Good Night, Sleep Tight (Childhood Night Terrors Short Horror Stories)
It’s rare for an anthology to leave me thinking about the stories days after completion. However, I’ve found myself thinking about quite a few of the stories from Brian Evenson’s Good Night, Sleep Tight. It’s become almost a nightly routine that, as I’m tucked in and ready to fall asleep, I’m reminded of “The Thickening,” which in all honesty wasn’t horrifying or terrifying when being read, but it was the way in which the entity was described that brought with it memories of childhood sleep terrors. Those that cause you to startle awake with an alertness that comes from feelings of being watched from the dark corner of your room. Hiding under the covers might relieve some of the fear, but you still feel a presence that is unnatural and silent in its plotting. It cannot be known what its motive is, but it’s there, and it’s watching.
He was more himself under the bed, even if only slightly. He could turn his head a little now. He could see the creature’s legs, looking thick and substantial and opaque, though they left no mark on the carpet wherever they stepped. The feet left the floor and he knew it was on the bed now, though the bed did not shake or creak. But as soon as he noted this, the bed did shake, did creak, he became afraid that by questioning it he had made it happen, had thickened the creature further.
Evenson lends an abstract and psychological view to horror that causes his readers to reflect and not just consume words. There are elements in many of the stories that reminded me of The Twilight Zone, Doctor Who, and perhaps Black Mirror. Topics such as artificial intelligence that both comforts and harms, otherworldly entities that stalk and torment, inter-dimensional travel with no way back, and more abstract concepts like motherhood are all present in Good Night, Sleep Tight. Many of the stories are not outright scary but are able to bring out an unease where one knows something is off and cannot pinpoint it. A few other stories that have stuck with me are “The Cabin,” “Untitled (Cloud of Blood),” “Imagine a Forest,” and “Solution.” I’ll also say that some of the endings are left open for the reader to speculate what happens next, which does read as cheesy at points; however, it brings with it feelings of nostalgia and comfort that contradict the unsettling nature of the stories. In addition to this, there’s an overarching theme of AI and technology with capabilities exceeding what we have access to right now. Overall, the book was entertaining despite the repetitive use of AI themes, which is more topical than not in today’s world of technology.
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Written by Caroline, Murderess of the Swine
Good Night, Sleep Tight (2024)
Brian Evenson (writer)
Cover Art: Reiko Murakami
4.4 / 5
