First published back in April of 1983, US author Richard Laymon’s novel ‘Nightmare Lake’ was the eleventh book from the ‘Twilight: Where Darkness Begins…’ teen horror series for which it was published under the pseudonym Carl Laymon.
After two weeks of Sammi’s constant company, Burt Elliot’s patience was beginning to wear thin. He was very aware there was still another whole week of vacation to go, with his fourteen-year-old sister constantly at his side.
It was this mild annoyance which led Burt to be somewhat dismissive when their golden retriever – Charger – leapt out of their motorboat and into the lake, chasing a small stick floating by. Of course, Sammi didn’t hesitate to jump into the water after their dog. She loved the mutt as much as any young girl does their pet dog.
However, when Charger circled round and started heading for the nearby island, Burt realised letting the dog loose on the boat had been a stupid idea. Now Sammi was swimming after the dog, which meant he had no choice but to steer the boat in pursuit after them.
When he finally dragged the motorboat onto the island’s stoney shoreline, his sister and her beloved dog were nowhere to be seen. Then whilst scanning the surrounding woods he glimpses the outline of a figure darting through the treeline.
Seconds later Sammi’s urgent shouts brought Burt running to her location within the outskirts of the woods. Resting upon the earthy ground in front of her, the skeletal remains of a human body, out in the open and exposed to the elements. The bones of the arms now scattered away from the rest of the remains, having been disrupted by Charger’s excitement at finding a stick amongst them to chew on.
But the situation worsens when Burt and Sammi return to the shoreline to find their boat drifting away. It’s at this point that sixteen-year-old Burt realises the danger of their current predicament. If they didn’t act fast, they’d be stranded on the island. An island they’d already been warned not to go near. An island which contains the remains of a body, and potentially someone else out there, lurking in the woods…
Okay, so to start off, for all you Laymon fans I should remind you that this one’s a novel that’s been written for young teens. So, although it’s still very much a horror, it’s nevertheless incredibly tame when compared with the Laymon’s usual work.
That said, we do have some themes within it which we later see appearing in some of Laymon’s later work. For a start, the initial ‘stranded on an island’ aspect was revisited later on within ‘Island’ (1991), and then the vampire threat that gradually reveals itself became a genre theme Laymon explored within the likes of ‘The Stake’ (1990) and ‘The Traveling Vampire Show’ (2000).
The tale Laymon spins in this teen horror is one packed to the rafters with action and horror entertainment. He’s absolutely crammed as much investigatory adventure, as well as twists and turns in the storyline as is humanly possible. Burt and his sister Sammi are the key protagonists; however, we also have a whole cast of supporting characters thrown in, to keep the tale zigzagging all over the shop.
The setting is that of a holiday resort (of sorts), around a Wisconsin lake. So, along with Burt’s parents, we also have a host of other holiday makers, who soon join the action when the situation starts to get worryingly dangerous. You see, after Burt and Sammi return to Trait’s Island with a police officer in tow, they not only find the skeleton gone (prior to which a wacky yokel had warned them the body would rise up if they’d messed with the bones), but then they also find a young girl named Lisa floating in the water beside a canoe containing her dead father! We soon learn the poor fella had been attacked by a bat, which managed to slice open his jugular and drain every drop of blood from his body. Oh yeah, the plot thickens!
So, you can no doubt see where this is all leading. But along the way we have loads of other stuff thrown in for good measure. We have a whole backstory about a vampire who’d rampaged through the area, taking victims each night, until the locals had thrust a stake through its heart and dumped the body on Trait’s Island. This local is wacky old Jeb Wallace, who we had the pleasure of meeting at the start of the novel.
All through the tale we also have Burt’s sixteen-year-old hormones kicking in, with him instantly falling for the young girl they’d rescued, despite her having seen her father killed by a bat that very night. But the teenaged thrills and spills don’t end there. Throughout the tale, the teens are thrust into the forefront of all the action, with the parents pretty much just sitting back with their feet up the entire time. After all, they’re on holiday!
To be fair, the sheer number of twists and turns in the story’s narrative is enough to keep you fully gripped throughout. There’s absolutely no padding or any resting on your laurels. Laymon clearly knew his mission was to retain the attention of his young audience, so he keeps throwing all sorts of wackiness into the mix whenever possible.
The grand finale is suitably dramatic, with the teens again taking everything on themselves. It’s all wonderfully over-the-top, with some magnificent displays of heroic drama to end the tale with.
All in all, the novel’s a fun read that you’ll likely plough through in just one sitting. It’s probably one that’s more for the hardcore Laymon fans and collectors, as it’s not exactly his usual hard-hitting style, and it can also be damn hard to get a copy of it these days! But yeah, the book’s worth a read if you do manage to get your hands on a copy.
The novel runs for a total of 146 pages.
© DLS Reviews
