The Elementals by Michael McDowell (incidentally and surprisingly, the screenplay writer for Beetlejuice) is a book that I think I learned about by reading Grady Hendrix’s Paperbacks from Hell. Set on an Alabama barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico, it was the perfect selection for a summertime horror read. I’ve enjoyed several summers on the beaches of the Redneck Riviera, so I know well the area described. And in fact, we spent Thanksgiving 2020 on Dauphin Island, the island next to where the book is set. At that time of year, it was practically deserted, and so beautiful. In high summer, the sun and the heat are overwhelming, and the author, a native Alabamian, captures the torpor and lassitude of those heady summer days perfectly. When I think of gothic horror and haunted houses, my mind does not conjure up brightly lit days of blinding sun and not a shadow to be seen. But this is indeed what we get with The Elementals. I’ll never look at sand in quite the same way again. 🏖️ One major criticism I have of the book is the portrayal of Odessa, the Black woman who is the longtime servant of the family. It’s the stereotypical “magical negro” trope and does a disservice to what otherwise could have been a more nuanced character. 🏖️ One of my favourite quotes: “India had previously entertained no sympathy for the Southern way of life, with its pervasive friendliness, its offhanded viciousness, its overwhelming lassitude. She had always wanted to punch it into shape, to make it sit up straight and say what it meant.”