Whistle and I’ll show up if I feel like it

73. Mistletoe – Alison Littlewood

Mistletoe has a great premise for a horror story, the promise of moving somewhere new for Leah to escape her grief and all the usual reminders that one is supposed to be happy during the holiday season, in this case Leah moves into an old Yorkshire farmhouse which is isolated except for some not really that close neighbors… except for the people who used to live in the house, who are still there to some extent and also her relations. It sounded good to me, anyway, but then I kept trying to find a way to get into the story and I just couldn’t. I had no dread and considering that any time there’s a mouse in my house I am in a state of constant dread until I know it’s dead and subsequently out of the house, living alone dread is not unfamiliar. See also, what was that noise? dread, which is also easy to get when alone. I can relate to Leah’s possible dread sources living, dead, and nature-based, even holiday based, is what I’m saying – but I couldn’t in Mistletoe. I would have liked to, I’m fond of holiday horror (which this is more of a polite ghost story that meanders), but I just could not get into it. I don’t think even eating our apparently less toxic variety of US mistletoe would have helped me believe here.

Snuffy jumps forth from the piggie A-frame after I told her not to eat the electric lights because she will get hurt. She was really mad I wouldn’t let her nibble her way to electrocution.

 

So instead, she tried to nibble on the plastic tree. Nothing here is even holiday edible, Snuffy!