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House of Rot
The pink mold growing on the walls isn’t the worst thing about Elenya and Myles’ brand new fixer upper. There’s also the inexplicable footsteps in the night; the sealed-over windows and doors; the neighbor that hears their screams but can’t be bothered to help. Soon, there’s no leaving at all. No hope of cleaning. And that encroaching mold? It’s practically become a second skin. Welcome to the House of Rot . You’re never getting out.
Cover art by Kate Blairstone.
Cover art by Kate Blairstone.
122 pages, Paperback
Published June 14, 2023
13 people are currently reading
1069 people want to read
About the author
Danger Slater
37 books732 followersWonderland Award winning author Danger Slater is the world’s most flammable writer! He likes to use a lot of exclamation points!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 110 reviews
June 27, 2023
If you’re craving a read that will make you go “ewwwww” for pages on end and just when you get to thinking it can’t get any worse IT DOES, do I ever have a book for you!
Newlyweds Elenya and Myles are all wide-eyed and optimistic about their new apartment and they stay far longer than I ever would’ve! On their first night they hear an extremely loud intruder so they go around and turn on every single light - including the cell phone light, lol but all they find is some green mold. Myles declares they’re just tired and they go back to bed thinking they’ll clean up the weird mold in the am and get on with their lives. But that doesn’t exactly happen.
Their lives and bodies may never be the same again, actually.
This book is disgusting. Mold just freaks me out and there’s SO much mold here. There are even some lovely illustrations of the mold. If you love mold this will be a keeper for sure. If you don’t like the mold this will still be fun because of the biting sarcasm and the nasty body horror and the annoying neighbor Brad who loves to hear himself talk and is terribly unhelpful and unconcerned. I mean, who doesn’t know a creepy PIA like Brad? And who doesn’t like nasty body horror? (it’s ok if you don’t though so don’t yell at me, I’m fragile)
The characters are fun. They are super optimists so I didn’t really understand them but their hope is contagious and kind of hilarious. If you want to get a good lasting case of the icks and have some moldy nightmares forever I highly recommend reading House of Rot (whose title pretty much says it all!).
4 1/2 Stars
Newlyweds Elenya and Myles are all wide-eyed and optimistic about their new apartment and they stay far longer than I ever would’ve! On their first night they hear an extremely loud intruder so they go around and turn on every single light - including the cell phone light, lol but all they find is some green mold. Myles declares they’re just tired and they go back to bed thinking they’ll clean up the weird mold in the am and get on with their lives. But that doesn’t exactly happen.
Their lives and bodies may never be the same again, actually.
This book is disgusting. Mold just freaks me out and there’s SO much mold here. There are even some lovely illustrations of the mold. If you love mold this will be a keeper for sure. If you don’t like the mold this will still be fun because of the biting sarcasm and the nasty body horror and the annoying neighbor Brad who loves to hear himself talk and is terribly unhelpful and unconcerned. I mean, who doesn’t know a creepy PIA like Brad? And who doesn’t like nasty body horror? (it’s ok if you don’t though so don’t yell at me, I’m fragile)
The characters are fun. They are super optimists so I didn’t really understand them but their hope is contagious and kind of hilarious. If you want to get a good lasting case of the icks and have some moldy nightmares forever I highly recommend reading House of Rot (whose title pretty much says it all!).
4 1/2 Stars
November 3, 2023
Danger Slater does it again 🙃
Myles and Elenya Denovas are newlyweds and have just moved into their new apartment. But they're about to be surrounded and trapped by mold.
For me, this is a story revolving around what life means and how to fit into the world surrounding us and find how to be part of a whole, from the beginning of time to the end of all things. The couple is challenged too but not in the same way as in other Danger's.
I find this story to be tender and reflective, almost meditative, and yet very Bizarro and ugly with all the rot. A perfect balance!
Myles and Elenya Denovas are newlyweds and have just moved into their new apartment. But they're about to be surrounded and trapped by mold.
For me, this is a story revolving around what life means and how to fit into the world surrounding us and find how to be part of a whole, from the beginning of time to the end of all things. The couple is challenged too but not in the same way as in other Danger's.
I find this story to be tender and reflective, almost meditative, and yet very Bizarro and ugly with all the rot. A perfect balance!
June 5, 2023
Danger Slater does it again! Body horror and fungal fiction for the win!
In House of Rot, we meet newlyweds Eleyna and Myles. They are happy, and in love, and moving into their first apartment together. It really feels like it's too good to be true, and well, that's probably because it is. Eleyna wakes up in the middle of their first night in their new place to the sound of footsteps moving through the rooms. Doorknobs being jiggled. Cabinets being opened. A toilet flushing. She wakes Myles up but after a thorough check, they find nothing. Noone. They try to explain it away and salavage what sleep they can before dawn breaks.
In the morning, they wake up and find the house is being overtaken by mold. Filaments have sealed the door and windows, snuck up through the floorboards, and no amount of disinfectant or posion seems to affect it. In fact, it appears to be regenerating faster than they can kill it. And to make matters worse, their strange next door neighbor seems content talking his face off at them through their front window, rather than come to their rescue.
Before long, Eleyna and Myles begin to change. The fungus is inflitrating everything, including their bodies. There seems to be no way out of this mess. Until there is. It's a path they are not sure they want to travel down. But really, what choice do they have?
