Tillinghast
by Clare Cavenagh
As clergymen go, Reverend Stutley Tillinghast is, shall we say, quite unorthodox. Nominally in charge of a rural parish in Rhode Island, previously ministered to by his ancestors, he is afflicted by an irresistible taste for blood, which makes him kill to live and live to kill. You might well call him a monster, except that he takes no pleasure in his hunting sprees and is, on the contrary, torn by guilt at what his body makes him do. And so Tillinghast plans his own death (not easy when you are what he is). Then his reality is upended by the arrival of a young woman who may or may not be a relative, and may or may not share his affliction.
As explained in the author’s note at the end, Clare Cavanagh’s debut novel is inspired by the vampire panic that seized New England in the 19th century. During a wave of cases of consumption, people started believing that their deceased relatives were returning from the grave to feed on the living. A famous case involved Mercy Brown in Rhode Island in 1892, whose body was exhumed during an outbreak that locals thought was being caused by vampirism. This historical episode is woven into a contemporary tale with roots in the historical past.
The particular inspiration for this novel gives Cavenagh the opportunity to write a vampire novel with a twist. Indeed, the reverend protagonist is never explicitly described as a “vampire” and lacks some of the more typical qualities of the literary undead. For instance, he does not seem to mind sunlight; he is not a mind-reader; and his frenzied attacks lack the eroticism of the typical “Old World” vampire, seeming closer to the behaviour of a werewolf. Ultimately, Tillinghast comes across as a weary anti-hero who needs to confront tough moral choices.
Tillinghast
suffers from some plot gaps and narrative gear changes that ultimately leave
the reader wanting. Yet the unusual take on the vampire myth, the weaving of
elements of New England folklore, and the psychological and moral debates at
the heart of this novel still make it a worthwhile and compelling debut.
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