I enjoyed Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas (and admittedly have never watched the film), so when Slade House came up on a list of great ghost stories I decided to check it out.
I’m happy I did. Slade House tells the story of two soul carnivores, members of a sect of Anchorites, who lure people into their house (which exists in a time bubble, having been destroyed in the Blitz in 1942). They, of course, consume their souls in order to live forever.
Thoughts:
- The two Anchorites are brother and sister, and have learned some pretty interesting tricks.
- Having your soul consumed is not pleasant.
- They are eventually defeated (sort of) by a cop who has had his soul consumed but who managed to get a hairpin into the hands of the next victim, who uses it.
- This act also alerts an Horologist to the presence of the twins. The consequences for the Anchorites are not good.
- The scenes in which the twins bend time in order to lure victims are particularly interesting – the sense of surrealism and lack of connection with reality are well-described, and come complete with the types of irreconcilable details that seem insignificant at the time but that as good fans of horror we know we should be aware of.
I’m looking forward to the rest of Mitchell’s works.