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Everything Is Beautiful and Nothing Bad Can Ever Happen Here
From the Nightscape Press Charitable Chapbooks line. One third of all sales of this chapbook will go to support the Southern Poverty Law Center! The Southern Poverty Law Center is dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of our society.
This is a ghost story. It has those that scratch at bedroom doors and tap at windows, wanting to be let in. It has those that haunt all of us, long after the others tire of the scratching. For some, doors are not enough.
Bea Holcombe loves her life in Fontaine Falls, a perfect little town tucked away in the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina. She has never thought to question that love until her next-door neighbor opens fire on a crowd of black demonstrators gathered in the city park to protest the town’s Confederate statue. Lester Neal has torn open an invisible wound in Fontaine Falls, and what festers inside of it will change Bea, her family, and the dimming mind of her mother forever.
As the national media descends and violence spreads, the town endures a conflict it is no longer insulated from. Bea is given a special sight so that she may witness how deep the rot has burrowed inside the postcard charm of Fontaine Falls. And she will be asked to turn the light of scrutiny and complicity upon herself as she is visited by horrors that won’t rest quietly. “This is a ghost story,” she tells us repeatedly. This unflinching, poetic novella is an examination of that claim—its layers of truth, of untruth, and the uneasy specters that inhabit modern America.
This is a ghost story. It has those that scratch at bedroom doors and tap at windows, wanting to be let in. It has those that haunt all of us, long after the others tire of the scratching. For some, doors are not enough.
Bea Holcombe loves her life in Fontaine Falls, a perfect little town tucked away in the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina. She has never thought to question that love until her next-door neighbor opens fire on a crowd of black demonstrators gathered in the city park to protest the town’s Confederate statue. Lester Neal has torn open an invisible wound in Fontaine Falls, and what festers inside of it will change Bea, her family, and the dimming mind of her mother forever.
As the national media descends and violence spreads, the town endures a conflict it is no longer insulated from. Bea is given a special sight so that she may witness how deep the rot has burrowed inside the postcard charm of Fontaine Falls. And she will be asked to turn the light of scrutiny and complicity upon herself as she is visited by horrors that won’t rest quietly. “This is a ghost story,” she tells us repeatedly. This unflinching, poetic novella is an examination of that claim—its layers of truth, of untruth, and the uneasy specters that inhabit modern America.
60 pages, Paperback
First published September 24, 2019
4 people are currently reading
558 people want to read
About the author
Michael Wehunt
46 books425 followersMICHAEL WEHUNT has been a finalist for multiple Shirley Jackson Awards and was shortlisted for the International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts' Crawford Award. In Spain, his stories have garnered nominations for the Premio Ignotus and Premio Amaltea, winning the latter. He haunts the woods outside Atlanta with his partner and their dog. Together, they hold the horrors at bay. Find him in the digital trees at www.michaelwehunt.com.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
May 17, 2020
Late at night, in the comfort of my cozy bed with my husband slightly snoring next to me, I read stories about werewolves, monsters or bad things happening to people when they’re camping. I can rest easy before sleep knowing I can leave all those made-up nightmares in the pages of the books on my nightstand (I don’t camp or go outdoors so, no real threat there).
For me, the most terrifying horror stories are the ones that hit close to home. The subject matter is a little too believable or probable.
“This could happen.”
Michael Wehunt’s novella is set in the fictional town Fontaine Falls, North Carolina. A resident named Bea Holcombe lives the American Dream—she and her husband are raising their family in a quaint, idyllic town in the perfect neighborhood. They attend church, they have friends, everything is great.
Except, as a big fan of Michael Wehunt’s storytelling, I already know something bad will definitely happen here. (See the title of this novella? Clue number one).
Here is where I’m going to ask you to trust your Mother Horror. First, I’m going to recommend you do not read other reviews of this novella until after you’ve finished. I’ve read a few and they spoil some readers’ discovery for you; this story is best if you go in totally blind. Which leads me to my next recommendation: I saw Michael Wehunt post a link to preorder this Charitable Chapbook and I didn’t even blink—nor did I read the synopsis. There are some authors who can put anything out and I will buy it. Wehunt is one of them. After reading the synopsis, I suggest saving that until after you read it as well. Again, trust me. Dive in with no knowledge of what you’re getting into.
My last push is for you to hurry up and get one of these before they’re gone. It’s thirty dollars which is a steep price for a chapbook but this is worth every penny and then some:
Charitable Chapbooks by Nightscape Press help authors use their writing to generate funds for charity. So buying this novella directly supports the charity Michael Wehunt chose: The Southern Poverty Law Center.
The cover of this book was designed by the instantly recognizable talent of Don Noble. The interior illustrations peppered throughout are by Luke Spooner, a name horror fans should already know, and let me say—those alone are worth the price of admission.
So all of those reasons are just heaping on the awesomeness because let me just say, this story is everything. It’s hard for me to say with words how pleasurable it is to navigate through a narrative as controlled and intentional as this one is—it’s as though Wehunt wears many hats, not just a writer, but also an architect who has carefully planned every detail. He’s like a psychologist who knows the human mind with all its twists and turns. He can wear the hats that so many of us wear; mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, citizens of the United States who feel helpless to combat this current political climate.
Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Bad Can Ever Happen Here resonated with me on an intimate, personal level. My hometown could be Fontaine Falls. “It’s the perfect place to grow up; raise a family; retire. It’s safe. It’s untainted by all the bad things that happen everywhere else.”
I lived there for forty years and it’s dangerous. It’s a bubble. It has the appearance of being “safe” but it’s a breeding ground for all the same ugliness that’s everywhere else, it’s just not as exposed. It’s buried deep and hidden in the hearts of the residents so that your neighbors can’t even see it.
