Loving You to Death

Loving You to Death

01/30/2007

Elrod, P. N., editor. My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding. New York: St. Martin’s Griffin, 2006. 310 p.

Since 1997, when my co-author and I began compiling guides to the horror genre such as Hooked on Horror, Volumes I & II (Libraries Unlimited, 1999, 2003), or Read On . . . Horror Fiction (Greenwood, 2006), we have noticed the proliferation of crossover fiction—Horror Westerns, Christian Horror and Historical Horror. Horror Romance crossover fiction is by far the most popular of this sort. P.N. Elrod’s latest anthology of short stories about weddings with supernatural elements follows this trend (the title of course a comic reference to the 2002 film My Big Fat Greek Wedding).

My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding is an interesting concept, and boasts some talented writers of supernatural fiction such as Elrod herself (The Vampire Files and Jonathan Barrett: Gentleman Vampire) and Esther M. Friesner (writer of much dark and comic fantasy), as well as contemporary luminaries such as Sherrilyn Kenyon (known for her Dark Hunter novels) and Charlaine Harris (Dead Until Dark and Living Dead in Dallas), who is known for writing this particular blend of crossover fiction. However, after the first five stories, the other works chosen for inclusion could best be summed up as predictable. Perhaps this was because Elrod used the same logic employed by record producers (who locate the stronger tracks near the beginning of a CD) and many other anthology editors, simply hiding some of the weaker pieces towards the end. Or perhaps this was because five stories into the collection, I recognized where the remaining stories were going and became impatient, since they were all of a piece. Or perhaps this is due to my own biases. I am not a huge fan of romance fiction, or chick films for that matter (I, along with Sex and the City’s Samantha Jones, never saw The Way We Were, and would probably vomit if someone made me sit through it).

Despite the overall weakness of the anthology, three of the first five stories in particular stand out. L. A. Banks’ “Spellbound” follows the travails of the modern descendants of the Hatfields and the McCoys, whose families are able to conduct their feud into the 21^st century via the working of roots and other sorts of hillbilly magic. Not surprisingly, a Hatfield and a McCoy fall in love, to the consternation of the patriarch and matriarch of each respective family. These children, however, are different from their backwoods relatives—they have left the mountains for the west coast to pursue college educations and professions. However, both children’s families have ensured that they will not, indeed cannot, forget where they came from, because they are controlled by a celibacy spell that will kill anyone foolish enough to sleep with them, so each is still a virgin at the age of 25. The celibacy spell cannot be lifted unless the family first approves of the child’s mate, so the Hatfield-McCoy romance is doomed from the start. Only a female Hatfield and a female McCoy ancestor who were each alive during the original feud can help. They witness from heaven the continued stupidity of their descendants and collaborate from the beyond to put a stop to the feud once and for all by making sure that the star-crossed lovers are able to wed.

Rachel Caine’s “Dead Man’s Chest” builds on many popular themes from romance fiction: pirates, a mousy but ultimately spirited heiress, and a scheming rouge. Cecilia is a bit confused by her whirlwind romance with Ian, who is among other things a cover model for bodice rippers, as she is not extraordinarily beautiful, talented or wealthy, but all soon becomes clear when he presses her to elope with him on an 18^th century ship. The pirates who captain the ship, and have made a bargain with Ian, prove to be gentlemen when they thwart his nefarious plans for his new bride. Cecelia then spends the rest of the journey attempting to discover the mysterious Captain Lockheart’s secret and ancient heartbreak. Caine’s particular talent as a writer is to take predictable elements of the genres and re-assemble them into an amusing and original story.

By far, the best written story of the collection is Elrod’s own contribution, “All Shook Up.” Frankie caters a wedding where the wedding singer is an Elvis impersonator who is either the re-incarnation of the real thing, or is seriously channeling the King. Wedding guests swoon, and Frankie’s grandmother, who fainted at an Elvis concert in her youth, swears this man is no imitation. Is the King alive? How does a larger-than-life pop icon continue to live long after his body has been entombed in the cold, cold earth outside of Graceland? Elrod’s story is particularly effective because reality is a matter of perception rather than a definite, but obscure phenomena only observed by a privileged few. “All Shook Up” doesn’t have the feel of a piece of fantasy based on well-worn scenarios.

All in all, there are some excellent stories in this anthology, but because they are not of the dark fantasy variety, My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding will appeal more to fans of romance than to fans of horror. The endings are all upbeat rather than disturbing, and each story lacks a genuine feel of menace that is characteristic of horror, even if several of these fictional universes are populated with spirits, werewolves, vampires and zombies.