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Beneath
When reporter Cora Mayburn is assigned to cover a story about a snake-handling cult in rural Appalachia, she is dismayed, for the world of cruel fundamentalist stricture, repression, glossolalia, and abuse is something she has long since put behind her in favor of a more tolerant urban existence. But she accepts the assignment, dredging up long-buried memories as she seeks the truth.
As Cora begins to uncover the secrets concealed by a veneer of faith and tradition, something ancient and long concealed begins to awaken. What secrets do the townsfolk know? What might the handsome young pastor be hiding? What will happen when occulted horrors writhe to the surface, when pallid and forgotten things rise to reclaim the Earth?
Will Cora–and the earth–survive? The answers–and pure terror–can only be found in one place: Beneath.
As Cora begins to uncover the secrets concealed by a veneer of faith and tradition, something ancient and long concealed begins to awaken. What secrets do the townsfolk know? What might the handsome young pastor be hiding? What will happen when occulted horrors writhe to the surface, when pallid and forgotten things rise to reclaim the Earth?
Will Cora–and the earth–survive? The answers–and pure terror–can only be found in one place: Beneath.
308 pages, Paperback
First published April 30, 2017
75 people are currently reading
4930 people want to read
About the author
Kristi DeMeester
80 books533 followersKristi DeMeester is the author of Beneath, published by Word Horde, and Everything That's Underneath by Apex Books. Her short fiction has been included in Ellen Datlow's Year's Best Horror Volumes 9 and 11, Year's Best Weird Fiction Volumes 1, 3, and 5, and Stephen Jone's Best New Horror. Her short fiction has also appeared in publications such as Black Static, The Dark, Pseudopod, as well as several others. In her spare time, she alternates between telling people how to pronounce her last name and how to spell her first.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 141 reviews
June 20, 2021
4.5 Stars Video Review: https://youtu.be/YkWkavDxHPc
Beneath is a strong debut horror novel filled with creepy creatures and nasty people. Clearly, Demeester has a dark and twisted imagination. The prose in this novel is absolutely fantastic, with tightly written descriptions and disturbing imagery. This novel is unapologetic in its attempts to make readers uncomfortable.
Given the synopsis, readers may expect the snake handling to play a large role in the story. Yet very little of the plot actually takes place within the evangelical church. Instead, the journalist investigation simply sets up the story, which quickly takes off into a supernatural tale of ancient monsters.
This is the kind of horror story that will have crossover appeal for thriller readers looking to get into the genre. This novel was just about the perfect length. Switching perspectives between a handful of characters, each chapter propels the story forward. In places, the narrative choices felt a bit too passive, telling the horror, rather than showing it to the reader. Given the ambiguous nature of the horror, certain scenes could have benefited from more detailed descriptions.
In terms of scariness, this book utilizes several different avenues to terrify and delight readers. The most predominant form of the horror takes the form of the supernatural creatures. These ambiguous Lovecraftian monsters are the creation of the author's mind and will appeal most to readers who are readily able to suspend their disbelief. The story also has elements of psychological horror with a possible possession situation. The creepiest scenes in this novel were easily the ones involving the snakes. Those vivid descriptions of the slithering snakes will surely make readers' skin crawl.
Drawing from real-life horror, the sexual abuse in this novel make the story even more disturbing. Sensitive readers should be aware that this book contains some very sexually explicit content. The author does not shy away from the dark sides of humanity and pushes these sexual scenes as far as they need to go. The resulting narrative is intentionally uncomfortable to read. Please be warned that this book will very be triggering for victims of sexual abuse.
In a male dominated genre, this book offers a much needed female voice to horror. In the hands of another author, this triggering subject matter in this novel could be problematic or offenses. Yet, Demeester masterfully weaves sensitive themes of sexuality, motherhood and femininity into her narrative in a provocative and challenging manner. At times, the thematic elements are a bit heavy-handed, with snakes symbolizing phallic objects. Yet, in the scope of the story, these thematic elements work.
Demeester has an incredible knack for writing cutthroat scenes with despicable people. The characters are wonderfully unlikable and, in certain cases, downright vile. Yet none of these people are depicted as completely black or white. Instead, even the worst offenders are depicted as complex, morally gray characters.
Demeester has some serious favourite author potential. She writes the kinds of stories that I absolutely love to read. In her debut novel, she dares to expose the dark ideas that exists within her mind. I look forward to whatever she chooses to write next.
I requested this book from the Word Horde after I read her fantastic short story "YesNoGoodbye" in an anthology collection called Tales from a Talking Board.
Beneath is a strong debut horror novel filled with creepy creatures and nasty people. Clearly, Demeester has a dark and twisted imagination. The prose in this novel is absolutely fantastic, with tightly written descriptions and disturbing imagery. This novel is unapologetic in its attempts to make readers uncomfortable.
Given the synopsis, readers may expect the snake handling to play a large role in the story. Yet very little of the plot actually takes place within the evangelical church. Instead, the journalist investigation simply sets up the story, which quickly takes off into a supernatural tale of ancient monsters.
This is the kind of horror story that will have crossover appeal for thriller readers looking to get into the genre. This novel was just about the perfect length. Switching perspectives between a handful of characters, each chapter propels the story forward. In places, the narrative choices felt a bit too passive, telling the horror, rather than showing it to the reader. Given the ambiguous nature of the horror, certain scenes could have benefited from more detailed descriptions.
In terms of scariness, this book utilizes several different avenues to terrify and delight readers. The most predominant form of the horror takes the form of the supernatural creatures. These ambiguous Lovecraftian monsters are the creation of the author's mind and will appeal most to readers who are readily able to suspend their disbelief. The story also has elements of psychological horror with a possible possession situation. The creepiest scenes in this novel were easily the ones involving the snakes. Those vivid descriptions of the slithering snakes will surely make readers' skin crawl.
Drawing from real-life horror, the sexual abuse in this novel make the story even more disturbing. Sensitive readers should be aware that this book contains some very sexually explicit content. The author does not shy away from the dark sides of humanity and pushes these sexual scenes as far as they need to go. The resulting narrative is intentionally uncomfortable to read. Please be warned that this book will very be triggering for victims of sexual abuse.
In a male dominated genre, this book offers a much needed female voice to horror. In the hands of another author, this triggering subject matter in this novel could be problematic or offenses. Yet, Demeester masterfully weaves sensitive themes of sexuality, motherhood and femininity into her narrative in a provocative and challenging manner. At times, the thematic elements are a bit heavy-handed, with snakes symbolizing phallic objects. Yet, in the scope of the story, these thematic elements work.
Demeester has an incredible knack for writing cutthroat scenes with despicable people. The characters are wonderfully unlikable and, in certain cases, downright vile. Yet none of these people are depicted as completely black or white. Instead, even the worst offenders are depicted as complex, morally gray characters.
Demeester has some serious favourite author potential. She writes the kinds of stories that I absolutely love to read. In her debut novel, she dares to expose the dark ideas that exists within her mind. I look forward to whatever she chooses to write next.
I requested this book from the Word Horde after I read her fantastic short story "YesNoGoodbye" in an anthology collection called Tales from a Talking Board.
May 13, 2017
I have enjoyed Kristi DeMeester's short stories immensely. With her first novel "Beneath" there is evidence of her authorial capability allocated throughout the story. The novel is highly sexually charged throughout it's telling, with the lines blurred between eroticism and the perversion.
The novel's main characters, a young female no nonsense reporter, a priest who wavers between impure thoughts and weakness, a mother and daughter who's highly religious upbringing and marred upbringing comprise the majority of the narrative.
The priest is the leader of a rattlesnake handling church in the mountains of Georgia. The intrepid reporter has been assigned to write a feature article on the church its parishioners and of course it's snakes. The novel takes place somewhere in the nineteen eighties and slowly exposes the past and history of the main characters, most of that history is quite intense.
For a special treat Ms. DeMeester does a reading of the first two chapters on the radio podcast of "The Outer Dark" at 01:15:04, also of note is the reading given by Anya Martin, can be found here:
http://www.thisishorror.co.uk/tod-010...
This copy arrived with a book plate signed by Kristi DeMeester.
The novel's main characters, a young female no nonsense reporter, a priest who wavers between impure thoughts and weakness, a mother and daughter who's highly religious upbringing and marred upbringing comprise the majority of the narrative.
The priest is the leader of a rattlesnake handling church in the mountains of Georgia. The intrepid reporter has been assigned to write a feature article on the church its parishioners and of course it's snakes. The novel takes place somewhere in the nineteen eighties and slowly exposes the past and history of the main characters, most of that history is quite intense.
For a special treat Ms. DeMeester does a reading of the first two chapters on the radio podcast of "The Outer Dark" at 01:15:04, also of note is the reading given by Anya Martin, can be found here:
http://www.thisishorror.co.uk/tod-010...
This copy arrived with a book plate signed by Kristi DeMeester.
September 16, 2017
4.5
Beneath deserves to be on your list of horror books to read sooner, rather than later. I enjoyed every minute of this ride. This is my first Kristi DeMeester but it will not be my last. I hope she writes more sick reads!
And this book is sick.
Dark and disturbing, the prose sort of washes over you like briny, brackish water and leaves you feeling unsettled and dirty at the end of the day.
The blurb on the back of the back of the book gives you a great, surface level capture of what this story is about but it keeps its secrets and so I will too. Just know, you will plumb the depths of a very dark place before this book is over.
