True Crime Studies: Columbine by Dave Cullen
Incredibly vivid, heavily detailed, brilliantly written and fast-paced, Columbine is one of the best true crime books I’ve ever read. Written like a thriller, Dave Cullen, one of the first reporters on the scene that day, covers everything to possibly know about the Columbine massacre that took place on the morning of April 20, 1999, carried out by high school students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. The book covers three major events: the evolution of the attack stretching out two years, the attack itself, and the aftermath that spans over the next decade.
There is honestly way too much to dissect for a simple analysis or review. To cover all of it I’d need to write a full-length essay. In short, it’s a true crime masterpiece that hits you hard in the chest. A large portion is dedicated to the survivors of the attack. Not just those in the school but the families of the thirteen. Cullen takes you along their recovery stories, particularly Patrick Ireland’s and Valeen “Val” Schnurr’s who pop in and out of the narrative as if to lend readers their resilience when things get too heavy.
The description of the attack itself is harrowing. Cullen’s words chase you down like that junkyard owner in Stand by Me, hitting you over the head with a rock in his dirty hand. Before I picked up the book I already knew a lot about the attack, that the bulk of it ended after about 17 minutes, that Eric and Dylan ended their own lives and that there were 13 victims, and yet I was biting my nails the whole time. Subject matter aside, it’s clear that Cullen is a phenomenally talented writer. He puts you in the moment. You’re there at Columbine not only living the event but watching it unfold.
You can hear the police sirens, the blaring fire alarm honking for hours, and feel the quaking rattle of the gunshots. It’s graphic and violent, every survivor shares a bit of the story so that readers get a full picture of that day, including the image of Eric smiling as he shoots through a glass door at a teacher and the slow, agonizing death of Dave Sanders.
Debunking the myths of Columbine
It’s easy to tell that Columbine started from Dave Cullen’s desire to set the record straight. Facts about the massacre have never been 100% accurate, starting from contradicting personal statements to the first blundered press conference. Rumors have taken on a life of their own, becoming facts in the eyes of the public.
The biggest myth about the attack was that had to do with the toxic atmosphere at Columbine High. If you browse the internet you’ll find many Tumblr and Reddit posts featuring “evidence” of the harassment Eric and Dylan supposedly faced at their school. Cullen addresses these claims by saying that they were largely made by those who didn’t know the boys and were projecting hateful comments onto their characters post-mortem. Friends of Eric and Dylan have repeatedly refuted these claims, that they never knew either one to suffer at the hands of bullies.
The myth comes from our desire to give reason to such an event. Anything that would neatly wrap up the blame in a box and shape it into something acceptable. There was no obvious motive so people created one they could understand but even after all these years, the world is still bewildered. It’s just as Eric predicted:
“The majority of the audience won’t even understand my motives either. All you f***ers should die! DIE!”
Passage taken from Eric Harris’s journal, The Book of God
The motive of the psychopath
Warning. I am a major nerd for psychopathology so this section is a lot of rambling.
The psychology of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold is what inspired me to pick up this book. Anyone interested in the same should definitely give it a try. There is an amazing chapter in Columbine that works at explaining not only Eric but the reason why he and Dylan were a pair because, as most true crime enthusiasts know, most killers work alone.
Page 239, “Chapter 40: Psychopath.” Easily my favorite chapter of the whole book. It explains the reason why people such as Eric grow attached to people such as Dylan and why both committed the crime.
Psychopaths crave constant stimuli. They can’t feel or experience emotion the same way as everyone else yet they crave it. They’re aware of that spark they’re missing and often seek it out elsewhere. Usually, they find it in rushes of adrenaline or in the presence of explosive individuals, and Dylan Klebold was Eric’s explosive individual. Prone to impulsive fits of rage, Dylan ran hot and cold all at once. He was packed to the brink with raw emotion which made him incredibly stimulating to someone like Eric- a textbook psychopath who struggled to feel even a flicker of anything.
