4. Bobby Hastings
I can't stand what's happening to me. This is the final sentiment of Bobby Hastings, expressed via a note pinned to his chest before hanging himself in his parents' basement. Yet despite knowing how Hastings' life ends, his life has such a rich potential for an extended story. Hastings is first referred to in the short story The Road Virus Heads North, originally published in the collection 999. The Road Virus Heads North tells the story of author Richard Kinnell, who purchases an eerie painting created by Hastings. It soon transpires that the painting is subtly changing, depicting the future as the figure in the portrait makes its way towards Kinnell to murder him. But the most curious detail in the story isn't so much the painting itself as its painter. During the story we learn that Hastings was an extremely prolific, drug-addicted artist who attempted to burn everything he'd ever painted and sketched before hanging himself. The whole thing is so mysterious that it would be amazing to see it expanded through its own work. What exactly was happening to Hastings? How did he manage to paint a literal curse? And why did it only work on one particular painting? There are so many questions demanding answers. In the end, though, the most obvious reason why Hastings needs his own story is this: when a rather throwaway, set-up character for introducing a murderous curse demands more attention than the curse itself, well...why wouldn't you want to revisit them?
Brian Wilson
Contributor
Commonly found reading, sitting firmly in a seat at the cinema (bottle of water and a Freddo bar, please) or listening to the Mountain Goats.
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Brian