Ceremonies [Mass Market Paperback]

T.E.D. Klein entered the world of horror fiction with a great big splash when The Ceremonies was published in 1984. The novel was met with much critical success, being nominated for a 1985 World Fantasy Award and winning the British Fantasy Society award for best novel. Stephen King proclaimed it the most exciting horror novel since Peter Straub's Ghost Story. The Ceremonies really is a magnificent work of horror, but it is not for everyone. If you like action on top of action, you may find yourself bogged down and discouraged by this novel. At over 500 pages, it is rather long, and it can seem even longer than it really is to readers seeking quick thrills. Klein builds this novel quite slowly and tediously, creating an atmosphere of impending doom that grows in short increments from one page to the next. It is not the awful events that make this horror novel work; it is the atmosphere of dread and suspense. One cannot help but detect a little bit of Lovecraft in Klein (and not just because one of the characters is called the Old One), although both men's style differs considerably. The power that stands to be unleashed by the completion of "the ceremonies" described here is gargantuan, an awesome, world-destroying creature called up from the depths of the earth, a creature too ancient to even be labeled evil.

There are several storylines running through this novel, and their paths converge on only a few occasions, which is a facet of the writing that may bother some readers. Jeremy Freirs is a graduate student and teacher who decides to spend his summer working on his dissertation and preparing for the class he will be teaching in the fall on Gothic Literature; he thinks he has found the perfect place in Gilead, New Jersey, is a world all to its own, the home of a strict religious sect with extremely puritan ideas. Moving into a former storage building on the farm of Sarr and Deborah Poroth, he expects to spend a productive summer free from essentially all distractions - he is quite wrong in this assumption. Meanwhile, in New York, the rather reserved Carol Conklin goes about trying to survive in the big city on a small income from her job at a library. She meets Jeremy in New York just before he leaves for the summer, and a connection is made which will find the couple developing a romantic relationship on somewhat strange terms. What Jeremy and Carol do not know is that this relationship is the work of a strange, little old man known as Mr. Rosebottom. Rosie is actually the Old One working to bring his master back after a very long absence, and Jeremy and Carol are the unsuspecting keys to his success.

It can take some time to really get into this novel. A lot of time is spent introducing the characters, describing their true standing in the events to come, and introducing us to the Poroths, their farm, their community, and their ascetic religion. In time, the story comes alive in much the same way that untold numbers of snakes and worms come to infest the countryside of Gilead. Some might say that nothing much happens until late in the novel, but plenty is going on in terms of building the proper atmosphere in which this novel lives and breathes. The religious tie-ins to the events at the Poroth farm work beautifully in this context. As much as I love this novel, though, I have to say it is not perfect. Despite the rich and closely cultivated storyline, the relationship between Jeremy and the virginal Carol is rather mechanical, never developing the least bit of spark; Jeremy is in fact much more attracted to Deborah Poroth than he is to Carol. I did find the Old One to be a really effective character, one strong yet mysterious enough to hold this novel together as it see-saws back and forth between Jeremy in Gilead and Carol in New York, but there is seemingly a weakness in terms of character development here that prevents me from giving this novel five stars. Despite this fact, The Ceremonies is a truly landmark effort deserving to be read and admired by all who pursue the darker paths and are willing and eager to let the plot develop at its own pace without becoming frustrated over the lack of action early on.

This book, as with its companion piece, Dark Gods, should have a permanent place on every horror/dark fantasy fan's book shelf. The disquieting atmosphere evoked by this book provides an inimitable reading experience that is unlike anything being written today by modern dark fantasy writers, the majority of whom seem always compelled to assault their readers with cheap, formulaic narrative. To appreciate this book you must have a natural affinity for the rich gothic literature of the 19th century and a sensitivity to dark, slow-moving drama. You cannot be a passive reader. This book is not a 'stalk-and-slash' thriller; its aesthetic merit is not found in its ability to thrill, but in its ability to inspire awe and a profound sense of disturbing unease. Read it as such and you will not be disappointed.

Other writers capable of producing brilliantly dark and disturbing prose include: Fritz Leiber, Thomas Ligotti, Thomas Tessier, and Steve Rasnic Tem.

The Ceremonies is a transformation of T.E.D. Klein's earlier novelette "The Events at Poroth Farm." It is not necessary to read the latter in order to appreciate the former, for they are quite different. It may be useful to prime yourself with Klein's story collection "Dark Gods" in order to get a better idea of his style.

Sarr and Deborah Poroth are farmers living within an ulra-religious community. They eschew modernity in all its comforts, for such things are not of god. They love each other almost as much as they love god, even though none of that belief in god is ultimately useful to them, as the indifferent universe wins over all (interesting touch of reality, there). The virginal city dweller, Carol, also a true believer, longs for a relationship. Mostly she finds comfort in the attentions of Mr. Rosebottom (Rosie), an old man who presents himself as some kind of kindly grandfather type, but who is actually more evil than anyone can imagine. Jeremy is a teacher on sabbatical at the Poroth farm, studying Machen, Lovecraft, LeFanu, Jackson, Stoker, and other writers of the gothic and weird. He becomes involved with Carol and the other characters through the machinations of Rosie.

The most interesting thing about the book is how Klein makes the characters subsidiary to the evil, which in turn makes the atmosphere of the story even weirder. You won't find this kind of thing in stories by Stephen King, or other writers whose works are much more character-centered (and less interesting, I think). Klein's character Jeremy studies the works of the great weird writers, but this is not enough to make Jeremy himself even mildly interesting. Rather, it is the quoted parts of Machen's "The White People" from Jeremy's reading that holds your attention. It's not Jeremy's longings for the beautiful Deborah or the innocent Carol. Rather, it's the outbuilding on the Poroth farm in which Jeremy stays. It's the weird noises in the night, the onslaught of bugs at the screens of the outbuilding, the mold, Bwada the cat...all things that act against the characters.

Be prepared to work on The Ceremonies for a few hours. Klein doesn't go from zero to sixty: he goes from zero to five to ten to twenty...then gets to sixty in the last few chapters. That's because in between zero and sixty he is carefully building the atmosphere of the story, doling it out by the spoonful in a truly weird beginning, then adding a bit more chapter by chapter. It is a most effective technique for hooking the reader.

The Ceremonies is a truly weird masterpiece, to be favorably compared with the works of Lovecraft, Poe, Blackwood, Machen, Campbell and others whose work has made them giants in the field. I hope to see much more from this enormously talented author.