Tor.com, January 2018

“The Ghoul Goes West” by Dale Bailey

Reviewed by Victoria Silverwolf

This month’s single offering from Tor.com is a sad and nostalgic fantasy of Hollywood and the way it destroys those drawn to it. In “The Ghoul Goes West” by Dale Bailey, two brothers grow up watching old horror movies on television. One becomes a student of film, the other goes to seek his fortune as a screenwriter. The story begins when the scholar learns that his brother died of a heroin overdose. He travels to Los Angeles to take care of the arrangements. In the dead man’s apartment, he finds a screenplay for a biopic of Bela Lugosi. There are also videotapes of movies that should not exist. This is a quiet, gently mournful tale, which aptly shows both the magic and the danger of the movies.

Victoria Silverwolf grew up watching old horror movies on television.