The Hallow by Keith Deininger

Keith Deininger is becoming well known for writing stories that are … that are … well, difficult to describe. They are difficult to describe because one often comes from a Deininger story wondering, “What the heck did I just read?”

The Hallow is no different.

The best way to describe The Hallow would be to say that it is like David Lynch writing and directing a spot on The Twilight Zone with a generous supply of magic mushrooms soaked in tequila.

The story follows James and his roommate, Vance. One night they find a black-haired woman on their home couch. She gets up and goes into James’ room, lies down on his bed, and dies. This woman haunts James throughout the entire story, as it probably should. But Vance is one of those people who likes to party and explore sleep deprivation and hallucinogenic drugs. After finding the black-haired woman,  nothing is the same. If anything, everything they’ve ever known is destroyed and their world goes deep into the rabbit hole of insanity.

The Hallow is as hallucinatory as it sounds. It flows and ebbs like a literary piece, never letting the reader down. If anything, the story just might confuse and make readers ask that all important question I posed earlier.

Keith Deininger deserves a big spot on the New Weird fiction sub genre. If he doesn’t become a legend, then there’s something wrong with the world. He consistently comes out with new and fascinating material that lingers in the mind and makes one scratch their head and, damn it, use that noodle between their ears.

Again, The Hallow is no different.

Keep your eye on this guy. He’s going places. And he has the talent and longevity to deserve it.

This one gets five full Dweller heads.