She’s always watching…When Guy finds the deeds to a house in his mother’s attic, it seems like an incredible stroke of luck. Sure, the building hasn’t been inhabited in forty years and vines strangle the age-stained walls, but Guy is convinced he can clean it up and sell it. He’d be crazy to turn down free money. Right?The house is hours from any other habitation, and Guy can’t get phone … habitation, and Guy can’t get phone reception in the old building. He decides to camp there while he does repairs. Surely nothing too bad can happen in the space of a week.
But there’s a reason no one lives in Rookward House, and the dilapidated rooms aren’t as empty as they seem…
A deranged woman tormented a family in Rookward forty years before. Now her ghost clings to the building like rot. She’s bitter, obsessive, and jealous… and once Guy has moved into her house, she has no intention of ever letting him leave.more
This was by far the scariest book I have ever read. I can read this type of book right before bed and not give it a second thought. I dreamt about it for two nights.
Best book out there so far!!!
This is a suspenseful tale full of foreboding and intense dread, skilfully crafted to build slowly and relentlessly. It is a story of reality vs perception, causing the reader to continually question their own assumptions.
The story is really well written. Conversations and thoughts allow the reader into the main character’s mind, while his reactions allow them to share his genuine fear and doubt. The imagery is highly sensory, often macabre, with some great Gothic elements combined with the contemporary. Coates’ writing is powerful enough to prompt genuine physical responses in the reader, yet subtle enough to achieve the slow creep of fear that characterises the book.
This is an excellent psychological horror story.
Would read it again
This is the kind of book that stays with you after you have finished it. It was different from most other books in the genre. I really enjoyed the differences.
The Haunting of Rookward House I loved this book and I felt sorry for Guy, but, this was so worth the read. I am looking forward to reading many more of Darcy Coates’ works.
3 1/2 stars
I love Darcy Coates, but The Haunting of Rookward House is not one of my favorites. It did hold my attention enough I finished the book, but it had a different flow and feel than the others I’ve read. The chilling, creepy factor I’ve come to expect in a Darcy Coates book seemed to be either missing or downplayed so much it was barely noticeable. There was a big unanswered question by the end of the book, even though it didn’t end on a cliffhanger. I’m not sure if the author forgot to tie up that loose end or never intended to.
It wasn’t a bad book. I don’t think it will be one I want to re-read, but I’m certainly going to get more Darcy Coates’ books.
Another amazing book by an Author who never disappoints me.
I LOVED this book! Darcy has this way of sucking you in to her stories and you feel like you are there watching from the sidelines! I read the book and listened to the audio version both! The audio gave me chills it was SOOO GOOD!
I finished this book last night and I’m still mad at it. Even though couldn’t stand the main character ( I seem to have a problem with a lot of Coates MC’s), halfway through I was super into it…and even better I was a bit spooked. I want to say I’ve read most of Coates “The Haunting of …” books and I DO like how she sets up a great scary atmosphere. Which is probably why I keep going back to her books ( One time I said I wouldn’t anymore and clearly I had to eat my own words LOL).
So why the 2.5? With roughly 1/3 left to the book…shit went sideways. Even for a ghost story it was weird and unexplained. Not to mention that the ending was a bunch of bullshitty ass bullshit. My other half was quite taken aback when I yelled EFF THIS WHOLE BOOK once I was done after repeatedly telling him some parts were kind of spooking me a bit lol. If I had liked the end more I’d have at least given it 3 stars because even with a slow start I WAS enjoying it. But no. NO.
WOW! This had so many twists and turns you don’t know what’s going to happen. This is my favorite of Darcy’s so far. It was so consuming, I had a really hard time putting it down. This is a must read!
Darcy has done it again. I really loved the tragedy of the house and the heavily flawed main character. The ghost was terrifically terrifying and as twisted as they come. This was a great read. I couldn’t put it down. It has some wonderfully creepy sinister scenes.
I have read several of Darcy Coates’ books. She has become a new ‘go to’ author for me. I particularly liked the ending for this one!
This was a page turner. Really enjoyed reading it.
Rookward House, remote and forgotten, is the last place in which you want to find yourself stranded, but that’s precisely what happens to Guy. Alone, injured, without access to electricity or water, and stalked by a dangerous, malevolent spirit, Guy makes an increasingly desperate attempt to survive long enough to bring about his own unlikely rescue.
Admittedly, I found Guy fundamentally flawed and difficult to like at first, but as the novel progressed, I warmed up to him and found him growing on me as a protagonist. It’s difficult not to admire his courage, his toughness, and his sincere desire to change.
Great read!
CREEPY!!
I really enjoyed this book. It was pretty creepy and made me feel like I needed to watch the dark corners of my house for ghosts. It was pretty exciting and the way that the back story was introduced through Guy was really interesting. It was a little repetitive when talking about Guy’s anger issues and some of the things that Amy did but overall it was a thrilling read.
I usually get most of my books from Authors, Publishers, and Narrators. This one I actually bought. I listened to the sample on Audible and had to hear the rest of the story. The Audiobook is about 6 1/2 hours long. It is written by Darcy Coates and Narrated by Joe Hempel. Both have done and awesome job with this book. it is a very creepy tale of an abandoned house. Ghosts are my favorite and this one is filled with them.
Guy is helping his mom go through the attic when he stumbles across a deed to a house. When he asks about it she doesn’t remember the house which was part of her inheritance. Guy decides to go look at the house thinking that maybe they could sell it and be able to move from the town they live in, and be able to get away from some bad memories and start over.
When Guy gets to the house he looks it over and thinks it is worth fixing up, and that they will get more money out of it if it is livable. The house even has a name Rookward House. It is about 3 hours from home so Guy decides it would be better to camp out in the house while working on it.
Strange things start to happen almost immediately but Guy chocks the noises up to settling, and the shadows up to the darkness. One night a couple of teenagers come around. Guy invites them in and they tell him about the horrible murders that happened in the house and the legend of it being haunted.
The strange things really amp up after this. Guy has to figure out how to get away from Rookward house with his life since the ghost has decided to make him her own.
I personally really enjoyed this book and cannot wait to listen to more books by Darcy Coates.