A new book from the bestselling author Riley Sager renowned in the literary universe of horror, arrived in Brazilian bookstores in September this year from the publisher Intrínseca. Entitled “The Hope Family Massacre” the work, according to the author himself, is inspired by a true crime from the 19th century, in addition to drawing on some influences from the works of Sager, such as Mike Flanagan, another horror star.
For the story of “The Hope Family Massacre,” Riley Sager based himself on the true story of Lizzie Borden young woman put on trial suspected of carrying out a massacre in her own home in 1892.
“The plot was inspired by Lizzie Borden and all these great gothic novels of the past, like ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ and ‘Wuthering Heights’”, says the author in an interview with CNN .
“I wanted to write a big gothic book with lots of twists and turns and that differed from my other works because it takes place in the past. The main story takes place in 1983. And then there are some flashbacks much earlier, to 1929.”
In the book’s story, a shocking crime devastated the state of Maine, United States, in 1929. The character Lenora Hope was the only member of the family to survive and was the police’s main suspect in the murders. Even though everyone believed that she had killed her parents, the investigation was never able to gather enough evidence to incriminate the young woman, who was acquitted.
In the 1980s, however, the episode resurfaces when elderly carer Kit McDeere is assigned to a job at the clifftop mansion, after the other professional mysteriously runs away. Now responsible for looking after Lenora, Kit is surprised when she decides to tell everything, using a typewriter to narrate her version.
“I was thinking a lot about Lizzie Borden, but even more about her and her later years. And for some reason, it made me think, what if she lived to a very old age and had health problems and needed someone to take care of her. Who is this person? Like, what circumstances led you to care for someone like Lizzie Borden?” explains Riley.
“And then my whole thinking changed from Lizzie Borden to Lizzie Borden’s nurse. And that’s what was going through my head when I thought about the book. I really wanted to explore this caregiver. Her task is to keep this person alive who everyone thinks is a cold-blooded killer. And for me this was a very, very fascinating story to investigate”, he adds.
A house as a protagonist à la Mike Flanagan
Some of horror director Mike Flanagan’s most popular works feature houses and mansions as major protagonists in the story. For fans of the filmmaker, this is an element that can also be observed in “The Hope Family Massacre” .
“The house is definitely one of the main characters. And I wanted something that was very classically gothic. I wanted it to feel haunted, even though it’s not necessarily haunted. And it definitely is. It’s a murder house, horrible crimes happened there and these places have a bit of a mystical aura to them,” comments Riley Sager.
“I really wanted to create a place where something horrible happened and echoed through time to the present day. So I really liked the idea of expressing that by having the house with that little tilt because of the years that you can feel on the second and third floor and the feeling of yes, what happened in the past was horrible, but there might be something in the present that it is also horrible happening now.”
“In a way, the house symbolizes Kit and the journey she’s on, which isn’t very apparent to the reader. But every time she discovers some big piece of information, a piece of the house crumbles, it’s like when a big revelation comes and then she’s like, ‘oh, there’s more cracks in the walls’ or ‘oh, that piece of the cliff just fell away’. I really wanted the house to be the physical expression of what she is discovering”, adds the author.
Regarding the comparison with Mike Flanagan, Riley says that it really is a highlight, and that he uses other works of the genre to inspire his stories.
“He is very, very good. ‘The Haunting of Hill House’” was a fantastic show. ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ was very, very good. He is excellent at creating tension, surprise and giving a sense of dread. When I watch any horror work, I try to learn lessons from all of them. I like to really sit down and think analytically. How are they doing this? How are they scaring me now? And what lessons can I apply to my books to do the same thing for readers? So that’s how I get into it,” concludes Sager.
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This content was originally published in Riley Sager’s New Horror Is Inspired by True Crime and Mike Flanagan; find out on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m Robert Neff, a professional writer and editor. I specialize in the entertainment section, providing up-to-date coverage on the latest developments in film, television and music. My work has been featured on World Stock Market and other prominent publications.
