The Moms of Speculative Fiction: The Best & The Worst

Happy Mother's Day Beardies!

Belated, of course.


I had all intentions of writing of this post yesterday, in honor of Mother's Day, but I literally worked ALL day at my J.O.B.  Yup--open to close without a single break [no joke!].  If anyone has ever been to a restaurant on Mother's Day, you'll understand why I pretty much crashed in front of the boob-tube when I got home and fell asleep in the chair!

But enough of that.  Let's get to the real reason behind the post: MOM.

There have been some pretty great mums in the realm of Speculative Fiction... and in the realm of the Speculative Fiction sub-genre of Horror, there have been some rather crazy and altogether messed-up ones.  I compiled a list of some the best and some of the worst...

BEST
	Perhaps my ultimate favorite mother character is that of Molly Weasley from the Harry Potter series.  Molly is Martha Stewart on acid, yet a little handier with a broomstick!  Even though Molly is raising seven children on a shoestring budget—even taking Harry in as one of her own—she does it all without missing a beat and with her head held high.  Also, despite being one badass witch, Molly restrains her magical abilities unless circumstances call for it—like when she kills Bellatrix Lestrange in the last book to protect Ginny.
	Even though the character of Lily Potter only graces a few pages within the seven Harry Potter books, the legacy of her unconditional love and sacrifice lives on through Harry.  That very motherly sacrifice is why she lands on this list, not to mention being one talented witch as well.
	The mother of the Savior of humanity. Check. A badass woman who will do anything to protect her son, John.  Check. On a list of great mothers—fantasy or otherwise. Check. Sarah Connor definitely makes the list.
WORST
	Margaret White from Stephen King’s Carrie is perhaps one of the worst mothers I can think of to add to this part of the list.  She is a religious zealot with skewed views on sex and sin who resents the conception and birth of her daughter, often physically abusing Carrie and locking her in a “prayer closet” when her telekinetic powers surface. And who can forget the final knife scene and Carrie’s haunting quote while she telekinetically slows her mother’s heart: “You gave me darkness instead of love, Momma; now I'm going to give you darkness, so you can join whatever god lives there.”
	Although Mommie Dearest isn’t exactly a horror film, the biopic tale of Joan Crawford paints a horrifying picture of a mother (especially Faye Dunaway’s eyebrows)! And remember Beardies:
	As far as stellar role models go, Pamela Vorhees from the original Friday the 13th movie is not one of them, but momma’s boy Jason surely thought she was—following closely in his mother’s footsteps as Camp Crystal Lake’s ruthless killer in subsequent films.

I hope all of you had a great Mother's Day, and until next time... Happy Scribing!