What Moves the Dead (2022)-T. Kingfisher
Though parts of this book are predictable, it all continues to thoroughly unnerve you
Content Warnings: Death, mild gore, possession, violence, guns, drowning, war, suicide, fire
Rep: nonbinary
Fav Quote: “The dead may walk, but I will not walk among them.”
What Moves the Dead is a short horror novel based on the Edgar Allen Poe story The Fall of the House of Usher. While the original classic is exceedingly short, this book seeks to expand of the concept and explain the unanswered questions of the short story. It particularly homes in on the mentions of fungi in the original story and creates an explanation that may feel familiar to fans of The Last of Us.
In this version of the story, the main character Alex Easton is a nonbinary war veteran who receives a letter from his childhood friend Madeline Usher detailing an ailment she’s contracted and her wish for him to come visit. Easton arrives and it first met with a local woman who specializes in mycology—the study of fungi—as they approach the worn down and unsettling Usher Mansion.
Upon their arrival, they find Madeline and brother Roderick Usher in concerning states—each having grown thin and pale with fine white hair abnormal for their age. It is clear that Madeline has little time left and while of attempting to slow her sickness, Easton learns of the utter lack of animals around the estate aside from oddly behaving hares. Despite not being superstitious, Easton quickly finds themself devoid of logical explanations for what they are witnessing.
This book takes on a particularly unique dimension through its diversion from its source material. The most striking of these changes is the inclusion of Easton’s nonbinary identity closely tied to their culture—from the fictional country Gallacia—and their title as a soldier—Gallacian soldiers are referred to with a particular gender-neutral set of pronouns. It also creates an entirely new friendship between Easton and Madeline and gives the woman characters depth not granted by Edgar Allen Poe.
Though the major trajectory of the novel is likely predictable to readers, it is the journey from point A to point B that makes the novel so enjoyable. You can entirely guess what is going to happen and still feel shocked and unnerved when it occurs in the story. It is an effectively disturbing horror novel that can be enjoyed by those who tend to steer clear of the genre.