Graham Masterton - Mirror

[dem bones]

Graham Masterton - Mirror (Hammer, 2011: originally Severn House, 1988)

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Blurb:
It is said that a mirror can trap a person's soul...

Martin Williams is a broke, two-bit screenwriter living in Hollywood, but when he finds the very mirror that once hung in the house of a murdered 1930s child star, he happily spends all he has on it. He has long obsessed over the tragic story of Boofuls, a beautiful and successful actor who was slaughtered and dismembered by his grandmother.

However, he soon discovers that this dream buy is in fact a living nightmare; the mirror was not only in Boofuls house, but witness to the death of this blond-haired and angelic child, which in turn has created a horrific and devastating portal to a hellish parallel universe. So when Martin's landlord loses his grandson it is soon apparent that the mirror is responsible. But if a little boy has gone into the mirror, what on earth is going to come out?

Copped this yesterday for 50p in Spitalfields Crypt Charity Shop (Watney Market chapter). Seem to have acquired in the region of a dozen Masterton novels over past few years without realising, so time to get stuck into one.

It's screenwriter Martin Williams' pet project: a bio-pic of thirties child star Walter Lemuel 'Boofuls' Crossley, "the boy Shirley Temple," star of song and dance classics Whistlin' Dixie, Dancing in the Clouds & Co. A millionaire six times over by the age of eight, dismembered by mad gran before he reached birthday nine. Williams' agent, Morris Natham, rejects it out of hand warning that no studio will touch it: the subject matter is too ghastly even for Hollywood. Williams counters that his treatment conveniently swerves all reference to the murder, but Nathan is proved right. A disconsolate Williams is stuck with banging out scripts for The A-Team to keep afloat. And then he learns about a furniture sale.

In the wake of the murder, the furniture from the Crossley home was sold cheap at auction. Now ancient mini-dress girl Mrs. Harper is flogging the bulk, including the mirror from Boofuls' bedroom. Hard up as he is, Williams has to have it. He shells out $750 and prays The A-Team will pay the bills. Better for him - if not the reader - he'd left it to rot.

No sooner has Williams transferred his prize purchase to his flat than the haunting begins. A child's laughter echoes around the walls. A plastic ball bounces out from the glass - and vanishes. Then Emilio, the landlord's kid, insists that he spent the afternoon playing with "the boy in the mirror" who wants to come out ....

Fifty pages down. Pop culture references coming thick and fast as the action. Mommie Dearest, Rambo, Charles Manson/ Helter Skelter, Ken Russell ("the only person who might conceivably touch it") ...

[dem bones]

Since last update, Lugosi, a docile kitten, has been absorbed into the mirror, to return a crazed, murderous hell-cat. Williams - still moaning about his lost tennis ball to anyone who'll listen - has a terrible time preventing it from tearing off his face. Lucky that screwdriver was handy ... Boofuls is bent on luring Emilio through the glass ....

[andydecker]

I am really interested how you like the rest.


As far as I remember, back then I really hated the ending. I wasn't particulary enthused about the characterisation which was a bit to broad for me. Our hero was a bit too cool for me. On the other hand, this is Masterton, so what do you expect? But at the end it really fell apart.

[dem bones]

Jan 22, 2019 11:05:36 GMT andydecker said:

I am really interested how you like the rest.


As far as I remember, back then I really hated the ending. I wasn't particulary enthused about the characterisation which was a bit to broad for me. Our hero was a bit too cool for me. On the other hand, this is Masterton, so what do you expect? But at the end it really fell apart.

Have read and mostly enjoyed several of his short horrors, but this is only the third novel (Flesh & Blood and Dark Angel being the others). He's so prolific the back catalogue is scary - where do you start? Is it another case of "the early ones are the 'best'"?

Anyway,back with the novel, and Mirror's been fine by me up to now. Made the mistake of beginning this and Laymon's raunchy Amara on same day instead of sticking with one or the other -flitting between the two isn't ideal.

Thirty-two stitches and multiple nightmares later, Williams discovers that Boofuls has a history of mirror haunting dating back to the night of the murder. Even before they'd bagged up his body parts, five staff at Sisters of Mercy Hospital were taunted by Boofuls ghost hopping from glass to glass.

The landlord is adamant that either the cursed mirror goes or his tenant does. Ramone offers to store it in his Hollywood memorabilia emporium, the Reel Deal, but it won't be budged from Williams' room.