“The psychopath is in control, of course, but the hotheaded sidekick can sustain his excitement leading up to the big kill. ‘It takes heat and cold to make a tornado, ‘ Dr. Fuselier is fond of saying. Eric craved heat, but he couldn’t sustain it. Dylan was a volcano. You could never tell when he might erupt. Day after day, for more than a year, Dylan juiced Eric with erratic jolts of excitement. They played the killing out again and again: the cries, the screams, the smell of burning flesh… Eric savored the anticipation.”
Columbine pg. 244
A psychopath is not the Michael Myers type of killer most of us associate with the word. Their actions are used to meet specific goals. In Eric’s case, it was fame or rather, recognition. Columbine was a performance and the public was the audience. The objective was to leave a mark on the world. Just a single glimpse at Eric’s journal “The Book of God” shows how hungry he was for recognition. Not companionship or even success, but acknowledgment of his superiority. The kid really thought himself a god.
The hard truth of it is, Eric and Dylan walked into Columbine that day with no targets in mind despite their different objectives. Eric wanted mass extermination and fame and Dylan wanted suicide.
Final verdict
The attack didn’t happen out of the blue. There is a gradual buildup as well as some concerning red flags. As it turns out, there were MANY chances to stop Columbine. At least a year before the attack, multiple complaints were filed against Eric for threatening behavior and the reported detonating of crude bombs in isolation areas. Even more shocking is how Dylan attempted to warn several people! He hinted at the attack on several occasions, warned Eric’s neighbor (a boy who Eric sent repeated death threats to) about Eric’s desire to kill, and wrote a short story for class that appeared to be a foretelling of the attack just months earlier. It was as if he was begging someone to stop them. But of course, no one did.
We’ll probably never have the full story about what happened at Columbine. There are only two people who know the truth and they both took their own lives. They robbed the world of ever knowing the truth and so now, we do our best to fill in the blanks. As I said, there is a lot covered in Columbine. It does its very best at giving you the full picture or rather the picture that Dave Cullen has discovered for himself. Even if you don’t agree with his account, Columbine is still an incredible read.
(5 / 5)
Daisy Johnson’s, The Hotel is a collection of stories that tell the tale of a hotel built on cursed land. Originally written and recorded as a series for BBC Radio 4 in 2020, (you can find the recordings here https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000mrcg/episodes/player )
The fourteen-story collection was released in hardcover in 2021. Johnson’s prose is haunting, weaving together the stories of generations of families who have been tempted, forced, or serendipitously dumped at The Hotel. Most leave the message, “I’ll be there soon,” and many disappear from room 63.
- ‘The British literary heir to Stephen King’ Johanna Thomas-Corr, Sunday TimesA triumph of contemporary horror from the Booker Prize-shortlisted author, this collection of short stories will haunt you long after you turn the final pageA place of myths, rumours and secrets, The Hotel looms over the dark Fens, tall and grey in its Gothic splendour
- Built on cursed land, a history of violent death suffuses its very foundations –yet it has a magnetism that is impossible to ignore
- On entering The Hotel, different people react in different ways
Last update on 2025-03-17 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
The Plot.
The Hotel tells the stories of the people who are drawn to The Hotel, or, more accurately, the ground the hotel is built on. The first story explains what we know about the hotel, its tendencies, moods, and … hobbies. We are then introduced to Mary Southgraves, ‘The Witch’, who comes to live with her husband on the land on which The Hotel will be built. The villagers in the pond drown her for predicting a sickness that takes the village children, (no this is not a spoiler she tells you she dies on the first page of her chapter.)
The proceeding chapters build upon this story. We meet the workers who are brought in to fill the pond to begin construction. A child of a guest in 1968 who meets another girl who may or may not actually be there. A maid who takes part in séances and Ouija board sessions. The stories progress through time into the present.
Highlights.
