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| The eye-catching front cover of Hekla's Children |
Hekla's Children by James Brogden
It's been well over a month since I've read this now, but I've been giving myself the chance to fully absorb it and letting my brain mull over things in the background. It's difficult to say what this post is exactly, as it's swinging somewhere between a review and an insight into things like folk horror or mythical horror.
The novel is a relatively new release as it came out in Ireland and the UK in March. As a result, I'm not inclined to provide any spoilers as I highly doubt many have had the opportunity to read it as yet. It's quite possible that it has slipped beneath the radar of many people. I was lucky enough to find it while browsing in the exceptionally large Eason store on O'Connell Street but to my horror, I've found that many bookstores (including the Eason in St. Stephen's Green Shopping Centre) do not seem to have a horror section set aside. Alas, I consider it a minor miracle when bookstores can adequately separate fantasy and science-fiction novels rather than lumping them both under one section labelled either science-fiction or fantasy, although I've seen more of the former than the latter. I consider it fate that I was in the right place at the right time and frankly the cover hit me quite hard. The whole thing screamed horror at me (which is good because it was in the horror section so it was doing it's job) and I was fascinated by an image that suggested I was looking up from the bottom or a well. The cover hooked me and the blurb did the rest. After that, there was no chance of me leaving without buying it and I'm glad to say that that was a very good decision on my part so GO ME!
So what exactly is Hekla's Children about? An excellent question imaginary audience! (Yeah, yeah, I should probably get those voices in my head checked out but they're useful at times)
Hekla's Children follows the mystery surrounding the disappearance of four teenagers while on a trip in Sutton Park. One of the teens reappears 24 hours later with no memory of what happened and the teacher who was supposed to have been watching them that day ends up haunted by what happened. Fast forward a decade and the teacher in question is still working with teens although he isn't a teacher anymore and he keeps thinking that he sees the teenagers that were lost. He's long been suspected by the families of the missing children for having murdered them and so when a body turns up in Sutton Park, everyone jumps to conclusions. Without giving much away, the body turns out to be a 3000 year old bog mummy that is definitely not what it appears to be and things are linked back an incident that occurs in the Bronze Age that has startling implications for the modern world.
The mystery is a gripping one and honestly, even if you think you've worked it out, Brogden manages to throw something your way that leaves you reeling and questioning everything. There's some trippy time stuff and you might think at more than one point that you might have given leave of your senses but despite that, it's actually easy to believe that such a thing is occurring right under our noses and no one is ever the wiser.
Obviously I don't want to give away aspects of the plot, although believe me I'll write an in-depth analysis in the future, but I can give you some interesting background. The 'Hekla' in the title refers to a particular volcano in southern Iceland. It was actually known as the "Gateway to Hell" during Medieval Times so as you can tell, it has had a bit of a fearsome reputation over the years. It's quite possible that knowledge of some of its older eruptions were passed down in the oral tradition but we know through a number of scientific discoveries that it had some major eruptions in the BC era. One of the more recent ones, which occurred during the Bronze Age was known as Hekla-3 and it is that specific eruption to which Brogden's novel refers.
Hekla-3 was a devastating eruption that threw a great deal of volcanic ash and other debris into the atmosphere. You might remember the serious disruptions to air travel that was caused in 2010 by the eruptions of the Icelandic volcano, Eyjafjallajรถkull. However, that was considered minor volcanic activity. Consider that ash cloud but on a phenomenal scale, such a large scale in fact that the temperatures of northern parts of the world would have been affected for a few years afterwards. Some trees dating from that period have been shown to have had minimal growth for about a decade and the evidence is in the tree rings. Bogs have been shown to have preserved some of the volcanic ash, which ties nicely into the story within the novel as the bog in Sutton Park preserves the past. Brogden's title doesn't refer to what's preserved but rather to the effects of that eruption.
After Hekla's eruption, the temperatures in mainland Britain would have dropped dramatically, making the winters harsher and the summers cooler and shorter. The misery of such a landscape is what Brogden tries to capture in the Bronze Age segments of the narrative and don't worry, he does explain that one for his readers. He also explains the main 'villain' of his story, the afaugh.
Cannibalism is a taboo and a serious one in many cultures. For years, many people believed that so-called "primitive" cultures indulged in cannibalism. While in some, it is indeed a common practice, many cultures hold it in contempt. Often areas that undergo periods of extreme weather where starvation could be an issue have cannibalism taboos that have manifested in interesting ways. Certain areas of the northern US and Canada have wendigo mythology. A wendigo was supposed to be a spirit that would eat people and was associated with cold winter regions, particularly linked to famine and starvation. As people feared the need and even possible desire to eat their fellows, the wendigo seemed to provide the shape for such fears.
