The Whool - A Sound and a Monster
This novella by Scott Donnelly had me captivated from the get-go. It has a real docu-horror feel to it that I know would translate well to a short film or an episode of Creepshow.
The plot of the story is sandwiched between eye-witness report transcripts that pertain to two towns that were the sites of The Whool: one of them being the location of the main character. The story itself follows Felix, who returns home to his elderly parents in Burrows, Wisconsin. They’ve hit the age where onset dementia seems to be creeping in and they need their son’s help around their farm. Upon his arrival, bad things start to go down. Scott Donnelly wastes no time in tearing apart Felix’s life, childhood home, and the town surrounding it.
I was very intrigued by The Whool and how it was a sound translated into a word that personified a monster; it felt like a unique approach to horror that I could appreciate. The descriptions within the pages were reminiscent of Lovecraft and Ambrose Bierce. I could envision the dark clouds moving in, hear the “whool” sound in my mind, and smell the sour milk. It was quite vivid and I relished it.
My main bone of contention is that I was a bit unfulfilled by the ending. It showed the reader something, a concrete thing that was the source of the horror, but didn’t get into its history enough to feel conclusive. It briefly touched on some mythos that got close to an explanation, but its assembly felt loose-fitting with the rest of the information given. However, it is worth noting that Scott Donnelly informed me of a separate backstory for The Whool that is available, a prequel called The Milk Boy. So now I am inclined to check that out and learn more about this monster.
Ultimately, I enjoyed the journey more than the destination with this one, but it is evident that Scott Donnelly has a talent for dreaming up horror that begs the return for seconds.
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