Rumor has it that the abandoned house by the cemetery is haunted by the ghost of a witch. But rumors won’t stop carpenter Mike Kostner from rehabbing the place as a haunted house attraction. Soon he’ll learn that fresh wood and nails can’t keep decades of rumors down. There are noises in the walls, and fresh blood on the floor: secrets that would be better not to discover. And behind the rumors … rumors is a real ghost who will do whatever it takes to ensure the house reopens. She needs people to fill her house on Halloween. There’s a dark, horrible ritual to fulfill. Because while the witch may have been dead… she doesn’t intend to stay that way.
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The House By The Cemetery by John Everson is a brutal slasher set in an abandoned and rundown house that the town decides to turn into a haunted house attraction. But there’s one main problem, this house is already haunted.
Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way.
One part ghost story, one part romance, and one part slasher, this book was a hit for me! I had so much fun while reading and I found myself totally spooked and a few times, repulsed! I’m glad that I won’t be going into any haunted attractions any time soon…
This is a read I would recommend for fans of b-movie horror films and halloween haunted attractions.
3.5/5 stars!
Bachelor’s Grove is a small town featuring a house backing onto a cemetery. There have always been rumors about the house-something about a witch and a haunting. Rumors have no impact on Perry, though. He’s an entrepreneur that wants to open a Halloween haunted house there. Great idea, right? Yeah…no. All kinds of things go wrong as you may have guessed and lots of gory shenanigans ensue. Will the haunted house business be a success? You’ll have to read this to find out!
I requested this ARC from Flame Tree Press because I loved the cover and also because I’ve been wanting to read more of John Everson’s work. Ever since I read his book SIREN several years back, I’ve been meaning to get back to him, and with this book I finally got that opportunity. While I respect his writing, in general, I think he really shines when it comes to the bloody action-plenty of which is too be found towards the end of this story. I just thought it took a bit too long to get there.
We are introduced to many characters, maybe too many, and while I did like or care for some of them, I don’t think they required the amount of attention they received. Also, it took a long time for us to get to where the story really lived. I would have preferred less of the extraneous characters and more about the main characters and perhaps more about the history of the house. It’s hard to add anything else without spoilers, however I will reinforce the fact that the denouement was bloody brilliant and I had a ball reading that portion.
Overall, THE HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY was fun in that bloody B-movie way many of us horror lovers enjoy- and if anyone ever does make a film based upon this tale, I would love to see their rendition of the basement at the end of Halloween night!
Recommended!
*Thank you to Flame Tree Press for the paperback ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. This is it.*
Legend has it that the house and cemetery located in Bachelor’s Grove was the site of where a witch had died and now the property is now haunted by her. Satan worshippers had performed rituals in the house through the years which make the property and house very active.
Mike Kostner and his friends decide that what place could be better to use for a Halloween house than the witch house. Mike wants the house to be the best Halloween house ever to scare the residents of the town. Mike and his friends start fixing up the house by buying all kinds of Halloween props along with setting up trap doors for moving around the place.
As the friends work on the house, they endure all kinds of strange things including knocking, footsteps, tools disappearing, and cold drafts. They don’t really think much of it as they continue to work toward their goal of getting the house completed before Halloween.
When everything is completed and the scary night has arrived, Mike and his friends find out the true meaning of “haunted” as the ghost of the witch brings the “hellish” might down on everyone that enters her domain and the gore starts to fly as she makes her presence known.
This book was a very creepy ride that turned into an extreme blood fest past the halfway mark of the book. I couldn’t seem to turn the pages fast enough as the book took off into the bloody unknown and I stayed up late last night wanting to finish it. This book is not for the faint of heart as there is extreme gore through the last half of the book and if you can’t handle it, then don’t read it, but for you horror fans that love your gore, then by all means pick up this book. Giving this book four stars for one heck of a scary, gory ride.
Not my normal (abnormal) genre, but I have gotten in a groove of spooky reads lately. One thing leads to another, you know. Anyway, this book was a jump from a previous book about a police investigation BY a cemetery to ‘House by the Cemetery’. I almost didn’t stay with it, but after a few pages I was hooked. Author John Everson has written the perfect campy, ghost story that is spooky and creepy good. A smorgasbord of horror under one roof in the guise of a Halloween haunted house. The characters are perfectly created in the style of every late night horror movie (remember Drive-Ins?). Give this book a chance if you aren’t squeamish. It is well-written with a few surprises.
I wasn’t sure that I was going to like the narration, but after a few pages, I really begin to appreciate the versatile and talented performance of Christopher Ragland. I would get so wrapped up in the story, I would forget that he was ‘playing’ all of the characters. Again, give this book a chance to entertain you.