“This is a ghost story” Bea Holcombe tells the reader. And it’s our ghost story. Michael Wehunt just gave it words so that it could haunt us forever, and I’m grateful for that.
December 4, 2019
My review of EVERYTHING IS BEAUTIFUL AND NOTHING BAD CAN EVER HAPPEN HERE can be found at High Fever Books.
Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Bad Can Ever Happen Here is a ghost story, and while it does feature a good dose of the supernatural it’s not that kind of ghost story. Forty-four-year-old Bea, a wife and mother of two, finds herself haunted by spectral horrors, but it’s the ghosts of the past rearing their ugly heads at the epicenter of Michael Wehunt’s charitable chapbook from Nightscape Press, made real once more by violent tragedy.
Fontaine Falls, a small town tucked away in the mountains, was once idyllic and peaceful. The Confederate statue in center of this small North Carolinian retreat was merely a monument to heritage, not hate, or so Bea thought until her neighbor, Lester Neal, opens fire with an assault rifle on a crowd of black protesters. It’s an act of violence that sparks further protests between alt-right white supremacists and the decent folks of Fontaine Falls, nonstop media coverage, and, on Bea’s part, a whole lot of soul searching about her place in the world and in this small town.
While Wehunt injects a supernatural component to this chapbook, the focus here is on history and the nature of race relations in America. It’s very much a story of the moment, fueled by today’s headlines and those of more recent years following the election of Donald Trump, which saw a surge in hate crimes and empowered white supremacists the world over, including a neo-Nazi march in Charlottesville, VA that lead to the death of Heather Heyer and, more recently, a terrorist attack on a mosque in New Zealand, which the shooter streamed on Facebook and praised Trump as “a symbol of renewed white identity.” And, of course, there’s the protests of Confederate statues throughout the South, which is central to Wehunt’s story and intertwined with the racist and hateful rhetoric of Make America Great Again propaganda. It probably won’t come as any surprise to readers that Neal is depicted as a right-wing Trump voter, and the act of violence he commits forces Bea to examine her place in the nation’s current state of affairs.
Through the fence separating their property, Bea is able to look in on the ghost of Neal and his very-much alive, and very much-pregnant, wife. In the late hours of the night and early morning, as more protests mount, she sees the ghosts clad in pointed white sheets. But the real ghosts are those of the past, one that is even closer to the present than most realize. It’s a past that Bea’s mother is slipping deeper into each day as dementia rots her mind and she reminisces about segregation and the days before civil rights. It’s those fabled days white people recall as a time when America was great, and who seek to unwind any of the progress made since and let hate rule.
As she watches her mother become a ghost, Bea must face her own haunted history and the complicity she carries through inaction. Her silence is consent, and she hides behind her family under the auspices of keeping them safe and innocent, but she also seeks to maintain her own naïveté — and will remain haunted and surrounded by her country’s awful past until she confronts it head on. It’s telling that although the white sheeted figures that appear to her are disturbing, they’re also relatively harmless to her. Her whiteness protects in so many different ways, and it’s only in the wake of an awful tragedy so very close to home that she begins to realize the depth of just how haunted she really is.
Wehunt does a marvelous job exploring the issues of race and complicity in a very slim chapbook. That he so truthfully explores these social issues head-on gives the story a strong narrative focus, underpinned with actual and metaphorical ghosts, each of which provide plenty of food for thought. In his introduction, he writes, “Some in America want to claim that white supremacy is a thing of the past, but it is too alive and active to be called a ghost. And though one spooky story can’t be a game-changer, it can make a difference.” To that end, published as part of Nightscape’s series of charitable chapbooks, one-third of all proceeds will go to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit group “dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of our society.”
Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Bad Can Ever Happen Here is limited to 250 signed and numbered copies and is available for purchase direct from Nightscape Press. An ebook edition is slated for release in March 2020 or shortly after the physical chapbook sells out.
Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Bad Can Ever Happen Here is a ghost story, and while it does feature a good dose of the supernatural it’s not that kind of ghost story. Forty-four-year-old Bea, a wife and mother of two, finds herself haunted by spectral horrors, but it’s the ghosts of the past rearing their ugly heads at the epicenter of Michael Wehunt’s charitable chapbook from Nightscape Press, made real once more by violent tragedy.
Fontaine Falls, a small town tucked away in the mountains, was once idyllic and peaceful. The Confederate statue in center of this small North Carolinian retreat was merely a monument to heritage, not hate, or so Bea thought until her neighbor, Lester Neal, opens fire with an assault rifle on a crowd of black protesters. It’s an act of violence that sparks further protests between alt-right white supremacists and the decent folks of Fontaine Falls, nonstop media coverage, and, on Bea’s part, a whole lot of soul searching about her place in the world and in this small town.
While Wehunt injects a supernatural component to this chapbook, the focus here is on history and the nature of race relations in America. It’s very much a story of the moment, fueled by today’s headlines and those of more recent years following the election of Donald Trump, which saw a surge in hate crimes and empowered white supremacists the world over, including a neo-Nazi march in Charlottesville, VA that lead to the death of Heather Heyer and, more recently, a terrorist attack on a mosque in New Zealand, which the shooter streamed on Facebook and praised Trump as “a symbol of renewed white identity.” And, of course, there’s the protests of Confederate statues throughout the South, which is central to Wehunt’s story and intertwined with the racist and hateful rhetoric of Make America Great Again propaganda. It probably won’t come as any surprise to readers that Neal is depicted as a right-wing Trump voter, and the act of violence he commits forces Bea to examine her place in the nation’s current state of affairs.
