The Lake

Although technically a genre convention, “campground horror” operates in the novel like a recurring symbolic frame, shaping how other motifs gain meaning. The story uses the eerie transformation of a nostalgic, safe environment into one of psychological fear and unresolved trauma to create an atmosphere of suspense and tension. Camp Pine Lake, traditionally a place of carefree childhood, quickly becomes sinister. Even the camp pamphlet that Esme received reads, “COME TO CAMP PINE LAKE… YOU’LL REGRET IT IF YOU DON’T” (20). The repetition of carved initials, abandoned deer carcasses, and dolls with crossed-out eyes are concrete echoes within this larger frame, returning whenever the past presses against the present. Esme’s experiences of dissociation and confusion add to the horror motif and emphasize The Thin Line between Reality and Imagination.

The camp masks fear with cheerfulness, but darkness seeps in. Carvings like “LC” on Esme’s bunk and staff members who keep glancing at the forest suggest shared anxieties. The motif continues throughout the story, and becomes most prominent as Esme compares Lillian to a horror film villain: “She’s like an evil paranormal presence in a horror flick.