Lisa Binion

My mom died in December of 1974 when I was eight years old. That was a traumatic time in my life. The time of year she died put a bit of a damper on the Christmas season for me. I'm not sure anyone ever completely recovers from the death of a person who was the entire world to you. A friend suggested that I write about her death. She thought that might help me to heal a bit more.

What I wrote about her death became Softly and Tenderly. Turning her death into a horror story seemed to be the natural thing to do. Lori's character, of course, is based on me. Throughout the story are bits and pieces of things that really happened. The first paragraph where my dad runs down the stairs screaming that my mom is dead is one of them. That morning and her funeral have horribly etched their way into my memory, but I remember almost nothing about the eight wonderful years I spent with her.

Where did all the beetles come from? There was a beetle that got caught in my hair, but that happened after my mom died. That is how I know that their sharp little legs hurt when they move on your skin. My stepmom is the one who untangled it from my hair and sent it on its way. That one event is what prompted me to give them such a huge part in my story.

The story begins with my mom's death, so a funeral naturally follows. A funeral home is creepy enough on its own, but I wanted something to make it even more so. The song "Softly and Tenderly" popped into my head. It was one that we sang a lot at the church I attended after my mom's death, but it was used as an invitation song. I really didn't think that particular song that would creep anyone out, but then I looked up the full lyrics to it. In church, we had always sang the first, second, and fourth verses, never the third. The third verse is rather chilling and totally appropriate for a funeral. That is when I decided on the title. Softly and Tenderly sounds sweet and gentle, but like the third verse of the song, there is nothing sweet or gentle about what I wrote.