Have you ever lived in a haunted house? Would you know if you did? Do you believe in ghosts? It doesn’t matter. They don’t really care.
This time around, it was a true story about a true haunting you’ve probably heard of even if you aren’t into the stuff. It happens to be the inspiration behind the A-lister horror movie, The Conjuring. That’s right. The clap-clap ghost.
At least that’s how I remember the movie.
Since then, it’s been the subject for paranormal investigators, including Ghost Adventures doing a special on the house and the haunting within its four walls. I’m talking about the book House of Darkness, House of Light, written through the eyes of Andrea Perron, one of the sisters who lived through the haunting and saw firsthand its effect on her friends and family members. It’s the first of three in the series, and if the other two are anything like the first, I’ll likely read them in the future.
So a quick little spoiler-free rundown of what to expect if you decide to take this on (which I hope you do): There is a family with so many girls that I honestly had trouble keeping track of which one was which (but names confuse me anyway and I have a hard time of keeping track of characters when there’s more than one or two so that’s my own shortcomings). They have some issues where they live, so they move, if a little bit unwillingly at first by all parties. A nice old man holds the house of their dreams for them, and things seem too good to be true.
And then, out of nowhere, flies. So. Many. Flies. Things move, sometimes when no one is there to witness, other times in front of an audience. Whispers in the room when the house is empty. Figures standing in the shadows. You know, your general haunted house rigmarole.
What sets this book apart from the rest is the way it’s written. I have a soft spot for prose written like poetry, and that’s what this is. There is so much description that it makes me feel like I’m there with the family experience every movement and every sound for better or worse. Also, I feel like personal experience hauntings are a dime a dozen, but there are a very small handful that have had such a huge impact on not only paranormal investigations, but on the entertainment industry of today. There’s ghost stories. And then there’s hauntings. You feel me?
My only complaint about the book is there was no ghost clap-clap ghost, and my spooky little heart wants to believe that the clap-clap ghost exists and isn’t just a cheap (albeit good) scare for the silver screen. Granted, there’s more to the story that I haven’t touched yet. The clap-clap ghost could be real still. Or I could just be remembering the movie wrong. If I am, hey, Hollywood, wanna make a movie about spooky clapping? 😉
If I had to rate it, I’d give this baby a straight up 9/10. So much more good than bad in this one.
And now, I turn to you, void. This time, I have an unrelated question. Do you prefer these book reviews to be short and sweet like this one? Or would you rather me go more indepth like past reviews? I’m genuinely curious. I’ve been doing this for a year, and I still don’t really know what I’m doing. Thoughts? Questions? Complaints? Want me to shut up? Get in the comments below, or send me an email. Let’s be friends! Or enemies. Or frienemies!
Manda Kay Writes 