Through the fence separating their property, Bea is able to look in on the ghost of Neal and his very-much alive, and very much-pregnant, wife. In the late hours of the night and early morning, as more protests mount, she sees the ghosts clad in pointed white sheets. But the real ghosts are those of the past, one that is even closer to the present than most realize. It’s a past that Bea’s mother is slipping deeper into each day as dementia rots her mind and she reminisces about segregation and the days before civil rights. It’s those fabled days white people recall as a time when America was great, and who seek to unwind any of the progress made since and let hate rule.
As she watches her mother become a ghost, Bea must face her own haunted history and the complicity she carries through inaction. Her silence is consent, and she hides behind her family under the auspices of keeping them safe and innocent, but she also seeks to maintain her own naïveté — and will remain haunted and surrounded by her country’s awful past until she confronts it head on. It’s telling that although the white sheeted figures that appear to her are disturbing, they’re also relatively harmless to her. Her whiteness protects in so many different ways, and it’s only in the wake of an awful tragedy so very close to home that she begins to realize the depth of just how haunted she really is.
Wehunt does a marvelous job exploring the issues of race and complicity in a very slim chapbook. That he so truthfully explores these social issues head-on gives the story a strong narrative focus, underpinned with actual and metaphorical ghosts, each of which provide plenty of food for thought. In his introduction, he writes, “Some in America want to claim that white supremacy is a thing of the past, but it is too alive and active to be called a ghost. And though one spooky story can’t be a game-changer, it can make a difference.” To that end, published as part of Nightscape’s series of charitable chapbooks, one-third of all proceeds will go to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit group “dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of our society.”
Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Bad Can Ever Happen Here is limited to 250 signed and numbered copies and is available for purchase direct from Nightscape Press. An ebook edition is slated for release in March 2020 or shortly after the physical chapbook sells out.
November 21, 2019
** Edited as review is now live on Kendall Reviews! **
“It would leave the town in muted and blessed darkness.”
Michael Wehunt returns with a devastating novella that is unfortunately all too topical. I loved his collection ‘Greener Pastures’ and when I saw him announce a follow-up release, I was beyond excited. Wehunt is a super technical writer that is incredibly accessible to read. It makes for such a pleasant experience knowing you’re being immersed in such beauty but able to follow along and comprehend every little nuance.
‘Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Bad Can Ever Happen Here,’ was released in conjunction with Nightscape Press Charitable Chapbooks line, which means a portion of all proceeds will be going to the Southern Poverty Law Center. The SPLC is dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of our society.
That last line really is key to the narrative that runs throughout ‘Everything…’
The story is haunting, unsettling and visceral. The closest thing I’ve come to reading something similar was ‘Revolver’ by Michael Patrick Hicks.
We are introduced to a small town; low population, everyone knows everyone and for the most part, people don’t lock their doors at night. But the waves of change have reached even small-town America. A seemingly peaceful event is happening and then, as is all too frequent in the news – shots ring out.
From there Wehunt gives us an amazing look into the ghosts that live inside some people, but also, how as much as we want to think we know our family, at times they too can feel like strangers.
I read this in one sitting and found my emotions fluctuated from paragraph to paragraph, page to page. We live in troubling times, often caught between speaking up about wrongs or keeping the peace when it comes to family.
Much like ‘Revolver’ with Hicks, I see this release being fairly polarizing to some in the horror world. Often times we see reviews or comments wishing that writers leave politics out of their work – but much like music and poetry, writing often shines during times of political unrest and deep hurt within the population. I think Wehunt created a perfect time capsule of what we’re experiencing now, but also a timeless piece – this could be from the 50’s, 60’s 70’s or any other decade leading up to present day.
This is an absolute must-read – ticking off all of the boxes that Wehunt is known for, but also that horror embraces. You’ll feel this book for a long time after reading it. I finished this last night and some of the more traditional horror moments visited me in my dreams, something that very rarely happens.
“It would leave the town in muted and blessed darkness.”
Michael Wehunt returns with a devastating novella that is unfortunately all too topical. I loved his collection ‘Greener Pastures’ and when I saw him announce a follow-up release, I was beyond excited. Wehunt is a super technical writer that is incredibly accessible to read. It makes for such a pleasant experience knowing you’re being immersed in such beauty but able to follow along and comprehend every little nuance.
‘Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Bad Can Ever Happen Here,’ was released in conjunction with Nightscape Press Charitable Chapbooks line, which means a portion of all proceeds will be going to the Southern Poverty Law Center. The SPLC is dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of our society.
That last line really is key to the narrative that runs throughout ‘Everything…’
The story is haunting, unsettling and visceral. The closest thing I’ve come to reading something similar was ‘Revolver’ by Michael Patrick Hicks.
We are introduced to a small town; low population, everyone knows everyone and for the most part, people don’t lock their doors at night. But the waves of change have reached even small-town America. A seemingly peaceful event is happening and then, as is all too frequent in the news – shots ring out.
From there Wehunt gives us an amazing look into the ghosts that live inside some people, but also, how as much as we want to think we know our family, at times they too can feel like strangers.
I read this in one sitting and found my emotions fluctuated from paragraph to paragraph, page to page. We live in troubling times, often caught between speaking up about wrongs or keeping the peace when it comes to family.
Much like ‘Revolver’ with Hicks, I see this release being fairly polarizing to some in the horror world. Often times we see reviews or comments wishing that writers leave politics out of their work – but much like music and poetry, writing often shines during times of political unrest and deep hurt within the population. I think Wehunt created a perfect time capsule of what we’re experiencing now, but also a timeless piece – this could be from the 50’s, 60’s 70’s or any other decade leading up to present day.
This is an absolute must-read – ticking off all of the boxes that Wehunt is known for, but also that horror embraces. You’ll feel this book for a long time after reading it. I finished this last night and some of the more traditional horror moments visited me in my dreams, something that very rarely happens.
