In Lock Haven, a quiet little town in Washington State, there is a very special street.
Bird Street. The residents of Bird Street are all successful, wealthy, healthy and happy. And their children are all well-mannered and smart and high achievers.
At least they are for eleven months of the year.
In November, however, the ‘Darker Days’ begin. For November’s the month when things take a turn for the worse: accidents, bad luck, familial conflict and illness take hold. And it is in November that a stranger comes to Bird Street to collect the debt owed by the residents.
Because, you see, there is a price that must be paid for all the happiness and good fortune they enjoy for the other eleven months of year. And that price is one human life. Every November. Without fail.
And so it has been for over a hundred years. To ease their guilt, the residents of Bird Street seek out individuals – usually the elderly or the terminally ill – who wish to die with dignity and are content to be helped on their way.
But this year, things don’t go to plan. This year events take a terrifying turn . . .
Propulsive and haunting, Darker Days is a devastating modern take on the Faustian pact, and begs the question: how far would you go for your own happiness?
Dark bleatings, my lovelies. Today we’re talking about the PERFECT November horror read, for it is not only very dark and creepy, but also set during November. It’s guaranteed to add an extra chill to your evening so make sure you bundle up warm when reading it!
This story, like most of my recent favourites, is set in a small town and revolves around one particular street because of what connects the people that live on it. We follow a family, jumping between perspectives, as they approach what they call the ‘darker days’. Mum, Dad, teenage daughter, and younger son, all battle in their own ways with what’s being done (the greater good!), the effect on them, and the effect on the whole family. Dancing around spoilers here, this is a tale of a dark secret and pact that brings fortune to those involved, but at what cost?
I ate this book up. The author, for me, is a master at several things, not least of all atmosphere and some truly disturbing community dynamics. What I love about his work, and in particular this story, is the moral complexity of the characters. They’re doing something bad, but it’s for (they believe) the greater good, and they also believe they’re doing the horrible thing in the most ethical way possible. Maybe what they’re doing could actually be considered a public service?
But scratch below that just a little bit and you get to the route of the selfishness that probably lives within all of us, though many are aware enough to recognise it for what it is and not act upon the impulses that come out of it.
Scratch below that a little and we get the more frightening reality that for some, their actions might be selfish but the selfishness is coming from a place of fear, entrapment, obligation, and maybe worst of all, being completely trapped by what they’re involved in. Selfishness is a great aspect to explore in relatable characters but the reading gets really intriguing for me when it exists on this type of backdrop.
My favourite character is the teenage daughter, Kaila, who I personally found very relatable as she is plunged into worsening inner turmoil when she finds out what her parents have been doing. I found her fascinating because of the many facets of my own anxieties she embodied, whether that be imposter syndrome, feeling undeserving of her achievements, and more (that I won’t elaborate on because I don’t want to give away how she behaves as the story goes on).
Overall, a fantastic, sometimes difficult but always entertaining novel that I wholeheartedly recommend to horror fans. We’ve got your small town (heinous) charm, a dash of folk horror, complex characters, and a brilliant resolution.
If you’d like to check out the book or the author (an absolute diamond of a person, by the way, who I highly recommend going to see if he comes to a town near you on a book tour), I’ve popped some links below for you:
Bleeeeat!
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