Could you survive a week in a haunted house?Mara is the daughter of spiritualists. Her childhood was filled with séances, scam mediums, and talk of ghostly presences.When Mara left her family’s home, she vowed she would never allow superstition into her life again. She’s ready to start over with her fiancé, Neil, in a world based on rationality and facts.But her past isn’t ready to let her go … facts.
But her past isn’t ready to let her go just yet.
Mara and Neil purchase Blackwood House, a derelict property outside of town. They’re warned about strange occurrences in the crumbling building. Doors open by themselves, voices whisper in the night, bloody handprints appear on the walls, and cold spots linger in the basement, where the house’s original owner was murdered.
But Blackwood was dirt-cheap. Mara loves her new home, and she disregards the warnings.
Because ghosts aren’t real…
…are they?
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Darcy Coates’s never disappoints me. This story was creepy and intense! I really enjoyed Mara and Neal’s relationship and how everything happens!
This was a great book! I love haunted house settings and this book did not disappoint! Very gripping and thrilling. Creepy moments to the point where I kept looking around every time I heard a sound! Makes you feel like you are in the house with the characters. Actually this book would make a good horror movie! Definitely a five star read! Keep up the awesome work, Darcy Coates! Another great horror author added to my list!
The Haunting of Blackwood House by Darcy Coates is an excellent haunted house story. Great plot, characters and a good scare. Gal of the story grows up with nutty spiritualist family and finally gets to leave and for four years has lived on her own away from the scam artists. She gets a chance to buy a house no one wants because it is “haunted” but she knows from her childhood that all of those hauntings are fake. She buys the house and things get strange. Hard to find a good haunted house story that has all of these things. This one was great. Touch of romance in there too for those that like that. Great book.
The Haunting of Blackwood House
After reading The Haunting of Gillespie House I thought I found a new author to follow. Now having attempted to read another Coates book and finding it lacking as well as Blackwood I’ve had another opinion surface.
Not worth the effort.
A washing machine, dryer and television with no electricity? House empty for a couple decades and yet no electricity? Really?
Mara goes into the sitting room and thinks the lounge chairs look more moth-eaten than the day before, it’s been a month since, it’s made mentioned a few times within chapters 8 and 9. In chapter 10 it’s 2 weeks.
The inconsistencies are more than can be ignored. It makes it distracting to, having to back track and recheck what I thought was going on.
She didn’t believe in ghosts or spirits, but things started to change when she bought a house that came with some active, long-term residents. This book was pretty predictable, but it kept me reading past my bedtime so that I could find out what was going on.
I like the books by this author. They aren’t overly complicated and are usually a pretty quick read. They are good enough to keep up my interest in not wanting to put it down.
I read a lot of books, 24 this year so far, this was one of the best. Was not complicated like some stories that hop all around. I could picture the surroundings, and felt I was in the same place. Maybe a strange way to describe the writing, but it is so well assembled, comfortable reading, but you will feel the story as it goes on and find you are holding your breath.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well assembled story. Go ahead, read it in the dark!
The book is Intriguing a page turner couldn’t put it down.
This is the first book I’ve read by Darcy Coates, I thought, on the whole, it was very good, it has all the elements of a good haunted house story, it’s a creepy, sinister, page-turner. An isolated old house, with a dark history, no electricity, no phone, no transport, our heroine lives there alone, in lots of darkness, all great elements for suspense. It’s light on characters, but that worked for me, if I had to make a criticism, I did find it unbelievable given everything that happens at the house that it takes so long into the story for Mara to accept the house is haunted, even given her upbringing and background, for me at least, that let the story down. 4.5.
Something always happening.
This was an ok book. Easy to read for sure.
If I could over how much I couldn’t stand Mara and just wanted to sock her a good one right in the middle of her face. I tried to understand her but she just came across as an entire bitch. I would have given the book one star if I was basing it off of her alone. But I really do like how Darcy weaves a horror story….but it’s her characters that I seem to never really vibe with.
Darcy’s books are my new obsession. I could not put this books down! I was useless yesterday, I did nothing but read. No complaints from me, that’s for sure. Mara was drawn to this house, after 20 years of being empty it sure needed TLC. But the biggest question was WHY was the dining room table still set up for dinner? That stuck with me, decades old food crusted on to the plates. The houses past might surprise you, there is so much more than you think, but in the end who is it that is stronger?
love it i would die with this book soooooooo good
I enjoyed it, a bit gory
It was a good Haunted House book. I wasn’t looking for great. I wanted creepy, old black and white movie, type of haunted house scary. And, it delivered. I enjoyed it. Is this the best haunted house book? I don’t feel it is…but, it’s good. I enjoy getting scared by this delightful author.
Real characters in real relationships, my favorite read. I spent the book waiting for the boyfriend to do the bluster and leave thing when he could not control her or the situation and then the ‘real’ boyfriend material would show up.
But this author did not follow that well worn path. I’ll probably read this one again soon and then return to it in a few years. I’m looking forward to reading more by this author.
Great author
This book started out keeping me interested. It dulls a little in the middle. I finished the book and enjoyed it.
short sections
This writer took 1 really good book and divided it into short sections.
The plot, characters and quality of writing are there but …