Cornfields Have A Bad Reputation

Lord of the Harvest by Mark Lumby joins the sub-genre of cornfield stories in horror. Although the origin story of the corn creatures remains a mystery, the build-up of suspense is excellent. Nothing like telling someone not to do something to ensure they do exactly that. Unfortunately for Richard, the townsfolk think he's crazy and his son is too concerned with financial problems to see what's right in front of him...or behind him...or reaching for him.

While I enjoyed this story, I thought too much time is wasted on Richard arguing with Ewan. I wish the author had included the incident with the local priest, maybe even included his POV to reveal what happened prior to Ewan's argument with his father.

Regardless, I look forward to reading more of Lumby's stories.

---

If someone tells us, "Stay away from such-and-such restaurant, the service is lousy," we're likely to avoid the place, but if someone says, "Stay away from such-and-such place, something evil lives there," we flock like idiots with our cameras, hoping to film a video that will go viral on YouTube.

I've always wondered if it's a case of disbelief and wanting to disprove any folklore, or if it's the opposite: believing and wanting everyone else to believe as well. If it's the latter, why in the hell would you want to make some horrific discovery?

I often think reading a lot of horror stories gives people an unhealthy amount of self-confidence, leading us to believe that we'd never be that guy. We believe we're prepared for all kinds of terrifying situations because we've read so many different stories - some of us have even survived real life horror. What if that thought process is exactly what leads us into our own personal cornfield?

As always,
AstraDaemon