There is a decent story buried in here, but all the weird porny moments took away far more than they added.
Hell House delivers some classic horror in There is a decent story buried in here, but all the weird porny moments took away far more than they added.
Hell House delivers some classic horror in the form of a supposedly haunted house. Past attempts to discover the house's secrets have led to the bizarre and brutal deaths of all those who entered, except one-- Ben Fischer, a professional medium.
Now, funded by a rich dying man who wants to know if there's an afterlife before he passes, Ben is headed back to the house with three others. There's the medium Florence Tanner who believes she can free the unruly spirits trapped in the house, Dr. Lionel Barrett, a scientist who believes the observed phenomena are being caused by residual energy, and his wife, Edith.
Chairs rocking on their own, doors locking themselves, strange noises and even stranger behaviour from the guests... just what is going on?
I wouldn't say it's overly scary, but I did find it quite engrossing. Barrett's scientific arguments vs Florence's spirituality were fun to ponder, and I wanted to discover whose theory would be the correct one. There is also exciting mystery surrounding the house's former owner, Belasco, and the existence of his son.
Though the weakness of the story was the completely gratuitous use of rapes and the weird hyper-sexualization of the female characters. The two women can't seem to keep their clothes on, with breasts spilling out everywhere and nipples being tweaked and bitten by the ghost of orgies past. The men don't seem to have the same problem and, instead, are usually the poor well-meaning victims of these sex-possessed harlots. Even with the threat of death hanging over her, Edith can still imagine no fate more horrifying than being a lesbian.
This made the whole thing slightly ludicrous, especially Edith's terror that she might get it on with a woman. I mean, I know this is the seventies, but come on-- that's your biggest concern right now?
3 1/2 stars. There is a part of me that wants to give this book five stars for being one of the most terrif
Once they’re in, they never leave . . .
3 1/2 stars. There is a part of me that wants to give this book five stars for being one of the most terrifying horror stories I've ever read, and another part that wants to remove more stars for the thousand unanswered questions I have. Can we please get a sequel just to explain some shit?
I love a good scare and these days they're hard to come by. I've been reading/watching horror since I picked up the Goosebumps books when I was six, so I find I'm tough to really frighten. But, my god, THIS BOOK. Don't be fooled by that domestic thriller style cover-- this is pure horror.
It scared me in the middle of the day. And at night? I lay awake listening to every bump and creak in my house. It's certainly not conducive to a good night's sleep. That one scene in the attic was portrayed so vividly that I can still see it burned onto my eyelids every time I close my eyes.
The story is about young couple Eve and Charlie who flip houses. They've just bought a dilapidated old house (in the middle of nowhere, next to woods, with an attic AND a basement, because of course) with plans to renovate and sell. Then one night a family turn up at the front door. The father claims he lived in the house when he was a boy and asks if he might be able to look around. Just 15 minutes, then they'll be on their way.
Except, one thing after another keeps happening to extend their visit. And weird things start to happen around the house. Eve starts to see things, question reality. Is it her overactive imagination? Or do the family have no real intention of leaving?
Kliewer plays on many common thoughts that sit very close to reality. You misread something, misplace something, misremember. Nothing actually changed. Your phone didn't move; you just forgot you put it there... right?
The story also incorporates several very real phenomena that I can't think about for too long without feeling deeply unsettled. Sleep paralysis demons. Capgras syndrome (believing someone you know has been replaced by a doppelgänger.) Pareidolia (seeing meaningful things in abstract images - e.g. Rorschach tests.) The Mandela effect.
I think great horror writers do this-- weave their horror with truth, with the mundane, so it feels grounded in reality and therefore believable.
That being said, I cannot ignore the fact that I'm left with so many "What about...?" questions. The fact that I'm rounding up to 4 stars despite this should tell you just how gripping and scary I found the book.
Here are just a few of the questions I have (MAJOR SPOILERS): (view spoiler)[What do they want? Why are they doing this? Were the family also evil spirits or just Thomas? Why was Thomas screaming in the snow and why was he hitting himself? What was the whole thing about the circle symbol around the house? Was the link with the dad's band significant? What really happened to Alison? What was the deal in the neighbour's house? Why did the house number change? Did the mention of the missing 3708 house have any meaning? Who was the man in the cabin? How come we never revisited that? (hide spoiler)]
It's actually really disappointing that so many loose threads were left hanging because I would genuinely like to rate this higher. I feel some of this could easily be taken care of with another quick edit. Though the book doesn't publish for another three months so perhaps changes will be made between now and then....more
I was really drawn to this-- that intriguing title, the striking cover, the premise --but I'm afraid it just didn't live up to my expectations.
The chaI was really drawn to this-- that intriguing title, the striking cover, the premise --but I'm afraid it just didn't live up to my expectations.
The characters were entirely one-dimensional. The unnamed protagonist has no personality of her own, and Helene, who she becomes obsessed with, is equally forgettable. I do understand why this is-- because this is a book solely about sexual assault trauma which envelops her entire being --but I'm not sure it works. I personality find it very difficult to sink into books where the characters feel this flat.
Also, I was turned off from the beginning by the writing style. I'm not so obsessed with grammar that I can't tolerate the occasional comma splice, but they are used so frequently here it just comes off as poor writing. It made sense in sentences where it conveyed urgency or disorientation; other times it was needlessly jarring.
Similarly, expressions like "my side was cold to the touch like a side of salmon" and "staring at [the package] like it was my opponent in a game of chess" came across awkward and overwritten to me.
There's much in the way of words, but not all that much being said in this book. I found that the protagonist thought the same thing over and over again just in different ways. Which is not great when the whole book is only 144 pages....more
I read this as a kid and remembered it being super scary so I recently decided to read it with my kids who tell me everything is "not very scary" (to I read this as a kid and remembered it being super scary so I recently decided to read it with my kids who tell me everything is "not very scary" (to be fair, they are usually the scariest thing in any room). There's a couple of duds, but some of the stories are genuinely very good. I'm Not Martin is one I remembered in detail even after all these years. Such a simple, yet deeply unsettling, tale....more
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