Genre: Horror, Paranormal
Publisher: DeadPixel Publications
Date of Release: March 1, 2016
Pages: 229 pages
Format: ePub
Links: Website, Amazon, Good Reads, Twitter
My Rating:
About the Book:
Dale and Lucy are two students with a fascination in the supernatural. One weekend, they travel to Sker House, South Wales, a private residence with a macabre history which has recently been converted into a seaside inn. They plan to write an article for their university magazine about a supposed haunting, but when they arrive, they meet a landlord who seems to have a lot to hide. Soon, it becomes apparent that all is not well at Sker House. An air of oppression hangs over it, while misery, tragedy and ill-fortune are commonplace. Gradually, it becomes clear that the true depth of the mystery goes far beyond a mere historical haunting. This is a place where bad things happen, and evil lurks.
Little by little Dale and Lucy fall under Sker’s dark spell, and as they begin to unravel the mysteries of the past, they realize that nothing stays buried forever.
Welcome to Sker House, a place where past and present collide.
“Sker House is a good, old fashioned ghost story that you’ll enjoy from beginning to end.”
I received this eBook from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Personally, I wouldn’t have labelled this story a horror. Paranormal with mystery maybe, but this didn’t have any horror elements and there were no major scares in this.
While this has a classic paranormal story tale air about it with the mystery of a haunted house, it kind of fell flat for me. More so because of the characters rather than the story itself. Dale was tedious and displays misogynistic qualities, especially in his belief and treatment of Lucy. While Lucy was an air head with the ability to be a cruel Mean Girl. She almost seemed like she didn’t want to even be a part of the project.
The end of the story was even more odd with Lucy and Dale suddenly being a couple and engaged. There was so little romance especially from Lucy. It seemed odd that even their experience at Sker House would have drawn them together.
The only character’s I liked were Old Rolly and Izzy the barmaid. At least their personalities suited each other.
Like I said, this seems to be more of a paranormal novel. It had elements of possible creepiness and the landlord of Sker House was perfect in his drunken stupor and false happiness, despite his life having fallen apart since moving to Sker House. Hints of the occult littered the book, another common paranormal element.
For the longest time, Old Rolly’s presence in the book made no sense but near the end, it finally did. It was a little cliche as to the presence. But I feel if Dale and Lucy had smaller parts in the book or more effort put into the ghost story line, it would have been a stronger novel.
Where to Buy:
About the Author:
C.M. Saunders began writing in 1997, his early fiction appearing in several small-press titles and anthologies. Since the publication of his first book, Into the Dragon’s Lair – A Supernatural History of Wales (2003), he has contributed to over 50 international publications. His novellas Dead of Night, Apartment 14F: An Oriental Ghost Story, Devil’s Island and Out of Time are available, along with his short fiction collections X and X2. He currently works in London as a writer on a sport and lifestyle magazine.
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