What Moves the Dead is a novella by T Kingfisher, a re-imagining of the Gothic
classic The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe.
This is a brilliantly creepy, suspenseful horror story. Its narrator, Alex Easton,
gives it dimension and humour. Easton is a sworn soldier who is what we, in modern
times, would refer to as non-binary. Due to their sworn soldier status, they are not
considered a man or a woman, and the story spends a small but valuable amount of
time explaining this in a way that feels very natural and is inherent in the
worldbuilding.
Easton arrives at the ancestral home of the Ushers—Madeline and Roderick, a
brother and sister who are the last of their old nobility household. The siblings,
particularly Madeline, are suffering an unclear malady that has turned their hair and
skin bone-white. Also at the house is Denton, an American doctor and friend of
Roderick. Angus, Easton’s staunch batman, who has been with them their whole life,
soon joins them.
As the story progresses and Madeline gets progressively sicker and her behaviour
ever stranger, Easton starts noticing other strange things in the house and grounds. As
they race to try and find the cause of the illness, it becomes clear that there is
something else in the house of the Ushers, something altogether stranger than anyone
would have guessed.
Through the wry, world-wise perspective of Easton’s narration, Kingfisher has
created an excellent piece of horror in just 170 pages. Each character is vivid,
memorable, and full of life, despite their sparing descriptions. The build up to the
climax is creepy and mysterious.
And the pay-off is very well done, with terrifying revelations, and satisfying
explanations for much of the strangeness that takes place through the story.
This novella is for lovers of suspense, horror and excellent characters who leap off
the page and into your imagination.
This review was first published in Aurealis magazine, #173.
