Nordic Nightmares - The Best of Nordic Horror by Margret Helgadottir
I would like to thank Solaris for an advance copy of this anthology in exchange for a fair and honest review
Publisher – Solaris
Published – Out Now
Price – £11.99 paperback £6.39 ebook
Nightmarish tales of mystery and horror, from the best voices in contemporary Nordic fiction.
You know them from the stories whispered around the campfire. Sometimes, they’re dark creatures from tall forests or murky bogs, luring their victims to their death, or the apocalyptic roar of a volcanic eruption. Other times, they’re closer to home: an unsettling new neighbour, or the overly friendly people you meet on the train, or the bureaucrat who thinks he's saving the world.
Nordic Nightmares opens a window into the horror landscape of the Nordic countries, from Finland to Greenland. The anthology is expertly curated to showcase the work of twenty modern masters of horror – the majority appearing in English for the first time – to keep you company during long, cold nights.
Featuring stories by John Ajvide Lindqvist, Marko Hautala, Steinar Bragi, Hildur Knútsdóttir, Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen, Martin Schjönning, Rakel Helmsdal, Johanna Sinisalo, Markus Sköld, Boel Bermann, Jon Ewo, Aleksander Brun, Madeleine Bäck, Nanna Árnadottir, Pivinnguaq Mørch, Mikkel Harris Carlsen, AR Frederiksen, Sólrún Michelsen, Gertrud-Marie Kreutzmann, and Tor Åge Bringsværd.
Everyone gets scared sometimes but not always of the same things. At a personal level this makes sense but at a global level it is always interesting to note that the horror stories and myths of many cultures have both similarities and some differences. Margret Helgadottir has achieved this in the excellent new horror anthology Nordic Nightmares – The bets of Nordic Horror where a feast of authors from different countries shows what scares the people where the night gets indeed very very long at this time of year. In Helgadottir’s introduction initially it seems horror has not become a true genre in its own right but actually as this collection proves there is a rich vein of unsettling tales to get our teeth into!
Starting off In Finland where horror seems to delight in the weirder end of the spectrum with The Silence of the Host by Marko Harutula (translated by Jenni Salmi) where a teenage boy listens to an unusual late-night radio. He’s left all alone in the house on a school night. He doesn’t seem to be entirely alone. It ramps up the feeling of something bad about to happen, but we soon realised it may already have started. An impressive opening tale about feeling cut off from the world. Then an unusual narrator in Joys of the Table by Johanna Sinisalo (translated by Sarianna Silvonen) is a piece of furniture detailing how a fracturing relationship in its owners brings out a desire to get some revenge. The next time you bump yourself on a corner please bear in mind you’re always being watched. It manages to be surreal and unnerving at the same time. Finally the impact of covid can be found in Angela’s Artworks by Pasi Ilmari Jaaskelainen (translated by Sarianna Silvonen) where a famous artwork cut-off from the world in lockdown is asked to paint pictures for a very high price but has not yet realised her past is also under scrutiny. The unnerving portraits slowly real this woman’s secret and ultimately who knows about it. A very sweet escalation in madness can be felt as the pressure of the truth gets too much.
Then Denmark for the very effective tale Neither Heaven Nor Hell by Martin Schjonning (translated by Olivia Lasky) which focuses on a mysterious bog and a tale of family secrets. A cruel father disappears while his estranged son and his boyfriend try to move on in their lives. A feeling of tragedy builds in this tale as it feels there will be no peace for any of the characters we meet, which feels desperately unfair but that is indeed true horror. Another taste of the surreal awaits in A Pretty Parcel For A Pretty Price by AR Frederiksen where a man is alarmed by a parcel on his doorstep. This is something everyone in the country fears and this story treads a fine line revealing what is inside and why everyone is so afraid of it. The answer is indeed unsettling and as we see ultimately one where each victory afterwards feels like time is still running out. I really liked this one. Interestingly there are parallels with that story with the unusual Mr Schaday by Mikkel Harris Carlsen (translated by Olivia Lasky) this has the feel of a historical where our middle class narrator in his lodgings is unruffled by a new lodger whom he never sees but every night seems to send him into extreme terror. It is all delivered by suggestion than anything truly gruesome happening but the tension winds and winds but then in the final section reality feels itself ready to snap. A lovely piece of building paranoia!
Then we are off to Greenland where the remote wilderness looms in The Qivitoq by GertrudMarie Kreutzmann. A couple go into the mountains there is a family mystery to uncover but also our narrator trust her guide? This is a story about when people decide to abandon the world and perhaps their humanity. Its unsettling and pleasingly doesn’t explain the mystery until right to the end. Another eerie creature is found in the short but powerful The Tupliak by Pivinnguaq Morch (translated by AneMarie Ottosen) a bad dream, a witch and a truly unnerving creature that may be lurking in the house – the lack of explanation of the myth here just makes it the more unsettling a tale.
In Iceland we get archeological horror in the form of The Shape of the Stones by Hildur Knutsdottir where a student is seeking the mystery of some ancient stones. The strange mysteries and dreams our narrator logs in his diary all slowly suggest this tale will not end well. It has a classic feel but uses the myths and history of the land very well to great effect. There is an amazing story in the form of You See Me, Don’t You by Nanna Arnadorrir where a woman finds herself feeling a volcanic eruption. This throws us in the horror of the world suddenly turning into a nightmare, the terror of running for your life but has an excellent reveal that is truly chilling and should make you ponder any footage of a natural disaster you ever see. My favourite tale in the collection. Finally, a melancholic story awaits in Little Boy by Steinar Bragi (translated by Quentin Bates) where a man seems to have a form of amnesia and is shocked to find himself lodged with an apparent wife and child. He escapes but while he seeks pleasure and escape there is a sense he will not rest easily. The ending is unexpected and asks us to consider what kind of life awaits at the end for all of us.
Then we are off to The Faroe Islands with the truly icky The Rat by Solrun Michelson (translated by Matthew Landrum) where a pet rat is a feature to go urghh over. However, one of the most interesting stories is When The Angels Came by Rakel Helmsdal which is a sharp political horror as we watch a household fall into a world of hard right governance that consumes the husband of the narrator. In a few pages we watch years of this new regime tearing the world apart. Very apt for the times we live in and very powerful to read.
With Norway we get a short sharp fright for any commuters with the disturbing All The friendly people by Tor Age Bringsvaerd (translated by Olvia Lasky) and I’ll leave that for you to be troubled by! But here is also the excellent Wrecked by Aleksander Brun (also translated by Lasky) where a man is awakened by a strange presence. The story unwinds this man’s life, his current mental state and just when we think we have the story it has a sharp icy cold final reveal for us to digest. Very impressive!
In Sweden The Storm by Boel Bermann (translated by heather Johnston) uses the idea of how people need to be prepared for the loss of power in extreme conditions to tell a story about a man consumed by his job that brings hm tragedy and ultimately makes him decide to teach us all a lesson to a massive scale. In Echo by madeleine Back we get modern folk horror as teenage girls go into the woods to seek out a missing friend, and the danger is quite unexpected. We wrap up with a child’s Christmas story but My Christmas Holiday by John Ajvide Lindqvist (translated by Marlaine Delargy) allows the reader to put the true horror into the story of a visit from Santa to bloody effect!
Nordic Nightmares is a very impressive and stylish collection with a wonderful range of new voices, new horrors and new chills to discover. I very strongly recommend it!
