After a bizarre and disturbing incident at the funeral of matriarch Marian Savage, the McCray and Savage families look forward to a restful and relaxing summer at Beldame, on Alabama’s Gulf Coast, where three Victorian houses loom over the shimmering beach. Two of the houses are habitable, while the third is slowly and mysteriously being buried beneath an enormous dune of blindingly white sand. But though long uninhabited, the third house is not empty. Inside, something deadly lies in wait. Something that has terrified Dauphin Savage and Luker McCray since they were boys and which still haunts their nightmares. Something horrific that may be responsible for several terrible and unexplained deaths years earlier – and is now ready to kill again . . .
Horror Novel Review Blog Entry: The Elementals
When looking for recommendations of some of the scariest horror novels available, The Elementals by Michael McDowell was on a few lists. I took a look at the book’s summary and it sounded like something that would be right up my alley. Whether I’m home alone on a dark and stormy night or sitting in the local cafe in the middle of the day, I’m on the hunt for something (anything), to scare the crap out of me. What I am looking for is something that is not necessarily in-your-face squeamish but a narrative that can pack up the scares with subtlety; The Elementals is such a book.
Three houses on what can be deemed an isolated island when the tide is high. The Savages occupy one of the houses; the other belongs to the McCrays. Then, there is the third house – empty and unoccupied save for the sand and the pure white dune that nearly engulfs the house in its entirety. Things move about inside and, as kids, both the Savage and the McCray kids were fearful of the third house because they saw things from the comfort of being outside. Through closed windows, they would see things that were inexplicable. But what? Was the place haunted or was it something else? This is The Elementals in a nutshell, and McDowell divvies up the scares and suspense with this brooding and atmospheric novel. Time has passed, and both McCray and Savage kids are all grown up yet the fear of the third house never subsided.
The book opens with an unconventional funeral that immediately encapsulates you into the story. I appreciated this anecdote as it was intriguing and, when explained, it made sense to me no matter the oddness or abnormalities of this particular action. It was the little things that made this novel unique. It made me yearn to turn from page to page to get a better grasp of what was happening and of both families where their seemingly strange family dynamics, in some instances, made me wish that I, too, was part of this family. The dialogue in the book made me laugh and empathize with the characters in that they felt real and not one-dimensional. I got a kick out of the relationship and banter between father and daughter, Luker and India – theirs is a relationship that I would like to have with my own daughter.
In order to escape the mundane and mourn the loss of Marian Savage (not a spoiler), the two families escape to their own private oasis – Beldame. In this small piece of land, only three houses reside, and they are secluded from the rest of the outside world. Reading the description of the location sets the tone for the reader and accentuates both the want to be there and that of the opposite – not wanting to be there. It is the perfect getaway spot to escape your life, if only for a week or two, in that you are not distracted by the sounds of engines roaring, car horns, and the everyday sounds of people hustling and bustling to and fro. They don’t even have televisions or telephones at Beldame! This book was written in the 80s so you can forget about iPhones and the internet. Beldame is a perfect haven to write your first novel, lay on the beach along the Gulf coast, and read a book or soak in the hot Alabama sun. Or, if you fancied photography like Luker and his daughter, India, it is a place that is keen to the human eye with the magnificent architecture of the identical houses, dunes, and the splendid background of the Gulf and the blue lagoons. I would love to be there if it weren’t for that damn third house!
More than anything, at least for me, that third house would have piqued my curiosity and the desire to go inside and take a look to explore the house would succumb. This is the dilemma that India faces. What thirteen-year-old would not want to go into such a place and explore the place to see what possible treasures might be hidden? That alone would keep me busy. But then again, there are the stories of the place prone to keep even the bravest at bay.
The book had its fair share of creeps, but I can’t say that I was ever scared save for maybe a handful of times it played out more like a mystery rather than horror. This is not your regular run-of-the-mill haunted house story and McDowell’s take on the horror subgenre made this a refreshing read, and I would not be hard-pressed to recommend this one to anyone. Who are The Elementals? Read the book!