Horror Story Review: "Something Nasty" by William F. Nolan

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This opens with Janey’s mother yelling at her to get into the shower and get her new dress on because her Uncle Gus is coming over. Janey is dragging her feet. She doesn’t like Uncle Gus. He only comes over to borrow money from Daddy. Yes, he was hurt in the war and can’t get a regular job. But Uncle Gus tells her scary stories when the other adults aren’t around. Janey wonders why only kids see how awful Uncle Gus is—how fake his laugh is. One day slimy Uncle Gus asks Janey, “Do you know what voodoo is?” When she says she doesn’t know, he explains it’s a curse that can only hurt you if you believe it can. Poor Janey is rattled. Uncle Gus is an idiot. While a couple of things struck me as a bit facile, this story did have its cute and its awful moments. It manages nicely to see the world through Janey’s eyes and, at the same time, keep the reader informed as to what was really going on. According to Wikipedia, author William F. Nolan is probably best known as co-author (with George Clayton Johnson) of the novel Logan’s Run, as well as several successor novels. He has written hundreds of shorter pieces in many genres, including poetry, horror, science fiction, as well as nonfiction. In addition, he’s edited several anthologies of short stories. I could not find an online version of this short story. Title: “Something Nasty” Author: William F. Nolan (b. 1928) First published: The Dodd, Mead Gallery of Horror 1983 Source: ISFDB