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A review by doomkittiekhan
Whisper Down the Lane by Clay McLeod Chapman
5.0
One of my favorite horror sub-genres is Possession Horror and anything related to Satanic Panic. Real quick, for the youngins; Satanic Panic was a cultural phenomenon that emerged in the late 60s and burned brightest during the 1980s in North America. Bookended by the Manson Murders and the publication of [b:Michelle Remembers|676637|Michelle Remembers|Michelle Smith|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1177037179l/676637._SY75_.jpg|662638], 'Satanic Panic' was the belief that satanists were infiltrating our society and ritualistically murdering children. No one was spared from scrutiny. Anyone could be part of the devil's plan. And if you think the hysteria of Satanic Panic is over, you'd be wrong, in May of 2021, National Public Radio covered a series of articles about how QAnon is reviving this phenomenon.
So...let's talk about 'Whisper Down the Lane'.
This book is a bloody love letter to the children of the 80s that grew up in the fever pitch of the Satanic Panic era. Heavy metal music, the occult, dark imagery, the rise of Goth culture, Dungeons & Dragons, and the very public trials of teachers and care givers accused of leading children toward the path of darkness. The most popular case is the McMartin Preschool trial in which members of a day care center in California were arrested and charged (the charges were later dropped) with numerous acts of sexual abuse towards the children in their care. While horrific on its own, the case took on the air of a modern day witch hunt with the moral compass of American Conservatism leading the way.
'Whisper Down the Lane' is Clay McLeod Chapman's homage to the entire era. The story takes place is two timelines and through our unreliable narrator, Sean Crenshaw, a five-year old in 1983, and Richard Bellamy, a mid-30s Kindergarten art teacher in 2013. In the past, Sean and his mother move to Greenfield, Virginia to begin a new life. But something strange begins happening at Sean's school when Sean's mother notices bruises on him. But Sean doesn't want to worry his mom by telling her that one of his classmates is hurting him. Instead, as if happening in slow motion and also all too quickly, the worst is assumed about Sean's favorite teacher - Mr. Woodhouse. Tales of child abuse, dark magic, cannibalism, devil worship, and black masses all begin to rock Greenfield and the nation. In 2013 at Richard's own school, echoes of the past begin to emerge when a beloved school pet, a white rabbit named Professor Howdy that belongs to Miss Castevet, is found splayed open in a field near the school building. This discovery sends Richard deep into his memories because something about the death of Professor Howdy feels familiar. As if it was meant just for him.
..."all for him."
Told through flashbacks and modified stream of consciousness in which one character will slip into the other, often within the same paragraph, the reader learns how they are connected and the horrific past that they both share.
One of my favorite things that I noticed right away is that character names are loaded with cultural significance as they are used as references to classic possession books/movies, authors and directors, of the 60s and 70s like [b:Rosemary's Baby|228296|Rosemary's Baby (Rosemary's Baby, #1)|Ira Levin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327878603l/228296._SY75_.jpg|883024], [b:The Exorcist|179780|The Exorcist|William Peter Blatty|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1375168676l/179780._SY75_.jpg|1945267], and [b:The Omen|226162|The Omen|David Seltzer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1421963974l/226162._SY75_.jpg|219058]. These serve as fun easter eggs for the horror-obsessed reader. Chapman certainly knows his audience. I also appreciated the transcripts between Sean and the social worker meant to help him reveal what has been happening at his school. If you think the interrogation and leading questions are an exaggeration on the part of the author to push the narrative, you'd be wrong. This is almost an exact recreation of the interviews conducted by Kee MacFarlane, a social worker with the Children's Institute International (CII) who was sent to interview the children involved in the McMartin trial. It is jaw-droopingly horrific and manipulative.
I loved this book. It was a fun genre read that also takes a hard look at a bleak spot on the record of North American pop culture. If you also nerd out easily over this sub-genre of horror and history, then I bet you'll love 'Whisper Down the Lane' too.
So...let's talk about 'Whisper Down the Lane'.
This book is a bloody love letter to the children of the 80s that grew up in the fever pitch of the Satanic Panic era. Heavy metal music, the occult, dark imagery, the rise of Goth culture, Dungeons & Dragons, and the very public trials of teachers and care givers accused of leading children toward the path of darkness. The most popular case is the McMartin Preschool trial in which members of a day care center in California were arrested and charged (the charges were later dropped) with numerous acts of sexual abuse towards the children in their care. While horrific on its own, the case took on the air of a modern day witch hunt with the moral compass of American Conservatism leading the way.
'Whisper Down the Lane' is Clay McLeod Chapman's homage to the entire era. The story takes place is two timelines and through our unreliable narrator, Sean Crenshaw, a five-year old in 1983, and Richard Bellamy, a mid-30s Kindergarten art teacher in 2013. In the past, Sean and his mother move to Greenfield, Virginia to begin a new life. But something strange begins happening at Sean's school when Sean's mother notices bruises on him. But Sean doesn't want to worry his mom by telling her that one of his classmates is hurting him. Instead, as if happening in slow motion and also all too quickly, the worst is assumed about Sean's favorite teacher - Mr. Woodhouse. Tales of child abuse, dark magic, cannibalism, devil worship, and black masses all begin to rock Greenfield and the nation. In 2013 at Richard's own school, echoes of the past begin to emerge when a beloved school pet, a white rabbit named Professor Howdy that belongs to Miss Castevet, is found splayed open in a field near the school building. This discovery sends Richard deep into his memories because something about the death of Professor Howdy feels familiar. As if it was meant just for him.
..."all for him."
Told through flashbacks and modified stream of consciousness in which one character will slip into the other, often within the same paragraph, the reader learns how they are connected and the horrific past that they both share.
One of my favorite things that I noticed right away is that character names are loaded with cultural significance as they are used as references to classic possession books/movies, authors and directors, of the 60s and 70s like [b:Rosemary's Baby|228296|Rosemary's Baby (Rosemary's Baby, #1)|Ira Levin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327878603l/228296._SY75_.jpg|883024], [b:The Exorcist|179780|The Exorcist|William Peter Blatty|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1375168676l/179780._SY75_.jpg|1945267], and [b:The Omen|226162|The Omen|David Seltzer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1421963974l/226162._SY75_.jpg|219058]. These serve as fun easter eggs for the horror-obsessed reader. Chapman certainly knows his audience. I also appreciated the transcripts between Sean and the social worker meant to help him reveal what has been happening at his school. If you think the interrogation and leading questions are an exaggeration on the part of the author to push the narrative, you'd be wrong. This is almost an exact recreation of the interviews conducted by Kee MacFarlane, a social worker with the Children's Institute International (CII) who was sent to interview the children involved in the McMartin trial. It is jaw-droopingly horrific and manipulative.
I loved this book. It was a fun genre read that also takes a hard look at a bleak spot on the record of North American pop culture. If you also nerd out easily over this sub-genre of horror and history, then I bet you'll love 'Whisper Down the Lane' too.