"Monsters" by Stewart O’Nan
Cemetery Dance's A Halloween Short Story ebook series
Readers unfamiliar with "Monsters" by Stewart O’Nan may prefer to read these notes only after reading the story.
The U.S. fiction has been historically beset by writers who produce coming-of-age stories about adolescents (who often ache to become fiction writers themselves). This was acute when Little Women and Huckleberry Finn renewed the trope. But after a century of Look Homeward Angel, Youngblood Hawk, and Sophie's Choice – not to mention their TV movie knock-offs – who could blame a reader for demanding relief?
Like mainstream writing, horror overflows with this type of fiction. "Monsters" by Stewart O’Nan is an excellent example. The story is plotted and written in what S. T. Joshi has described (about a different author) as "the Iowa Writers Workshop school of fussy, self-conscious prose." Transgression, guilt, crisis-bred turning point, and redemptive maturation are expertly folded into a short story whose plot flows from a BB gun accident.
Halloween is not essential to O’Nan's plot; in fact, he seems to forget it for most of his story. Did he only introduce it so his young protagonist can put on a monster costume and humbly reflect before a mirror?
A strength of "Monsters" is its depiction of parental faith. O'Nan introduces the family's religion as more than mere church attendance this way:
Mark’s mom came out after a while and said the doctors weren’t sure. He might lose the eye or it might get better, only time would tell. He’d probably have to stay in the hospital for a day or two, they’d see. While she was explaining everything to them, Mark’s dad walked in.
The first thing he did was sit down. It was a thing he had; anytime they had to discuss something serious, he made everyone sit down. His other rule was no shouting, no matter how angry you were. His mom told him the whole thing, and then he stood up and took Mark’s hand and then his mom’s and then Sarah joined the circle and they all bowed their heads and they prayed.
“Amen,” his father said, and gave a little squeeze which Mark returned out of habit.
Sarah suddenly broke into tears, and his mom held her for a while, and then Derek’s stepfather came back out and gave his father a hug. Derek was resting, they’d given him something; Derek’s mom would stay with him tonight. Meanwhile it was probably best if they all went home.
“Can we visit him later?” Mark asked.
“Tomorrow,” his mom said.
Jay
