Nowadays, when we think of the horror genre in literature, it mostly conjures images of gore and cheap scares. But in horror novels of the past, the gratuitous display of violence takes a backseat to engrossing storylines that draw the reader in, making them unsettling to the core. Injecting these disturbing occurrences into a nondescript small town makes the terror all the more realistic, and connects with the readers on a personal level. With the evolution of the genre, these more understated novels have taken on the new classification of “literary horror,” with notable masters including H. P. Lovecraft, Shirley Jackson, and Stephen Dobyns.
Since the supernatural is having a moment in pop culture, this more refined horror subgenre is slowly regaining ground. Ann Arensberg uses the classic setup of a literary horror novel in the disturbing, Incubus, but it also goes beyond the genre to become an intense character study of small-town Maine.
In the small farming community of Dry Falls in 1974, an unnatural force disrupts the natural order of the town—while seemingly ignoring the rest of the world. Cora Whitman, the wife of a local pastor, refuses to acknowledge the supernatural disturbance despite the increasingly impossible-to-explain events plaguing Dry Falls. But what begins as merely strange occurrences turns increasingly sinister, until Cora must abandon her spirituality and preconceived notions of how the world works, and admit that she may be the key to the horrors affecting her sleepy town. As important as the plot is to the novel, it’s also imperative to Arensberg that we understand the characters, the history, and the relationships that will determine how they deal with the unexplained and evil presence.
Incubus has been hailed by Elle as “a powerful, convincing, darkly absorbing novel. . . . Beautiful prose, building tension.” Itis written in true Arensberg form, and is nearly impossible to define. But her homage to the classic literary horror novel is clear, and its appeal crosses all genres. To learn more about Ann Arensberg and her chilling novels, visit her author page here.