I really enjoyed our protagonist Cora-a journalist with a sensitive past who is sent on an assignment to cover a story about a cult.
She meets a "preacher man", Michael who, despite all his flaws, I couldn't help being invested in his character and wanting him to push through to the end.
DeMeester is masterful at setting, character development and building suspense--by the time the story climaxes, you're ready for it!
Even though the plot feels a little familiar... the evil DeMeester develops is disgusting and horrifying. Plenty of times, the graphic, vivid detail was so stomach turning and frightening, I found myself trying to skim over the descriptions but I forced myself to read every yucky word, Ha!
I loved it! My only *smallish* complaint was that ending. It didn't sit right with me--but I'm not going to tell you why. Too spoilery. Just add this book to your horror stack for Fall. You won't regret it.
Beneath deserves to be on your list of horror books to read sooner, rather than later. I enjoyed every minute of this ride. This is my first Kristi DeMeester but it will not be my last. I hope she writes more sick reads!
And this book is sick.
Dark and disturbing, the prose sort of washes over you like briny, brackish water and leaves you feeling unsettled and dirty at the end of the day.
The blurb on the back of the back of the book gives you a great, surface level capture of what this story is about but it keeps its secrets and so I will too. Just know, you will plumb the depths of a very dark place before this book is over.
I really enjoyed our protagonist Cora-a journalist with a sensitive past who is sent on an assignment to cover a story about a cult.
She meets a "preacher man", Michael who, despite all his flaws, I couldn't help being invested in his character and wanting him to push through to the end.
DeMeester is masterful at setting, character development and building suspense--by the time the story climaxes, you're ready for it!
Even though the plot feels a little familiar... the evil DeMeester develops is disgusting and horrifying. Plenty of times, the graphic, vivid detail was so stomach turning and frightening, I found myself trying to skim over the descriptions but I forced myself to read every yucky word, Ha!
I loved it! My only *smallish* complaint was that ending. It didn't sit right with me--but I'm not going to tell you why. Too spoilery. Just add this book to your horror stack for Fall. You won't regret it.
April 10, 2017
Beneath is one heck of a book, for the most part. I'll state up front that the ending didn't quite work for me, and it felt as if DeMeester wasn't sure how to wrap up the events of her story in a satisfying way. This is a slow-burn horror book, but where there should have been a big finale, the story disappointingly fizzles out and slowly fades away. I would also advise that this very much a "me" issues, and might not be a "you" issue, so please don't let that deter you. Read it and judge for yourself!
The first 3/4+ of Beneath are absolutely terrific. I really dug the atmosphere DeMeester conjures with her cult of Appalachian snake handlers and the investigative reporter, Cora, sent on assignment to dig up some dirt on these backwoods folks and their sincerely held religious belief that poisonous snakes should bite small children to see if God will deem them worthy of saving. Cora is a dogged journalist, but also deeply scarred by her mother's religiosity and her youth. In the opening pages, DeMeester lays out a history of Cora's victimization at the hands of a pedophile priest. This history first compels her to stay far, far away from the assignment, until she's finally goaded into taking the story from her editor. Once in the small mountain town, she notices hints that Father Michael is not the charismatic preacher he plays at, and recognizes in him similar pedophiliac traits as the abuser of her youth. When he stares a little too longingly at one of his parishioners, a young girl named Laura, Cora promises to ruin Michael and expose his cult for what it is.
All of this is merely prologue, though, for a dark and squirming horror story that pushes Beneath into some very different material than what I had expected at the outlay. While the war of wills between Cora and Michael could have been compelling on its own, the author ups the ante even further with the inclusion of a supernatural menace, an evil that lurks buried in the earth itself. The plots takes a wonderfully realized twist that good and truly sank its fangs into me, and I was totally captivated.
DeMeester hit some absolutely terrific highs, even as she takes a quiet approach to unraveling the frights. There's plenty of action, but the story itself is never bombastic. The subdued approach is what makes Beneath so effective and infecting. At least, for me, right up until the end.
Beneath ultimately falls into a familiar trap. You know the one. You've probably seen it a thousand times in any given James Bond movie. The bad guys have the heroes cornered, and it wouldn't take hardly anything at all to kill them and win the day. And yet, inexplicably, for no good reason at all, the good guys get a pass and are allowed to just walk away.
Something similar happens here in the push toward the grand finale, and I kept scratching my head as to why it was allowed. It's an easy out, and I can't think of one good reason why it should have happened the way it did. Still, the story continues to chug along for a few chapters more, mostly so the bad guys can continue to play their mind games for a little while longer. But instead of giving us a satisfying closure, DeMeester again goes for those quiet somber tones, which has worked so well for the rest of the book but suddenly falls flat in its final pages.
While the story kept ramping up and up and up, I kept wondering how the heck it was all going to resolve. And well, frankly, it doesn't. There is a resolution, yes, but the book mostly just ends, with the story itself very much an ouroborus. I get the metaphors and character arcs that DeMeester was aiming for, but it just didn't satisfy me. Granted, as far as ending go, it works, but it isn't satisfying.
Ratings-wise, I'm really very torn on how to score this one (damn you, Goodreads, for not allowing 1/2 stars!). This book was very much a 4-star title for me, right up until the end, which knocked it down a bit. Taken on a whole, though, I can't stomach giving this book only 3 stars, because I liked it quite a great deal more than that. Call it 3.75, rounded up to 4 then. Beneath is definitely recommended, even if I have some reservations, and I'll certainly be on the lookout for more of Kristi DeMeester's work in the future.
[Note: I received an advanced copy of this title from the publisher, Word Horde.]
The first 3/4+ of Beneath are absolutely terrific. I really dug the atmosphere DeMeester conjures with her cult of Appalachian snake handlers and the investigative reporter, Cora, sent on assignment to dig up some dirt on these backwoods folks and their sincerely held religious belief that poisonous snakes should bite small children to see if God will deem them worthy of saving. Cora is a dogged journalist, but also deeply scarred by her mother's religiosity and her youth. In the opening pages, DeMeester lays out a history of Cora's victimization at the hands of a pedophile priest. This history first compels her to stay far, far away from the assignment, until she's finally goaded into taking the story from her editor. Once in the small mountain town, she notices hints that Father Michael is not the charismatic preacher he plays at, and recognizes in him similar pedophiliac traits as the abuser of her youth. When he stares a little too longingly at one of his parishioners, a young girl named Laura, Cora promises to ruin Michael and expose his cult for what it is.
All of this is merely prologue, though, for a dark and squirming horror story that pushes Beneath into some very different material than what I had expected at the outlay. While the war of wills between Cora and Michael could have been compelling on its own, the author ups the ante even further with the inclusion of a supernatural menace, an evil that lurks buried in the earth itself. The plots takes a wonderfully realized twist that good and truly sank its fangs into me, and I was totally captivated.
DeMeester hit some absolutely terrific highs, even as she takes a quiet approach to unraveling the frights. There's plenty of action, but the story itself is never bombastic. The subdued approach is what makes Beneath so effective and infecting. At least, for me, right up until the end.
Beneath ultimately falls into a familiar trap. You know the one. You've probably seen it a thousand times in any given James Bond movie. The bad guys have the heroes cornered, and it wouldn't take hardly anything at all to kill them and win the day. And yet, inexplicably, for no good reason at all, the good guys get a pass and are allowed to just walk away.
Something similar happens here in the push toward the grand finale, and I kept scratching my head as to why it was allowed. It's an easy out, and I can't think of one good reason why it should have happened the way it did. Still, the story continues to chug along for a few chapters more, mostly so the bad guys can continue to play their mind games for a little while longer. But instead of giving us a satisfying closure, DeMeester again goes for those quiet somber tones, which has worked so well for the rest of the book but suddenly falls flat in its final pages.
While the story kept ramping up and up and up, I kept wondering how the heck it was all going to resolve. And well, frankly, it doesn't. There is a resolution, yes, but the book mostly just ends, with the story itself very much an ouroborus. I get the metaphors and character arcs that DeMeester was aiming for, but it just didn't satisfy me. Granted, as far as ending go, it works, but it isn't satisfying.
Ratings-wise, I'm really very torn on how to score this one (damn you, Goodreads, for not allowing 1/2 stars!). This book was very much a 4-star title for me, right up until the end, which knocked it down a bit. Taken on a whole, though, I can't stomach giving this book only 3 stars, because I liked it quite a great deal more than that. Call it 3.75, rounded up to 4 then. Beneath is definitely recommended, even if I have some reservations, and I'll certainly be on the lookout for more of Kristi DeMeester's work in the future.
[Note: I received an advanced copy of this title from the publisher, Word Horde.]
January 15, 2019
And where are the angels to guard? Where's the God of men and children?
VNV Nation - Serial Killer
Do you ever feel like a book was written just for you? Like, there’s some unspoken connection between you and the author, and somehow, despite not knowing each other, you share a kinship…and because of that kinship, the book they wrote has some sort of special resonance with you, and you’re like “yeah, I’m right there with you”? Like they somehow heard the thoughts in your head and managed to convert those thoughts into a wonderful narrative? Like you’d see each other across a crowded room, even as strangers, and be like “yep, I totally understand THAT person”.
Yeah, me either.