The haunting prose of The Hotel does the majority of the heavy lifting for this collection, which makes sense since it began as a podcast series. Johnson’s prose leans towards poetry, albeit more Poe than Keats.
The repetition of specific characters and family names throughout the different stories was intriguing, giving the stories links. These links trigger a sense of recognition for the reader. There is also a sense of anticipation, knowing what has happened to these families already, we wonder how much more they can withstand. The Hotel is like a curse following these families, but I think Johnson is commenting on lineage and the consequences of past actions. The sins of the father and all that.
- Fifteen highly original and darkly unsettling supernatural stories, performed by some of Britain’s finest actresses ‘This is what we know about The Hotel
- It is bigger on the inside than on the outside
- Do not go into Room 63
Last update on 2025-03-17 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Drawbacks.
These stories can get confusing at times and I think this is due to the briefness of the stories. It’s hard to keep track of a character that you have spent four pages with and remember them three stories later. I found myself having to stop and turn back to check if that person was who I thought they were. This pausing to turn back interrupts the reading experience. It pulls you out of the story and destroys the atmosphere that Johnson has worked to create.
The Final Take.
The Hotel was an interesting read. Johnson is a talented writer who has published a collection of linked stories that will keep the reader turning pages if only to find out the final fate of these families. That being said, it is obvious that the stories were initially written for a podcast. I’m not sure if it’s the way they are put together or… I don’t know, there’s just something ‘podcasty’ about them. As such I would recommend listening to the audio episodes (see the link above) over reading the book.
(3 / 5)
On Halloween in 2016 Josh Malerman, author of Bird Box, released A House At The Bottom Of A Lake (gosh this is a hefty title!). Last week, I picked this slim book up off my library’s Adult Horror shelves, not knowing what to expect. What I got was a novella that should have been shelved in the teen lit section. Perhaps it is the rather weird underwater sex scene that precludes it from those shelves.
- From the New York Times bestselling author of Bird Box and Malorie comes a haunting tale of love and mystery, as the date of a lifetime becomes a maddening exploration of the depths of the heart
- “Malerman expertly conjures a fairy tale nostalgia of first love, and we follow along, all too willingly, ignoring the warning signs even as the fear takes hold
- ”—Lit Reactor The story begins: young lovers, anxious to connect, agree to a first date, thinking outside of the box
Last update on 2025-03-10 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
The Plot.
When James asks Amelia out on a date during summer break, canoeing was the last thing that she expected. Borrowing his uncles canoe, James hopes he can show Amelia an exciting time, because he really likes this girl! The date starts well and the conversation, if stilted at times, is banter-ey and cool.
They head out on the first lake, but James has an idea that they might have a better time on the lake that joins to this one. It is quieter, no speed boats to show him up, they’ll be able to eat their picnic lunch in peace and quiet. When they arrive, though, they notice a tunnel, that may lead to a third lake. Eager to show Amelia that he is an exciting kind of guy, James heads through the tunnel.
Lo and behold, it is another lake! Albeit, a bit murky and deserted, but that’s alright. That is until they notice that beneath the bow of the boat is a tiled roof. Beneath that tiled roof is a whole house. What ensues is a summer of falling in love and exploring a sunken house that may not be as empty as they thought.
Highlights.
Malerman writing the internal monologue of an angsty seventeen-year-old on a first date is one of the most authentic things I’ve read for a long time. Even down to James worrying about revealing that his dad owns the hardware shop he works in. Scared that Amelia will think that is all he is going to do with his life.
The ending (which of course I cannot discuss here) was well done, although a little contrived and predictable. It felt as if it had been almost tacked on the end as an afterthought. Perhaps Malerman finished the story without the final chapter, but was encouraged to add that last bit to give readers some closure
- “A book that demands to be read in a single sitting, and through the cracks between one’s fingers
- There has never been a horror story quite like this
- Josh Malerman truly delivers
Last update on 2025-03-10 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Drawbacks.
