Delving Into Darkness

Sometimes a good horror story or murder mystery is just what I need to read. Sometimes I just need to be around fictional dysfunctional people. There is something nice about feeling 'not as screwed up' as a character in a novel.

Dysfunctional relationships and obnoxious people are facts of life. We endure and/or survive them all the time. They are not to be enjoyed. In stories however they provide characters with the reasons for many adventures.

Recently I have been reading stories by William Browning Spencer. 'The Return Of Count Electric - and other stories' is a delightfully dark collection of stories about misfits and dysfunctional relationships that don't quite turn into horror but lead one to unease. The title story is about a fellow investigating a serial killer and wondering if he knows who it is. It has some nice twists to it. 'Looking Out For Eleanor' is a story about an innocent childlike woman and the two men who want to protect her. The story twists and turns in unpredictable ways as we follow the characters. I couldn't decide which guy, if either of them, was the hero because I didn't like either. Overall the book is very enjoyable.

This was the third time I read 'Resume With Monsters'. I read it over a year ago and gave it away. Lately I had been thinking about it so I bought it. The story follows Philip Kenan as he wanders in and out of therapy for having delusions about Cthulhu and other monsters from the stories of H.P. Lovecraft. Philip is also obsessed with his ex-girlfriend who left him because he abducted her from work to save her from the monsters. Like the short stories by Spencer the book is full of dysfunctional people, dark themes and twisting subplots. I really enjoyed reading the book again.

Now that I have finished these books I will have to look to the newspaper or other news media for dark and dysfunctional stories. Maybe I should visit the bookstore again.