Endings

So, I have been on a Richard Laymon kick the past few weeks. He passed away in 2001 and I try not to read too many of his books so as to not run out of them. I reread Night in the Lonesome October and One Rainy Night. If gore and stomach twisting horror aren't for you, then run away!. But if you want horror, real scary horror, give a Laymon a try. 

I just finished Funhouse by Laymon, which I hadn't read before. It was pretty good. His usual stuff, which means compellingly readable and dread inducing. But the ending, well... it was crap. Not just over the top. Way, way over the top. It still wasn't as bad as most of Stephen King's endings (at least the ones that  I have actually made it to), which are horrible.

I headed back to Amazon, in search of the next book to read and noticed something in the reviews of various books that has bothered me in the past: There are people who absolutely hate "Happy Endings" no matter the genre or story.

Shouldn't the end of a story be appropriate to the story itself? I have always thought so but I get the feeling I am outnumbered.

I like Happy Endings. I like Unhappy Endings less, but if they seem appropriate, it won't ruin the story for me. The only endings I actively dislike, in movies or books, are the Sudden Fade to Black/Faux Daringly Ambiguous Endings (I'm looking at you Inception). But that's neither here nor there.

But the hatred of Happy Endings, for the sake of hating  happy Endings, reminds me of an ex-girlfriend of mine who liked to wallow in the misery of her horrible upbringing and consequently, avoided Happy things (Endings, Christmas, rainbows and smiling children) like the plague (There's a reason she is an ex-girlfriend).

However, Amazon tells me she wasn't alone. Far from it. I have always known this but have never been able to puzzle out the lure of dark, depressing things, like Unhappy Endings. I don't think  I will ever undertand it.