Visions of the Devil - Reviewing Luke Dumas' "A History of Fear"

Grayson Hale is the main actor of a murder case that shook Scotland in 2017; the 25 year old American student at the University of Edinburgh confessed to have killed Liam Stewart, one of his classmates, but refused any gullibility as he claimed the Devil, disguised as the man Donald Blackburn, or DB, made him do it. He also refused to plead not guilty due to insanity, because he does not accept he has a mental problem and his story is what it is.

This book consists of Grayson's diary entries, excerpts from testimonies from his trial, newspaper clippings, and interviews a journalist conducts and assembled into one book that shows Grayson's story from all possible perspectives.

Abuse any animal long enough and eventually it'll bite.

Grayson's childhood is a sad and tragic one – growing up in an insanely religious family, he was psychologically and physically abused by his brother and mother and let down by the indifference and passivity of his father, a Catholic minister, whom he admires. Poor Grayson does not stand a chance from the very start. When he turns twelve, his father gifts him a book called “Jack and the Devil's Horn” which terrifies but intrigues him at the same time and leaves an irrevocable imprint on him, causing his self-diagnosed fear of the the devil, satanophobia.

In order to further his academic career as well as to learn more about his father's mysterious college years he takes on a program at the University of Edinburgh. There he meets DB who promises him a very high sum of money to write a book about the Devil, so that Scotland would remember the existence of him. Grayson has a very torn approach to the book he would later entitle “A History of Fear: The Devil in Scottish Culture and Literature” - on one hand he really needs the money on the other he is freaked out by DB. Scary things start to happen around him, wherever he goes bad things happen and he first vaguely guesses, later resoundingly knows it's because of DB. He gradually turns into a kind of dark, byronic figure and from there on it's his downfall, really.

Because the Devil was putting visions in my head, or because my head was conjuring visions of the Devil?

A History of Fear could have profited from a little more subtlety – the narration, especially towards the final quart, tends towards spoon-feeding the readers, while they most probably already have connected all the dots. For example, the little parable “Jack and the Devil's Horn”, which is given in full text in chapter 30, needs no further explanation at all, as the parallels between the tale and the happenings in the book are quite obvious, and that realization, although something someone would put in their diary, was way too much for this book. There are many examples like this, especially in the end, when the mystery is solved.

But, there were more sides to this book I enjoyed than not, like its main character Grayson. Although not exactly likable, tormented, tortured characters are interesting to me and Grayson ticks that box. The inside of his head is obviously not a happy place, the weight of mental health problems was heavy and yet the story is still intriguing enough to make one wonder if it really was the devil and Grayson is nothing but a tragic pawn.

I like that the author evidently knows Scotland and conveys the perspective of a stranger in Edinburgh really well and credibly. There seems to be a thing in Scottish storytelling for the Devil, good for the author for picking that up and connecting it to a social ill.
Finally, the very last line of the book comes with a killer twist which really took me by surprise, that was a delight!

I would definitely recommend reading this book for anyone digging psychological horror. Although not as optimistic and perfect, it is slightly reminiscent of Catriona Ward's Last House on Needless Street, but a hardcore darker version of that, if that helps.