The Haunting is All of Us

 

How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

My Rating: Five out of Five Stars

My Review on Goodreads

Honestly, this book took me through all the emotions. It was thoroughly entertaining, and also immersive. The family dynamics were spot on. While I get along very well with my sister, I can see the authenticity of the character work and the portrayal of family dynamics in my family at large. Even though my sister and I are really close, the damage that our family did on our psyches is something we have to intentionally work at to not allow it to impact our relationship.

What I really liked is how my sympathies and annoyance shifted back and forth between Louise and Mark. They alternated between being terrible siblings, but in a very human way. This book is a horror novel about family dysfunction and family secrets that were not every resolved and were allowed to fester to create literal monsters.

I am not a fan of puppets, ventriloquist-type dummies, or those porcelain dolls. They are too lifelike in a sinister way. Having said that, yes I enjoy Jim Henson and the Muppet Show-type puppets. But Grandy Hendrix brought out the sinister in them for me. This was compelling stuff. Hendrix did such an amazing job in peeling away layers and revealing how deep things really go. There are some really great humorous moments, but also some incredibly horrific aspects.

I am grieving right now, and this book was both triggering and therapeutic for me. I know exactly how Louise and Mark feel in many ways. It's like you love your parents and you are aware they are flawed, but their status as your parents puts them in this insulated category that makes it difficult for you to see and process who they are clearly, and you are both hard on them but also automatically extend them grace in a way you don't for other people. You may have issues with them, but you had to let go of that because all you want is for them to still be here with you in all their imperfections. Even when you have to pick up the pieces of the messes that they left behind, and you still carry the family baggage. This was described so beautifully.

If you are looking for a straightforward haunted house story, this book will challenge that assumption. While I loved haunted house stories, I was so gratified at how this diverts, subverts and dives deep below that genre designation.

There is so much I can say, but not without spoilers, so I'll leave it at this.

I have to give this five stars because it was a consuming read. The annoyances I felt were meant to be felt as it delves into the frustrations of human relationships due to the flaws we all have as people. It wasn't a fault in the writing, but it was authentic in showing human faults. I love how it looks a generational trauma and how that almost rewires your brain and has some kind of cursed power over the ways that people behavior as they become adults. While, depending on where you land in believing on ghosts, spirits, and supernatural entities, these can function both as metaphors and authentic haunting phenomena.

I think Grady Hendrix can really write. He writes something very meaningful in the package of entertainment. I can't help but appreciate that about his work with this as the other book I read by him, The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires.

I'm glad this was my first finished read of 2024. It set me year off to a very satisfying start.

Check out my profile on Goodreads!

 

The September House by Carissa Orlando

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5.0 stars

My Review on Goodreads

When I first heard about this book, I was intrigued. I love haunted house stories. I was a little worried it might be too edgy, but some early reviews on Booktube suggested it was a cozy horror, so I was on board. Excitingly, my library had it available, and I was able to read the audiobook.

This book is written in a conversational style where the main character is telling her story. I loved this device as it involved me emotionally with the novel as I am being told the story by the participant. Margaret established herself as a sympathetic character early on. There is also an element of unreliable narrator as the story progresses. It throws a reader for a loop as they are prone to asking what kind of book they are reading. Is this a haunted house novel or a novel about familial dysfunction? You are seeing the haunting unfold through Margaret's eyes and she has done research and a couple of other people are aware of it. But there's also a question about whether this is all psychosis. Personally, one of my pet peeves is when stuff is happening and nobody believes the main character. I also admit that I don't want to read stories where the lead character is becoming psychotic. I was worried that this was going to be that kind of book. Without spoiling things, I am glad this wasn't that kind of book, because I would have been majorly disappointed. Instead, this book manages to address the haunting aspect while also affirming that mental illness is a real thing and should not be stigmatized, but instead, it's important for a person who's suffering in that way to get help.

This book is also about lifelong trauma and its effects on a person. That truly resonated with me because it reminded me of someone very close to me who experienced some really awful things in their life and always felt alone and that they had no one they could rely on and who understood what they were going through and supported them. Margaret is that person. What she has dealt with and continues to experience in this house that represents a lifelong dream, but instead in many ways has become a prison and a source of trauma.

