REVIEW: ‘Cursed Objects’ by J.W. Ocker
Image courtesy of Quirk Books / Provided by official site.
The latest book by J.W. Ocker may leave a lingering feeling behind, and it has nothing to do with its powers to entertain and engage. As the author describes, this book may in fact be cursed.
Cursed Objects: Strange but True Stories of the World’s Most Infamous Items is a global journey into the odd objects that many people believe are cursed and may have done their owners harm. This is a new book on a new topic for Ocker, but it certainly fits into his literary oeuvre, which includes everything from an exploration of the “hallowed haunts” of Edgar Allan Poe (Poe-Land) to a fictional haunted-house book (Twelve Nights at Rotter House). He thrives on things that go bump in the night.
These “cursed” objects are described less in terms of whether the reader buys into their legends and sketchy provenances. Instead, they are conduits for Ocker to spin some historical (and true) tales about different cultures, practices and traditions. After first defining what he means by “cursed,” which he distinguishes from “haunted,” the author breaks the objects into different categories, including items that can be found under glass, items found in the attic and items set in stone, among other distinctions.
Some of these mysterious objects date back thousands of years, like the tomb of Tutankhamen, while others are more modern, like Annabelle the doll from The Conjuring movies. Throughout the book, Ocker is able to infuse the narrative with tongue-in-cheek humor and some healthy skepticism. Again, believing in the curses is not a prerequisite for enjoyment. Here’s an example of the balancing act that Ocker has with his descriptions: “Cursed weapons have a big advantage over other cursed objects: they can do the dirty work of the curse themselves rather than waiting for something else to harm the curse victim — say, a bus or cancer or an iceberg.”
Perhaps the most revealing section of the entire tome is labeled “The Business of Cursed Objects,” which describes everything from the John Zaffis Museum of the Paranormal to The Haunted Museum run by Zak Bagans in Las Vegas. The details of the objects are fascinating, and Ocker marries those words with some slight eye-rolling at the commodification of the items. He also describes his own purchase of a “cursed” object on eBay.
Accompanying Ocker’s descriptions are illustrations by Jon MacNair, and kudos to him for his comic-book-esque portraits of these oddities, all set in a characteristic blue-green tinge.
Of the entries in the book, the mummified head of the Düsseldorf vampire is one of the most interesting. The true-crime details of the case are horrifying, but the journey of how the head of the perpetrator ended up at … wait for it … Ripley’s Believe It or Not! in Wisconsin is almost as strange as the object itself. Similar interest can be found in the chapter on James Dean’s ill-fated Porsche 550 Spyder.
But the best of the best is the retelling of the tale of the “Black Aggie,” a funerary pedestal that began at the Druid Ridge Cemetery in Pikesville, Maryland. The stories surrounding this memorial object are complex and strange — and there’s even a connection to Lafayette Square and the nearby White House. For appreciators of this tale, check out Ocker’s podcast, Odd Things I’ve Seen, which has an episode on the statue(s) in question.
Ocker is a solid writer who offers a campfire-tale mystique to his prose. His entries on each of the “cursed “objects are accessible and independent from one another, meaning readers can pick up the book and read as much or as little as they’d like. It’s perhaps best to spread the reading out across multiple nights, experiencing these horror-filled words with a flashlight beneath a makeshift tent of bedsheets. Better yet, wait for a stormy night and the stroke of midnight — just be careful of that figurine on the mantelpiece.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Cursed Objects: Strange but True Stories of the World’s Most Infamous Items by J.W. Ocker. 272 pages. $20. Quirk Books. Click here for more information. Read Hollywood Soapbox’s interview with J.W. Ocker.
