At first, I was about to make my usual observation of "But was this a horror story and not just 'Dark Fantasy'?" before the fullness of the parents' horrific deeds were revealed. At first I was unsure of what year this was taking place. Initially I was put in a mind of the early 20th century and the era of the Cottington Faeries; perhaps the elder brother was merely the victim of quackery rather than horrific child abuse. Then, I began to think of the era as being closer to a modern day and age... Certainly the outdated trope of Mother not wanting her daughter to wear glasses for fear of how it would make her look seemed to fit the bygone 1950s rather than the modern day and age.
But gradually, as we see the traditional capriciousness of the faeries blended with the cold, twisted nature of the parents, the true horror of this story came to the fore. And, like any good horror story, even though we get a happy ending, the audience is left with a question mark at the end. This is not just "are there more faeries out there, scheming and poaching the brains of my neighbor's dog" but, rather, "how much do I really know about my neighbors and how they treat their kids?"
This story, like last week's "Bone Mother", is a keeper: I'll be listening to it again and again.
Perfectly creepy, disturbing, and suspenseful with some very well-done moments of true horror for those of us who remember how powerless it feels to be a child in an adult's (and monster's) world.
Yours,
Sylvan (Dave)