December 3, 2019
One resident of Fontaine Falls, North Carolina, in a perplexing window of living with new knowledge of neighbor bringing insight and deep reflection on humanity and tragedy with this somber ghost story on things people hide with hate involved.
That old fierce hate and rage shows itself in the narrative of one short lucid nightmare with letters, nouns, verbs, and characters, death is calling and one small heroism.
Publisher and author giving thanks to denizens of this earth paying forward with kindness and charity making a difference with this chapbook.
That old fierce hate and rage shows itself in the narrative of one short lucid nightmare with letters, nouns, verbs, and characters, death is calling and one small heroism.
Publisher and author giving thanks to denizens of this earth paying forward with kindness and charity making a difference with this chapbook.
January 6, 2020
I thought I could read this novella slowly, really make it last, because the descriptive writing was so beautiful I kept stopping to re-read sentences. Then as the story picked up, I was afraid for Bea—or more accurately, for what she would find out and what it would say about her and those near her—and I couldn't stop reading. This is a fast read, but not an easy one. Highly recommended.
August 22, 2020
The idea of using high quality, limited editions of work by some of the most exciting voices in horror and weird fiction to raise money and awareness for good causes began in May 2018 when Nightscape released their first, Jon Padgett’s The Broker of Nightmares, which quickly sold out. The idea is simple: a third of all sales from each book will go to a charity selected by the author. Not only does the reader have the choice of owning a limited-edition physical copy (ebook editions are also available) of a story from one of their favourite authors, they also have the opportunity to donate to a cause that is close to the author’s heart. In Michael Wehunt’s case, this is the Southern Poverty Law Center which, from their own mission statement, “is dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of our society. Using litigation, education, and other forms of advocacy, the SPLC works towards the day when the ideals of equal justice and equal opportunity will be a reality”. It is sad that such an organisation must exist, but the reasons for its existence have become front-page news in recent years and should not be ignored.
“Equality” is a theme central to Everything Is Beautiful … as Wehunt explores the simmering tension of race relations in America. Using the fictional town of Fontaine Falls, he describes, through the eyes of white, middle-class wife and mother of two Bea Holcombe, the fall-out after a protest against a statue of a confederate governor (in this case, real-life North Carolina Governor, and Confederate military officer Zebulon Vance). In a time where such things are at the forefront of life in America, the story unfolds as a small group of liberal demonstrators who see such monuments as glorifying a philosophy of intolerance and hatred (indeed, as a child, Vance’s family owned eighteen slaves), are targeted by a lone gunman. The whole event shatters Bea’s wholesome image of her small hometown. Something she has only seen in news reports and has only thought of as something that happens elsewhere, but never in Fontaine Falls, invades her life and opens her eyes.
As more details are revealed about the attack, Bea is horrified to discover that the hatred was closer to home than she would ever have imagined as the gunman is revealed to be a neighbour of the Holcombe’s. Her reaction is one no doubt shared by most people privileged to live in a world untouched by such violence who is suddenly and traumatically exposed to it – she is horrified, but curious. She needs to understand how someone with such terrible beliefs could be in her outer circle of acquaintances without her realising. Given the proximity of their homes, she has a unique opportunity to investigate but, in true Michael Wehunt style, the story takes a weird and sinister turn.
No matter how weird the story gets, the depth of the central theme is never lost on the reader. Wehunt uses the genre element to add even more tension to the story, keeping us gripped as Bea’s curiosity results in some terrible personal revelations, as well as some supernatural encounters. But, despite the otherworldly strangeness, the main issue prevails and we see Bea discover a great deal about her own beliefs and how they relate to the bigger picture in American society. Thanks to the talent of a gifted storyteller, it is easy for the reader to relate to the main character’s journey, from her sheltered beginning to the final, difficult revelation. Wehunt holds a mirror up to a modern America which, despite making some progress, still finds itself haunted by a poisonous past and struggling to break free. However, it is clear from this wonderful book that there is still hope for a more inclusive future of equality, as long as we continue to educate ourselves and progressive publishers continue to give voice to gifted authors like Michael Wehunt.
“Equality” is a theme central to Everything Is Beautiful … as Wehunt explores the simmering tension of race relations in America. Using the fictional town of Fontaine Falls, he describes, through the eyes of white, middle-class wife and mother of two Bea Holcombe, the fall-out after a protest against a statue of a confederate governor (in this case, real-life North Carolina Governor, and Confederate military officer Zebulon Vance). In a time where such things are at the forefront of life in America, the story unfolds as a small group of liberal demonstrators who see such monuments as glorifying a philosophy of intolerance and hatred (indeed, as a child, Vance’s family owned eighteen slaves), are targeted by a lone gunman. The whole event shatters Bea’s wholesome image of her small hometown. Something she has only seen in news reports and has only thought of as something that happens elsewhere, but never in Fontaine Falls, invades her life and opens her eyes.
As more details are revealed about the attack, Bea is horrified to discover that the hatred was closer to home than she would ever have imagined as the gunman is revealed to be a neighbour of the Holcombe’s. Her reaction is one no doubt shared by most people privileged to live in a world untouched by such violence who is suddenly and traumatically exposed to it – she is horrified, but curious. She needs to understand how someone with such terrible beliefs could be in her outer circle of acquaintances without her realising. Given the proximity of their homes, she has a unique opportunity to investigate but, in true Michael Wehunt style, the story takes a weird and sinister turn.
No matter how weird the story gets, the depth of the central theme is never lost on the reader. Wehunt uses the genre element to add even more tension to the story, keeping us gripped as Bea’s curiosity results in some terrible personal revelations, as well as some supernatural encounters. But, despite the otherworldly strangeness, the main issue prevails and we see Bea discover a great deal about her own beliefs and how they relate to the bigger picture in American society. Thanks to the talent of a gifted storyteller, it is easy for the reader to relate to the main character’s journey, from her sheltered beginning to the final, difficult revelation. Wehunt holds a mirror up to a modern America which, despite making some progress, still finds itself haunted by a poisonous past and struggling to break free. However, it is clear from this wonderful book that there is still hope for a more inclusive future of equality, as long as we continue to educate ourselves and progressive publishers continue to give voice to gifted authors like Michael Wehunt.
