Science/Horror Fiction
Summary
“The Forbidden”—pp. 77-90
Barker begins by describing the Spector Street Estate. It seems to be a government-subsidized housing project, which was very clean and pristine when new, but in the span of only 3 ½ years the people have spoiled the estate with vandalism, rubbish, and graffiti. In fact the graffiti are the reason Helen Buchanan has come to Specter Street. For her thesis she is studying graffiti as examples of “Urban Despair,” a form of this community’s folklore. She has arrived with her camera, hoping to find something new that has not appeared in similar papers already written and also to silence her husband, Trevor, who ridiculed her idea for the study. Helen is searching for some trend, pattern, or motif among the drawings that will tie them all together. At one point she is approached by Ann-Marie, one of the residents, who wonders why Helen, a stranger, has come to Spector Street. Ann-Marie is with her son, Kerry. Barker describes in detail the fact that Kerry has been eating a significant amount of candy (chocolates, jujubes, a lollipop). Is he commenting on Ann-Marie’s poor parenting skills (a young mother in her twenties), or is this a reference to something else? Ann-Marie tells Helen that it is grown men who write much of the graffiti. Additionally, they also break into vacant apartments (flats) and foul them with urine along with the graffiti they write inside. Ann-Marie then leads Helen to one of these vacant lots so Helen can go inside and see for herself. Barker describes more of what Helen sees on her way to the vacant flat: poorly-lit walkways and bags of trash festering in the heat and sun.
Arriving at number 14, Helen is greeted with the smell of urine and burnt paint and plastic. Inside the gloomy apartment, she finds the remains of ruined furniture and more graffiti, some more elaborate than the others: some profess love for girls; others boast of the attributes of the men who wrote them; while others are crude sexual drawings. She is intrigued by these drawings, but because she has no flash for her camera, she will need to return another day to document these graffiti. At one point, the sun comes through the boards covering a window, drawing Helen’s attention to a unique drawing on the wall in that room. Barker uses the word annunciation instead of announcement here when talking about the sun drawing Helen’s focus. Is this just his writing style or has he chosen the word carefully as a reference to the biblical annunciation when the angel Gabriel informs Mary that she will give birth to the savior, Jesus Christ? If so, what does this possibly foreshadow? A possible answer to that question lies in the picture Helen sees painted in this room. It is a face that fills most of one wall, with the door serving as the mouth. It has prominent buttermilk cheekbones and sharpened teeth pointing toward the door. The knotted strands of hair snake from the scalp across the ceiling. The portrait is unsettling, especially when Helen notices that to extend the image, the hallway seems to serve as the person’s throat, with a lamp as tonsils and the sun of the day burning in the “nightmare’s belly.” Finally she notices the quote “Sweets to the sweet,” vaguely recognizing it but not being able to recall its source (Hamlet). With so many references to candy already, will it play an important role in the story? If so, what will that be?
When she exits the flat, a young boy (not baby Kerry, who does not walk or speak yet!) says Ann-Marie has invited Helen to her flat for tea, and Helen accepts. She notices that Ann-Marie is much more cordial inside her apartment, more talkative. Helen discovers that Ann-Marie never married. Kerry’s father lived with her for two years, but she is glad he is gone. Ann-Marie then begins to tell Helen about an infestation of exotic pharaoh ants from Egypt. Helen seems a bit skeptical, but Ann-Marie insists it is true. She then tells Helen about some vague murders that have occurred at Spector Street. Helen seems skeptical again because of the Urban Legend elements these stories contain. Ann-Marie has received this information second hand (a friend-of-a-friend story). Also some details just do not seem logical. For example, no one notices the absence of the man allegedly cut to ribbons in his own home, until they find him a week later. Ann-Marie adds that his eyes had been removed and that the killer had a hook. Now Helen believes that Ann-Marie is combining details from different legends she has heard, including a faulty connection between Jack the Ripper and a hook-handed man.
Helen returns home and discusses these stories with Trevor, who is very skeptical about what she is telling him. He asks her if she believes the tale and the person who told her. Helen says she does trust Ann-Marie. Then Trevor suggests that Helen should return and ask others to verify what Ann-Marie told her.
Reaction:
This story interests me for many reasons. First, I have always been curious about graffiti. Whenever I see it, I wonder about who wrote/drew it and why? What does it mean? What about the artist himself? Graffiti can offer insights into a given culture, just as other folklore does. What role will it play ultimately in this story? I am also interested in Urban Legends, so I like the fact that Barker writes a story about these tales. I find it interesting that he heard some of these disturbing tales from his grandmother when he was five or six. As for the characters, is it logical for Helen to visit Spector Street on her own? I think it makes sense, with her motivation being to prove her husband, Trevor, wrong. I already sense a coldness between the two of them, with Trevor always needing to win. I hope Helen proves him wrong. Ann-Marie seems mysterious at this point. She is initially wary of Helen, a stranger who has invaded her territory. Is there a reason for her guarded demeanor? If so what is she hiding? What is she afraid of?