Interestingly, while the wendigo was considered a spirit, it either had human characteristics or possessed a human being, meaning that the thing natives truly feared was the idea of their neighbours turning around and eating them or vice-versa. The wendigo was a greedy, merciless creature and that was certainly something to be frightened of. It was better to point to a mysterious creature out in the woods and fear being eaten or turned into one than to fear your own neighbour in difficult winters.
The idea of turning into a wendigo is a real one. There is such a thing as Wendigo psychosis, which has been found in the areas where the wendigo myth is prevalent. Such a psychosis leads people to desire to kill and eat the flesh of those around them and when you disapprove of cannibalism that's a pretty scary deal.
The Inuits have the Atshen, another cannibal spirit that hunts in cold regions and there are many more. Of course, cannibal stories are prevalent in many parts of the world--Native American culture is a particularly rich source--but it this particular sort of spirit is associated with starvation and cold. Although it eats out of greed rather than necessity, it is still a creature of famine, eating all it can but never being satisfied. The afaugh of Hekla's Children draws roots from just such a tradition.
The idea of sacrifice is also one that permeates Brogden's narrative, linking it with the likes of the famous burning in The Wicker Man. The folk (horror) tradition is strong in this one.
Hekla's Children is very, very British and also quite contemporary but interestingly, Brogden claims to have been inspired by a source that came from somewhere quite far away. Brogden was originally from Tasmania, spending his teens in Australia before he finally settled in Britain. As a result, there's definitely a bit of a Aboriginal Dreamtime flavour to the narrative but the source he names is a novel from 1967 called Picnic at Hanging Rock. The novel was written by Joan Lindsey and was set around 1900. The plot involves the disappearance of a group of female students from an Australian women's college. While the mystery is never solved, the ending is left ambiguous and the story is framed as a true one. Interestingly, after Lindsey's death, a chapter that was removed from the novel was published, explaining what actually happened to the missing young women. While I haven't read it myself, the excised chapter seems to follow a similar concept as Brogden's novel. No spoilers though! If you want to know about it, you have to read one of them and even then, Brogden's novel doesn't go the same way, they just have some things in common.
I bring up that particular novel not just because Brogden claims it as an inspiration but also due to the effect it had in Australia. Being viewed as a story that may have happened, Picnic at Hanging Rock has gained a folkloric status in the country. While Australia might not seem as old as somewhere like Britain (native peoples don't count; ask anyone who took their "empty" lands) but it can still carry stories that hark back to something older than current civilisation.
The land remembers.
On that note, I've said all I'm going to say for the moment with all my rambling but I would highly recommend Hekla's Children if you're a fan of horror, the supernatural or anything a little out there and a little weird. If you read Lovecraft... well, he's a very special brand of weird but you might like this if you like him AND with the added bonus of an author not hating everything that moves. Ah, I won't pick on poor Howard but suspend your disbelief and read this!
Hekla's Children follows the mystery surrounding the disappearance of four teenagers while on a trip in Sutton Park. One of the teens reappears 24 hours later with no memory of what happened and the teacher who was supposed to have been watching them that day ends up haunted by what happened. Fast forward a decade and the teacher in question is still working with teens although he isn't a teacher anymore and he keeps thinking that he sees the teenagers that were lost. He's long been suspected by the families of the missing children for having murdered them and so when a body turns up in Sutton Park, everyone jumps to conclusions. Without giving much away, the body turns out to be a 3000 year old bog mummy that is definitely not what it appears to be and things are linked back an incident that occurs in the Bronze Age that has startling implications for the modern world.
The mystery is a gripping one and honestly, even if you think you've worked it out, Brogden manages to throw something your way that leaves you reeling and questioning everything. There's some trippy time stuff and you might think at more than one point that you might have given leave of your senses but despite that, it's actually easy to believe that such a thing is occurring right under our noses and no one is ever the wiser.
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| Hekla Volcano, photo credit to Alan Moore |
Obviously I don't want to give away aspects of the plot, although believe me I'll write an in-depth analysis in the future, but I can give you some interesting background. The 'Hekla' in the title refers to a particular volcano in southern Iceland. It was actually known as the "Gateway to Hell" during Medieval Times so as you can tell, it has had a bit of a fearsome reputation over the years. It's quite possible that knowledge of some of its older eruptions were passed down in the oral tradition but we know through a number of scientific discoveries that it had some major eruptions in the BC era. One of the more recent ones, which occurred during the Bronze Age was known as Hekla-3 and it is that specific eruption to which Brogden's novel refers.
