Horror-Creating Techniques in the Novel Long Likay by Phakinai

Abstract

          This study analyses the techniques of horror construction in Long Likay, a novel by Phakhinai, in two principal respects: (1) the interweaving of folk culture with beliefs concerning ghosts, spirits, and ritual, and (2) the literary devices through which horror is generated. Adopting a qualitative design and the methodology of literary criticism, the study takes Long Likay (2020, Sofa Publishing) as its primary source, and the analysis is guided by conceptual frameworks concerning the generic characteristics of the horror novel and perception through the five senses, in conjunction with concepts of the sociocultural function of literature and of spirit beliefs in Thai society. The findings identify two salient sets of techniques. The first is the fusion of folk culture with beliefs concerning ghosts, spirits, and ritual, effected through the deployment of Likay performance and the derelict Likay playhouse as a liminal space between the worlds of the living and the dead; through the conflation of beliefs about spirits denied justice with the doctrine of karma; and through the figuring of sacred space that, once abandoned, is transformed into a malevolent power. The second consists of literary devices, namely semantically contradictory symbolism, description mobilizing all five senses, characters liminally positioned between the two worlds, and plot reversals articulated with the law of karma. Taken together, these demonstrate a distinctive synthesis of Thai cultural symbolism with universal literary technique.