It takes great deal of talent to turn a stock plot into a first-rate story; Jac Jemc is up to the task. This horror novel centers on the familiar haunted house theme, but it is a cut above most of the rest. It is a novel of the first tier -- literary, psychological horror rather then gore and mayhem and bumps in the night. It can be favorably compared to Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House and Henry James' The Turn of the Screw, which is high praise indeed.
A young couple moves from the city to the outskirts of a small town, hoping to help the husband break the gambling addiction which has almost destroyed the marriage. They buy an old, many-roomed house at a ridiculously low price, and, predictably, strange things start happening. Large dark spots appear on the walls and are mirrored in unexplained bruises on the wife's body; the house constantly groans or hums in a low register; they discover secret rooms and passageways; even the dense woods behind the house seem to be moving closer.
Narrated in revolving chapters by the husband and wife, the story as well as its language reflect the growing anxiety of the couple, along with the crumbling of the trust they have in each other and even in themselves. The wife says, "We can lose ourselves behind a trapdoor, whether in our minds or in the house."
The title of the book could well describe the hold of the story on my mind. I have seldom read a creepier or more disorienting book. I give it an A+.
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