Because, dude, that would just be super weird and creepy and stalkerish. And I don’t do creepy OR stalkerish (alas, I really can't help the weird part). That’s the kind of shit that restraining orders are made of you psycho. So knock that unhealthy mix of projecting and paparazzi behavior right the hell off, cuz you’re making the rest of us normal fans look bad. Sheesh. But…that said, if I WAS feeling somewhat creepy and stalkerish, I do believe that Kristi DeMeester and I would likely get along famously. Like maybe we share some of the same kind of damage or messed-up ways of thinking. Honestly, I’d just want to buy her a High West whiskey, say “nicely done chica”, and then be on my merry and messed-up way. Because, when it comes right down to it, Beneath is my kind of book. Dark, twisted, and altogether bleak, when I read horror this is the kind of book I’m generally seeking. Something that pulls no punches. Something that doesn’t veer around awful things, even if they are happening to good people. Something that just tells the bloody story, convention be damned. And Beneath does that for me. Oh, and don’t let the somewhat YA looking cover fool you…this book has chops, and children are definitely not allowed.
”My mother always said there were things in this world that were blacker than hell.”
As with all of my reviews, I will attempt to keep spoilers to a minimum. Whether a book is full of twists-and-turns or not, going in without preconceived notions almost always results in a more fulfilling experience. And like any good horror novel, Beneath should be experienced unfiltered, unspoiled, and fresh. Like produce. And bread. And bourbon. Definitely like bourbon. Mmmmm…bourbon. Oh, sorry, I’ll get back on track. So yeah, if it’s not mentioned in the official book synopsis, I will do my level best to avoid mentioning it here.
Or she could climb into the car and drive back to the hotel, maybe find a liquor store on the way there, pour herself four fingers of bourbon and wait for the alcohol to settle over her like a coat.
So what do we get from Beneath? Well, it’s a straight-up horror tale, told in third-person from multiple viewpoints, and weighs in at 320 pages. I do find the cover a little misleading; as much as I like it, I don’t feel it does the content justice. This book is definitely NSFK (not safe for kids), but the cover does look like it belongs more to a YA novel than this particular beast. And yes, I know, never judge a book by its cover and all that. Except we still all do. But enough about all that. What about the content under the cover?
In that tiny, dark closet, when Mr. Burress had asked her to close her eyes and to open her mouth so he could see her teeth, she had come to understand that men could be so, so much worse than the devil.
Honestly, Beneath is a pretty effective horror tale. It’s mostly a self-contained story, with the vast majority of the action taking place in one little Appalachian town. The 80’s setting really helps keep the story a little tenser than modern tales, as characters have to do without cellphones and all their inherent benefits. While in modern times an interview could take place over email or skype, our main protagonist Cora actually has to head to Hensley, PA to get her story. There are no easy solutions to Google, nobody available for help at the drop of a hat, and there’s no way to get a huge story out to the masses in an easy manner. Not that there aren't good modern horror stories, as there certainly are, but I think there’s more of an edge to stories when people in peril don’t have ready access to super helpful technology. And, even though the 80’s craze is in full effect, unlike some of the other books I’ve read taking place in that neon decade, Kristi DeMeester doesn’t go overboard with the callbacks. Aside from a mention or two about cassette tapes and one or two pop-culture references, this story could almost as easy have taken place in the late seventies or early nineties.
”Judas Priest. Devil music,” Cora said and lifted an eyebrow.
Michael laughed. “Perfect.”
As I mentioned earlier, this is a multi-POV affair. We actually get two “main” characters, although a couple of the side characters get a few decently meaty chapters at times. But of the two primary protagonists, journalist Cora Mayburn gets a bit more page time than Pastor Michael Wayne. Which is just as well, as she’s a much easier character to follow (for me anyways). Blunt, intrepid, and somewhat damaged, she’s the kind of protagonist that I gravitate towards. I always prefer the characters with a bit of baggage, but who still try to do the right thing despite their issues. The imperfect characters with the strong moral compass. Maybe I see some of myself in them, or maybe they are just more engaging in general...either way, they get me every time. I also like that she’s essentially a whirlwind when she comes to Hensley. Outspoken and opinionated, she’s everything the ladies of Hensley are not. Pastor Wayne, on the other hand, was a difficult character for me to root for. Some of that is because he is very nearly the wettest of wet blankets, and the rest of it needs to stay under wraps in order to avoid spoilers. Needless to say, even in the rare moments when I commiserated with him, I still didn’t care for him very much.
In her mind, she’d imagined a corpulent, bulbous-eyed hellfire and damnation minister who was old enough to fart dust.
The supporting characters are rather well realized, if only sporadically used. Both Ruth McDowell and her daughter Leah, residents of Hensley with some kind of ties to the crazy happenings, have pretty significant parts to play within the story, but don't necessarily make many appearances. We also get a smattering of other viewpoints at various intervals, which helps flesh out the tale a bit, providing insight to other events or helping to set up certain plot points.
The antagonists are actually pretty well thought out, and thoroughly icky. The primary villain is an ancient terror come back to life, and that can sometimes be hit or miss, but it works pretty well here. Cora and Michael have several run-ins with various beasties and nasties over the course of the book, and they are just the right amount of creepy. That said, the threat to our protagonists is still more mental than physical, as the villains have many ways of invading thoughts and dreams, which is something that our heroes have little defense against. The only thing I'm not completely certain of is "why now" with the bad guys. There were certain things that transpired that basically enabled them into our world, but I can't recall if there was a reason why those things had to happen with these specific characters.
But isn’t this what it meant to be a mother? To give of your body so that the children might thrive even if you weakened?
While not as graphic as books by Richard Laymon, Edward Lee, and Jack Ketchum, Beneath is definitely cut from the same cloth, and would have been a perfect fit alongside those other juggernauts of sex-fueled horror in their heyday. We also get a pretty solid female perspective to all the darkness and perversion, and that’s a nice change of pace. While not as sexually graphic as the aforementioned authors, there’s some pretty disturbing things taking place here. Some of these things are fiction, while others are firmly rooted in the real, making them all the more horrific. Did I mention this book isn’t for kids? There’s blood aplenty, and all sorts of body horror shenanigans to make your skin crawl. And even though it’s not overly graphic in the sexy department, that doesn’t mean it’s not effective. I think that many authors rely far too heavily on shock to try and sell a story. Kristi DeMeester doesn’t need to do that; she can still bring the ick factor while relying more on prose and vivid descriptions rather than blunt force trauma. And hey, sometimes blunt force trauma is what is needed. I’m not saying shock is awful; it’s just that sometimes I want more. More craft, less crass, as it were.
To love was pain, and she embraced it fully, took the hurt into herself like vapor.
For those with less than robust constitutions, let's be clear...this book is pretty harsh in its treatment of children, and most of the parenting is just plain awful. I don't know if Kristi DeMeester had a rough childhood, or if she just knows that familial drama and child endangerment give that extra zest to an already brutal tale, but she really goes for the gusto when it comes to pain and betrayal. Kids suffer in this book, and as a father I occasionally found myself cringing.
Also, it must be noted that religion isn’t painted in a flattering light here. Like...at all. There’s two major examples of this with men in religious power, and then many of the background characters are judgmental, hypocritical, and not very charitable. Personally, I didn’t have any problems with the depictions here, but depending on your level of faith (and secureness within that faith), your mileage may vary.
That’s how faith worked. To believe in something unbelievable to keep yourself from the threshold of despair.
Honestly, my only real problem with the book was the ending. But that's not terribly uncommon; I think that most books with great ideas seem to struggle with how to wrap everything up. And I 100% get it. Tying everything together in an effective & cohesive whole can be daunting. But I just didn’t feel the gut punch that I should have felt at the end of Beneath. I will give props for it not ending on the note that most books would have defaulted with, as Beneath absolutely does take the path less travelled with the finale. I just wanted more oomph. We have action & escapes, grit & determination, bloody and perverted trials & tribulations…and then those things kind of fall away and the book just…stops. It’s like a boxer winning a fight with a soft jab instead of an uppercut; it works, it’s just not something that will awe you.
On the quality side, I only noticed a handful of instances where there were mistakes in the book, mostly with a character’s name. In one specific instance, a mother’s name is used instead of her daughter’s, but in the context of the narrative the mistake doesn’t cause any problems. There were only one or two typos that I found. All in all, the editing was solid.
So yeah, Beneath is a solid read for sure, and I now want to check out other titles by Kristi DeMeester. It’s been a minute since a I read a really disturbing horror story, and this one fit the bill rather nicely. If you don’t mind a little sleaze and sadness with your horror, then you should definitely check this one out!
VNV Nation - Serial Killer
Do you ever feel like a book was written just for you? Like, there’s some unspoken connection between you and the author, and somehow, despite not knowing each other, you share a kinship…and because of that kinship, the book they wrote has some sort of special resonance with you, and you’re like “yeah, I’m right there with you”? Like they somehow heard the thoughts in your head and managed to convert those thoughts into a wonderful narrative? Like you’d see each other across a crowded room, even as strangers, and be like “yep, I totally understand THAT person”.
Yeah, me either.