Hekla-3 was a devastating eruption that threw a great deal of volcanic ash and other debris into the atmosphere. You might remember the serious disruptions to air travel that was caused in 2010 by the eruptions of the Icelandic volcano, Eyjafjallajรถkull. However, that was considered minor volcanic activity. Consider that ash cloud but on a phenomenal scale, such a large scale in fact that the temperatures of northern parts of the world would have been affected for a few years afterwards. Some trees dating from that period have been shown to have had minimal growth for about a decade and the evidence is in the tree rings. Bogs have been shown to have preserved some of the volcanic ash, which ties nicely into the story within the novel as the bog in Sutton Park preserves the past. Brogden's title doesn't refer to what's preserved but rather to the effects of that eruption.
After Hekla's eruption, the temperatures in mainland Britain would have dropped dramatically, making the winters harsher and the summers cooler and shorter. The misery of such a landscape is what Brogden tries to capture in the Bronze Age segments of the narrative and don't worry, he does explain that one for his readers. He also explains the main 'villain' of his story, the afaugh.
Cannibalism is a taboo and a serious one in many cultures. For years, many people believed that so-called "primitive" cultures indulged in cannibalism. While in some, it is indeed a common practice, many cultures hold it in contempt. Often areas that undergo periods of extreme weather where starvation could be an issue have cannibalism taboos that have manifested in interesting ways. Certain areas of the northern US and Canada have wendigo mythology. A wendigo was supposed to be a spirit that would eat people and was associated with cold winter regions, particularly linked to famine and starvation. As people feared the need and even possible desire to eat their fellows, the wendigo seemed to provide the shape for such fears.
Interestingly, while the wendigo was considered a spirit, it either had human characteristics or possessed a human being, meaning that the thing natives truly feared was the idea of their neighbours turning around and eating them or vice-versa. The wendigo was a greedy, merciless creature and that was certainly something to be frightened of. It was better to point to a mysterious creature out in the woods and fear being eaten or turned into one than to fear your own neighbour in difficult winters.
The idea of turning into a wendigo is a real one. There is such a thing as Wendigo psychosis, which has been found in the areas where the wendigo myth is prevalent. Such a psychosis leads people to desire to kill and eat the flesh of those around them and when you disapprove of cannibalism that's a pretty scary deal.
The Inuits have the Atshen, another cannibal spirit that hunts in cold regions and there are many more. Of course, cannibal stories are prevalent in many parts of the world--Native American culture is a particularly rich source--but it this particular sort of spirit is associated with starvation and cold. Although it eats out of greed rather than necessity, it is still a creature of famine, eating all it can but never being satisfied. The afaugh of Hekla's Children draws roots from just such a tradition.
The idea of sacrifice is also one that permeates Brogden's narrative, linking it with the likes of the famous burning in The Wicker Man. The folk (horror) tradition is strong in this one.
Hekla's Children is very, very British and also quite contemporary but interestingly, Brogden claims to have been inspired by a source that came from somewhere quite far away. Brogden was originally from Tasmania, spending his teens in Australia before he finally settled in Britain. As a result, there's definitely a bit of a Aboriginal Dreamtime flavour to the narrative but the source he names is a novel from 1967 called Picnic at Hanging Rock. The novel was written by Joan Lindsey and was set around 1900. The plot involves the disappearance of a group of female students from an Australian women's college. While the mystery is never solved, the ending is left ambiguous and the story is framed as a true one. Interestingly, after Lindsey's death, a chapter that was removed from the novel was published, explaining what actually happened to the missing young women. While I haven't read it myself, the excised chapter seems to follow a similar concept as Brogden's novel. No spoilers though! If you want to know about it, you have to read one of them and even then, Brogden's novel doesn't go the same way, they just have some things in common.
I bring up that particular novel not just because Brogden claims it as an inspiration but also due to the effect it had in Australia. Being viewed as a story that may have happened, Picnic at Hanging Rock has gained a folkloric status in the country. While Australia might not seem as old as somewhere like Britain (native peoples don't count; ask anyone who took their "empty" lands) but it can still carry stories that hark back to something older than current civilisation.
The land remembers.
On that note, I've said all I'm going to say for the moment with all my rambling but I would highly recommend Hekla's Children if you're a fan of horror, the supernatural or anything a little out there and a little weird. If you read Lovecraft... well, he's a very special brand of weird but you might like this if you like him AND with the added bonus of an author not hating everything that moves. Ah, I won't pick on poor Howard but suspend your disbelief and read this!
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