From a Buick 8

Well, we've finally come to the end of the whole Halloween-31-books-that-terrify-me segment of this blog. It has been delayed repeatedly since I, like most modern day blue-collar workers, have been busy. But I wanted to end on a crucial note. As you might've guessed; I've saved the best for last.

I was never a big fan of Christine. The movie was kinda goofy and weird to me. But this book, depicting another car that seems to have a life of its own, captured me from the first line. The book is split up through several points of view. All the stories revolve around this one mysterious car recovered by Troop D, a state police barracks in western Pennsylvania. Ned, the son of a recently killed state trooper, drunk driving related, meets the troop and learns of the car and its shadowy, mystical and disturbing origins.

The car was abandoned by the owner, who wandered off near a stream. Thought to have drowned himself, though they never find the body, the car is impounded. But the stories that all the policemen trade are laced in trickery and a deceiving mask to our own world. The car is unique. It has the appearance of a 1953 Buick Roadmaster and yet the wheel is immobile, the dashboard instruments are useless props and the engine has no moving parts.

While listening to this thing on audiobook, I began to question, "So what is it if it is not clearly a car?" The answer? It is a portal. To where? We don't know. For what purpose? We do not know. But one thing is clear. This memorably mysterious yarn, published in 2002, left its mark on me. This is one story that evolves. The deeper the story goes, the more complicated it gets. With a hint of Alice in wonderland and the tread marks of Christine, this is the top of the heap of must-read books.

The book has film rights which were acquired and Tobe Hooper is attached to direct. I think he'd be perfect to capture the unsettling mythos of the car. In 2009 the ball got rolling but the movie is now in limbo, said to have productions problems. Whenever the book gets made into a movie, I believe it will be just as scary as the revolving tale itself.

To wrap it up, I shall borrow the line from Poltergeist part II:

"Car's still angry, eh?"

"Angry? That car is PISSED!"