Silly, gory fun

I was recommended this book by the library’s eBook rental service, of all things. Not sure why, since I haven’t really read a lot of horror on that site, but it was a hit with me nonetheless. Horrorstör starts out funny, then gets really good and gross (and still pretty funny). It will probably make a great movie one day — though I doubt I’ll have the guts to see it (I prefer my horror written down, rather than on the screen).

Horrorstör is a horror story set in an Ikea knock-off (an Ikea knock-off that’s proud to be a knock-off) called Orsk. One of a large, profitable chain, this particular Orsk happens to be haunted by the ghosts of prisoners murdered by a sadistic warden (also a ghost) on the grounds a century or two ago. The main characters — a manager who’s obsessed with Orsk and all it stands for, a spinster who has nothing but her job keeping her going, and our protagonist, a struggling twenty-something blessed with slightly more background than the others, most of which is rather tragic. These three are tasked with staying overnight in the store in order to find out who has been vandalizing things after hours. They’re joined by two other sales associates, who are kind of idiots, and chaos ensues.

The book gets super gross in its horror, but retains its slightly silly tone. The beginning of each chapter features a picture and description of a random Orsk product (a desk, a chair, etc.). When the icky stuff starts, the products change to torture instruments — but the descriptions remain cheery and bright. I think that was probably my favorite part of the whole novel. The horror story itself is pretty straightforward and the characters are nothing special, but the way it’s told is pretty damn good.