Coraline

Neil Gaiman’s Coraline is a novel that places an exciting, mysterious, and dangerous world behind a tiny door covered by wallpaper just waiting to be discovered by a little girl. Of course, this kind of entertainment is way to good to be true for the bored protagonist Coraline, and she ends up facing against a creature called the Beldam.

The Beldam and her minions are extremely disturbing and creepy, and reading about these creatures and their actions makes you doubt that this is a book for children. While it’s possible to get over the Beldam’s original creepiness if you look at her as a lonely, weird woman who gives out great food, toys, and entertainment, the moment she mentions Coraline sewing buttons over her eyes everything becomes terrifying.

Even just the button sewing part is freaky enough; the author definitely tapped into one of my basic fears, if nothing else. By taking away a person’s sight, not only do you take away one of the most important ways of gathering information and interacting with the world, but you also take away a great deal of independence. As Coraline is just starting to enjoy some of the independence that comes with growing up, this creature arrives and tries to take away that independence, turning Coraline into her little doll and stealing any chance of growing up by taking her soul.

The Beldam’s minions only make the situation more terrifying, and give everything a grotesque aspect (because you just can’t have fear, no, you have to be grossed out too). The worst of them, of course, being the Other Father. You almost feel bad for how pathetic he is, as he tries to even help Coraline and then just turns into a disgusting grub in the basement. He is forced to help the Other Mother and attack Coraline, and is punished for any insubordination. His disgusting appearance at the end is disturbing to say the least, and make the Beldam seem even more sinister for how she can change him into that.

Overall, Coraline is a story that takes the fantasy of finding a new world and turns it into something terrifying and nightmarish. The author plays on our basic fears and brings them to new heights, making it a great horror novel for kids or adults.