December 12, 2019
This is a gorgeous, nightmarish tale of secrets, rage and guilt. The story took me on a journey, surprising and frightening me along the way. The fictional tragic event could be ripped from the headlines, reflecting today's turbulent society. Bea is a passive white woman who believes in the safety of her idyllic neighbourhood and of maintaining the status quo even at the expense of others. The buildup of Bea's increasing self-awareness is beautifully written. While I started off disliking her, I thought her character growth is profound and realistic.
The phrase "This is a ghost story" is repeated throughout the book because the horrors don't just come from depictions of real life. Ghosts start appearing to Bea, silent and yearning. The way they are described is incredibly vivid and unnerving. I couldn’t read this at night! This haunting of Bea is intertwined with the events in her life. Because this is a ghost story, even if some ghosts aren’t dead. Sometimes the ghosts are the ones still living.
This book brings up difficult, important questions about race, privilege and complicity. It's the kind of ghost story where the haunting comes not just from the ghosts but from a life allowed to live unchallenged. Can a person be haunted by their own life? Perhaps this story might even haunt you. Highly recommended, and as a bonus 1/3 of proceeds go to a good cause.
book blog | twitter | instagram
The phrase "This is a ghost story" is repeated throughout the book because the horrors don't just come from depictions of real life. Ghosts start appearing to Bea, silent and yearning. The way they are described is incredibly vivid and unnerving. I couldn’t read this at night! This haunting of Bea is intertwined with the events in her life. Because this is a ghost story, even if some ghosts aren’t dead. Sometimes the ghosts are the ones still living.
This book brings up difficult, important questions about race, privilege and complicity. It's the kind of ghost story where the haunting comes not just from the ghosts but from a life allowed to live unchallenged. Can a person be haunted by their own life? Perhaps this story might even haunt you. Highly recommended, and as a bonus 1/3 of proceeds go to a good cause.
book blog | twitter | instagram
November 20, 2019
Whenever a white author wants to talk about racism in their story, I get a little anxious. Not because I believe a white author shouldn’t write a story about racism. It’s because, when they do, the story rings hollow. Too often, stories about racism from white authors offer too many platitudes that simply are not true.
Like the idea that racists are simply ignorant people too stuffed up with hate, uneducated country boys and girls that need to be educated. Or maybe, the story will feature a well-meaning white savior who needs the help of an incredibly capable sidekick of color to get to the bottom of things in a small town. Worse yet, they’ll make the racist in the story so divorced from reality and believability that the white readers that need the story the most will never believe that they could be anything like them.
Michael Wehunt’s novella, thankfully, doesn’t really have these problems.
Read the rest of the review here.
Like the idea that racists are simply ignorant people too stuffed up with hate, uneducated country boys and girls that need to be educated. Or maybe, the story will feature a well-meaning white savior who needs the help of an incredibly capable sidekick of color to get to the bottom of things in a small town. Worse yet, they’ll make the racist in the story so divorced from reality and believability that the white readers that need the story the most will never believe that they could be anything like them.
Michael Wehunt’s novella, thankfully, doesn’t really have these problems.
Read the rest of the review here.
September 29, 2023
This is one of those stories playing out as horror, being, however, a social commentary on our time. Although this doesn't usually work very well as horror, Michael Wehunt's talent saves the day and offers a much needed, literally urgent wake up call that's also a riveting ghost story, masterfully plotted and skilfully narrated. The story is about race, not simply the injustices when discrimination is perpetrated on the basis of it, but the utter madness it produces that ends up with fatalities. There are no platitudes here; on the contrary, Wehunt's tale is full of subtlety, indirectness, and blends family issues with ideological ones in a way that's simultaneously sad and passionate. "You are complicit in this" is the message, and it doesn't take a genius to see that Wehunt's ghosts address the reader as well as the mother and wife of the story, in ways that are mysterious and unresolved, yet impactful. Highly recommended!
July 19, 2022
A chilling and haunting exploration of racism. This short novella involves a small southern town that is perfect on the surface but hides long seething racial tensions. When a local white supremacist shoots school children in a park, the town becomes a flashpoint for protest and reveals the ugly nature of its formerly placid residents. The story itself is told intimately through the eyes of a woman, Bea, who lived next door from the killer and is haunted both by him and the violent faceless racists out of the town’s history. Little by little, the horror here is revealed to be Bea’s dread of facing the truth of her perfect town, her family, and herself. Wehunt manages to deliver this in a manner that is never preachy and so deeply personal that despite its brevity, this book will stay with me for a very long time.
March 11, 2024
Bea is haunted, in the way so many of us are haunted. By our choices, regrets, the things we don't see, and the things we choose not to see.
Confronted with proof that her husband helped orchestrate a racially motivated terrorist attack, Bea's world is torn apart. Everything she thought she knew about her supposedly safe, comfortable life has been taken from her. And it would be easy to judge her for not fleeing, or turning him into the police herself. But like many women, Bea is trapped in her marriage by finances, children, and familiarity. She has little choice but to live with the ghosts who won't free her until she frees herself. This novella broke my heart for every Bea that any of us have ever known or been related to.