Because, dude, that would just be super weird and creepy and stalkerish. And I don’t do creepy OR stalkerish (alas, I really can't help the weird part). That’s the kind of shit that restraining orders are made of you psycho. So knock that unhealthy mix of projecting and paparazzi behavior right the hell off, cuz you’re making the rest of us normal fans look bad. Sheesh. But…that said, if I WAS feeling somewhat creepy and stalkerish, I do believe that Kristi DeMeester and I would likely get along famously. Like maybe we share some of the same kind of damage or messed-up ways of thinking. Honestly, I’d just want to buy her a High West whiskey, say “nicely done chica”, and then be on my merry and messed-up way. Because, when it comes right down to it, Beneath is my kind of book. Dark, twisted, and altogether bleak, when I read horror this is the kind of book I’m generally seeking. Something that pulls no punches. Something that doesn’t veer around awful things, even if they are happening to good people. Something that just tells the bloody story, convention be damned. And Beneath does that for me. Oh, and don’t let the somewhat YA looking cover fool you…this book has chops, and children are definitely not allowed.
”My mother always said there were things in this world that were blacker than hell.”
As with all of my reviews, I will attempt to keep spoilers to a minimum. Whether a book is full of twists-and-turns or not, going in without preconceived notions almost always results in a more fulfilling experience. And like any good horror novel, Beneath should be experienced unfiltered, unspoiled, and fresh. Like produce. And bread. And bourbon. Definitely like bourbon. Mmmmm…bourbon. Oh, sorry, I’ll get back on track. So yeah, if it’s not mentioned in the official book synopsis, I will do my level best to avoid mentioning it here.
Or she could climb into the car and drive back to the hotel, maybe find a liquor store on the way there, pour herself four fingers of bourbon and wait for the alcohol to settle over her like a coat.
So what do we get from Beneath? Well, it’s a straight-up horror tale, told in third-person from multiple viewpoints, and weighs in at 320 pages. I do find the cover a little misleading; as much as I like it, I don’t feel it does the content justice. This book is definitely NSFK (not safe for kids), but the cover does look like it belongs more to a YA novel than this particular beast. And yes, I know, never judge a book by its cover and all that. Except we still all do. But enough about all that. What about the content under the cover?
In that tiny, dark closet, when Mr. Burress had asked her to close her eyes and to open her mouth so he could see her teeth, she had come to understand that men could be so, so much worse than the devil.
Honestly, Beneath is a pretty effective horror tale. It’s mostly a self-contained story, with the vast majority of the action taking place in one little Appalachian town. The 80’s setting really helps keep the story a little tenser than modern tales, as characters have to do without cellphones and all their inherent benefits. While in modern times an interview could take place over email or skype, our main protagonist Cora actually has to head to Hensley, PA to get her story. There are no easy solutions to Google, nobody available for help at the drop of a hat, and there’s no way to get a huge story out to the masses in an easy manner. Not that there aren't good modern horror stories, as there certainly are, but I think there’s more of an edge to stories when people in peril don’t have ready access to super helpful technology. And, even though the 80’s craze is in full effect, unlike some of the other books I’ve read taking place in that neon decade, Kristi DeMeester doesn’t go overboard with the callbacks. Aside from a mention or two about cassette tapes and one or two pop-culture references, this story could almost as easy have taken place in the late seventies or early nineties.
”Judas Priest. Devil music,” Cora said and lifted an eyebrow.
Michael laughed. “Perfect.”
As I mentioned earlier, this is a multi-POV affair. We actually get two “main” characters, although a couple of the side characters get a few decently meaty chapters at times. But of the two primary protagonists, journalist Cora Mayburn gets a bit more page time than Pastor Michael Wayne. Which is just as well, as she’s a much easier character to follow (for me anyways). Blunt, intrepid, and somewhat damaged, she’s the kind of protagonist that I gravitate towards. I always prefer the characters with a bit of baggage, but who still try to do the right thing despite their issues. The imperfect characters with the strong moral compass. Maybe I see some of myself in them, or maybe they are just more engaging in general...either way, they get me every time. I also like that she’s essentially a whirlwind when she comes to Hensley. Outspoken and opinionated, she’s everything the ladies of Hensley are not. Pastor Wayne, on the other hand, was a difficult character for me to root for. Some of that is because he is very nearly the wettest of wet blankets, and the rest of it needs to stay under wraps in order to avoid spoilers. Needless to say, even in the rare moments when I commiserated with him, I still didn’t care for him very much.
In her mind, she’d imagined a corpulent, bulbous-eyed hellfire and damnation minister who was old enough to fart dust.
The supporting characters are rather well realized, if only sporadically used. Both Ruth McDowell and her daughter Leah, residents of Hensley with some kind of ties to the crazy happenings, have pretty significant parts to play within the story, but don't necessarily make many appearances. We also get a smattering of other viewpoints at various intervals, which helps flesh out the tale a bit, providing insight to other events or helping to set up certain plot points.
The antagonists are actually pretty well thought out, and thoroughly icky. The primary villain is an ancient terror come back to life, and that can sometimes be hit or miss, but it works pretty well here. Cora and Michael have several run-ins with various beasties and nasties over the course of the book, and they are just the right amount of creepy. That said, the threat to our protagonists is still more mental than physical, as the villains have many ways of invading thoughts and dreams, which is something that our heroes have little defense against. The only thing I'm not completely certain of is "why now" with the bad guys. There were certain things that transpired that basically enabled them into our world, but I can't recall if there was a reason why those things had to happen with these specific characters.
But isn’t this what it meant to be a mother? To give of your body so that the children might thrive even if you weakened?
While not as graphic as books by Richard Laymon, Edward Lee, and Jack Ketchum, Beneath is definitely cut from the same cloth, and would have been a perfect fit alongside those other juggernauts of sex-fueled horror in their heyday. We also get a pretty solid female perspective to all the darkness and perversion, and that’s a nice change of pace. While not as sexually graphic as the aforementioned authors, there’s some pretty disturbing things taking place here. Some of these things are fiction, while others are firmly rooted in the real, making them all the more horrific. Did I mention this book isn’t for kids? There’s blood aplenty, and all sorts of body horror shenanigans to make your skin crawl. And even though it’s not overly graphic in the sexy department, that doesn’t mean it’s not effective. I think that many authors rely far too heavily on shock to try and sell a story. Kristi DeMeester doesn’t need to do that; she can still bring the ick factor while relying more on prose and vivid descriptions rather than blunt force trauma. And hey, sometimes blunt force trauma is what is needed. I’m not saying shock is awful; it’s just that sometimes I want more. More craft, less crass, as it were.
To love was pain, and she embraced it fully, took the hurt into herself like vapor.
For those with less than robust constitutions, let's be clear...this book is pretty harsh in its treatment of children, and most of the parenting is just plain awful. I don't know if Kristi DeMeester had a rough childhood, or if she just knows that familial drama and child endangerment give that extra zest to an already brutal tale, but she really goes for the gusto when it comes to pain and betrayal. Kids suffer in this book, and as a father I occasionally found myself cringing.
Also, it must be noted that religion isn’t painted in a flattering light here. Like...at all. There’s two major examples of this with men in religious power, and then many of the background characters are judgmental, hypocritical, and not very charitable. Personally, I didn’t have any problems with the depictions here, but depending on your level of faith (and secureness within that faith), your mileage may vary.
That’s how faith worked. To believe in something unbelievable to keep yourself from the threshold of despair.
Honestly, my only real problem with the book was the ending. But that's not terribly uncommon; I think that most books with great ideas seem to struggle with how to wrap everything up. And I 100% get it. Tying everything together in an effective & cohesive whole can be daunting. But I just didn’t feel the gut punch that I should have felt at the end of Beneath. I will give props for it not ending on the note that most books would have defaulted with, as Beneath absolutely does take the path less travelled with the finale. I just wanted more oomph. We have action & escapes, grit & determination, bloody and perverted trials & tribulations…and then those things kind of fall away and the book just…stops. It’s like a boxer winning a fight with a soft jab instead of an uppercut; it works, it’s just not something that will awe you.
On the quality side, I only noticed a handful of instances where there were mistakes in the book, mostly with a character’s name. In one specific instance, a mother’s name is used instead of her daughter’s, but in the context of the narrative the mistake doesn’t cause any problems. There were only one or two typos that I found. All in all, the editing was solid.
So yeah, Beneath is a solid read for sure, and I now want to check out other titles by Kristi DeMeester. It’s been a minute since a I read a really disturbing horror story, and this one fit the bill rather nicely. If you don’t mind a little sleaze and sadness with your horror, then you should definitely check this one out!
February 18, 2021
Hoo boy. The description of this book was so compelling! And a woman horror author! I had really high hopes. Cosmic horror, cults, investigative journalist looking to expose secrets of a cult and stumbling into things far more messed up than she assumed...
But the writing is bad. This book is bad. I thought at first I was being too harsh on it, it's a debut novel, and while the execution wasn't great, maybe the great concepts could carry it through to being a decent read.
They could not.
The characters in this novel are caricatures. Within the first two pages of the book we are introduced to a 'tough woman journalist' with trauma from sexual abuse as a child from a religious leader. We never learn anything else about her in the remaining 300 pages. No really. She is a journalist and maybe she enjoys her job? We're told she's good at it but never see it. Her sexual abuse continues throughout the book and not only is she consistently denied any agency in what happens in the book, she's essentially a fucktoy for ANOTHER pedophilic priest and then an ancient god. It's gross gross gross. She chooses nothing. Everything is forced upon her but the book presents her acceptance/kind of weird happy ending.
