The Thing In The Basement: Generational And Societal Trauma

Recently, fellow horror author Grace Anderson allowed me to be a test reader for her book. Thank you again, Grace. As the title of this article implies, a big theme is how expectation and trauma shape the young. In particular, those who are growing. This is what I will be exploring through this story.

I recommend you read it. You can download it here and see my spoilerless review when it uploads. Let this be your spoiler heads-up. Right off the bat, the story lets us know the narrator, Loretta, has baggage. This is demonstrated by her grandma, who wants what is best for her but is also controlling.

Oh, and also she’s dead. Loretta can speak to her because she has some Sixth Sense powers. She uses these as a means to support herself by becoming a medium. I find this intriguing because, in a way, she’s also taking on the emotional burdens of her clients in addition to her own. It’s like how psychologists can develop depression after years of hearing patients’ stories. Loretta’s narration of her upbringing shows this.

She mentions how she spent her childhood isolated with her cats as companions (not that cats aren’t great, mind you), and the woman who raised her was her grandmother, whom she got her abilities from, by the way. Her grandmother, although trying her best, wasn’t exactly the nurturing type.

Even when she is shown trying to comfort her granddaughter when her cat passes away, it comes across as awkward. Loretta says that while being consoled by her, she could tell the act of hugging made her grandmother uncomfortable. The reason for her grandma’s apprehension about physical contact, I’ll explain later. In that environment, it’s not surprising that Loretta grows up to be reclusive. Her powers parallel this in the following way.

For her to contact someone from beyond the grave (which is done via astral projection), she has to be touching whoever the person was close to who is still living. She states that the process leaves her drained, and she even mentions feeling exhausted after seeing a client. I believe this represents a social battery. I speak from experience as a not super outgoing guy. I can stop and chat with someone for a bit, but l am hesitant when it comes to large gatherings, especially if I’m to be the center of attention.

It’s the case for many who are solitary. They have to interact with people to make ends meet, despite it being exhausting most of the time. Obviously, not all preferences to be alone stem from bad experiences. Some prefer spending more time by themselves than around others. However, that is how it is for the characters of this story.

Loretta has her services requested by a woman named Minnie, who wants her to contact her recently crossed-over mother. She pays her to perform her services at her home. Keep in mind, Loretta has never done a house call before. Loretta finds out that, similar to her, Minnie is withdrawn even though she said she had other family members. Actually, I think she may have been lying about that.

I say this because when we’re given some info about her personal life, there’s no detail about other relatives outside of her mother. It could be that it’s extended family she’s referring to instead of immediate. Let’s say she was lying. Why? The answer may be for attention.

She wanted people to think more people cared for her. Therefore, she fibbed about having other family members she could contact in her time of grief. While such circumstances are unfortunate, she is not without flaw. During Loretta’s stay, she finds out her taking anxiety medicine and scorns her for it. At first, this came across as petty and judgmental in my view.

Then I thought of it from Minnie’s perspective. She’s older, so she likely doesn’t have as much understanding when it comes to psychological issues. She’s not seeing Loretta’s pills and thinking, “Oh, this is medicine to help calm her down”. Rather, she takes it as someone needing to take drugs to tolerate being around her. I should mention that while she seemingly lacks family by blood, she does have Laura, who began working for Minnie’s family when Minnie was young.

Loyal doesn’t begin to describe Laura when it comes to her relationship with Minnie. By getting employed by her mother, Joanie, Laura was able to provide for her impoverished family. The way I’m describing it may lead you to believe Joanie did it as an act of kindness. She did not. How she interacts with Laura shows that she views their dynamic as strictly employer and employee.

This may have changed eventually, considering Joanie did show herself to be hospitable, but this isn’t shown with Laura. The reason for Laura and Minnie forming such a close bond could be how close they are in age. If Minnie lacked siblings, Laura would have been like a big sister to her. It’s alluded that Laura’s life outside of her job wasn’t great, so it makes sense she’d reciprocate these feelings. The trust is strong enough for Laura to keep even the darkest of secrets. This brings me to Loretta’s grandma.

It’s no secret that teenagerhood is hell for many. Between maturing and having little guidance, one is bound to fall into traps. Be they a boy becoming a man or a girl becoming a woman. The difference between these experiences is that traps for boys are pitfalls, while for girls, they’re landmines. Unfortunately, this also applies to Loretta’s Grandmother when she was pressured into relations by a wrongly assumed lover.

As a result, she became with child. He skipped town and got with another girl. Knowing their sixteen-year-old daughter is carrying such a burden, her family didn’t hesitate to support her, right? Someone is at the door. Who could it be?

Why, it’s Mr. Traditionalism! It’s thanks to him that even the slightest hint of advancement is met with a wall of stubbornness. If he takes a liking to you, he’ll allow you to address him by his first name. This would make his full name Religious Traditionalism (usually evangelical). He’s the kind of person who always just seems to be there, no matter where you go, even though everyone who isn’t insane or mentally above the age of twelve wishes he would disappear.

It’s his influence that caused Loretta’s weak-minded great-grandparents to throw their pregnant daughter out on the street. Jesus would be proud. What was Loretta’s grandmother to do? They say when one door closes (literally in this case), another opens. For Loretta’s grandma, this came in the form of Joanie finding her sleeping on a bench and opening her home to her.

Things are at last looking up for her. Not quite, and this has to do with what The Thing In The Basement is. Spoiler warning again because this one is major. It’s revealed to be a trapped demonic entity that Minnie’s family used to acquire wealth. Due to this, Minnie was ostracized in school, which is another reason I think she was lying about having relatives.

Otherwise, she would have said she and her siblings were shunned growing up. Loretta’s Grandmother stumbles across the demonic entity kept hidden and ends up making a deal with it. All she has to do is kill the woman who took her in at her lowest point. Quite the dilemma if you ask me. Initially, she gets cold feet. It’s too late, though.

A deal with the devil can not be undone. She goes through with the deed and is granted the ability to communicate with the dead. This is the reason for Loretta’s power. Consider the backgrounds of these characters. What does the demon represent?

Two things, the bond between Minnie’s family and Loretta’s is the first. The second is the passed-along burdens. Each character has something weighing on them, puzzle pieces the entity wields like a weapon. It’s able to use them effectively. In the final chapters, it escapes Minnie’s basement.

Loretta learns the truth from her grandmother and finds out that only a blood sacrifice will appease it. She carries out this deed, taking the lives of both Laura and Minnie with relative ease. I guess it runs in the family. I see this as connections being both metaphorically and physically severed. Loretta found someone she could relate to.

Instead of pursuing this, she rejected it in favor of ridding herself of the demon and pleasing her grandma, thus closing this story. Well, almost, as it turns out, people don’t take kindly to those who try to murder them, and they react even worse to those who succeed at it. Laura and Minnie return as spirits to take their revenge. You don’t need to worry, Loretta. Soon, you’ll never be alone again.

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