Confronted with proof that her husband helped orchestrate a racially motivated terrorist attack, Bea's world is torn apart. Everything she thought she knew about her supposedly safe, comfortable life has been taken from her. And it would be easy to judge her for not fleeing, or turning him into the police herself. But like many women, Bea is trapped in her marriage by finances, children, and familiarity. She has little choice but to live with the ghosts who won't free her until she frees herself. This novella broke my heart for every Bea that any of us have ever known or been related to.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 14, 2019
I preordered this signed Charitable Chapbook as soon as I was able, Michael is a talented author and passionate about current events. The mechanics of the ghost-y parts of the story were too simple, but the parts that mattered (e.g., relationships, tension) were perfectly plotted and navigated. While this is obviously a commentary on our times, any solutions offered here are unclear. The main thrust is a wake up call: this is happening in your sphere of influence, so what are you doing about it?
June 22, 2020
As I read this beautifully written and oh so creepy story I kept having to remind myself that it was written months ago. It is a story perhaps more pertinent today than when it was first conceived. That it could be torn from today's headlines is both sad and hopeful. Sad because we still have a long way to go but hopeful because I believe things may finally be changing. As a teenager in the 60s I also felt things were changing and indeed many did. Still, as the story reminds us, it is hard to eradicate centuries of injustice, the past is just a moment of passion away. The ghosts of yesterday will never rest while there are minds to haunt.
November 29, 2019
The subject-matter of the novella, ‘Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Bad can ever Happen Here,’ written elegantly and with perception by Michael Wehunt, is not something many writers would attempt to engage with these days. The story centres around Bea Holcombe, a quietly-spoken Christian woman living in the small town of Fontaine Falls, who embarks upon a terrible journey of discovery, assisted by a band of gruesome, yet somehow pathetic phantoms. What Bea finds out, leaves her conflicted as the horrors she can both physically see and those she comes to understand, unfold before her.
The crucial scenes take place on the other side of the fence dividing the Holcombe property from the next-door neighbour, and Bea, in her quest to understand, is frequently drawn to that fence. As a consequence, she comes to grasp the reality of what one aspect of the small and pleasant town is really like, and she is compelled to look closely at the lives of those around her, and in the end, at her very own. As the darkness in Fontaine Falls is revealed, she attempts to do the right thing, but seems scarcely to know what that really is, and in that context, the phrase, ‘I’m sure she’s here as part of the concerned community,’ stands out vividly from the page.
A final shock awaits her, and what is revealed is something she tries in vain to fight against. At the same time, she must accept the idea that she is also complicit in the darkness, and she hopes that her children’s eyes will be ‘… open and looking at the world.’ The ending to this grim, yet rather tender and sad tale — while many readers might wish it had been different— is brave in its attempt at realism.
The crucial scenes take place on the other side of the fence dividing the Holcombe property from the next-door neighbour, and Bea, in her quest to understand, is frequently drawn to that fence. As a consequence, she comes to grasp the reality of what one aspect of the small and pleasant town is really like, and she is compelled to look closely at the lives of those around her, and in the end, at her very own. As the darkness in Fontaine Falls is revealed, she attempts to do the right thing, but seems scarcely to know what that really is, and in that context, the phrase, ‘I’m sure she’s here as part of the concerned community,’ stands out vividly from the page.
A final shock awaits her, and what is revealed is something she tries in vain to fight against. At the same time, she must accept the idea that she is also complicit in the darkness, and she hopes that her children’s eyes will be ‘… open and looking at the world.’ The ending to this grim, yet rather tender and sad tale — while many readers might wish it had been different— is brave in its attempt at realism.
December 26, 2019
As timely a tale as one could hope for with the current climate of hate and fear-mongering plaguing America (and much of the world...). The guilt of being complicit in hate given shape in the form of a domestic haunting here is nothing short of breathtaking. This is a story that will stay with you for a while.
July 17, 2020
I think it's understood that all criticism is colored and informed by the critic's experience. It's a given, but not something we often think about when perusing the reviews here on Goodreads or anywhere else. But this book is a special case and I think requires a preface of sorts; an acknowledgement of something I like to forget in my day-to-day life.
I grew up in Texas in the 70s and 80s. My high school had a Confederate flag in its insignia. Its mascot was "The Colonel," a literal soldier wearing the grey uniform of the Confederacy. I graduated in 1989. The last day of school my senior year, the NAACP and the KKK were both marching at my school because a black male cheerleader was carrying the rebel flag on the field at football games. I like to think it wasn't that long ago. I mean, even when I was a student there, some of my friends and I thought it was weird the school would so proudly fly the stars and bars. But it was just part of the cultural ambiance. A given. We thought it was weird, but we were also the outsiders. We were the freaks and geeks who were laughed at in the best of times, beat up in the worst. Every now and then, that time and place I like to forget about comes back to haunt me in strange ways. And it is through that lens that I read Everything Is Beautiful and Nothing Bad Can Ever Happen Here.
I think it's precisely why I've had a really hard time thinking of things to say that could possibly do justice to the magic contained in this tiny wisp of a novella. I don't want to be too precious about it, but I think it's fair to say that this is THE horror story of the moment. "This is a ghost story," the narrator, Bea, lets the reader know right away. But long after finishing this book, it's not the ghosts that are haunting me.
If you've read Wehunt's short story collection, Greener Pastures, then you know he's a lovely, lyrical prose artist. You also know that he doesn't flinch from the horror. But I think the thing that makes Wehunt's writing so special is the depth of heart, the kindness that you feel emanating from his words even as he takes you down dark paths. And here, in this very special little book, man does his kindness shine through even as he pulls your heart out and points to your complicity in the grand scheme of things.
I know that right now, this is only available as a limited edition chapbook (which part of the proceeds go to the Southern Poverty Law Center, so you're also doing a good deed when you buy it,) but I do hope that it will become more widely available. It's a thing of beauty, even if the subject matter is incredibly ugly.
