The Evil Eye

Lady WildeThe Evil Eye by Lady Wilde was one of the stories in the horror story collection I checked up recently. Since I had read it expecting a creepy horror, I was initially disappointed. However, when I look back on it now, I am kinder in my view of it and figure that the story certainly has its own merits.

The story itself does not have a main plot or major character. Rather, it describes a series of events that revolve around a particular theme – the concept of an Evil Eye. The author explains the general idea of the evil eye and explains how it influences people. She describes the various ways in which folks might be influenced or manipulated by people possessing this power. At the same time, there is ample coverage of people's superstition in this matter. Thus, she goes on about how people must take steps to avoid looking like one of those creepy evil eye people. After providing one or two examples of different types, she tells of an instance when evil eye acts as a charm as opposed to bringing misfortune.

It is Informative and interesting in an observation of local superstition sort of way. Yet, it's not what you were hoping for. Especially if you were looking for a formidable bad guy, preferably one with a scary minion and a castle. If not cheap thrills, at the very least, throw in a mad psychotic ex-husband for the chill factor. Lacking those elements, I wasn't very impressed with the story.

To be fair, this story is well-written. It would work well as a campfire story. It's short and its examples are attention-grabbing, in a 'It happened to someone I know' sort of way. The scary bits of the story (strange folks with power to control your life) are also designed to work on the listener's own fears. Admittedly this has slight undertones of 'fear the unknown' but then again, this is the basis for a lot of horror stories. Hence, it would be unfair to criticize this story for that particular feature.

I also kept it in mind that Lady Wilde was well-known for researching folklores and local legends. This particular story falls into that category or at least is a very good contender for it. If you approach it from that angle, that it provides insight into the superstitions of Irish folks, it actually proves to be an interesting read. Funnily enough, you appreciate it more when you think of it as a sociological experiment than if you shoved it into the horror genre. For the most part, because of modern ways of thinking, it is hard to take local superstitions and think of them as scary stories. Rather, you think it's sad that folks might actually believe it but hey, at least we know how they used to think.

I must also add that Monty Python has made it impossible for me to view certain scenarios with fear. Thus, when Wilde warned that people who showed habits that can be interpreted as having the evil eye, such folks might be deftly rounded up by worried locals. Anyone else thinking of the 'Burn the witch' scenario at this point?