Similar to the above photo of strange marionettes, seven in number, Mike Russell's 2017 collection, Strange Secrets, likewise contains seven - seven very strange stories.
Strange Secrets, Mike's third short story collection - following Nothing is Strange (2014) and Strange Medicine (2016) - continues to expand the world of strangeness in ways most unique. To explore a number of fascinating secrets concealed in Strange Secrets, I'll share the following glimpses:
THE PUPPETEER
"An elderly man wearing a white suit was dancing a jig in the centre of town. The man had a string tied to each of the fingers and thumb of his left hand, the other ends of which were attached to the head, arms, and legs of a small, wooden marionette." So begins this bizarre snapper, a strange tale that's a perfect balance of Aleister Crowley creepiness and Lewis Carol charm. To understand what I mean, please read on.
The marionette wears a white suit and its face is carved to look exactly like the man. Someone new to town, thinking the puppeteer a busker, will drop coins at his feet. However, since he's a familiar sight on their street, the long-term residents do their best to ignore both the man and his marionette.
And so it goes - every day the man emerges from his house, dances a jig from sunrise to sunset without pause, all the while his marionette remains still. Other than forever looking exhausted, the puppeteer never displayed any pleasure or joy in all those many days, not even a single smile.
Then one day, at exactly midday, something changes: a young girl stands in front of the puppeteer and watches him non-stop. Eventually, he asks: "What do you want from me?" To that, the girl says nothing. The man tells her the marionette is the one in control, making the strings move which makes him dance which makes his heart beat. Again, the girl says nothing and continues to look into his eyes.
Hours past. At sunset, the puppeteer suddenly stops, picks up his marionette and retreats inside. Unbeknownst to him, the girl follows him through a long hallway and into a large room with but one article of furniture - a bed in the center. At the far end of the room there's a fireplace with a flat, gold isosceles triangle mounted above - the apex of the triangle points down.
Meanwhile, strings still attached, the puppeteer lays the marionette on the mattress, stands by the side of the bed and resumes his non-stop dancing until sunrise when he picks up his marionette, walks outside and once again starts dancing.
As she did the previous day, the girl stands before him and watches silently. At midday, the man looks down at his marionette and says: "Please don't make me dance any more, I can't stand it." The man proceeds to gnaw the strings. When all the strings snap, the marionette remains standing but the puppeteer collapses to the ground and his heart stops beating.
"Help me," he first asks the marionette then the girl. The marionette remains motionless but the girl walks in the house, down the long hallway, into the room and over to the fireplace whereupon she rotates the gold isosceles triangle until its apex points up. Suddenly, outside on the street, the marionette collapses, the man's heart begins beating and he stands up, amazed he's still alive.
In the tradition of Aleister Crowley occultism and contemporary tales of horror penned by authors such as Thomas Ligotti, The Puppeteer is dark and creepy; but as we read further and discover what happens next and then next, this Mike Russell story also possesses an undeniable Alice in Wonderland charm. Thus, The Puppeteer is a striking combination of creepy and charming - a fictional tour de force, a rare gem not to be missed.
REALITY
Carl walks into the living room and can see Lisa distraught bordering on hysterical. When Carl asks what's wrong, Lisa screams, "Nothing is real!" Carl presses further, asking question after question but the more questions he posses, the more frazzled Lisa becomes - she understands everything, absolutely everything in her life is fake, pure bullshit, from their marriage to the sculpture on the coffee table, even the coffee table itself along with everything else, their town, the surrounding forest and sea, all fake.
I wouldn't dare reveal the surprise ending of this Mike Russell strange tale since, after all, it's a secret left to each reader. What I will mention is such strange fiction reminds me of the concept of maya from India's Hindu and Buddhist traditions. Reality, richer than concepts and deeper than all the fake words you are reading on your fake computer. Now that I've planted a seed, put your hands on Strange Secrets and make Reality your own living reality.
THE CONSTANTLY EMPTY POOL
Mary-Lou journeys from her city to a bar in a remote desert town for a very specific reason: she needs directions to the pool containing the purest water in the world. And, of course, Mary-Lou wants to take a drink of this purist of waters.
Cecil D, the bartender, tells Mary-Lou he knows just the person that can help her - Gregory, who is pointing at the pool right now.
"Mary-Lou turned around and peered in the direction that Cecil D had shouted. There, in the corner of the room, sat behind a table, were two identical men. Both were dressed in threadbare clothes and both had an arm missing. One of the men was missing his left arm; the other man was missing his right arm. The two identical men's remaining arms were joined together by the tips of their forefingers. Consequently, the two men looked as if they were constantly pointing at one another."
Sound strange? The above is a beginning scene in this Mike Russell tale that becomes progressively stranger with each turn of the page. I'll leave you with one last hint - a white flower at either end of one green stem, the illustration on the cover of Strange Secrets, makes its appearance in The Constantly Empty Pool. Strange, you say? Absolutely!
What I've noted is only from three of the seven strange stories collected in Strange Secrets. I'll share one more secret: each Mike Russell story spins in marvelous directions well worth any reader's time.
British author Mike Russell, born 1973
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