I won't say anything else about it except that the illustrations and the cover art only add to the attractiveness of the package. It's a work of art and a labor of love and it will change you. I have no doubt that this will be on my "best reads of 2020" list. I feel like it may even sit comfortably on my best reads ever shelf. The romantic in me likes to think the world can be changed by a story. If that is a thing that could happen, I would wish very much for this to be the one. It might not be the horror story America wants, but it sure is the one we deserve.
I grew up in Texas in the 70s and 80s. My high school had a Confederate flag in its insignia. Its mascot was "The Colonel," a literal soldier wearing the grey uniform of the Confederacy. I graduated in 1989. The last day of school my senior year, the NAACP and the KKK were both marching at my school because a black male cheerleader was carrying the rebel flag on the field at football games. I like to think it wasn't that long ago. I mean, even when I was a student there, some of my friends and I thought it was weird the school would so proudly fly the stars and bars. But it was just part of the cultural ambiance. A given. We thought it was weird, but we were also the outsiders. We were the freaks and geeks who were laughed at in the best of times, beat up in the worst. Every now and then, that time and place I like to forget about comes back to haunt me in strange ways. And it is through that lens that I read Everything Is Beautiful and Nothing Bad Can Ever Happen Here.
I think it's precisely why I've had a really hard time thinking of things to say that could possibly do justice to the magic contained in this tiny wisp of a novella. I don't want to be too precious about it, but I think it's fair to say that this is THE horror story of the moment. "This is a ghost story," the narrator, Bea, lets the reader know right away. But long after finishing this book, it's not the ghosts that are haunting me.
If you've read Wehunt's short story collection, Greener Pastures, then you know he's a lovely, lyrical prose artist. You also know that he doesn't flinch from the horror. But I think the thing that makes Wehunt's writing so special is the depth of heart, the kindness that you feel emanating from his words even as he takes you down dark paths. And here, in this very special little book, man does his kindness shine through even as he pulls your heart out and points to your complicity in the grand scheme of things.
I know that right now, this is only available as a limited edition chapbook (which part of the proceeds go to the Southern Poverty Law Center, so you're also doing a good deed when you buy it,) but I do hope that it will become more widely available. It's a thing of beauty, even if the subject matter is incredibly ugly.
I won't say anything else about it except that the illustrations and the cover art only add to the attractiveness of the package. It's a work of art and a labor of love and it will change you. I have no doubt that this will be on my "best reads of 2020" list. I feel like it may even sit comfortably on my best reads ever shelf. The romantic in me likes to think the world can be changed by a story. If that is a thing that could happen, I would wish very much for this to be the one. It might not be the horror story America wants, but it sure is the one we deserve.
January 6, 2020
"Wouldn't an evil like that burn brightly enough for those of us around it to notice while there was still time?"
The first thing I thought upon holding this slim book in my hands is what an incredibly beautiful thing it is. Nightscape Press has put out an excellent edition of this compelling novella by rising horror author Michael Wehunt. The illustrations by Luke Spooner are haunting and terrifying work. (I'm slightly disappointed I had to look up the illustrator's name on the publisher's website because there wasn't a single mention of his name in the book.)
The story itself does a nice job of examining racism set aflame during a protest over a Confederate statue in a small North Carolina town. As usual with Wehunt's work, the prose here is generally evocative. There's no shortage of nicely-turned phrases.
What's truly great here is how Wehunt paints a convincing portrait of several different flavors of racism--from the violent racism of the Klan and Neo-Nazis to the denial of passive racists, bothered whenever they're forced to attend to something they feel might not exist if people would simply avoid talking about it. The protagonist of the story, Bea Holcombe, is forced to confront her own complicity in the intolerance around her, and her response to it feels accurately drawn, at least to me. I appreciate the ambiguity in the ending Wehunt has chosen.
I'm a bit less sold on the more supernatural elements at work in this story. As they are, they're a bit too easy and simplistic, and they often serve to provide easy exposition in a somewhat under-dramatized fashion. I wonder if there might have been a way to put them all to stranger use. Even so, I'm happy at least that here is a great example of horror examining the terrifying corners of life in a way that doesn't feel born of standard and archaic fears. This book uses horror to address the truly scary things at work in the world around us all. Genre elements can serve to heighten emotions rather than obscure them, and that's the case here, I think.
Overall, a beautiful and haunting work that feels timely and resonant.
The first thing I thought upon holding this slim book in my hands is what an incredibly beautiful thing it is. Nightscape Press has put out an excellent edition of this compelling novella by rising horror author Michael Wehunt. The illustrations by Luke Spooner are haunting and terrifying work. (I'm slightly disappointed I had to look up the illustrator's name on the publisher's website because there wasn't a single mention of his name in the book.)
The story itself does a nice job of examining racism set aflame during a protest over a Confederate statue in a small North Carolina town. As usual with Wehunt's work, the prose here is generally evocative. There's no shortage of nicely-turned phrases.
What's truly great here is how Wehunt paints a convincing portrait of several different flavors of racism--from the violent racism of the Klan and Neo-Nazis to the denial of passive racists, bothered whenever they're forced to attend to something they feel might not exist if people would simply avoid talking about it. The protagonist of the story, Bea Holcombe, is forced to confront her own complicity in the intolerance around her, and her response to it feels accurately drawn, at least to me. I appreciate the ambiguity in the ending Wehunt has chosen.
I'm a bit less sold on the more supernatural elements at work in this story. As they are, they're a bit too easy and simplistic, and they often serve to provide easy exposition in a somewhat under-dramatized fashion. I wonder if there might have been a way to put them all to stranger use. Even so, I'm happy at least that here is a great example of horror examining the terrifying corners of life in a way that doesn't feel born of standard and archaic fears. This book uses horror to address the truly scary things at work in the world around us all. Genre elements can serve to heighten emotions rather than obscure them, and that's the case here, I think.
