This February, I will be honoring black history month here at this blog. I will be reviewing four haunted house novels written by black women. I could use the phrase “African American” women, but that technically would not be correct, because one of the authors is a British woman of African descent. This begs the question: is black history month primarily concerned with the history of people of color as it plays out on the American stage? I don’t know the answer.
I am a Caucasian; a white guy. As such it’s not my place to define what black history month is or isn’t. Likewise, I most certainly cannot claim a shared heritage and realistically identify with the struggles my black brothers and sisters have endured or the triumphs they have celebrated. Therefore, unlike previous reviews and articles that were grouped into a theme (i.e. Christmas Haunted Houses, Haunted Apartments), I do not begin with a central concept. I am not seeking to extract characteristics that define what a haunted house is from the black perspective. Rather, these four works stand alone. Perhaps when all is said and done, when I have completed the readings and written the reviews, I might have more to say about any possible interrelated themes. But I don’t want to get ahead of myself, nor do I wish to engage in any inappropriate analysis for the sake of some sort of self-congratulatory intellectualism. I hope I will not do that anyway.
I guess the question is: Can we learn about authentic black history from mostly fictional novels that delve into the paranormal? I believe we can.
Of the four works, three are fictional stories and one is a factual account. The non-fiction book deals with popular “ghost tour” houses in the American south. This book uncovers a lot of African-American history and sets the record straight about the tourist-magnet fabrications that come at the expense of the “real” ghosts that haunt these places. One of the fictional novels is set in “current” times (post Y2K) but segments of the story go back to the 1920s. Another fictional novel takes place in the years following the American Civil War, although much of the story occurs during the times of slavery. Both books show how history has affected and shaped the lives of the central characters. Though the histories are fictional, they are based on real-life historical circumstances. And, of course, both stories feature haunted houses. The fourth book, also fictional, has very little in the way of history. This book presents quite the quagmire when trying to assign a definition to it. It’s about a haunted house, but it isn’t. It’s about the politics of identity, but it isn’t. It’s…ah, just wait for the review.
I guess I could be more straightforward and just mention ahead of time the titles of the books and their respective authors, but I want there to be some kind of suspense. So..just wait. You will know soon.
Anyway, I hope this will go well, and I hope you will find this subject matter enlightening and educational
See you soon!
The “wrong” time is anytime after a certain murderous tragedy took place on the premise. See readers, this affliction that haunts and claims the victims of this movie is more of a “curse” than a “grudge”, although I’m told the English translation of “Ju-On” is “Curse/Grudge”. A “grudge” , as per the movie, is negative energy in action; or, in reaction. Let’s assume there are scientific laws governing a body of supernatural physics. There is a steady harmony of body and spirit, life and death. The living go about their business and the dead stay dead, their spirits at peace in whatever plane of afterlife existence there happens to be. A horrific tragedy perpetuated with evil intentions can upset this balance. Evil and horror beget evil and horror. In the film, the negative energy is attached to a house, where a mother, her little boy, and the family cat had been savagely murdered by a jealous husband/father. Those who enter the house are susceptible to the negative energy that exists in the wake of this tragedy. It attaches to them. Can they rid themselves of this negative energy by leaving the house? Fat chance! “The Grudge” is part of them now and it follows them wherever they go. Go to work and it will haunt the office. Go to school and it will be there too. Go home? That home will now be haunted.
struggle with. This film (like several other Asian horror movies) has a built-in flair for all things creepy. Maybe it’s the detail devoted to the ghosts, or maybe it’s the wise abandonment of cliché plots and over-hyped character types. Perhaps it’s the balance of mood and in-your-face scares. Whatever it is, Ju-On: The Grudge works well.
The Books of Daniel 