In case you missed it, I’m reading my way through the Goodreads 78 Most Popular Horror List - check out the series here.

I decided to pick up another T. Kingfisher because I thoroughly enjoyed A House With Good Bones, and they’re on this list 4 times which is huge. This round I chose What Moves the Dead.

This novella is inspired by The Fall of the House of Usher by Poe. In the ‘author’s note’ Kingfisher explains that when they read the short story, they wanted to know more about Madeline’s illness and Roderick’s motivations. So they wrote this exploring it.

In this story, Easton is visiting friends Madeline and Roderick Usher after receiving a worrying letter from Madeline who is in poor health. When they arrive they find their friends looking worse for ware in the dilapidated manor they have inherited. They are also greeted by a doctor named Denton who has been called in to help with Madeline’s illness. As the days unravel, Easton discovers strange things in the grounds and the lake at the home, animals behaving strangely, rumors from town, and Madeline sleep walking to the lake every night. Along with Angus, Miss Potter, and Denton, Easton soon finds themselves in a terrifyingly gothic horror nightmare.

This was a fantastic story - it’s a novella, so easy to read in one sitting. For such a short novella, a lot is packed into the pages. We have a tone of lore about a fictitious country called Ruravia, deeply thought out knowledge of their pronouns, and some total badass commentary on gender politics and military biases.

Easton is our lead and we see and experience everything through their eyes. From the get-go, we learn about these creepy fungi that surround the manor. And Miss Potter (sister to Beatrix Potter) makes her first appearance. She’s an incredible character as well. A female who isn’t taken seriously in her field of passion, but refuses to stay quiet and not take the lead.

The descriptions of the house itself are incredible and paint the perfect gothic horror picture in your mind. Lots of darkened hallways, damp walls, rotted doors, furniture covered in sheets, rooms closed off, and everyone walking around with candelabras in hand.

Madeline is incredibly ill but constantly drawn to the lake. Easton continues to investigate to find out what has happened to their childhood friend and how they can stop it from happening.

Some of my favorite scenes were those that included the mysterious hares. The way Kingfisher describes them is so creepy. And at one point Easton finds themselves surrounded by these silent, strange hares which brought chills to my spine and reminded me a lot of that iconic scene in The Birds at the school.

When the group realize that the hares and Madeline’s death may be related, they decide to perform an autopsy on a dead hare. Unfortunately, for them, the hare comes back to life and it’s a really scary moment. But they are able to confirm that a type of fungi has taken over the hare and is puppeteering it. And this leads to us realizing Madeline is under the same influence.

We come to a head with Madeline who has been taken over by the fungi that in turn came from the lake. And have a sort of villain monologue moment where the tarn and Madeline explain how the tarn has possessed her. It was a really creepy and fantastic moment. The visual of Madeline with her neck broken, holding up her head, as the fungi speaks through her is one I won’t forget.

Obviously, this story does have similar vibes to Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and Kingfisher addresses that in the author’s note as well. But I think it is unique enough and uses the fungi in a different way to which they feel like two very separate stories.

Overall, this is another fantastic book by T. Kingfisher, and I’m really motivated to read the other two on this list.

That makes 42 out of 78 completed, and another 5-stars!