Overall, a beautiful and haunting work that feels timely and resonant.
November 21, 2025
Scouring the internet for anything by Michael Wehunt, I came across this Charitable Chapbook which I purchased for my Kindle. The purchase claims to have a portion of the proceeds going towards the Southern Poverty Law Center, which is a wonderful cause as well.
The pictures that go with each chapter are beautiful in this novelette. The story is heavy with the ache and disturbances of our current North American political climate, especially in relation to the US. Like most of Michael Wehunt's stories, this one has the personal touches of grief, loss, and guilt that he writes so poignantly. This story reminds me of the Plato quote, "The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men," and how dangerous passive indifference of the privileged can be. The story also delves into the topic of dementia and what remains in a mind undergoing that type of transformation. The part that stuck with me most read, "...the thought of the worst parts of her having the strongest grip until they were all that remained, it was too much."
Make no mistake, these 60 pages pack a punch. My takeaway from it is to try my best to be a good person, stand up for what's right, see the humanity in all people around me... and hope that if dementia lurks in my future, I should be so lucky as to hold onto the best parts of myself.
The pictures that go with each chapter are beautiful in this novelette. The story is heavy with the ache and disturbances of our current North American political climate, especially in relation to the US. Like most of Michael Wehunt's stories, this one has the personal touches of grief, loss, and guilt that he writes so poignantly. This story reminds me of the Plato quote, "The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men," and how dangerous passive indifference of the privileged can be. The story also delves into the topic of dementia and what remains in a mind undergoing that type of transformation. The part that stuck with me most read, "...the thought of the worst parts of her having the strongest grip until they were all that remained, it was too much."
Make no mistake, these 60 pages pack a punch. My takeaway from it is to try my best to be a good person, stand up for what's right, see the humanity in all people around me... and hope that if dementia lurks in my future, I should be so lucky as to hold onto the best parts of myself.
September 2, 2020
Modern master of Southern Gothic Michael Wehunt presents in this novella a staggeringly relevant tale of racial prejudices and violence in the South, a reflection of America that is too accurate. He reflects on the unanswerable conundrum that many of us face when we see the people turned to monsters who commit grievous acts of injustice, and how they can seem so benign, but Wehunt holds up a grimy mirror that unflinchingly captures a hideous portrait. And just when you think the circumstances can't get any worse or more painful, they do, but that's the power of fiction that makes an impact and hits a nerve. It's one thing to view a horrific event with a sense of distance, and not knowing the perpetrator, but when it's someone you have known it's something I can't describe. I've had a few incidents like that in my family, and it's a crawling feeling that doesn't ever really go away. You don't really know true terror until you've read a Michael Wehunt piece, and this book is no exception. I urge folks to buy copies, which are still available through the Charitable Chapbook line of Nightscape Press. Ten dollars from each sale of this chapbook will go to the Southern Poverty Law Center (and once sold out, a total of $2,500 will be donated to this charity.)
July 29, 2020
I'm sharing this post from author Michael Wehunt and his book "Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Bad Can Ever Happen Here." Though he comments the $30 is pricey for a Novella, a portion of the proceeds go to The Southern Poverty Law Center. Sadly, all 250 copies have to be sold for that to happen. I'm extending the plea in his honor because I FINALLY have read the book, sorry Michael!! And, it's a great book to begin the process of opening your eyes to a slit of light to start to see the shadow of your own complicity. Michael writes in the horror genre and the horror of our own shadows is revealed in this book. The shadow of racism lies deep in our nation. And it lies EVERYWHERE. And in all of us. Thank you Michael.
https://michaelwehunt.com/2020/05/17/...
https://michaelwehunt.com/2020/05/17/...
August 17, 2023
First thing you should know is to go into this blind. I think it makes for a much better reading experience. Second thing is to stick with it. I started getting apprehensive and concerned because it seemed the subject matter was going opposite of my own views (as a liberal). But it all comes together.
This is eerie but impactful. I think it says a lot in very few words and is an important read, especially if you benefit from any sort of privilege. A very quick read that you can easily finish in one setting.
This is eerie but impactful. I think it says a lot in very few words and is an important read, especially if you benefit from any sort of privilege. A very quick read that you can easily finish in one setting.
June 17, 2020
"Blindness when one can see is another kind of ghost."
I purchased a copy of this story from Charitable Chapbooks by Nightscape Press and what a treat. The book is self is lovely and the artwork to go with it is simply wonderful.
I enjoyed the story and the writing was poetic almost. A quick read that is worth your time.
I purchased a copy of this story from Charitable Chapbooks by Nightscape Press and what a treat. The book is self is lovely and the artwork to go with it is simply wonderful.
I enjoyed the story and the writing was poetic almost. A quick read that is worth your time.
February 20, 2021
Michael Wehunt has written an excellent little novel about racism in not only America, but the world. The horror elements didn't scare my completely, but the tone did creep me out.
It left me thinking about my own complicitness, and how often racism can foster and grow. Even out of sight, it still exists, and can be found much closer to home than we'd like.
It left me thinking about my own complicitness, and how often racism can foster and grow. Even out of sight, it still exists, and can be found much closer to home than we'd like.
December 23, 2019
Review coming
August 21, 2020
A beautifully written, timely story.
December 28, 2020
This was so well written. This was a great dive into continuing racial issues and complicitness written as a ghost story. I loved it. Highly highly recommend.
August 28, 2020
This was chilling.
It captures not only the pain of senseless violence, but the fear that we don't know the people close to us as well as we believe we do.
It was short, sweet, and may hit too close to home for anyone who dares to read it.
It captures not only the pain of senseless violence, but the fear that we don't know the people close to us as well as we believe we do.
It was short, sweet, and may hit too close to home for anyone who dares to read it.
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