things have gotten worse since the last time we spoke

In the downward spiral is where LaRocca unlocks the terror element of horror, wherein everything the reader thought they knew about the relationship between the two women turns upside down. Using this device in horror is deceptive because as readers we feel nothing can shock us because it’s already done, already over, but LaRocca uses this to their advantage. What’s interesting about these found documents is how much voyeurism it imposes on the reader. Agnes represents queer people who have been excluded from their families, and this desire for care and safety ends up leading her down a peculiar path. At first, Zoe begins as an innocent helping hand, but soon we learn of her more sinister motive. LaRocca carefully concocts the identities of each of them through how they present themselves via online messaging, and through beautifully pained prose, portrays the loneliness of Agnes, alongside the misunderstood pain of Zoe. Throughout the tale of Zoe and Agnes, LaRocca masterfully executes a tale of desperation and conveys how far people will go to feel secure.

The e-mails and IMs, alongside the notes referencing the police department build up a world of reality for the reader, equivalent to that of a found footage film. The author’s note serves as a preface to the e-mails and instant messages (IMs) we’re about to read, setting out a discourse between two women, one of whom is dead, while the case against the others’ involvement is still underway. LaRocca uses the narrative device of found documents to set out the tale. But that is not just where the tale starts. The novella which is the book’s namesake, Things Have Gotten Worse Since Last We Spoke, starts off as a sweet queer story about two women who seem to have found each other in the most unlikely places: an online forum, selling an apple peeler. This is the first time I’ve read any of LaRocca’s work, and I cannot imagine the novella being placed away from its sibling stories.

Eric LaRocca became a viral sensation after the original publication of Things Have Gotten Worse Since Last We Spoke, which was nominated for a 2021 Bram Stoker Award. In July of 2022, it was announced that their debut was to be rereleased in hardback via Titan and include two original short stories entitled Things Have Gotten Worse Since Last We Spoke and Other Misfortunes.

Things have gotten worse since the last time we spoke