Nightmare #21, June 2014

Reviewed by Lillian Csernica

“Dirtman” by H.L. Nelson

Lucy Ann’s Daddy is a mean drunk. Her Mama tries to keep the family together, but Daddy is getting meaner and more violent. Lucy Ann has to stay outside during the frequent fights, finding her own entertainment among the dust and insects of the hardscrabble farm. When Daddy goes too far, Lucy Ann makes her own golem out of mud, beer bottles, and a live scorpion.

The events in this story are indeed a living nightmare. Lucy Ann’s creation is no savior, not in any terms her pious Mama would recognize. Of all the story elements present here, I found the setting most effective. The dry, barren landscape where what little life that exists is dangerous, even lethal. Any act of kindness withers or is crushed. Much like Lucy Ann’s golem, the story is built of familiar materials. Child abuse. Animal cruelty. Neglect. Desperation. Black magic as a last resort. Lucy Ann’s story is heartbreaking, but it does not stand out as more original than so many of the stories I review which have abuse and neglect as their driving forces.

“Don’t Go” by Łukasz Orbitowski (translated by Agata Napiórska)

Told in the first person by the protagonist, this is the story of two school-age boys who compete for the attention of Zośka, a tomboy turned hottie. To prove their worthiness, they each promise to steal something from Mr. Scar, the local scary recluse. The protagonist goes after Mr. Scar’s glass eye while his friend Bolo targets the false teeth. They’re both frightened out of their minds, but Zośka is worth any risk. What the boys find when they finally enter the house of Mr. Scar is far worse than anything they might have expected.

This is a good story, creepy from beginning to end. The Polish setting made for cultural details that are fresh and unusual. The passions and uncertainties of boys coming of age provide sympathetic motivations. Going to Mr. Scar’s house is not the smart thing to do, but the boy’s lives are so empty and Zośka means so much that they’re willing to risk whatever awaits. Mr. Scar is such an alien being, even given what the protagonist guesses about his background. It’s been a while since a horror story gave me a genuine shiver. You will find that kind of satisfaction here.