Genre fiction is often relegated to the sidelines of “serious” literary conversation, and Jack Fennell’s curated collection of Irish horror stories is an effort to correct that. Fennell previously turned his eye on science fiction in his book A Brilliant Void, demonstrating that genre fiction is indeed worthy of serious consideration.
Fennell’s latest contribution, Your Own Dark Shadow, comprises 11 short stories ranging from the 1830s to the 1940s, all by Irish writers. The result is a compelling argument for the cultural relevance of horror fiction, as well as a foregrounding of perhaps lesser-known Irish writers from the 19th and 20th century, overshadowed as they are by more prominent names such as le Fanu and Stoker.
In his introduction, Fennell acknowledges the escapism offered by horror fiction: “I prefer reading about monsters to contemplating ecological collapse.” If sci-fi simulates history and fantasy ignores history, then horror, Fennell argues, “ends” history. Perhaps this is not quite a refutation of horror’s ameliorative qualities – after all, the scariest thing about history is the fact that it repeats itself, so it might be nice to think that we can end it, stop it in its tracks. Fennell’s collection demonstrates horror’s value on a symbolic level, making a strong case for its ability to confront fear and failure through language. Words can fall short when facing horror in real life, but not here.
Standouts from the collection include the proto-Celtic Twilight Dhirro Dhearlha, a Faustian tale attributed to the pseudonymous JHK, whose eerie evocations of magic and mysticism serve as a precursor to the Revival era’s interest in folklore. The House of Horrors, an allegedly “true” account of Mildred Darby’s inhabitance of Leap Castle, provides an interesting layer of reflexivity when one considers the story itself shaped Leap Castle’s reputation as one of the “most haunted” places in Ireland.
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Boorish men receiving their comeuppance in Anna Maria Hall’s The Dark Lady and Katharine Tynan’s The Death Spancel makes one question horror’s role as a sort of assassin of history, as many of these stories feel as old as time immemorial. Perhaps the true annihilation of history comes with this presentation of its timelessness: cautionary tales of what might happen – and keep happening – if we’re not careful.