This book has a WEIRD relationship with sex??? Like at first sex is the dark dirty thing and I was like, ah, a commentary on puritan values!! But it basically IS just the dark dirty thing that brings about the end of the world. This evil books makes people have sex from its presence! This teen girl wants to fuck a priest and then AND THEN the sexual abuse survivor makes a fucking SMARTASS COMMENT near the end that she wanted the end of the world and victims choose to be abused basically and AUGHGHGUGHGGH I FUCKING HATTTTE THIS BOOOOOOK ITS GARBAAAGE
Allllll the women are LITERALLY whores or mothers. If it was meant to be commentary, it really sucked! Because it did not subvert expectations at all! It really felt like the author was working through feelings on sex and kinks, and it was gross! Lots of weird 'hate your mother but love your mother CONSUME YOUR MOTHER' stuff that felt so pointed considering how the 'great worm' is a DUDE and where the fuck is the father parallel also? Hey why is it a bunch of women are primarily responsible for the end of the world hm??????????????? Said women don't even get to enjoy CHOICE of destroying the world. They fight against it and then suddenly they're cool with it offpage and now they're evil.
Along with all that, the prose is painfully awkward. Characters talk in grandiose paragraphs and philosophical debates and it does nothing to better explain character development or serve to be interesting parables. It's just filler.
The horror scenes play like edgy creepypasta. Ooooooh the WORM CHILDREN play TIC TAC TOE with TEETH from CORPSES!!!!!!!!!! so scary. snore. Also the weird ass pacing in the last half of the book where time becomes irrelevant made me keep flipping back pages thinking I had missed a page somehow because there was no connection between scenes.
I wanted to like this book. I really did. But it's just awful. It's not even fun awful that can be enjoyed from a satirical lens. It's just bad and has a shitton of internalized misogyny and I'm throwing this baby out tomorrow.
But the writing is bad. This book is bad. I thought at first I was being too harsh on it, it's a debut novel, and while the execution wasn't great, maybe the great concepts could carry it through to being a decent read.
They could not.
The characters in this novel are caricatures. Within the first two pages of the book we are introduced to a 'tough woman journalist' with trauma from sexual abuse as a child from a religious leader. We never learn anything else about her in the remaining 300 pages. No really. She is a journalist and maybe she enjoys her job? We're told she's good at it but never see it. Her sexual abuse continues throughout the book and not only is she consistently denied any agency in what happens in the book, she's essentially a fucktoy for ANOTHER pedophilic priest and then an ancient god. It's gross gross gross. She chooses nothing. Everything is forced upon her but the book presents her acceptance/kind of weird happy ending.
This book has a WEIRD relationship with sex??? Like at first sex is the dark dirty thing and I was like, ah, a commentary on puritan values!! But it basically IS just the dark dirty thing that brings about the end of the world. This evil books makes people have sex from its presence! This teen girl wants to fuck a priest and then AND THEN the sexual abuse survivor makes a fucking SMARTASS COMMENT near the end that she wanted the end of the world and victims choose to be abused basically and AUGHGHGUGHGGH I FUCKING HATTTTE THIS BOOOOOOK ITS GARBAAAGE
Allllll the women are LITERALLY whores or mothers. If it was meant to be commentary, it really sucked! Because it did not subvert expectations at all! It really felt like the author was working through feelings on sex and kinks, and it was gross! Lots of weird 'hate your mother but love your mother CONSUME YOUR MOTHER' stuff that felt so pointed considering how the 'great worm' is a DUDE and where the fuck is the father parallel also? Hey why is it a bunch of women are primarily responsible for the end of the world hm??????????????? Said women don't even get to enjoy CHOICE of destroying the world. They fight against it and then suddenly they're cool with it offpage and now they're evil.
Along with all that, the prose is painfully awkward. Characters talk in grandiose paragraphs and philosophical debates and it does nothing to better explain character development or serve to be interesting parables. It's just filler.
The horror scenes play like edgy creepypasta. Ooooooh the WORM CHILDREN play TIC TAC TOE with TEETH from CORPSES!!!!!!!!!! so scary. snore. Also the weird ass pacing in the last half of the book where time becomes irrelevant made me keep flipping back pages thinking I had missed a page somehow because there was no connection between scenes.
I wanted to like this book. I really did. But it's just awful. It's not even fun awful that can be enjoyed from a satirical lens. It's just bad and has a shitton of internalized misogyny and I'm throwing this baby out tomorrow.
October 23, 2018
A snake handling religion located in a small church in an even smaller backwoods town. A reporter with a dark history surrounding the church of her childhood. A mother and daughter enveloped in a slinking, slithery darkness with ties to horrors that aren’t as removed from the everyday world as we’d like to think.
Beneath boasts a dark beauty and DeMeester’s talent lies in her descriptive writing and her world-building when it comes to this novel. The characters are well-developed, and some of the most disturbing scenes are written with a grace and a believability that left me feeling cringe-y for days to follow. I may rethink my gardening habits from now on.
The last section or so moved a little too hurriedly, and the ending left me wanting just a bit more. The interactions between two of the main characters (no spoilers here) were a tad confusing.
Overall, I truly enjoyed this book. I’m picking up her collection, Everything Underneath, soon and I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next.
Beneath boasts a dark beauty and DeMeester’s talent lies in her descriptive writing and her world-building when it comes to this novel. The characters are well-developed, and some of the most disturbing scenes are written with a grace and a believability that left me feeling cringe-y for days to follow. I may rethink my gardening habits from now on.
The last section or so moved a little too hurriedly, and the ending left me wanting just a bit more. The interactions between two of the main characters (no spoilers here) were a tad confusing.
Overall, I truly enjoyed this book. I’m picking up her collection, Everything Underneath, soon and I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next.
August 7, 2018
4.5 Stars.
My friend Sadie is a horror nut like me, and every once in a while she will message me and say "you need this". Not only does she love horror, but she loves pretty much all of the same things that I love, so if Sadie says I need something, I definitely need it. This is one that she told me I needed.
I bought it, and like a lot of the books I buy it got buried under piles of other books that arrived shortly after and I forgot about it. Not entirely, though. I knew I wanted to read DeMeester, I just hadn't gotten around to it yet. Finally, this month gave me the perfect opportunity. I like to do picture challenges on Instagram, and this month a bunch of my friends are doing a Ladies of Horror Fiction challenge. I decided that not only was I going to do the photo challenge, but I was going to challenge myself to read mostly women the entire month of August. Beneath went into the pile, and I finally picked it up.
Long story short, I bought it on a recommendation and knew nothing about the story. I never read a book's blurb until right before I read the book, so up until a few days ago I had no clue what this story is about. On the surface it's about a reporter from Atlanta who goes to Hensley, North Carolina to cover a story about a snake-handling cult. Cora has a haunted past, and the last thing she wants is to go anywhere near religion, but she knows this is a good story, so she agrees to take the assignment. Once she arrives in Hensley dark forces have already set their plans in motion, and Cora ends up facing much more than a group of snake worshipping fanatics.
I loved this story! The two main characters, Cora and Hensley's preacher Michael, are flawed people with complicated pasts. However, they are both characters that you find yourself rooting for, perhaps because they are flawed and in that sense more human and relatable. DeMeester takes this story to places that I never expected, and that is always a treat. I took off a half of a star basically because I felt as if the ending didn't quite fit the rest of the story. I've read other reviewers who said the same thing, and I definitely agree. It felt abrupt. However, I really enjoyed this novel and highly recommend it. I can't wait to read more from DeMeester.
My friend Sadie is a horror nut like me, and every once in a while she will message me and say "you need this". Not only does she love horror, but she loves pretty much all of the same things that I love, so if Sadie says I need something, I definitely need it. This is one that she told me I needed.
I bought it, and like a lot of the books I buy it got buried under piles of other books that arrived shortly after and I forgot about it. Not entirely, though. I knew I wanted to read DeMeester, I just hadn't gotten around to it yet. Finally, this month gave me the perfect opportunity. I like to do picture challenges on Instagram, and this month a bunch of my friends are doing a Ladies of Horror Fiction challenge. I decided that not only was I going to do the photo challenge, but I was going to challenge myself to read mostly women the entire month of August. Beneath went into the pile, and I finally picked it up.
Long story short, I bought it on a recommendation and knew nothing about the story. I never read a book's blurb until right before I read the book, so up until a few days ago I had no clue what this story is about. On the surface it's about a reporter from Atlanta who goes to Hensley, North Carolina to cover a story about a snake-handling cult. Cora has a haunted past, and the last thing she wants is to go anywhere near religion, but she knows this is a good story, so she agrees to take the assignment. Once she arrives in Hensley dark forces have already set their plans in motion, and Cora ends up facing much more than a group of snake worshipping fanatics.
I loved this story! The two main characters, Cora and Hensley's preacher Michael, are flawed people with complicated pasts. However, they are both characters that you find yourself rooting for, perhaps because they are flawed and in that sense more human and relatable. DeMeester takes this story to places that I never expected, and that is always a treat. I took off a half of a star basically because I felt as if the ending didn't quite fit the rest of the story. I've read other reviewers who said the same thing, and I definitely agree. It felt abrupt. However, I really enjoyed this novel and highly recommend it. I can't wait to read more from DeMeester.
Read
September 7, 2020DNF at chapter 20, page 107. I wanted to love this book so much but it just wasn't working for me.
May 31, 2017
Devastatingly bleak novel that ratchets up the tension and terror page by page and never relents. Snake cults, religious horror, the horrors of organized religion, the weakness of the flesh, the pleasure and the price of sin, and a haunting conclusion combine to form one unforgettable beast. Compulsively readable, with smooth, fluid prose, and filled with a cast of truly realistic and fully-realized characters. Highly recommended to weird and horror fans who thrive in dark places, both geographically and psychologically.
