Something a little different: “Borrasca"
This week, I have prepared something a little different. For those who know me, you are aware that I have quite a fascination with horror. Recently, I have decided to venture into a sphere that I am not quite as familiar with – internet horror, or, more specifically, creepypastas.
For those who are unfamiliar with the term, a “creepypasta” is just a story, which has been spread around the web enough to have been distinguished in the internet horror community. Think of it like a modern-day type of urban legend. One such story is “Borrasca” by Rebecca Klingel, who has a very impressive resume in horror from her work on amazing shows such as the notorious “Haunting of Hill House.” Having read “Borrasca,” one of her earlier works, it is easy to see how she was able to garner such an opportunity.
“Borrasca” follows Sam Walker, a young boy who has just moved to Drisking, Missouri, with his parents and older sister, Whitney. Strange things happen there, though, and he begins to hear from other children in town about urban legends consisting of “skinned men” and a place called “Borrasca.”
Once Whitney goes missing, he realizes the legends may hit closer to him than anyone believes.
To put it simply, “Borrasca” is well written. Despite being extremely long, the pacing is wonderful and all of the characters are written believably. In particular, the children are charming and easy to love, so it is forgivable when there is an inevitable time skip that makes them all hormonal, annoying teens.
The horror is quite subtle, but the story is laced with humor and instances of joy that don’t leave the reader feeling destitute. At least, not until the end.
As much as I enjoy the buildup of “Borrasca,” I do feel as though Klingel let me down in some ways. The climax of the story, though intense and action-packed, does not really make much sense; the big twist, though objectively shocking and horrific, feels a little exploitative and undeserved, and the big bad villain is so cartoonishly evil. If he were not written to be so obviously despicable, I may have laughed at certain points during his ending monologue.
The resolution does save things a bit – there is an explanation and the emotions settle, but it is difficult to fully set aside the feelings that were left by the scenes leading up to the end.
Overall, the ending just left a bad taste in my mouth, not only for the revulsion it induces, but also for the plot holes and nonsense it is founded upon.
Nevertheless, I would say “Borrasca” is definitely worth a read. It is very long and comprised of multiple parts, but I think it is a masterclass in building anticipation.
Though the ending leaves much to be desired, the journey is very much worth it; there are sprinklings of clues and mysteries that don’t make sense until you read a second time, which is always rewarding.
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