Book with man depriving senile mother of water?

August 23, 2012 6:13 PM

There's a book (possibly a movie or tv show) with a scene in it of an evil man slowly depriving his senile mother of water and keeping her in a very hot room in a bed with the covers on until she dies after several days. There is one moment when she regains lucidity and almost calls the police, but he stops her. What am I remembering?
posted by shivohum to media & arts (4 answers total)

I just finished Joe Hill's Horns and Lee, one of the main characters, did this.
posted by pink candy floss at 6:19 PM on August 23, 2012 [1 favorite]

Ding ding ding! Correct! Thank you!
posted by shivohum at 6:29 PM on August 23, 2012

I never get these questions right! Yay! Glad to help.
posted by pink candy floss at 6:35 PM on August 23, 2012 [2 favorites]

Huh. I'm assuming you know that Joe Hill is Stephen King's son (I admire him for not wanting to cash in on the name outright, I admit). Looks like he's been pretty well influenced by his dad on this one, though. Combination of Misery and a few of King's short stories, most prominently "The Woman in the Room." The death of a senile elderly woman recurs in multiple stories; I believe it was based on King's actual experience with his grandmother's final years.)
posted by dlugoczaj at 8:35 AM on August 24, 2012