Benothinged

by Alvar Theo

Mask is unemployed, grieving and living in isolation when a busker named V tells them about The Nothing. It resembles the shapeshifter in Mask's nightmares. Once the creature enters waking life, finding a way to resist it becomes urgent.

Horror Dark comedy

From the publisher’s blurb

“a horror-comedy that confronts grief, isolation, mental illness and poverty.”

Read the full description at Haunt Publishing description in Publishing Scotland catalog

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What makes it funny?

The Nothing doesn't simply loom in silence. It talks and talks, trying to persuade Mask to give up and let it eat them. Mask's wry replies make a would-be supernatural terror an aggravating conversational partner.

The comedy at work

The monster's arguments press on troubles Mask already knows too well. Theo also gives Mask and V a back-and-forth friendship, allowing jokes to interrupt the bleakness without removing the pressures behind it.

Try this if…

Everyday hardship in contemporary Britain matters as much as the supernatural threat. Readers drawn to mordant exchanges about loneliness and the work of carrying on may find that combination compelling.

Good to know

Depression, suicide, bereavement and poverty are central subjects. This is horror about social isolation, with dark humor in the conversations around it.