The irony of this project is that monsters tend to end up ostracized, but Kullstroem used them as a throughway for appreciating cultures other than her own and meeting new people. For a book focused on fiends, death, and violence, Drawn to the Dark: Explorations in Scare Tourism Around the World is tremendously humane. The author often has the very American reaction of finding unfamiliar traditions weird at first but she inevitably ends up loving them and the locals who serve as her often amiable, sometimes caustic, always willing tour guides through the sundry parades, festivals, landmarks, and haunted houses they visit.
Although Drawn to the Dark does have lessons to impart, it is not fueled by the kind of pretentious deep thoughts that make most memoirs insufferable. Kullstroem’s approach is personal and welcoming, but she is much more interested in the spooky, creepy marvels she encounters than she is in herself. Her writing can be a bit stiff and purple, but so are zombies, so I guess it’s perfectly appropriate.
