Makes a Swirly” (1994) takes the reader on a tour
of a bizarre underground world and the society an
outsider finds there. The protagonist of “Petition”
(2001) can hear prayers, sometimes very perverted
ones. Other stories of note include “Lonesome
Coyote Blues” (1985), “Where the Heart Was”
(1993), and “The Thing Too Hideous to Describe”
(2004). There is often an element of very twisted
humor in his fiction. “Red Light” (1986) won the
World Fantasy Award.
The best selection of his work can be found in
Lost Angels(1990). The recent collection Zombie
Jam(2004) consists of four stories about zombies,
the George Romero variety rather than those asso-
ciated with voodoo. “Jerry’s Kids Meet Wormboy”
is the longest and most interesting, set in a post-
collapse future in which the zombies have virtually
taken over the world. Schow also edited a very
good anthology of movie-related horror fiction ti-
tled Silver Scream(1988). He has recently begun to
write more actively following a comparatively inac-
tive period.
The Screwtape Letters C. S. Lewis(1942)
The Screwtape Letters,expanded and reissued in
1961 as The Screwtape Letters and Screwtape Pro-
poses a Toast,is a satire cast in epistolary form, that
is, it consists entirely of an interchange of letters
between two demons, one senior and one junior,
with the former, Screwtape, lecturing the latter,
Wormwood, on the finer points of seducing and
corrupting the souls of the unwary. Lewis pokes fun
at a number of human institutions and predisposi-
tions, but bureaucracy in all its obstructive and
wasteful manifestations is its primary target.
Lewis was not writing specifically for a young
adult audience, although the book is frequently
employed as a means to stimulate discussion
among students on various Christian issues in an
entertaining format. One of Lewis’s major con-
cerns is temptation toward evil. Those who tempt
us away from a righteous life are fearful of being
discovered for what they are and anxious to prove
they have the power to influence the thoughts and
actions of others. The discussions also touch on
the attainment of grace, the validity of sincere re-
pentance, and the very nature of good versus evil.
Despite the profundity of the subject matter, Lewis
maintains a light, bantering tone throughout that
makes his arguments more accessible to the aver-
age reader. Lewis also excoriates complacency and
advocates a more active role for the genuine be-
liever. The later epilogue, “Screwtape Proposes a
Toast,” is more controversial, an indictment of the
commonly held opinion that everyone should be
considered as equals. The examples Lewis provides
are often less than convincing and perhaps betray
his personal class prejudices.“Seasons of Belief”Michael Bishop(1979)
Christmas stories tend to be light and airy, but oc-
casionally a writer decides to look at a darker side
of that magical season. Donald Westlake did so
with “NACKLES” (1964), the story of the anti–Santa
Claus, and Michael Bishop, who has won two Hugo
Awards for his science fiction, does so in one of his
rare excursions into fantasy and horror. Stefa and
Nimbo are brother and sister, five and seven years
old, respectively, who want to relieve the pre-
Christmas Eve boredom by having their father tell
them a story, preferably a scary one. He agrees to do
so and tells them about the “grither.”
The grither is a one-of-a-kind monster who
lives in the Arctic and who kills anyone who men-
tions his name. When Stefa decides this story is
too scary, her mother tells her it is too late to stop
because they have already spoken the creature’s
name. According to their father no one knows ex-
actly what the grither looks like because everyone
who has ever seen it has been gobbled up, al-
though illogically he provides a vivid description
anyway. Although the grither travels very fast, it
needs to hear its name repeated in order to find its
prey, so the only chance of surviving is to finish the
story quickly. Much to the children’s dismay, how-
ever, the telephone rings, causing a lengthy delay.
Just as the story is drawing toward its climax,
there is a sound at the door, terrifying the children
until the newcomers are identified as their grand-
parents. Their father then assures them that the
story was imaginary and that creatures that exist
only in their imagination cannot do any harm. But
later that evening Stefa, who does believe in the
grither, mentions its name one final time, and that“Seasons of Belief” 311