September 23, 2017
Beneath is an apocalyptic novel involving evangelicals and snake handling. Several characters were only children of single mothers who I found 'easy' to relate to. I'm not sure what else I could add.
This is a great first (published) novel - a first rate horror novel - and I look forward to seeing what Kristi DeMeester writes in the future.
In the meantime, I'm going to dig into her first story collection Everything That's Underneath: A Collection of Weird and Horror Tales
This is a great first (published) novel - a first rate horror novel - and I look forward to seeing what Kristi DeMeester writes in the future.
In the meantime, I'm going to dig into her first story collection Everything That's Underneath: A Collection of Weird and Horror Tales
January 4, 2022
I’m giving this a (grudging) two stars because it’s well written. But unfortunately I pretty much hated this book.
October 30, 2017
Unfortunately, I finished reading this literally the day before I went into emergency surgery, so there goes any notion of my penning an actually insightful review. That said, I wanted to at least note my reading of it down, and say a few things, probably more poorly than I would were I in less pain or on less medication. I'm a fan of Kristi DeMeester and of Word Horde, and this novel got sold to me on the strength of the "horror novel about snake handling" logline, as well as my hearing a bit of the beginning read aloud at the Outer Dark Symposium on the Greater Weird earlier this year.
For an idea of what you're getting into, think Salem's Lot by way of Lair of the White Worm, while at once maybe more intimate and apocalyptic than either of them. The snake handling certainly plays a big role in the story, but not necessarily in the ways that you might expect, and there are plenty of crawly monsters before all is said and done. If I had a complaint, it's that the book frequently made use of a trick where it would tell a similar scene through several different points of view, leading up to what felt like a cliffhanger before going back and taking the same route but from a different angle. Which is not a problem in itself; there were times when it was an extremely effective way of building tension, but other times it didn't always work quite as well.
I'm afraid this isn't a very satisfying review for what was, after all, a very satisfying book. If you want a solid small-town horror story that takes you some places you probably weren't expecting, you could do a whole lot worse.
For an idea of what you're getting into, think Salem's Lot by way of Lair of the White Worm, while at once maybe more intimate and apocalyptic than either of them. The snake handling certainly plays a big role in the story, but not necessarily in the ways that you might expect, and there are plenty of crawly monsters before all is said and done. If I had a complaint, it's that the book frequently made use of a trick where it would tell a similar scene through several different points of view, leading up to what felt like a cliffhanger before going back and taking the same route but from a different angle. Which is not a problem in itself; there were times when it was an extremely effective way of building tension, but other times it didn't always work quite as well.
I'm afraid this isn't a very satisfying review for what was, after all, a very satisfying book. If you want a solid small-town horror story that takes you some places you probably weren't expecting, you could do a whole lot worse.
May 15, 2018
This book started off great. The premise of a small Appalachian town with a snake-handling church and a big-city reporter coming to town to write about said church caught my attention immediately. Then, it fell off the edge. It became a rambling series of crazy scenes, with two main characters that were impossible to identify with on any level. The story wasn't fleshed out. The characters were flat. It was a relatively short novel, but seemed to drag on with no real ending. I'm still not entirely sure what caused the events in the book to come to pass. It read like a rough draft. I think, with a little work, it could become a great book. But as it stands, it was slightly below mediocre.
May 27, 2018
**Review coming soon!**
October 1, 2019
'Beneath' is my first book read as part of the anniversary celebration readathon on Instagram/Blog pages/wherever for the Ladies Of Horror Fiction (happy 1st birthday!) in conjunction with bokstagrammer/booktuber Alex aka Hey Little Thrifter! Go and say hello to them,they are superb at shining a light on horror fiction!
''You understand something about darkness, don’t you, preacher? How once that door opens, it can seep out. Infect everything it touches? How quickly it spreads, and you standing with all of your knowledge in the pulpit, screaming to your sheep how it must be torn out by the roots.''
'Beneath' is an extraordinary debut horror novel which deals with many themes-specifically religion, female desire, subjugation of will to a higher being (either God or man) and reclamation of power.
Using visceral and very elaborate lnaguage, Kristi turns her characters-literallyinside out as they to find out what is happening in the small Appaclachian town to which Cora, a journalist, has come to investigate a snake worshipping 'cult'. Just before she arrives, the pastor of the church, Michael, conducted a 'welcoming' ceremony for teenage Leah which has gone horribly, horribly wrong.
Leah is the daughter of Ruth, a single mother of a single mother left alone since the death of her husband. Both Leah and her maternal granddmother have a red mark in one of their eyes which to the superstitious townsfolk indicate that they are evil, born witches who will send their menfolk into a sexual frenzy. This is obviously just an excuse to rationalise the desire of men to own and take what they want from Leah's grandmother about whom tales are still told and which Ruth has spent her entire life trying to ignore. But when Leah quite obviously has the same mark, and Michael begins having sinful thoughts about her, Leah's entry ceremony into the church (by holding the snakes and not being bitten) has added significance.
The snakes are meant to be the representation of evil, as they were in the Bible, a living and potentially dangerous symbol of evil so in order to be inducted into the church , she has to show her purity of heart by not being bitten or tempted by evil. This goes incredibly wrong and is the catalyst for shocking events which threaten to not only take over the town, but also to spread beyond its borders...
The book is full of religious allegories of transubstantiation and discussions of the role of women in society as individuals as well as mothers, sisters and sexual beings. The snakes are religious and phallic symbols which are skillfully employed to advance the plot and as a reader, you are on the side of Cora whose impulse to run as far away from the story she has been sent to cover as possible. Her childhood history of being sexually abused by a trusted male authority figure means she comes into the town of Hensley like an avenging whirlwind, ready to believe the worst of Pastor Michael Wayne. Cora is the only one with a non-biblical name, and her surname ( May Burn) seems perfectly chosen as she is reluctantly dispatched to report on a story because a)she does not believe and b)she is a zero nonsense protagonist.
Not sure if I am thinking too deeply (surprise surprise!) but Michael in the Bible is the name of the angel who defeats Satan, whilst Ruth and Leah are both also Bible characters. Ruth is a widowed mother who is seen as a symbol of loyalty and devotion whilst Leah is a paragon of virtue having been described as plain and passed off as beautiful as a wife for Jacob. Jacob had wanted her beautiful sister,Rachel, as a wife and fought to have them both, but it was Leah's undending loyalty that led to Jacob wanting to be buried by her whne he died instead of Rachel. In this book, Leah is often described by herself, and other people, as being plain, unwieldy and with no striking feature apart from 'the Devils' mark' in her eye.
What she finds there, and what she unwittingly becomes a part of, defies description. The closest I could get to comparisons would the 'Salem's lot prequel short story,Jerusalem's Lot, and Bram Stoker's The Lair Of the White Worm.
What I liked was the centering of the women, how their behaviour and superstitions around them were subverted and used as a catalyst for the greatest and most elemental of female forces.
Also, that cover-I didn't get it and didn't like it to begin with, but now I see how clever it is, I really love it!
Unsettlingly, uneasy and liberally splattered with body horror, death and destruction, this is a great book for those who enjoy their horror down and dirty.
''You understand something about darkness, don’t you, preacher? How once that door opens, it can seep out. Infect everything it touches? How quickly it spreads, and you standing with all of your knowledge in the pulpit, screaming to your sheep how it must be torn out by the roots.''
'Beneath' is an extraordinary debut horror novel which deals with many themes-specifically religion, female desire, subjugation of will to a higher being (either God or man) and reclamation of power.
Using visceral and very elaborate lnaguage, Kristi turns her characters-literallyinside out as they to find out what is happening in the small Appaclachian town to which Cora, a journalist, has come to investigate a snake worshipping 'cult'. Just before she arrives, the pastor of the church, Michael, conducted a 'welcoming' ceremony for teenage Leah which has gone horribly, horribly wrong.
Leah is the daughter of Ruth, a single mother of a single mother left alone since the death of her husband. Both Leah and her maternal granddmother have a red mark in one of their eyes which to the superstitious townsfolk indicate that they are evil, born witches who will send their menfolk into a sexual frenzy. This is obviously just an excuse to rationalise the desire of men to own and take what they want from Leah's grandmother about whom tales are still told and which Ruth has spent her entire life trying to ignore. But when Leah quite obviously has the same mark, and Michael begins having sinful thoughts about her, Leah's entry ceremony into the church (by holding the snakes and not being bitten) has added significance.
The snakes are meant to be the representation of evil, as they were in the Bible, a living and potentially dangerous symbol of evil so in order to be inducted into the church , she has to show her purity of heart by not being bitten or tempted by evil. This goes incredibly wrong and is the catalyst for shocking events which threaten to not only take over the town, but also to spread beyond its borders...
The book is full of religious allegories of transubstantiation and discussions of the role of women in society as individuals as well as mothers, sisters and sexual beings. The snakes are religious and phallic symbols which are skillfully employed to advance the plot and as a reader, you are on the side of Cora whose impulse to run as far away from the story she has been sent to cover as possible. Her childhood history of being sexually abused by a trusted male authority figure means she comes into the town of Hensley like an avenging whirlwind, ready to believe the worst of Pastor Michael Wayne. Cora is the only one with a non-biblical name, and her surname ( May Burn) seems perfectly chosen as she is reluctantly dispatched to report on a story because a)she does not believe and b)she is a zero nonsense protagonist.
