Here's a few books that should be on any horror aficionado's shelf.
I've talked here at various times about my love of Clive Barker's works but I realize that I still haven't actually said anything about his first, and in many ways, still his most significant contribution to the horror genre: The 6 Books of Blood.
When The Books of Blood were published back in the long forgotten yesteryear of 1984 they were an instant success, and though Barker attributes that mostly to the generous endorsement by Stephen King, the quality of the work itself makes The Books of Blood, even now 35 years later, stand out from a lot of other horror literature, despite his detractors all too eagerly labeling them as the very cheapest form of Splatterpunk.
They still stand out and are still popular now because besides the expected horror-elements there's also an occasional touch of poetry to Barker's writing, and because despite a lot of these stories having heavy elements of violence, sex and gore, there's also an element that is quite bit rarer in horror fiction, and even in fiction in general. Barker manages to evoke something that harkens back to some of the earliest horror masters in the genre; in the tradition of Arthur Machen, Algernon Blackwood and Lovecraft he frequently manages to evoke awe in the face of the unknown.
I've felt this quite strongly when reading Weaveworld and Cabal; and of course also here in the Books of Blood. It is a quiet feeling, mute and wondering in the face of something much bigger than ourselves, something darker, or maybe just different, but certainly almost always unknowable, and it is almost always present in his work. Barker has stated throughout the years that he is merely the tool through which something, something outside of himself, makes itself known, that this is where his creativity comes from. It is likely that this belief is relevant to the man's depiction of massive incomprehensible forces that impinge on and transform his character's lives. It is something I've come to expect to be present in all of his works that I pick up. And here in the Books of Blood is where it all started.
The Ink-Stained Beard and I once had a conversation that led to us listing our top three Books of Blood stories. The Books themselves number 6, with about 30 stories between them (though 2 of those are about a page long and serve as the framing device for the entire collection), and a top three is kind of an easy order, so for the purposes of the post I'm making it 5 now.
5
In The Flesh
Inmate Cleve Smith has been ordered to safeguard his new cellmate, the young Billy Tait, from the attentions of the other inmates. Though he resents the duty, Cleve does as he's told, and takes the vulnerable newcomer under his only slightly indifferent wing, and is in return made Billy's confidant. The young man reveals that he purposefully committed a crime exactly in order to be imprisoned, and that there was a very good reason for it; his grandfather had murdered almost his entire family, and had hung himself in the very same prison Cleve and Billy are in right now, and that he had been buried here, and Billy reveals that he still has a spot of business with the dead man.
Thinking the young man insane, Cleve does his best to stay aloof, but soon becomes interested despite himself in his cellmate's odd doings anyway after Billy's found weeping and seemingly talking to himself near the prison's graves. From that moment on the boy begins to isolate himself, and Clive can't help but become more and more uncomfortable sharing the cell with him. His nights become burdened with strange dreams of a dead and silent city, and around the boy himself scary things begin happening.
In the Flesh is a curious little tale, though it's actually one of the longest in the entire collection, and it's curious because its premise is so, well... almost banal. It seems familiar in its set-up of 'the protagonist has an associate who is haunted/tortured or who delves into forbidden secrets, until associate is delivered unto horror' type story. But it's interesting because Barker manages to make the mystery so compelling, his protagonist Cleve so down-to-earth, and the secret that Billy tries to unearth so obviously oh so very bad for him, and that quite quickly Billy also realizes this himself, and that despite of this it is unstoppable. It has creepy moments and the outright splatter and gore that usually is in full effect in other stories is here quite muted. Instead there is strangeness, something that ties into the flow of time, and life after the death. The theme of this one is similar to Cabal, and a few other of his stories, but here is its earliest form maybe.
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4
The Last Illusion
A stage illusionist has had an 'accident' under almost stage-show circumstances, and private detective and frequent dabbler in the occult, Harry d'Amour, has been hired by the late illusionist's wife, Dorothea Swann, in order to fulfill one of the man's requests as stated in a letter to be opened on his sudden death.
And so, beguiled by the lovely eyes of the widow Swann, Harry agrees to take up the ghoulish task of holding vigil over the deceased man's corpse. Soon after he suffers a vivid hallucination and is wakened by the late man's wife and her lawyer and then promptly sent on his way. But it's already too late and Harry is soon embroiled in a demonic struggle between two parties vying over a magician's soul.
The Last Illusion is one of those that's an absolute favourite for many fans.
Despite being very good on its own, its horror quite strange and exotic, it also features the first appearance of Barker's very own occult Detective, Harry d'Amour, who went on to star in various of Barker's later novels.
The story moves along at a break-neck speed and once the set-up is complete Barker wastes no time in letting the insanity begin. What follows is some of the most evilly imaginative stuff that only could've come from the mind of Clive Barker. I'm not sure how to describe it, but I've seen it in his other work too, and haven't seen or felt it in any other writer; there's a dark vibrancy to his monstrous creations that quite does away with the usual idea of how evil powers are generally depicted in western fiction. Barker's evil monsters are strange and wholly his own.
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3
Rawhead Rex
In a sleepy village in the British countryside
an ancient monster has awoken,
and proceeds to rip the cowering locals to shreds.
Yep,
that's all you need to know.
