If This Book Exists, You're in the Wrong Universe (John Dies at the End, #4)

by Jason Pargin

The three of them had no clear idea as to why unholy entities are repelled by, if not completely incapacitated by, beautiful music. One theory is that uplifting melodies are connected to the holy vibrations that emanate from the golden light at the center of all things and that no creature that feeds on suffering can bear to be in its presence, kind of like how it’s hard to eat a steak if a cow is staring at you from across the table. Others say that what repels the darkness is not the music but the effect that music has in strengthening the human spirit—there is a reason why victorious battle scenes in films are accompanied by the sounds of a triumphant orchestra. But in moments like this, all that matters is that it almost always works if you have chosen the right music. It must be a piece that instills the same joyous thrum of the soul in any human who hears it, one that transcends time, culture, and language. The particular track Amy had locked and loaded on her phone was “Regulate” by Warren G, featuring Nate Dogg.