The Night Country

A fascinatingly philosophical take on a ghost story.

The story is following the denizens of town approaching the one year anniversary of an accident that took the lives of 3 teenagers and left another permanently brain damaged. Only one survivor was largely unhurt. The accident happened during a police chase and the police officer involved has been left deeply affected as well. We follow the ghosts of the 3 who died, who are in turn following the people who were impacted by the crash. The subtext is that the ghosts who haunt you are largely made of your own mistakes, your own experiences. The trauma of the past is very much alive and the struggles to deal with the guilt is an especially strong theme.

This was a beautifully told story, deeply affecting in its subject matter. Losing children, friends or being the cause of an accident are deeply seated fears. Guilt is a powerful emotion. This is not a light read and the crushing sense of inevitability that is produced is fantastically powerful.