Rereading Slewfoot in an Election Year
It didn’t take long for my local book club to sniff out that I enjoy horror. Maybe enjoy isn’t the right word. More like…am obsessed with. So several of the ladies began asking me if I’d ever bring a horror book for them to read. And how could it not be for October?
So our October meeting has been pretty hyped up for a while, because everyone knew I was going to bring the spooky goods and help them dip their toes into something they might not normally read. Even before I announced the book, I knew in my heart of hearts that there was only one choice.
I had to make them all read Slewfoot.
I’ve talked about Slewfoot here before. It’s one of my favorite books of all time. And sharing it with the crowd which half-jokingly calls itself Sad Girl Book Club was an absolute joy. Did everyone like my pick? No. But some of them really did, and for me, that’s enough.
Horror isn’t for everyone. I don’t actually think that’s true. I think horror is absolutely for everyone. But not everyone is ready for horror, or willing to take a peek at what lies in the shadows. And that’s okay. Horror will still be here when they’re ready.
What caught me by surprise was how interested everyone was by the theory behind horror. The entire table leaned forward and was at rapt attention when I gave a brief overview of Folk Horror Chain Theory and how Slewfoot both fulfilled FHCT’s promise and also subverts it in some ways. I got to get my geek on hard.
As I talked about last time, I adore how Slewfoot turns the ‘skewed morals’ link on its head, instead setting up the Christians—well, Puritans—as the abnormal morality. I also love how Brom seduces the reader into supporting a variety of spiritual beasts, all of of whom might be considered The Devil based on the book’s own worldview.
I think we as a culture are ready to explore the weirdness of our dominant religions. What is a religion other than a well attended and widely accepted cult? Really, if we probe the edges, it gets easier to see what can be mined for horror. Christian Nationalism, for one, scares the shit out of me (and is probably why it’s the backdrop of many of the horrors I write about).
This is why I love horror: because it lets us explore the darkness in a way that allows for honesty without feeling too dangerous. We can find glimmers of truth about things that are otherwise too difficult or too painful to talk about.
I, for one, hope that it isn’t too late to use it to explore the original sins of our culture and country. Material like Slewfoot and The VVitch have dared to plumb the fanaticism and genocide at the heart of our country’s genesis. But they’re only scratching the surface.
But also maybe the horrors of the coming week and the following months might be enough for now.
I love Slewfoot. I've actually been meaning to give it a reread soon. For sure a timely book with what's been going on lately.