Dreadful Tale - Richard Laymon

As Laymon points out in his preface to this collection of twenty-five short stories (mostly work which has gone previously unpublished in the United Kingdom), a quick perusal of the word 'dreadful' in Webster's Collegiate Dictionary might lead you to expect tales to 'inspire awe and reverence', 'be extremely distasteful, unpleasant or shocking', or be 'cheap and sensational', depending on the definition you choose. Well, you're saved the agony of ...
...all of the above.

Throughout his publishing career, Laymon's trademarks were sex, violence and death. Sometimes he looked at victims, and sometimes he looked at perpetrators. Occasionally, he let his imagination fly, abandoning his trademarks and coming up with something quite special, though this he did not do often enough.

The 'horror' of rape and sexual threat is the easiest to perform poorly and irresponsibly, and ... more

As Laymon points out in his preface to this collection of twenty-five short stories (mostly work which has gone previously unpublished in the United Kingdom), a quick perusal of the word 'dreadful' in Webster's Collegiate Dictionary might lead you to expect tales to 'inspire awe and reverence', 'be extremely distasteful, unpleasant or shocking', or be 'cheap and sensational', depending on the definition you choose. Well, you're saved the agony of choice on the matter, as this collection manages to incorporate all of the above.

Throughout his publishing career, Laymon's trademarks were sex, violence and death. Sometimes he looked at victims, and sometimes he looked at perpetrators. Occasionally, he let his imagination fly, abandoning his trademarks and coming up with something quite special, though this he did not do often enough.

The 'horror' of rape and sexual threat is the easiest to perform poorly and irresponsibly, and for me many of his works in this area are simply tacky, relying on unpleasantness for their effect rather than any real sense of suspense, sympathy, or tension. That's the lowest form of horror for me, and several of the stories in this collection rely on it. That's not to say that the scenarios constructed around these tricks are not intriguing - they are, and this makes the waste greater. Laymon was not short on imagination, and considering how often he addresses the same issues, he manages to present them anew with each telling. Still, for me, it is these tales which more often than not fall under the banner of 'distasteful, unpleasant or shocking'.

Take 'Saving Grace', in which two hormonally driven teenagers stumble across a girl on a road trip. The girl is in a cage. In the middle of the woods. Why is she there? Could she be dangerous, or is she a victim? Most importantly, should they let her free? The set-up is extremely intriguing, and promises a great deal. Then it fails to deliver. Almost from the word go, the male characters start thinking with their male parts, and the story becomes an unlikely male power fantasy, not only incredible, but distasteful.

Or how about 'I Am Not A Criminal', in which a pair of newlyweds pick up a hitchhiker holding a sign saying that very thing. When the situation plummets out of control (of course he's a criminal), they quickly come to accept and perform the very acts of depravity that they were trying to avoid being the victim of.

The difficulty and danger of stories such as these is that, while Laymon is not afraid to put down on the page the most primal of human motivations, things that perhaps anybody could feel in a certain situation and be afraid to accept of themselves, he makes no effort to analyse the point further. Often, it seems almost as though he is advocating the very deeds that should be so foul. There's a difference between saying 'these things exist in all of us', and presenting it without challenge. It is for tales such as these that people often avoid reading Laymon, as they leave a nasty taste in your mouth.

Which is a shame, because the rest of the stories in this book are superb, inspiring if not reverence, then at least awe. Alongside tales which illuminate for me the sort of exploitative, nasty horror I want nothing to do with, we have other tales looking at exactly the same issues in a far more mature light. Take the superb 'Mop Up'. A virus has been unleashed on the USA that has turned most of the population into rutting, killing monsters. Mike is on a mop up crew going through a suburb after the marines, making sure that none of the victims are still alive and disposing of those who have been missed by the larger force (there is no cure for this virus). Predictably, the four-man team runs into trouble, as well as meeting a girl who may have a natural immunity to the virus. Within this scenario, Laymon takes a broader view of the monster within us. While the virus brings that monster to the fore, he provides us with the contrast missing in other stories. Where 'I Am Not A Criminal' says nothing more profound than 'aren't people nasty', here we have a more critical look at the issue, placing good people in among the bad, and allowing the ideas to be looked at without being condoned. We are given, at the most basic level, someone to root for. The story works as a metaphor, as a thriller, and as a superb piece of horror writing.

Elsewhere in the collection we have a series of stories which for the most part abandon the sexual angle. Some are quirky, some are terrifying, and some are deeply thoughtful. Here's a round up of the good stuff, and it forms the majority of this collection.

'Phil the Vampire' is an entertaining and funny tale, in which a private eye is approached by a woman who tells him her husband, Phil, is a vampire. She wants him to stop her husband leaving by night to prey on other women. Not that his being a blood-drinker bothers her. Rather, she would prefer to fulfil his need herself. It's the wifely thing to do, looking after your man, and she feels inadequate. Naturally, the PI doesn't buy the vampire tale, though he investigates anyway. It all sounds very predictable, but there's a fine twist at the end, demonstrating a healthy sense of fun on the author's part.

Or how about 'The Grab', an very original tale of terror in which two out-of-towners get involved in a very disturbing local betting game involving a jar, a disembodied head, and a prize. This is the sort of story which would not look out of place in a Stephen King or Clive Barker collection, and shows the heights this author frequently reached.

'Stickman' is another tale of pure horror, and possibly my favourite in the book, involving old legends, strange scarecrows, young people wandering dark fields, and more. Expertly handled, this is the sort of tale that will come back to give you shudders next time you're out for an evening's drive.

I read the collection while on my honeymoon, as I was desperate to find a more appropriate book to remember Laymon by than 'The Travelling Vampire Show' (reviewed elsewhere, but I thought it was awful). This collection gave me that. Though occasionally slipping into the thoughtless and irresponsible shock-tactics that turned me off that novel, this collection also highlights the incredible highs that Laymon was capable of. I recommend you try the book - if nothing else, it's a very fair epitaph.
 

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