Haunted (David Ash)

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What I did notice most prominently about it this time around, and what I really enjoy about it in the long run is that it's really quite twisted in a hugely-ironic way, and what the author's done here turns his story into something wholly unexpected. Yes, it is at its scariest when you actually take the time to think about what you’re reading – but it is an absolutely expert melding of the kind of complex, subtle and ominous horror you’d find in something like Shirley Jackson’s “The Haunting Of Hill House” and the more intense horror you’d expect from a 1980s horror novel. The end explanation of the "why" was pitiful, and any explanation of the "how" was just non-existent. Because of this ambiguity, the ghosts here feel genuinely unpredictable and frightening in a way that you won’t find in either a traditional ghost story or a traditional zombie story.

I enjoyed the ending, except this: the character who is probably the most likeable in all the book gets killed. The house and set-up were reminiscent of a Carnacki story, but there was no pay-off, no thrills, no chills. In the classic horror fashion, he is also very much a “damned” character who feels a deep sense of guilt and self-loathing too.It had some chilling moments but I never found it downright terrifying, which is what I was expecting.

There is some suspense and a pretty good twist towards the end of the book - I would definitely recommend this book. Full details of your rights under the Distance Selling Regulations are available in the UK from your local Citizens' Advice Bureau or your Local Authority's Trading Standards Office.In 1928 England, English professor David Ash has spent most of his life working in the field of parapsychology to disprove the existence of ghosts.

He is helped (and hindered) by the mysterious incumbent family at the house - and soon finds himself involved in some very strange and scary experiences, the like of which can't be explained by simple logic. But it didn't send me googling 'ending explained', as sometimes happens with paranormal fiction, and it had some nice touches of black humour which I appreciated. Because it is a ghost story, the “old” atmosphere and writing style often just adds to the horror and means that the story feels even creepier when read today. All of this subtle thematic stuff really helps to add an underlying feeling of unease and dread to the story that gradually builds up over time and can really catch you by surprise. With a skillful blend of horror and thriller fiction, he explored the shaded territories of evil, evoking a sense of brooding menace and rising tension.The above quote could well serve as an epigraph for this novel; for the author has very clearly set up a conflict here between two opposite views of the world.

Christina, who had originally told David both her parents died in India, admits that in fact her mother drowned herself in the lake and Nanny Tess was the one who discovered the body. Registered address: Unit 31, Vulcan House Business Centre, Vulcan Road, Leicester, LE5 3EF, United kingdom. He’s learned a hard lesson to respect that seeing is believing and just because things can’t be easily explained doesn’t mean they don’t exist. At only 224 pages in length, you will find yourself wondering how you managed to get so absorbed in the novel in such a short span of pages.Haunted is a 1995 horror film directed by veteran director Lewis Gilbert and starring Aidan Quinn, Kate Beckinsale, Anthony Andrews, Victoria Shalet and John Gielgud. Three nights in which David Ash, there to investigate a haunting, will be victim of horrifying and maleficent games. So, he wanders across the street to the local pub and has a drink before phoning his boss, Kate, to ask about the case. The characters were interesting and well developed and the pacing kept me turning the pages and finishing the book pretty quickly. Back when I initially read Haunted (which was probably in the 90s), for some reason I thought it was one of the best haunted house stories I'd ever read; now rereading it, I think that it had its moments, it was fun, but in the end, it's really only the ending that saved this story from being just another ho-hum haunted house story.