The Spite House
Eric Ross is on the run from a mysterious past with his two daughters in tow. Having left his wife, his house, his whole life behind in Maryland, he’s desperate for money–it’s not easy to find safe work when you can’t provide references, you can’t stay in one place for long, and you’re paranoid that your past is creeping back up on you.
When he comes across the strange ad for the Masson House in Degener, Texas, Eric thinks they may have finally caught a lucky break. The Masson property, notorious for being one of the most haunted places in Texas, needs a caretaker of sorts. The owner is looking for proof of paranormal activity. All they need to do is stay in the house and keep a detailed record of everything that happens there. Provided the house’s horrors don’t drive them all mad, like the caretakers before them.
The job calls to Eric, not just because there’s a huge payout if they can make it through, but because he wants to explore the secrets of the spite house. If it is indeed haunted, maybe it’ll help him understand the uncanny power that clings to his family, driving them from town to town, making them afraid to stop running. A terrifying Gothic thriller about grief and death and the depths of a father’s love, Johnny Compton’s The Spite House is a stunning debut by a horror master in the making.
Title: The Spite House
Author: Johnny Compton
Genre: Horror / Suspense
Hardcover: 272 pages
Publication Date: 02/07/2023
Publisher: Tor Nightfire
Language: English
ISBN: 9781250841414
My Review
Spite - a desire to hurt, annoy, or offend someone. I love titles that grab my attention and The Spite House did so not only with the title but also with the cover art. It's the perfect season for this highly readable novel, though anytime the mood strikes for a folksy creepy story, this will do.
Eric is on the run with his two daughters. All we know is that he has left everything behind, is strapped for cash, and has a fascination with his family's past. A story of his grandfather appears in flashbacks and feeds his monologues during the long journey to Texas for the first quarter of the novel.
An add in the paper might be the opportunity that can give Eric a break and cash out big. All he'd have to do is move his girls to the grounds of Sprite House and investigate some paranormal occurrences.
When he gets the job, he goes in blind, however. The owner of the home has withheld information, and things begin to be creepy in places shortly after.
The Spite House is infused with a dark history. It has spread through the town over generations and left a mark. While the owner has previously hired many different folks to investigate the strange occurrences in the home, the locals have despised any new visitors and the strangeness of it all and the new neighbors are less than welcome.
Eric's findings become entangled with his own history and the safety/past of his own family. Was he really the man he gave out to be or did he too have secrets?
This pageturner is told in multiple pov's, a strength of the novel as it keeps the reader guessing. However, it fell a little flat in terms of letting situations linger. It felt very told vs shown and lost a bit of that eerie sense that should have crept in at times from a story with such wicked historical twists.
Overall it has its moments and commences in unexpected ways.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.
All opinions are my own.
Thank you!
