Diabolical Plots #92, October 2022

“Downstairs at Dino’s” by Diana Hurlburt

“Estelle and the Cabbage’s First Last Night Together” by Amy Johnson

Reviewed by Victoria Silverwolf

Two moody fantasies appear in this issue.

In “Downstairs at Dino’s” by Diana Hurlburt, strange people known only as “the boys” arrive each summer in a small town. They are frightening but seductive, and the locals are careful about how they deal with them. A new manager at a liquor store makes the mistake of asking to see their identification cards.

The speculative content of this story is very subtle, and the exact nature of the mysterious boys is never explained. Although it is clear that the manager is going to meet a terrible fate for her mistake, this happens off-stage and is never described. Although this ambiguity increases the story’s eerie mood, it may also leave the reader frustrated with the lack of details.

The protagonist of “Estelle and the Cabbage’s First Last Night Together” by Amy Johnson is able to communicate with plants, particularly edible ones. She convinces a cabbage to join her garden, where it will be continually reanimated, but will also have to be chopped up for recipes. A long flashback reveals the main character’s even weirder past life.

The above synopsis makes the story sound whimsical, even silly. In fact, it is quite serious. The contrast between the premise and the tone may inadvertently create bathos. The flashback sequence is more of a traditional horror story. These two very different parts of the narrative clash in a jarring way.

Victoria Silverwolf recently received a free box of vegan snacks in honor of pharmacists’ week.