's lots of cussing, and adventure, and about one and a half pages with women characters.

Plus the author is Australian, whatever that means.

This is not the most high-quality literature (for real: there are a number of bad typos throughout). But if you want something silly and imaginative to read, it will do in a pinch.


The Haunting of Hill House
By Shirley Jackson

This is a novella by the author of the acclaimed short story, The Lottery. If you've never read the story, I suggest you take a minute to do so. There's a reason it's famous.

The Haunting of Hill House is one of those books that seems designed for movie adaptation (bad and good). Everyone's personality is sort of larger than life. It's the story of a supernatural investigator who invites a group of young people to spend the summer with him in Hill House, which has--of course--a troubled past. Only three souls take him up on his offer: Luke, Theodora, and Eleanor. Even the regular housekeeper won't stay near the house after dark.

The book is vivid and the characters are charming in their own strange ways. I love the way everyone speaks to one another, in a sort of breezy, funny banter that in no way reflects the bizarre occurrences at Hill House. It's like those old movies where someone sees something awful and says, "Oh I think I'll just hang myself!" with a bright, bubbly smile. The real name of the game is psychological drama. You really can't beat a nice, ambiguous psychological horror story.

Giving up the Ghost: A Story About Friendship, 80s Rock, a Lost Scrap of Paper, and What it Means to Be Haunted
by Eric Nezum

This one's non-fiction. This is a truly fantastic book.

Nuzum's memoir travels back and forth between his past and his present. In his past, he is a haunted young man, lost in many senses of the word. He has violent dreams about the ghost of a young girl in a blue dress, dripping wet, screaming at him. He senses her presence everywhere (particularly behind the door of his parents attic, which opens by itself and where the family hears inexplicable thumping sounds). He lives in almost constant fear of the Little Girl. He is an outsider, prone to rage and depression, black outs and anti-social behavior. He has no idea what to do after high school. He has no idea why he has these dreams.

In his present, twenty or more years later, he is a happy, married, normal sort of guy, except that he is still terrified of ghosts--all ghosts--and seems to have forgotten why. In these chapters, Nuzum travels to the places people go to come in contact with the dead: The Mansfield Reformatory, Lily Dale spiritualist community, Gettysburg. He's trying to remember, and to understand.

This book is about what it means to be haunted, as a person. It's not about cheap, gory thrills (though it made me uncomfortable to turn the light off after reading it). Nuzum is himself a sceptic, and the book doesn't attempt to convince the reader of anything hokey or silly. Nuzum's life, his friendships, and his quest are so unique and still so powerfully human. I would read this book again, hands down. Hooray for used books I never would have discovered on my own!