Not sure if I am thinking too deeply (surprise surprise!) but Michael in the Bible is the name of the angel who defeats Satan, whilst Ruth and Leah are both also Bible characters. Ruth is a widowed mother who is seen as a symbol of loyalty and devotion whilst Leah is a paragon of virtue having been described as plain and passed off as beautiful as a wife for Jacob. Jacob had wanted her beautiful sister,Rachel, as a wife and fought to have them both, but it was Leah's undending loyalty that led to Jacob wanting to be buried by her whne he died instead of Rachel. In this book, Leah is often described by herself, and other people, as being plain, unwieldy and with no striking feature apart from 'the Devils' mark' in her eye.
What she finds there, and what she unwittingly becomes a part of, defies description. The closest I could get to comparisons would the 'Salem's lot prequel short story,Jerusalem's Lot, and Bram Stoker's The Lair Of the White Worm.
What I liked was the centering of the women, how their behaviour and superstitions around them were subverted and used as a catalyst for the greatest and most elemental of female forces.
Also, that cover-I didn't get it and didn't like it to begin with, but now I see how clever it is, I really love it!
Unsettlingly, uneasy and liberally splattered with body horror, death and destruction, this is a great book for those who enjoy their horror down and dirty.
June 21, 2021
4.5 stars
April 27, 2017
Snake handling is an obscure practice of a Christian sect, based on some very literal interpretation of scripture.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”
Their practices are viewed with suspicion and fear. In BENEATH we have a pastor struggling with a crisis of faith, and an investigative journalist endeavoring to subdue shadows of the past to shield from the greater darkness to come. We have an innocent touched by that darkness that wants to catalyze her to transform the world from that which we know to one of Stygian dreaming.
The cover art is phenomenal. Considering our troubled preacher, it evoked feelings like those from Night of the Hunter, particularly the impressive shot of the underwater grave. Does the stone keep her grounded and prevents her from floating away? Is the snake and her faith keeping her connected or tempting her elsewhere? Which is the shackle and which is salvation? Beautifully executed, and perfect for the conflict within.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”
Their practices are viewed with suspicion and fear. In BENEATH we have a pastor struggling with a crisis of faith, and an investigative journalist endeavoring to subdue shadows of the past to shield from the greater darkness to come. We have an innocent touched by that darkness that wants to catalyze her to transform the world from that which we know to one of Stygian dreaming.
The cover art is phenomenal. Considering our troubled preacher, it evoked feelings like those from Night of the Hunter, particularly the impressive shot of the underwater grave. Does the stone keep her grounded and prevents her from floating away? Is the snake and her faith keeping her connected or tempting her elsewhere? Which is the shackle and which is salvation? Beautifully executed, and perfect for the conflict within.
May 7, 2018
DeMeester is a contemporary hella lauded author, and I see her name cropping up time and again on my Twitter feed, in my mag subscriptions and so on.
And my God I don't think I've seen such a pretty book cover maybe ever. I LOVE it. (How do you even go about making something like that? Is it painted? Photoshopped? Reminds me of those Pre-Raphaelite paintings like "Lady of Shalott" except without all those OUTRAGEOUS colours :D!)
No-brainer, had to pick this up.
This story is executed with quite a complex structure in terms of its multiple POVs, but it never loses the reader. It doesn't have that stop-and-start feel to it that other multi-POV books have: "Now we're over here dealing with this thing." It's more like looking at the same diamond from a different angle, a differently tangential approach of building the same setting and characters in the reader's mind. Super clever in that regard. And the characters are all lovingly crafted, given their own details, foibles and internal musings, no matter how long they grace the pages. That's no mean feat.
But I think it is this strict adherence to uniform structure throughout that is the book's biggest caveat. Don't get me wrong, most authors don't even get as far as that—but the measured pace throughout and the need to make all scenes happen at the same speed with the same number of details bogs it down a bit pace-wise.
Side note about rigid story structure instructions in general (ie a paragraph not about this book): Narrative should be an expansion/contraction of time, but there's a pressure on contemporary literature to show everything and give it all the same weight. There's very much a "If this character comes in here then we need a scene for her backstory!" thing about writing.
I think that's contrary to trusting a reader. The more I get a story structure I've seen before, the less real it feels to me. It's like, "I know this didn't happen because I know what scenes I will get later." Forgoing this type of rigidity is considered risky, but what's the risk really? That you'll make something memorable and great but rock the boat, versus satisfying readers at the cost of your work? (Once again I can't escape my camp of "please a few people a lot" haha.) To use an example from this book (without applying the same criticisms of this paragraph), in the opening chapter we learn of the protagonist's reluctance to report on a cult because she was molested as a child. And that comes into play later in the story. I think it would've worked better as, she's reluctant to go for reasons we can't figure out, then later we learn about her past. But I don't know if that was an editor's note or the author's idea or what. It's just that we live in an age of movie trailers that have three-second trailer-trailers at the beginning of them, and it's not great... There's are confusing questions at the heart of that though, which are: "When am I trusting the reader to be as smart as I am, and when am I accidentally leaving too much out because I see things about these characters the reader can't, and I have my own idea of their backstories as their motivations, but the reader might want access to these? Or do they want to build these parts themselves? Because if I give too much, they can't participate..."
I think different readers meet you at different levels of exposition. I tend to want a bit less than I'm given in terms of pace and internal monologue and often way more description. It's why the work of Murakami, Foster Wallace and Shriver for example feel the most alive to me ("That guy is describing the eff outta that room and everyone in it!") But I know fine well that no two readers are really reading the same book. These are just some things I'm thinking about.
I'm not done reading DeMeester though. I have her short story collection also, and I hope one day she writes the Middlemarch of horror or the female Imajica. Something grand, expansive and worrying the lives of as many characters as possible!
And my God I don't think I've seen such a pretty book cover maybe ever. I LOVE it. (How do you even go about making something like that? Is it painted? Photoshopped? Reminds me of those Pre-Raphaelite paintings like "Lady of Shalott" except without all those OUTRAGEOUS colours :D!)
No-brainer, had to pick this up.
This story is executed with quite a complex structure in terms of its multiple POVs, but it never loses the reader. It doesn't have that stop-and-start feel to it that other multi-POV books have: "Now we're over here dealing with this thing." It's more like looking at the same diamond from a different angle, a differently tangential approach of building the same setting and characters in the reader's mind. Super clever in that regard. And the characters are all lovingly crafted, given their own details, foibles and internal musings, no matter how long they grace the pages. That's no mean feat.
But I think it is this strict adherence to uniform structure throughout that is the book's biggest caveat. Don't get me wrong, most authors don't even get as far as that—but the measured pace throughout and the need to make all scenes happen at the same speed with the same number of details bogs it down a bit pace-wise.
Side note about rigid story structure instructions in general (ie a paragraph not about this book): Narrative should be an expansion/contraction of time, but there's a pressure on contemporary literature to show everything and give it all the same weight. There's very much a "If this character comes in here then we need a scene for her backstory!" thing about writing.
I think that's contrary to trusting a reader. The more I get a story structure I've seen before, the less real it feels to me. It's like, "I know this didn't happen because I know what scenes I will get later." Forgoing this type of rigidity is considered risky, but what's the risk really? That you'll make something memorable and great but rock the boat, versus satisfying readers at the cost of your work? (Once again I can't escape my camp of "please a few people a lot" haha.) To use an example from this book (without applying the same criticisms of this paragraph), in the opening chapter we learn of the protagonist's reluctance to report on a cult because she was molested as a child. And that comes into play later in the story. I think it would've worked better as, she's reluctant to go for reasons we can't figure out, then later we learn about her past. But I don't know if that was an editor's note or the author's idea or what. It's just that we live in an age of movie trailers that have three-second trailer-trailers at the beginning of them, and it's not great... There's are confusing questions at the heart of that though, which are: "When am I trusting the reader to be as smart as I am, and when am I accidentally leaving too much out because I see things about these characters the reader can't, and I have my own idea of their backstories as their motivations, but the reader might want access to these? Or do they want to build these parts themselves? Because if I give too much, they can't participate..."
I think different readers meet you at different levels of exposition. I tend to want a bit less than I'm given in terms of pace and internal monologue and often way more description. It's why the work of Murakami, Foster Wallace and Shriver for example feel the most alive to me ("That guy is describing the eff outta that room and everyone in it!") But I know fine well that no two readers are really reading the same book. These are just some things I'm thinking about.
I'm not done reading DeMeester though. I have her short story collection also, and I hope one day she writes the Middlemarch of horror or the female Imajica. Something grand, expansive and worrying the lives of as many characters as possible!
May 28, 2017
Beneath has all the elements I love in a good southern gothic horror story, it has the South obviously, religious fundamentalism, including a pedophilic priest, and language that encompasses dread. I have to admit that this book takes a turn for the bizarre and grotesque that I wasn’t exactly expecting. I am not sure exactly what I was expecting, but it was not “The Great Worm”.
Initially, the story reminds me of Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects (which is my favorite Flynn by the way) when Cora, a reporter, is sent to the mountains of North Carolina from Atlanta to cover a snake-handling cult. After years of anguish related to a sexual assault by a pastor in her childhood, Cora has an aversion to churches and is reluctant to take the job. She is ultimately convinced to go and winds up arriving at the church around the same time a young girl is bitten by a snake during a rite of passage ritual. The church believes that if a member of the congregation is bitten, they have evil in their heart. In this case, the evil is far greater than they could’ve imagined. This is the point where the book really starts to take off and the reader is just along for the ride.
