Wounds By Nathan Ballingrud - Theme of “music in hell”

Every once in a while, certain themes in books stick out to me more than others. And these could be themes explored 100x over in other books, but for some reason, this particular one called my attention.

The book I’m listening to is Wounds by Nathan Ballingrud. It’s an anthology, including six stories from the border of hell. I’m about halfway through and one of the many themes explored in a number of these stories is “music in hell“. Now I know you’re probably thinking, duh, music and the absence of it could set the mood in both movies and books. But in this book, it’s not just noise or a simple sound like a door creaking or wind blowing, it’s harmonious and almost beautiful sounding. 

He creates a hellish soundscape using metaphors and musical terms like “a symphony of despair”, “infernal harmonies”, and in one story the cries of the tormented are described as a “dirge (which is like a funeral hymn) of hunger”. It really shapes the mood and suggests an eerie beauty and terror. And he does it so well. 

I did a little bit of research on this and a few things came up:

In folklore the devil often plays the violin and he uses it to cause chaos or temptation. There is that song “The Devil Went Down To Georgia” where he tries to compete with another fiddle player for his soul.

When we think about hell, we think of sounds of torment. Like screaming, wailing and or moaning. In Dante’s Inferno, there’s some description of unbearable and unnatural sounds. Also, in biblical terms, Lucifer was a musician in heaven so that lends to the idea that when he fell, his music turned into something corrupted. Music therefore can be divine or damned.

Oh! And remember the Satanic panic?? When everyone thought that there were evil subliminal messages in songs and music videos. And even now, all this stuff about music artists in the “illuminati” (not getting into that discussion here lol), but isn’t it crazy how that’s all done through music?

Also, how about witches dancing wild in forests? 

Very interesting…

I don’t usually like anthologies, but this one came highly recommended by one of my favorite booktokers, Brandon Baker. So, I decided to give it a try and I’m enjoying it so far!

Have any of you read it?

Until next time,

D. E.