The Dancing Plague (Book 5 of World’s Scariest Legends)
The Dancing Plague
By Jeremy Bates
The Sexton’s musings (spoilers are likely):
A very interesting take on the cause of the dancing plague. It’s a most intelligent explanation to something that was, at the time (1518), boiled down to “hot blood” or dancing a fever away. There are other theories such as the mass hysteria one mentioned in the book but my favorite by far is the ergot theory. Ergot is a fungus/mold that grows on rotting rye. It is known to have neurologic effects such as spasms and can cause vivid hallucinations. The book however take the explanation in a “supernatural” direction. It’s great!
The structure of this one is much like the movie “A Christmas Story” where the adult version of the main character is telling the story of an event that happened during his childhood. You could also compare it to Stephen King’s “It”. A coming of age story with some crazy twists.
As for the characters, let’s start with the main three. Ben, I just adore him. He is a kid with some darkness in the form of guilt in him but ultimately a really good kid! Sally, also a good kid in general. Not your typical teenage girl however. She seems to have a good head on her shoulders filled with common sense and compassion. Chunk, annoying as hell. You can tell he has no supervision and is spoiled as hell. Honestly, some of his attitude us down to his upbringing but I also think he is a very lonely kid. Thing is, he maybe more well-liked if he didn’t act the way he does. He is his own worse enemy it seems. There were times where I became very angry with him. He is just so bloody selfish and winey. It makes it hard to feel badly for him.
As for the adults…I’m lumping them together as dysfunctional. Good lord. The only one that seems to have a decent head is Ben’s dad and “Sir” (Ben’s teacher). The rest of them need to take a long hard look into a mirror because they have got problems. It’s very telling when you find out just what the dancing signifies and how they end up there. I’ll say no more on the subject. You’re gonna have to read the book.
Closing thoughts:
A great start to a two part story. In this it is very much like “It”. There is even a promise to remember, which Sally seems to have a hard time with in the epilogue. I’ll just say it…why is it so easy to brainwash people into not believing their own experiences? We know so little about the world around us that the supernatural is really not that much of a leap. I got angry with her. It’s very frustrating! I’m glad that I waited to read the two books together. It would have been a long wait.
