Avid readers, brisk sales, great reviews: Frightening!

"In writing ‘Accumulation’ Aimee Pokwatka says she addressed some of her personal hauntings and, “Through writing a haunted house novel, I unhaunted myself,” she said.

By MAUREEN KOEHL 

“Accumulation,” the title of Cross River author Aimee Pokwatka’s latest fantasy horror novel, is living up to its name.

Thus far in its brief exposure to the literary world it has acquired an enthusiastic following of readers, banner book sales and been dubbed a “best seller” by USA Today. 

Author Pokwatka’s third offering follows in her somewhat eclectic pattern of writing about fantasy, horror, science fiction, and women’s issues in today’s world. “Accumulation” seems to fit into most of these genres with its subject matter including ghosts, a haunted house and haunted people, especially a harried mother and housewife, overworked husband, two demanding children and frantic dog all based on Pokwatka’s own life experiences encountered after moving into her 18th century house in Cross River in August 2019.

The house on Mark Mead Road may have sections dating back to the 1750s with parts added on as owners changed, leading to odd angles, crazy slanted floors, off-center doorways and a “murder staircase” in one part of the house. 

“I didn’t plan to write a haunted house novel … but the house insisted on it,” Pokwatka said. 

She actually experienced a ghostly shadow late one night as she went to bed when she encountered a “man-shaped torso silhouette” outlined on the wall which sent her racing to her bed, scaring the dog in the process. 

That dog appears in the book as GoGo, companion to Tenn, the book’s protagonist. Although Pokwatka considers herself a “ghost agnostic,” and the ghosts in her home seem to have settled themselves out of sight, she is willing to believe that there might be something out there keeping watch … a comporting feeling she acknowledges.

Accumulation’s story starts, as did the author’s family’s introduction to life in Cross River, with Pokwatka’s husband finding a creepy doll hidden in the weeds of their home’s yard. The small, abandoned figure became the subject of a spooking game as husband and wife tried to outsmart each other with hiding places for the doll. 

Real life transmogrified

Eventually, real life morphed into the book’s horror story with daily chores of moving into a new house and community, commitments to new responsibilities, new schools and new friendships, not to mention ghosts, and the housewife’s time and desire to devote creative time to herself as she falls further and further behind. It presents a new kind of psychological horror, and this is the story that Pokwatka tells in “Accumulation.”

What part the ghosts play in this novel — and how they affect the lives of Tenn and Ward, their two young children, and the people around them — is the reader’s job to find out. The book is a collection of metaphors, a line repeated often in the novel.

Pokwatka considers herself a speculative writer, not wanting to stick to one genre. 

“This book is more mainstream than my first two books, ‘Self-Portrait with Nothing’ and ‘The Parliament,’” she told The Recorder, but all her books encompass speculative fiction, horror, magical realism and mystery as well. She delights in crossing all genres. Her next book will deal with cults, again with a strong feminine focus. 

“I think horror is the correct lens to view the world we live in today,” Aimee said. In writing ‘Accumulation’ she addressed some of her personal hauntings and “through writing a haunted house novel, I unhaunted myself,” she said.

Pokwatka grew up in Wheeling, W. Va. She received her MFA in creative writing from Syracuse University. Before coming to Lewisboro the family lived in Newtown, Conn., where Aimee conducted creative writing classes at the local library. 

Happy to be here

Moving from a small rural town, where getting anywhere involved a car, she is delighted to be able to walk to Bacio’s for dinner or to the Yellow Studio or shopping center if needed.

She speaks highly of The Yellow Studio in Yellow Monkey Village under the direction of Tina Villaveces. The Yellow Studio in addition to being a very active art gallery offers studios in the attic above the gallery for artists and writers to rent dedicated workspace. Aimee was grateful for this local option, both for the convenience and for the interaction with other creators. 

Writers helping writers

There is also a blossoming cooperative writer’s group that meets monthly to offer positive feedback to attendees. 

“Accumulation,” published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons made its debut at Bedford Books on May 5 and is available in local bookstores. The audio book is expertly narrated by Ellen Adair, actor, writer and portrayer of Bess McTeer in “The Sinner” and “The Housemaid” movies. 

In “Accumulation,” Aimee uses her own life experiences, people she has encountered in her travels, neighbors who recognize Buckeye trees, her dog Pilgrim and even, full disclosure, the Lewisboro town historian, who as the South Bouton town historian, appears as a side character.