Malerman is a good writer, we have seen this in the many novels he has released since Bird Box. A House At The Bottom Of A Lake did not meet the usual standard. There are many reasons I say this. The first is a lack of creativity in descriptive passages in this book. They all felt pretty drab and began to become repetitive by the end of the story. I don’t know how many, times Malerman compared the way that James and Amelia were moving under the water in their scuba suits as ‘Astronaut-like’ or ‘Astronaut-esque’ or ‘ Like he was walking without gravity’, but really can you find another comparison please because this one is all used up!
As I mentioned in the intro, this did feel like a YA novel. Not only because both of the main characters are seventeen, but the prose is a too simple to be engaging. A House A The Bottom Of A Lake might be marketed differently in Australia (where this humble reviewer lives), perhaps making it to the YA shelves in the US or UK, but this is definitely not adult horror.
The Final Take.
Josh Malerman is a favorite of mine. I tend to pick up his books, blurb unread, because I will generally enjoy what he is putting out there. The exception to this rule is A House At The Bottom Of A Lake (if I never have to type that title again I will be pleased!). It just didn’t hit the way his other novels have and I was disappointed.
(2 / 5)
Imagine this. You’re home alone, waiting for your partner to return, when you hear a knock on your door. You answer it to see a family of five, bundled up against the cold. The father, a kindly older gentleman, explains that he used to live in this house as a boy. And he would love to show it to his family.
Do not let them in.
The story
Released in June 2024, We Used To Live Here is author Marcus Kliewer’s debut novel. It tells the story of Eve, who just purchased a beautiful house with her partner, Charlie. Their plan is to flip the house and sell it.
One night, while waiting for Charlie to come home, Eve is surprised by a knock at the door. It’s a man named Thomas Faust and his family.
Thomas explains that he grew up in the house and hasn’t been in the area in years. Would Eve let them in so that he can show the home to his children?
Against her better judgment, Eve lets them in. She regrets this almost at once when Thomas’s daughter vanishes somewhere into the house.
What worked
I always appreciate a book that allows you to play along with the mystery. And this book does that better than just about any other I’ve seen.
Pay close attention to the chapters, to the words that aren’t there. To everything about this novel.
This is mostly down to Kliewer. This is ultimately his work of art. But the production value is also fantastic. I don’t want to ruin the multiple mysteries, so I’ll just say this. There are clues in this book that require some specific artistic choices in the page layouts in this book. And I loved that.
If you’d like to experience another horror book review, check out this one.
We Used To Live Here is also the kind of story that makes you question everything right along with the main character, Eve. Eve is a great main character. But she might be an unreliable narrator. She might be experiencing every single horror described, exactly as it’s described. Or, she might be having a psychotic breakdown. Through most of the book, we can’t be sure. And that is so much fun.
Finally, the weather plays a large part in this story. There are several stories in which the weather or the land itself could be considered a character. Even an antagonist. This is certainly one. The winter storm is the thing that traps the family in the house with Eve. It also makes escaping the home difficult. Reading this book during the winter was especially impactful. Most of us know what it feels like to be shut in by a storm. I’ve personally lived through some of those storms that are just referred to by their year, as though they were impactful enough to claim the whole 365 days for themself. And that was with people I liked. Imagine what it would feel like with strangers. It’s a staggering thought and one that we explore in depth in this book.
- Get Out meets Parasite in this eerily haunting debut and Reddit hit—soon to be a Netflix original movie starring Blake Lively—about two homeowners whose lives are turned upside down when the house’s previous residents unexpectedly visit
- As a young, queer couple who flip houses, Charlie and Eve can’t believe the killer deal they’ve just gotten on an old house in a picturesque neighborhood
- As they’re working in the house one day, there’s a knock on the door
Last update on 2025-03-08 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
In the end, We Used To Live Here is a fantastic book. It’s the sort of story that sneaks into your brain and puts down roots. And if this is just the first book we’re getting from Kliewer, I can’t wait to see what else he comes up with.
(5 / 5)
