Arguably, the most terrifying horror stories involve children. Whether it’s as the spook or the victim, it’s just scarier when there’s a child involved. I think it has to do with the innocence and vulnerability of children. We don’t want anything bad to happen to such little guys. But as often as children are used in horror stories, the stories are rarely told from their point of view. Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman shares the story of little Bela and her friend Other Mommy completely from Bela’s point of view. Seeing how Bela processes what’s happening while the adults around her crack under the pressure is heartbreaking and terrifying. You’ll certainly pay a little more attention when a child says something is up after reading about Incidents Around the House.
[Warning: My review of Incidents Around the House contains some spoilers!]
Incidents Around the House doesn’t hold back. Bela is a little girl that has an “imaginary friend”, Other Mommy who likes to talk to her. But lately, Bela doesn’t like the things Other Mommy has been saying. Especially when she starts talking about carnations and asks Bela if she can go into her heart. Bela knows she should say no, but she’s worried about what Other Mommy will do if she keeps refusing her. And Other Mommy is her friend; she should want to give her what she wants, right? It’s all very confusing for Bela. When she tries to tell her parents, they brush it off as little kid stuff, leaving Bela to deal with Other Mommy all by herself.
But Other Mommy is getting mad that Bela keeps saying no, and she decides to push the issue. First, she starts showing up outside the house. But Bela is the only one who actually sees her. Until the party. Bela’s parents throw a big party, and in the middle of the drunken revelry, one of the guests starts screaming about the monster that they saw. But Bela calmly tells them that it was actually Other Mommy. Of course no one believes her; the woman was drunk, Bela is just a kid, yadda, yadda. Then things snowball from there. Bela’s mom sees Other Mommy, and then they run. The family picks up and goes wherever they think they can find sanctuary. But they can’t outrun themselves, and Other Mommy follows wherever they go. The terrifying thing about Other Mommy, besides its relentlessness, is its brazenness. Once Other Mommy decides to show itself, it doesn’t care who’s around when it shows up. Each place that the family runs to, each person they turn to for help, is treated to a visit from Other Mommy. These visits leave their hosts in ruins. Unable to process the living nightmare they’ve been shown, the potential saviors push the little family back out the door, unwilling to play host to the evil that’s attached itself to little Bela.
The family is running out of options fast, and when people run out of options, they make bad choices. There has to be a way to get rid of Other Mommy and keep their family safe, but Bela’s parents have no idea what that way is. And they still aren’t listening to Bela. Everyone is getting desperate; it’s just a matter of who is going to crack first: the family, Other Mommy, or Bela.
There’s subtle horror, and then there’s Other Mommy
Most supernatural horror relies on suspense. Fear is built slowly over time with little things that slowly add to the unease. Rarely is the monster seen head-on, especially early in the story and especially not in front of people who aren’t the focus of the monster. It’s the unknown and the uncertainty that creates the ever-increasing fear until the final confrontation. But Incidents Around the House forgoes any pretense of subtlety. Other Mommy is only hidden for a bare 66 pages before she makes a slashy introduction to the characters beyond Bela. And from that moment on, she just keeps coming. She’ll jump out in front of anyone; she’s not shy in the least. She also doesn’t feel tethered to their house; it’s Bela she’s attached to. So no matter where the little family goes, there she is. The horror in Incidents Around the House comes not from the unknown but from the relentlessness and inescapability of Other Mommy. Nothing they do stops her. Bela knows one way to stop her, but of course that is just as terrifying as Other Mommy herself.
Of course, considering the problems this little family has, the secrets they hide from each other, and the destruction those secrets end up causing, there’s a very strong argument that this whole story is a metaphor for what happens to children in unhappy households. Especially since the mom is easily the most despicable character in the story (yeah, even worse than Other Mommy; you expect the monster to want to hurt Bela, but her mom is supposed to protect her) and the monster takes her shape and calls herself “Other Mommy”. Other Mommy ends up destroying the family, but the truth is that the family was already destroyed. The secrets they were keeping were slowly eroding them from the inside out, and when they drag them out into the light in an attempt to save themselves, the truth is so shocking that it devastates all of them to the point that they likely would never recover, even if Other Mommy was defeated.
Horror you can’t get away from, even after it’s done
Malerman creates a monster of relentless drive in Incidents Around the House, and even after you finish the book, it keeps coming for you. This story is one of those true horror stories that doesn’t end up with a happy ending wrapped up in a nice little bow. Instead, the end leaves you gutted. Days later, you’ll find yourself thinking about what happened to that family and worrying if it could happen to yours. You’ll keep thinking over all the secrets you keep and wondering if it’s better for you to drag them out and get it over with, or bury them so far down they’ll never be found (does that ever really work?). You probably won’t smile as much the next time you hear your kid talking to themselves either, because what if…?
Rating: 9/10
Incidents Around The House by Josh Malerman is available now!
Learn more about the book at the official website for the title.
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