Tonia Ransom - Horror Author and Creator of the NightLight Podcast

Today I am talking about Zora Neale Hurston’s short story, “Black Death”. This story can be found in “The Complete Stories” and “Hitting a Straight Lick With a Crooked Stick.” I believe that Zora wrote it in 1925. Now almost 100 years later, we can discover and enjoy these stories.

In this story, Hurston uses her knowledge of black folklore and black tales of the supernatural, to tell a story of obtaining justice for a broken heart. This story could easily have been an episode Rod Sterling’s Night Gallery or the Twilight Zone.

The antagonist of this story has a name that everyone will find familiar. I will not tell you so you can be surprised like I was. I do wonder about the name’s history and did the entertainer who used it, get the name from the folklore and literature of the time.

This story is listed as one of the seven unpublished stories in “The Complete Stories” collection. I think that is a shame because I really like the way this story flowed.

One thing I have noticed during this process is the way Hurston paints a picture of the way women are treated. The needs of the women are ignored or openly rejected. Hurston weaves this treatment into her stories narratives, so it is apparent and a part of the world her characters live in. This is terribly similar to the way things are in real life.

One key thing I get from this story is the respect Hurston has for the black people in her story. She shows this by the respect she gives the beliefs of the people even when it is something that the white population would laugh at.

This is a good read and for fans of supernatural stories, this is a story you will want to read.

https://www.ifoundthisgreatbook.com/reading-zora-neale-hurstons-short-stories/