Book: The Reluctant Dead
Author: Nuzo Onoh
Publisher: Canaan-Star Publishing
Price: £9.99
Review by Ronke Lawal
The Reluctant Dead is a unique collection of six spine-chilling ghost horror stories set in Nigeria. Each story is more terrifying than the next with a lesson about the intricacies of human nature in each one.
The Night-Flyer is about a boy who discovers he has become one of the legendary night-flyers from folklore, with an ability to enter the dark underworld of the dead. It’s a powerful story which teaches us an important lesson about forgiveness.
Hadiza is a tale about a scorned but dead wife who returns to haunt the life of her husband and wreaks vengeance on the mistress who caused her untimely demise, highlighting the fine line between betrayal and loyalty.
An arrogant morgue assistant is the focus of The Follower who fails to follow the bizarre, superstitious but necessary rules of the mortuary, set by his boss during the night shift. As a result he gets “a follower”, the restless spirit of a brutally murdered young woman who relentlessly haunts his existence and unravels his sanity.
The Reluctant Dead is rich with stories which left me wanting more. As a lover of horror movies I have often been left disappointed by horror books, but Onoh does an exceptional job of bringing these African ghost stories to life. Her ability to use an engaging anecdotal style in each tale, combined with morbidly graphic prose, makes these short stories easy to read and relatable.
With all the stories based in Nigeria, Onoh uses her West African heritage and cultural experiences to bring many of the superstitions of various Nigerian tribes together. I am particularly impressed with her ability to make each story distinct with their individual and unexpected twists and turns which will keep you guessing until the very end.
One of my favourites is A Good Student, which tackles the emotional impact of sickle cell anaemia while showing the value of true friendship. The story also offers some insight into this life-changing condition with a moving yet chilling poignancy.
Night-Flyer is probably one of the strongest stories as it has a slighter darker and more nerve-shattering narrative. By coming face to face with the demons which haunt his dreams, the protagonist is forced to face the reality of his very existence.
While going through his journey of self-discovery, I reflected on the idea of forgiveness and emotional torment. Through this story Onoh shows us the value of setting ourselves free from the torture of bitterness and hatred.
Passionately written, the use of a child as the protagonist highlights the vulnerability of each of us when we look at the demons of our past. This is one of Onoh’s strengths, using ghost stories to make us face the sometimes bitter reality of the human condition.
It takes a particularly talented writer to be able to scare a reader with the turning of each page. While you may not end up screaming or having nightmares after reading The Reluctant Dead, you will most certainly think twice whenever you feel a cold shiver on a hot day.