The Daily News in Los Angeles ran a story about the homeless camping in the Big Tujunga Wash on Sunland’s northern border. The article is here. I live in the neighborhood nearby, so consequently the encampment caught my attention. The camp, and many of the sights in my Californian town, drew my attention – the situation lent itself perfectly to a story I wanted to write. My unpublished Unction is the first tale set in the “real world” that exploits the mythology I have binding together my Mortui Philosophies.
In this icky horror story, Brian Tucker kills and mutilates an elderly couple under instructions delivered by faceless nuns in white habits. He is a resident at the Luna Del Mar manor, a Los Angeles based board-and care-for the mentally ill. Brian believes the couple he has killed will return to life as zombies under his control – that’s what his hallucination and delusions tell him. The nuns have warned the schizophrenic killer he must create zombies and fight an onslaught of demons. Unfortunately, the characters are cursed by the bleak physics presented in my Pazuzu Trilogy.
The Big Tujunga Wash, names have been changed in the story, is only one location in Unction – homelessness and insanity tend to mobilize characters. The summer before last, I took photographs for scene references. Take a look at the sights in my horror story, walk in Brian’s shoes and you are welcome to come and visit my sunny, Southern California neighborhood.
Luna Del Mar, the board and care for the mentally ill. The facility faces the unidentified park where Brian and his nemesis hide.
The park across the street from Luna Del Mar. The park is not named in Unction, but its true name is Sunland Park.
The Wash where the homeless are encamped.
The bridge overlooking the homeless camp in the Wash. The bridge carries Foothill Boulevard over the usually dry bed.
Santo Mateo, the empty, non-demonitional mission near Luna Del Mar. The board-and-care is behind the mission. In real-life, the mission is opposite the mental health facility and across the park.
The retirement home, one of Brian Tucker’s last stops in his horror story.
Horrid Tales of Wister Town printed copies and ebooks are available at LULU and Smashwords.
