Bird Doll

THE SCREAMING BOOK OF HORROR
Real-Time Review continued from HERE
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Bird Doll – Claire Massey
“The baby’s elbows jabbed at the air and her arms spasmed like damaged wings.”
This story mentions something that, so far, could well be the subtitle for this whole Screaming book: “infant death syndrome”… And, in this story, a variation on the theme is hitching dolls as bird bait upon washing-lines – or, as I personally feel, more likely, decoys. As in the Farrell story, this has a pair of boy and girl siblings, but here with the gender between the baby and the older one reversed. From washing-machine to washing-line?! Another well-written, disturbing tale. The book’s accreting viral gestalt or ‘world soul’ carried now by avians… (11 Oct 12 – 2.35 pm bst)

[I have just noticed the link between the ‘mask’ in LARVA and that in THE IRON CROSS.] (11 Oct 12 – 3.20 pm bst)

[Thinking more about the above washing-machine / washing-line connection between two independently written stories in this anthology, it strikes me as amazing!] (11 Oct 12 – 4.20 pm bst)

[Just finished listening to Julia Wolfe’s wonderful music CRUEL SISTER in a live concert on BBC Radio Three!] (11 Oct 12 – 8.20 pm bst)

[Hopefully, life’s time constraints will allow me to continue this RTR later tonight or tomorrow. The question in my mind so far: is this anthology (judging by its text alone) intentionally or unintentionally a themed one – or, by the time I finish all its stories, not a themed one at all?] (12 Oct 12 – 7.50 am bst)

**THIS REAL-TIME REVIEW IS NOW CONTINUED HERE**

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