Raw-Head Rex is an uncomplicated story; Splatterpunk through and through, shocking in its depiction of violence, and positively brutal in the way that it crosses lines with screaming wild abandon. I can confidently say that Rawhead Rex is a guilty pleasure kind of read. The violence is staggering, and the... ahem, phallic nature of the titular monster is something that is both disturbing and highly intriguing. Barker has no idea he will leave unexplored or un-visited if it's something that genuinely interests him.
This one was also in The Ink-Stained Beard's top three... Quite an unrepentantly bloodthirsty sort of fellow, wouldn't you say?
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2
The Midnight Meat Train
New York City is awash with rumour and speculation, the nasty ghoulish appetites of teeming humanity on full display, as they latch onto the newest sensation: The Murders in the Underground.
First, a pile of bodies had been found in one of the city's subway cars, all hacked open, and in various stages of disembowelment. Then, another car with a woman inside, her teeth pulled, and her body removed of hair, hung up by a hook to the ceiling and left there to drain of blood like a hog. And now another three bodies in another train car, in similar condition.
The subway is leaking violent death, but Leon Kaufman's only thought is getting home after a late night at work, and the express train is still the best way to go. But as he wakes after a brief doze to the dizzying movement of the swiftly accelerating train and the sounds of slaughter he has no way of knowing that work is only just about to begin.
I had actually seen and loved the movie before I had read the short story, and to my surprise even knowing how this one would go, I really found it quite an arresting experience. It differed only a little from the movie: Though its story was largely the same it was noticeably shorter in its length, mainly due to the movie's inclusion of more characters and a clearer story arc overall, and there were certain elements of the story's resolution that had been left out of the movie.
And as it was, I did not expect what eventually would shuffle out into the light, and so was left to taste awe in the face of the unknown. This is what I was talking about earlier. Barker always brings a supernatural element into his stories, and sometimes the shape it assumes is familiar, and sometimes is isn't, and when he just shows it standing there, revealed, and you have no real point of reference, and the character that's come face to face with it has no real point of reference, both of you just end up sitting there in dumb, fascinated shock.
Still just a perfect little tale.
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1
In The Hills, The Cities
In the villages of Popolac and Podujevo excitement reigns; the annual ritual contest that is about to pit the two villages against each other is about to begin. But venerable Nita Obrenovic, the organizer and leader of 60 years worth of contests on behalf of Podujevo, has died and her inexperienced daughter has no choice but to take up the mantle of her responsibilities. And they weigh heavy indeed, and too many mistakes might prove disastrous.
Judd and Mick have come to realize that their interests really don't match up, and both feel that their relationship has probably run its course. It's only unfortunate that this realization has only come about halfway through their vacation in Yugoslavia, with no quick way out of the others' lives and companionship.
To make the best of it the two men move into the hills, to see new and unexpected sights, but as they feel the rumble of the ground and a deafeningly loud multitude of voices, they can not imagine the sight that'll greet them next.
In the villages of Popolac and Podujevo excitement reigns; the annual ritual contest that is about to pit the two villages against each other is about to begin. But venerable Nita Obrenovic, the organizer and leader of 60 years worth of contests on behalf of Podujevo, has died and her inexperienced daughter has no choice but to take up the mantle of her responsibilities. And they weigh heavy indeed, and too many mistakes might prove disastrous.
Judd and Mick have come to realize that their interests really don't match up, and both feel that their relationship has probably run its course. It's only unfortunate that this realization has only come about halfway through their vacation in Yugoslavia, with no quick way out of the others' lives and companionship.
To make the best of it the two men move into the hills, to see new and unexpected sights, but as they feel the rumble of the ground and a deafeningly loud multitude of voices, they can not imagine the sight that'll greet them next.
Also one of the Ink-Stained Beard's list, and how could it not?
In the Hills The Cities is quintessential Clive Barker. Everything you could expect from the man is in here: graphic sex, violence, the dirty grubby underbelly of human nature, stunning amounts of gore, and an almost paralyzing sense of awe that you won't find anywhere else.
What's maybe most impressive about In the Hills, The Cities is that nobody but Barker could have written it. It's absolutely remarkable. He weaves his penchant for impressive body horror in such a way that it ends up being the thing that evokes that awe in the face of the unknown. He manages to construct his story in such a way that certain of its elements, despite being explained and understood by the reader, at a certain point in the tale transcend their base and understandable origins and become something 'greater' and almost incomprehensible, to both the characters in the story, and the reader reading it. There is imagery here that is fit to stand alongside the best of the hellish imagery in Dante's Inferno.
It is also easy to believe that the sight that eventually greets Mick and Judd as they follow the sounds that lead them on could very well prove madness-inducing. Whenever I read Lovecraft and another one of his main characters goes insane looking at something he shouldn't have been looking at I always find it hard to credit. But not so here.
But also unfortunately, the set-up can't quite entirely work, logically. The premise strains the bounds of credulity just a bit, but who cares really, because Barker somehow manages to draw you in, and he graces you to see his own blood-drenched visions, to share in the delight of horror and awe. The only logical response would be gratitude, wouldn't it?
So, say thank you to the Master, and please understand that you're very much invited to continue further into his worlds, and that he still has such sights to show you.
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