SYNOPSIS: H.H. Holmes committed ghastly crimes in the late 19th century. Many of which occurred within his legendary "Murder Castle" in Chicago, Illinois. He is often considered America's first serial killer. In her second book of poetry from Strangehouse Books, Sara Tantlinger (Love For Slaughter) takes inspiration from accounts and tales which spawned from the misdeeds of one Herman Webster Mudgett, better known as Dr. Henry Howard Holmes. Fact and speculation intertwine herein, just as they did during the man's own lifetime. There's plenty of room in the cellar for everyone in The Devil's Dreamland.
I received this book in the latest Night Worms package. Could not resist; tore through it in an hour and then read it over again today, slowly this time. When I first heard about horror poetry I was skeptical, but I Am Not Your Final Girl made an instant believer out of me and I was thrilled to get this one. ((I'm actually researching the 1893 Chicago World's Fair for part of my NaNo; serendipity)) Also, I'm on a Prodigal Son kick and some of the verses here make me wonder if Holmes might've been any inspiration for the character of Dr. Whitly, like Gein was for Buffalo Bill. I mean: "The doctor smiles, an easy charmer loquacious stories dripping endlessly from that mouth. The castle shudders witness to the drugs, sedation and seduction, overly familiar with the way human anatomy looks like sliced deli meat" Yeah. There's a touch or two of dark humor here, but overall the book is absolutely haunting; no shying away at all from how horrifying this guy was. The poems "Silence on the Morning After" and "Evidence" especially necessitated breaks before reading on. My favorites: The Bloodletting of a New Century Innocence Like Birdsong The First Wife: Clara The Tenant The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 Lips Bitten Raw World's Columbian Exposition (Chicago World's Fair) Unblessed Excavation Quotes/lines: "I want to tell you what I was supposed to be but instead I am going to show you the demon I created." "protectors of life robbing the dead of their eternal resting beds because demand is high, and they must have bodies" "They rebuild me and I become the Great White City, fit for a Great White Shark of a human being." "Take the insatiable thirst of Dracula and his bug-eating Renfield, both consuming life-forces because the answer is always blood" "but love terrorizes competent thought processes, doesn't it?" "entwining murder and luxury like salt and sugar placed gently on the tongue where each tiny grain dissolves in a way blood never will." "as if to sleep, to die, no chance of dreaming, no nobility in this poisoned death as the tragedies and great sonnets would have you believe" "For to peer into the eyes of a killed devil leads only to curses upon your own heart"
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A WORLD WITH A BLUER SUNMy reviews are set up a little like live-tweets: I write down lines I like/impressions as I read, and then transcribe. Reviews will contain spoilers, but I'll give a warning before they start. Archives
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