Good evening, House of Madness tenants:
I don't and won't really have a set schedule, so when I have time, you're getting content. No, I won't apologize either. I just finished the book "The Bad Seed" by William March, so who better to share my thoughts with? (It's YOU, btw)
Let me start off by saying I will not type *spoilers* for any of this; the book was published in 1954, and it was also a feature film in 1956, so if you're going to be upset about me spoiling an almost 70 year old story, you'd better drive a DeLorean, and be genuinely surprised when you read this......although if you're time travelling, something tells me spoiled books are low on your list of survival priorities. Alas! I've become distracted by today's announcement from Christopher Lloyd and Michael J. Fox about their new merch store. It is to raise money for Parkinson's research, so please check it out here.
Great Scott! I'm off course again!
The Bad Seed is a quick read (just over 200 pages), so it's short and sweet.....unlike its starring character, Rhoda Penmark. Things start out normal enough, she's 12 years old, lives with her mother Christine, and her dad Kenneth is overseas on one of his many business trips. It doesnt take long however, for you to realize something isn't right with this little girl. I'm not talking 'I see dead people' kinda wrong, I mean 'I make people dead' kinda wrong. Rhoda Penmark has the 'innocent little girl' routine down to a fucking science; so much so, that her neighbour and mother's best friend Monica thinks she's the sweetest little girl in the world, as does her long time babysitter Mrs. Forsythe.
Things start to horrifyingly fall into place for her mother Christine, when little Rhoda is certain she will win this year's penmanship medal, but loses to the unpopular boy Claude Daigle. Rhoda will do anything to get what's rightfully hers, and poor Claude never stood a chance. This leads to Christine questioning other unfortunate 'accidents' that have happened in the past, but surely she must be going insane, rather than what she's thinking to be true, right? Enter Leroy, condo caretaker, and he's always found something 'off' about sweet little Rhoda. Once Leroy gets wind of poor Claude's fate, he starts to antagonize and frighten sweet little Rhoda, even though he himself isn't certain she's capable of the things he thinks she's done. If our friend Leroy had a DeLorian, he most certainly would have thought twice before crossing Miss Rhoda Penmark.
This sets us up for the twisted conclusion where I asked myself "Is she finished, or just getting started?". To say Rhoda Penmark is a little disturbed, and possibly a sociopath, would be like saying Freddy Krueger looks a tad sunburned, and questioning whether those fingers are actually for trimming hedges.
Madness Meter: 8.9/10
NB
