The Weird and the Eerie - Book Review 

Mark Fisher’s posthumously published collection, The Weird and the Eerie, offers a compelling and deeply analytical exploration of two specific atmospheric modes that often haunt the margins of genre fiction, film, and music. For anyone interested in the philosophy of horror, speculative fiction, or the nature of unsettling spaces, this book serves as an essential guide. Fisher opens by tracing his intellectual journey back to a 2010s symposium on H.P. Lovecraft, an event that prompted him to re-evaluate how we traditionally define the scary or the unsettling.

To build his argument, Fisher first distinguishes his ideas from Sigmund Freud’s famous concept of the unheimlich, or the uncanny. While the uncanny deals primarily with the unhomely - a sense of something familiar yet disturbingly alien, often rooted in human psychology and domestic anxiety - Fisher argues that the weird and the eerie are fundamentally different. Rather than looking inward at human neurosis, they look outward toward the Outside. They present a strangeness that resists being processed through the lens of the self or the domestic.

Fisher’s critical contribution lies in his meticulous separation of these two sensations. He defines the weird by the presence of something that simply does not belong - a violation of our accepted reality or ontology. It is an intrusion that challenges our fundamental concept of what is possible, suggesting that our current model of the world is flawed. Conversely, the eerie is defined by a problem of agency or purpose. It manifests as either a failure of absence (something crying out where there should be silence) or a failure of presence (empty ruins where people should be).

The core dread of the eerie lies in the enigma of unknown forces; we do not know what is operating behind the scenes, or why nothing is there at all. Many of us experienced a version of this during the pandemic, when bustling public centers fell unnervingly quiet. This specific atmosphere - the forlorn quality of liminal spaces left behind - is known as kenopsia.

Throughout the book, Fisher examines these concepts across a broad cultural spectrum, from the music of The Fall to the writing of Philip K. Dick, M.R. James and Daphne du Maurier. The text is at its most grounding when Fisher applies this framework to specific cultural landscapes, such as the works of Nigel Kneale and Alan Garner. Both authors excel at finding the inexplicable lurking beneath the mundane British landscape, perfectly illustrating Fisher’s theories.

While his deep dive into David Lynch’s filmography is fascinating, Fisher ultimately considers H.P. Lovecraft the master of these modes. Lovecraft’s cosmic horror—populated by Elder Gods and incomprehensible entities—is the weird par excellence. It presents a universe with a deep, dark history that predates humanity and remains entirely indifferent to us. This sensation of looking into an ancient abyss resonates throughout modern culture, influencing everything from the pseudo-scientific theories of Erich von Däniken to films like The Evil Dead and television series like True Detective.

Overall, The Weird and the Eerie is a thoughtful read that offers a nuanced theory of aesthetic experience. While it is an intellectually rigorous text, it remains accessible and rewarding for those engaged with pop culture and media. Fisher provides a powerful new lens through which to view unsettling cultural artifacts, pushing us to look past human-centered narratives and confront the immense, indifferent forces that lie just beyond our immediate perception.