I have to say I am not fully onboard with describing this book as a cozy horror. It has some humor and it doesn't end in a way that's depressing or soul-destroying, but this is not a situation that can be dismissed as light reading. Some truly messed up, awful stuff has happened in Margaret's house, and that can be very hard to read. This is not extreme horror, definitely not. Yet, there are some descriptions and depictions that are hard to read. I did have to turn it off a couple of times to get a breather. For me, it was about empathy. I felt things very deeply for Margaret and the past victims in the house. I also felt that it was relatable that Margaret's family had some toxicity and dysfunction that added to the whole picture of Margaret and her relationship to the house. While at times, I had some issues with her daughter Catherine (I listened to the audiobook, so I might be misspelling her name), it totally make sense why she's such an angry person. I appreciated the resolution of Margaret's relationship with her.

This book is quite scary in some moments, and quite disturbing. I was able to listen to it at night while I was cooking, but I wouldn't risk listening to it in bed. Even though 1st person POV can at times be limited, Orlando's imagery is so vivid and well-conveyed. The menacing aspect of the house is enough to send chills down your spine, especially the former owner of the house. It's also deeply sad as well.

Going back to the concept of being imprisoned by one's past. The house is a metaphor for this. Along with the cycle of assaults/attacks visited on Margaret every September. "Everything is survivable," is something that Margaret expresses regularly in relation to her situation with the hauntings that flare up in September. It also applies to the trauma she suffered in her marriage. The author shows instead of telling us how strong Margaret was. It's like she doesn't quite know it. I mean, she did know she was a survivor, but I don't think she realized how tough she was. And I kept thinking, how is this woman going through all of this? It's hard to judge her for wanting to keep her house. I can understand how important the house was to her. If you never had the stability of owning your own house, that means so much to finally be a homeowner. It's not something you'd easily give up or walk away from. Even though I understood this, I couldn't wrap my mind around how she could sustain the constant manifestations in that house that were constant, unrelenting physical, emotional and mental attacks.

I can't find much to complain about with this book. It's not quite a five star, but it's pretty close. I would love to read more from Carissa Orlando. I don't think I could watch this movie. It would be terrifying.

Overall rating: 4.5/5.0 stars

Check out my profile on Goodreads!

 

The Agony House by Cherie Priest

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

My Review on Goodreads

Coming home to New Orleans has not been the grand welcome that Denise, her mother Sally and stepfather Mike would hope for. They have purchased a broken down house with the goal of refurbishing it and turning it into a bed and breakfast with the meager funds they are getting through a small business loan. Denise is less than happy to be leaving her friends behind, starting at a new school, and living in a funky, dirty, falling down house. Add on to the fact that it's haunted by two presences: a small woman and a big man. While the woman seems benevolent, the man is far from it. She finds a comic book in the attic from an artist and author who was quite popular in the 1950s, one that may unlock the mysteries of the house, which seems to fall apart quicker than they can fix it.

This was such an entertaining read. I listened to the audiobook, and I loved how there was actually a dramatic reenactment of the comic book with different actors. That was my favorite part of the book. I enjoyed the twist of the ongoing series in which its lead is the intrepid young woman who constantly has to save her boyfriend, who constantly is the one in danger. A nice turnaround from the typical scenario. Careful attention to this plot device will reveal much of the underlying themes and mystery in the book.

Along with the ghost story and mystery of the house, there's a good story about a young teen finding her feet in a new place and making friends. There is also some great commentary about Hurricane Katrina and the upheaval that the city has not fully recovered from. Additionally, the story explores themes of gentrification and racial profiling, but in a very organic manner. I do think some of that was simplified, but that's understandable as this is appealing to a younger audience.

I loved the characters, from Denise to her parents (both kind and caring with good sense of humor), to the friends she makes, her nosy neighbor Terry (an aspiring ghost hunter), Norman (a hunky young man who had about eight thousand jobs and is a potential love interest, and Dominique (who starts out as an abrasive potential enemy but becomes a friend in the end). I thought the ghostly presences were well down, and how things seem to escalate as the story unfolds.

Despite this being a ghost story with some dark themes, there's a lot of light here as the focus on family, connection and community prevails over the very present evil that the characters face. It wasn't exactly scary, but it was nicely spooky and a very good read for October spooky season.

Check out My Profile on Goodreads!