Death

The theme of death is threaded throughout the collection to augment the supernatural motif and explore the nature of grief and existential terror. Three stories are centered around supernatural beings, but generally these creatures are a springboard for the author to explore how the living deal with metaphorical death—the loss or potential loss of something significant.

In “The Prospectors,” Aubergine and Clara encounter with the ghosts in the Emerald Lodge represents their gradual loss of innocence and a challenge to the status of their friendship. Aubergine feels guilty for dragging Clara to Oregon, and it is gradually revealed that the two women have been engaging in prostitution in order to survive. Aubergine feels that this reversal in fortune is her fault because it was her idea to leave Florida. In the lodge, the two young women face the darkness that has filtered into their lives...