In the Day of Trouble is a work of historical fiction, in the same vein as Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood and John Berendt’s Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. It is a novel based on a true story — featuring real people, real events, and mostly fictionalized dialogue. I can appreciate that some people would prefer a straightforward regurgitation of the facts, but that’s not the book I wanted to write.
I’ve been an avid genealogist for over a decade, building a family tree that includes over 100,000 ancestors, cousins, in-laws, and so on. The main drawback of genealogy, however, is that it can so often become just a collection of names and dates. You can’t always get a sense of who these people actually were: their thoughts and feelings, their dreams and nightmares.
I didn’t want that to happen with this novel. Moreover, with a 90-year-old case, there aren’t any living survivors to interview. Even further, without a trial, there aren’t many court documents to mine. That left me with my imagination — or, better yet, my inspiration from the facts. Susan Mummey is remembered, if at all, as little more than a “witch.” I want her to be remembered as a person, even if it’s only my version of her.
It’s important to note that I haven’t created dialogue, inner thoughts, and scenes to change the story, but rather to humanize the story. For example, Susan’s brother Sam did disappear at the Bloomsburg Fair and her sister Missouri did file for custody of him. But a simple statement of those facts doesn’t provide a glimpse into the fear and pain Susan undoubtedly felt. The facts of her life — as well as the lives of Albert Shinsky, Louis Buono, and LeRoy Enterline — can be found in historical newspapers and elsewhere, but the humanity behind the facts is what this novel is focused on.
It’s also important to note that not all of the dialogue is completely fictional. Dr. Rarig’s descriptions of Susan’s wounds at the autopsy, for example, are pulled from his inquest testimony (as reported in the papers at the time). Selina’s answers to the press, and Roy’s complaint that “I’m sick and tired of all this ballyhoo,” are also pulled from the papers at the time.
So, just as there’s space for both Netflix’s The Crown and documentaries about Elizabeth II, there’s space for fiction and nonfiction about Susan Mummey.
Note: While the rest of the novel is historical fiction, the epilogue is nonfiction.
Taj Magruder 