Seven dark novels haunted by music

Kate van der Borgh's new novel is And He Shall Appear. By day, the author is a freelance copywriter, and by night, she’s usually composing or playing music. She grew up in Lancashire and went on to study music at Cambridge, so there’s a reasonable amount of her in her narrator—including the fact that she was a pianist and reluctant bassoonist. She has, however, never had reason to suspect that her best friend has occult powers.

At Electric Lit van der Borgh tagged seven "novels in which music is used to communicate indescribable emotions and inexplicable experiences." One title on the list:

A Haunting on the Hill by Elizabeth Hand

In this, the first ever estate-approved follow-up, we revisit Shirley Jackson’s iconic Hill House. (Difficult, then, to imagine this was anything other than the world’s most intimidating book to write.)

Struggling playwright Holly Sherwin is looking for a hideaway where she can develop her new work when she happens upon a crumbling mansion on the edge of town. She’s accompanied by her team: lead actress Amanda, sound engineer Stevie, and Holly’s girlfriend Nisa, who is composing and performing music for the play.

As in the original, there’s an emphasis on dark psychology—on paranoia and distrust, feelings of loneliness. For Holly, this manifests as jealousy of Nisa, whose beautiful voice and songs might well overshadow the play itself. Exploring ideas of creativity, adaptation, influence and ownership, the story invites us to wonder who exactly owns the art we produce and the tales we tell.

Read about another entry on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue