Sunday 7 February 2021

Crooked Houses - 'The West Window' by Helen Grant

The third story in this reprinted Egaeus Press anthology (I'm working from a pdf btw) is by long-term ST contributor Helen Grant, so I need hardly point out that it is good. Perhaps I should add that it's good in several ways. The writing is top notch - economical, unpretentious, but conveying just enough detail to give a very clear sense of place. The way in which she takes a folk story and doesn't simply end with 'Argh! The monsters got me!' is also impressive. Best of all is the deftness with which she focuses on just one character for the entire tale, recalling some of the best weird fiction of the past.

The story concerns Rory, a young Scot who is about to leave the country for a new life. He returns to his dimly-remembered ancestral home, which is now a ruin, to spend the night there before flying to America. he explores what's left of the house, finding little of interest other than a blocked window. Rory remembers that a legend concerning beings that came from the west to take the souls of the newly deceased. It seems the window represents a kind of magical barrier to these mysterious flying entities.

Rory falls asleep and dreams of an open window onto a sunlit garden. Flying things approach. He awakes and sets off on his journey to the west. This takes on the quality of nightmare as Rory is possessed by a strange compulsion. The story could be read as a commentary on the problematic nature of migration, on the way in which our family ties can never be wholly cut. But it's a darn good story, first and foremost.

So, that's three down and ten to go. Watch this space. But not through a westward facing window.





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