This appears to be DeMeester’s debut novel and she has come out the gate strong. I have read a couple of Demeester’s short stories and really enjoyed them. Those stories were the reason I was expecting more of a quiet, less pulpy horror novel focused more on atmosphere. Beneath has an apocalyptic atmosphere but the abundant amount of sex and violence transposed with the religious context is what kept it interesting for me. I have to say there does seem to be an underlying narrative that weeps religious angst. I don’t know if this is intentional by the author or not but I am convinced it is there. The evil that is conjured comes from underground but it had nothing to do with angels or Satan. The following quote is not only profound but I think it supports my thoughts that Beneath expresses the flimsy absurdity of religious faith: “Whatever a person believes doesn’t matter. Faith, Belief. Two ideas wrapped up into the reality of how far you’re willing to take it. Faith doesn’t matter. The ability to suspend doubt is so much more. We walk around this earth blind, Cora. And we lead other people around into that blindness. Some call it faith, and they fall in love with the blindness. Swear up and down there is no way out of the pit, and yet others lay claim to it, but they doubt, and they pretend. For too long I pretended.”
If you are a fan of any other Word Horde releases then don’t hesitate to pick up Beneath. Also, if you’re a fan of the current crop of weird horror authors such as Michael Griffin, Scott Nicolay, and SP Miskowski then Beneath maybe for you but I can also suggest it to authors of more transgressive horror such as CV Hunt and Jessica Mchugh. I will definitely be checking out DeMeester’s future work.
Initially, the story reminds me of Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects (which is my favorite Flynn by the way) when Cora, a reporter, is sent to the mountains of North Carolina from Atlanta to cover a snake-handling cult. After years of anguish related to a sexual assault by a pastor in her childhood, Cora has an aversion to churches and is reluctant to take the job. She is ultimately convinced to go and winds up arriving at the church around the same time a young girl is bitten by a snake during a rite of passage ritual. The church believes that if a member of the congregation is bitten, they have evil in their heart. In this case, the evil is far greater than they could’ve imagined. This is the point where the book really starts to take off and the reader is just along for the ride.
This appears to be DeMeester’s debut novel and she has come out the gate strong. I have read a couple of Demeester’s short stories and really enjoyed them. Those stories were the reason I was expecting more of a quiet, less pulpy horror novel focused more on atmosphere. Beneath has an apocalyptic atmosphere but the abundant amount of sex and violence transposed with the religious context is what kept it interesting for me. I have to say there does seem to be an underlying narrative that weeps religious angst. I don’t know if this is intentional by the author or not but I am convinced it is there. The evil that is conjured comes from underground but it had nothing to do with angels or Satan. The following quote is not only profound but I think it supports my thoughts that Beneath expresses the flimsy absurdity of religious faith: “Whatever a person believes doesn’t matter. Faith, Belief. Two ideas wrapped up into the reality of how far you’re willing to take it. Faith doesn’t matter. The ability to suspend doubt is so much more. We walk around this earth blind, Cora. And we lead other people around into that blindness. Some call it faith, and they fall in love with the blindness. Swear up and down there is no way out of the pit, and yet others lay claim to it, but they doubt, and they pretend. For too long I pretended.”
If you are a fan of any other Word Horde releases then don’t hesitate to pick up Beneath. Also, if you’re a fan of the current crop of weird horror authors such as Michael Griffin, Scott Nicolay, and SP Miskowski then Beneath maybe for you but I can also suggest it to authors of more transgressive horror such as CV Hunt and Jessica Mchugh. I will definitely be checking out DeMeester’s future work.
May 4, 2017
This was a pretty sleazy, but very entertaining, horror novel set in rural North Carolina concerning a disturbed snake-handling evangelical preacher, an equally disturbed sixteen year old girl who has a fixation on the preacher and a journalist doing a story on the preacher (who also has issues). Who doesn’t have issues in this unsettling novel? The first half was really great, setting the scene, loading up the atmosphere, building the characters, giving us the feel of the mountain etc. Whilst the second was not quite so strong – once the supernatural element which begins with the snake-handling enters the story it goes bats**t crazy and loses some of the momentum. The supernatural element of the novel began too early for me and the novel lost some of its early pacing. Sadly once this happens the teenage girl is pretty much sidelined as a character which was a shame, as she was great. The second half, which was heavy on the supernatural got pretty repetitive after a while. I would happily have enjoyed reading more about some of the minor characters, or more background about the church than the full frontal assault the author ends the book with that must have gone on for a hundred odd pages. Which was too long. Sleazy, but this was also an unsettling good read which I would be happy to recommend to horror fans. Funnily enough I was in Raleigh NC on holiday last month! Not far from where this novel was supposed to be set.....
August 28, 2021
Started out as a good small town horror fueled with religious fundamentalism, a main character with a lack of faith, and how religion can affect people when taken too far. The ending was a bit too large-scale for me and the use of certain past deeds by characters was way more than necessary and didn’t sit right in my mind. Overall, I am glad I read it, but probably will not be reading anything else by the author for at least a while.
September 22, 2018
Kristi DeMesster book Beneath was in three words: dirty, unsettling, and so intense I couldn't put it down. It was definitely a 4 but couldn't give it a 5 bcz it made me feel like my mind needed a hot cleansing shower...….
January 15, 2020
What did I just read? And why did I pay for it?
I was looking for recommendations on books to read if you’re a Stephen King fan, and this was one of them. The story wasn’t good; it was all over the place! Probably won’t read anything else by this author.
I was looking for recommendations on books to read if you’re a Stephen King fan, and this was one of them. The story wasn’t good; it was all over the place! Probably won’t read anything else by this author.
June 20, 2017
Unique and absolutely terrifying. A thrilling read. Full review to come.
February 28, 2021
Review soon on CDonline.com.
October 18, 2018
I had to have this novel based on DeMeester’s dark story collection, Everything That's Underneath, that is by turns disturbing and beautiful.
I wasn’t as impressed with Beneath as I wanted to be, but it is still a worthy horror debut that shows strong talent, a great imagination, and that the women of horror are here to make a name for themselves.
What I liked most about the novel was how many different types of horror it manages to weave into the narrative. There is the very real horror of sexual abuse and how that can impact a person emotionally and physically throughout their life. There is the horror of religion gone wrong, when beliefs become skewed toward something that was never intended. There is pure monster horror with gruesome description and cruelly inventive creatures. There is also great body horror, where it isn’t just the monsters outside, but the monsters inside that wreak havoc.
Those were my favorite scenes—the ones where the monsters and the humans were inextricable from one another. DeMeester has a definite skill for vivid and unearthly description of what is going on inside of people’s bodies. You can really feel it, and it is excellent writing and brilliant horror.
For me, the book dragged in the second half, and I had trouble understanding all of the decisions that the two main characters, Cora and Michael, made.
Rather than the characters making decisions that would direct the course of the narrative, it seemed like the narrative of this book was really the one in control. To me, that makes for a more amorphous, purposeless feeling narrative, which, while building on the dreamlike, ethereal quality of the writing (which I loved) left me feeling unanchored and waiting for something to grab hold of.
If you are a fan of strange monster stories, great writing, and body horror, this is a great book to pick up. I definitely recommend her short story collection too!
I wasn’t as impressed with Beneath as I wanted to be, but it is still a worthy horror debut that shows strong talent, a great imagination, and that the women of horror are here to make a name for themselves.
What I liked most about the novel was how many different types of horror it manages to weave into the narrative. There is the very real horror of sexual abuse and how that can impact a person emotionally and physically throughout their life. There is the horror of religion gone wrong, when beliefs become skewed toward something that was never intended. There is pure monster horror with gruesome description and cruelly inventive creatures. There is also great body horror, where it isn’t just the monsters outside, but the monsters inside that wreak havoc.
Those were my favorite scenes—the ones where the monsters and the humans were inextricable from one another. DeMeester has a definite skill for vivid and unearthly description of what is going on inside of people’s bodies. You can really feel it, and it is excellent writing and brilliant horror.
For me, the book dragged in the second half, and I had trouble understanding all of the decisions that the two main characters, Cora and Michael, made.
Rather than the characters making decisions that would direct the course of the narrative, it seemed like the narrative of this book was really the one in control. To me, that makes for a more amorphous, purposeless feeling narrative, which, while building on the dreamlike, ethereal quality of the writing (which I loved) left me feeling unanchored and waiting for something to grab hold of.
If you are a fan of strange monster stories, great writing, and body horror, this is a great book to pick up. I definitely recommend her short story collection too!
February 15, 2022
3 stars--I liked the book.
From the cover and description, I thought this was going to be about snake-handlers... and it kind of was, but in a cosmic-monster sense, not in a backwoods Christian sense. It was dark and devastating, but not what I was expecting--most of the book is a fever dream of horrific scenes.
From the cover and description, I thought this was going to be about snake-handlers... and it kind of was, but in a cosmic-monster sense, not in a backwoods Christian sense. It was dark and devastating, but not what I was expecting--most of the book is a fever dream of horrific scenes.
August 8, 2018
My introduction to DeMeester did NOT disappoint! This was a great book and irked me hardcore - full review to come!
August 7, 2020
2/3 of it was really good and then it just took a turn that did not work for me.
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