Mother

Had to give this horror short story a go for my spooky season TBR.

This mixed some religious horror tropes with some almost Lovecraftian monster vibes. An abusive mother of three takes out her anger on her boys. She hoards things making their home life cramped, less sanitary, starves them, and physically abuses them too. Their father is aware, but can do little to stop it. Zach, the oldest, tends to get the brunt of things, and as he runs his mouth to her, she says he’s earned it.

But when the boys come home from a weekend with their father, they find the house cleaned, cleared, dinner made, and a completely changed mother. She is kinder, affectionate even, and at first the boys don’t know how to react. She claims she made a friend who invited her to a new church, and that she would like them to go with her. I absolutely loved the kind of examination of an abusive mother finding something to believe in, changing her behavior in faith, just to lead her family into something possibly worse, darker.

The community aspect of the church and the way they dressed, made me think of M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village. And honestly, with the way the community kind of takes them in and makes it seem like they can’t leave, that isn’t too far off. Now the person they pray to, as this is not a Christian story, is anything but normal. The gelatinous, bulbous descriptors brought to mind the likes of The Blob That Ate Everyone by R. L. Stine, but with a much more cosmic twist. The monstrous tongue, as well as the jelly Eucharist, made me so uncomfortable. This is a quick and enjoyable little horror short! There’s not really a way to go further without spoiling so I won’t!