Darkest Tehran

Behdad Ghadim’s new book includes three stories: Four Pairs of Square Shoes, Whiffs of Death, and The Liberation of Babrineh. All three stories have a great atmosphere and tension, and despite all the bitter, bloody, and strange events, they compel the reader to keep reading. The Liberation of Babrineh is the main story (and is considered the best in the collection), but the moment we remember the name and genre of Darkest Tehran (horror), it can no longer be seen as problematic. Our heart, which fears the unknown and the uncertainty of the unknown, is a cornerstone of horror. Behdad Pir has clearly matured compared to his previous two books, both in terms of prose—which is no longer weighed down by the monstrous apparatus—and in terms of character development, compared to his Silver Axe manuscript, where fear of the situation was not considered. On the surface, a horror story points to deeper issues in the real world and raises the question again: what does it mean to be a monster? Is it having eight legs? Is this creature not human? Has it lived a long life? Are humans the real monsters? Monsters like Borazjani, Hossein the Shark Killer, or individuals who live in our world (such as Sotomo Miyazaki, the killer of little angels).