I read this book cover to cover in nearly one sitting. I had to know what was happening and couldn't put it down until I did. It's a story of not losing hope, of still finding beauty in one another no matter the circumstances or conditions, and of determining whether you have what it takes to face your fears when that means leaving what you know behind - do you hang on to the cards you were dealt, or risk it for what's behind door number one?
And oh lordy, you guys... that ending!!
In House of Rot, we meet newlyweds Eleyna and Myles. They are happy, and in love, and moving into their first apartment together. It really feels like it's too good to be true, and well, that's probably because it is. Eleyna wakes up in the middle of their first night in their new place to the sound of footsteps moving through the rooms. Doorknobs being jiggled. Cabinets being opened. A toilet flushing. She wakes Myles up but after a thorough check, they find nothing. Noone. They try to explain it away and salavage what sleep they can before dawn breaks.
In the morning, they wake up and find the house is being overtaken by mold. Filaments have sealed the door and windows, snuck up through the floorboards, and no amount of disinfectant or posion seems to affect it. In fact, it appears to be regenerating faster than they can kill it. And to make matters worse, their strange next door neighbor seems content talking his face off at them through their front window, rather than come to their rescue.
Before long, Eleyna and Myles begin to change. The fungus is inflitrating everything, including their bodies. There seems to be no way out of this mess. Until there is. It's a path they are not sure they want to travel down. But really, what choice do they have?
I read this book cover to cover in nearly one sitting. I had to know what was happening and couldn't put it down until I did. It's a story of not losing hope, of still finding beauty in one another no matter the circumstances or conditions, and of determining whether you have what it takes to face your fears when that means leaving what you know behind - do you hang on to the cards you were dealt, or risk it for what's behind door number one?
And oh lordy, you guys... that ending!!
July 9, 2023
(4.5 stars rounded up)
House of Rot was a lot of fun. The narration was playful, but it also made you feel like you were in the space with the characters. You get the same sense of panic and wonder of what will happen as Elenya and Myles do. The imagery was gnarly in such a great way. Rot and fungus in horror is not new, but I felt like there were elements here that felt fresh and unseen to me before. I predicted early on about certain aspects of the story, but I do not feel like that detracted from what I was reading. It is really the getting swallowed up in the fabric of the story that makes this so compelling. I also felt like there were some really smart ideas happening to keep the characters where they were. All in all, this may be a short read, but it is a banger.
House of Rot was a lot of fun. The narration was playful, but it also made you feel like you were in the space with the characters. You get the same sense of panic and wonder of what will happen as Elenya and Myles do. The imagery was gnarly in such a great way. Rot and fungus in horror is not new, but I felt like there were elements here that felt fresh and unseen to me before. I predicted early on about certain aspects of the story, but I do not feel like that detracted from what I was reading. It is really the getting swallowed up in the fabric of the story that makes this so compelling. I also felt like there were some really smart ideas happening to keep the characters where they were. All in all, this may be a short read, but it is a banger.
May 15, 2023
Huge thanks to Tenebrous Press for sending me a digital ARC of Danger Slater’s next release!
Over the last number of years, I’ve really grown to love Danger’s unique take on storytelling. I do struggle with Bizarro as a genre, but Danger has always had these underlaying aspects of extreme horror slowly growing and mutating more and more with each release. Now, with ‘House of Rot,’ we’ve arrived at his first ‘official’ take on horror. If you’ve read ‘I Will Rot Without You,’ or even ‘Impossible James,’ you’ll have a strong idea of what to expect with this one. A body horror story that is designed to distract us from the narrative of the human condition and relationship bonds that float just beneath the repulsive.
What I liked: The story follows newlyweds Elenya and Myles, who’ve just moved into their first place together. They’re excited – the future for them starts now – but almost immediately, things begin to happen that are unsettling.
First – it’s footsteps throughout the house at night. When they look, there’s no one there.
Second – a mold begins to grow and infest everything, even sealing the windows and door shut, preventing them from leaving the place.
Danger uses this all as a distraction behind what is actually happening and I’m sad when I think about how much this will be spoiled for readers as the book rolls out and reviews share the truth. It was wonderful and will remind you of some of your favorite movies as a kid, but it worked so well to be teased out that the clues subtlety wrapped within will be big massive billboards if you know the ‘why’ of what Elenya and Myles and experiencing.
The ending was really well done. It was emotional – as most Slater books are – but quantified the message Danger was going for. This was a love letter, masked in the form of a body horror novella, and I’d gather that a lot of what Danger is saying is really meant for his real-life significant other.
What I didn’t like: Can I just say Brad and leave it with that? Because (and I know he was purposefully like that) I hated Brad. I wanted to punch Brad. Well done, Danger, the next Brad I see today is gonna get punched.
I will also say, there were a few rambling moments, when Myles discusses different commercials or a similar thing, that just felt unnecessarily long. I suspect it was to show Myles’ character and offer some comic relief, but for me, I found them to be a bit out of place.
Why you should buy this: I’ve said it in probably every Slater review I’ve written – I would love to see him do a straight forward horror story, and while this is more weird/body horror than straight forward, this may very well be as close to that from Slater – and he nailed it. Danger always writes from the heart, his characters feel like your group of friends and the body horror components here were fantastically squirm-inducing.
Danger’s finally done it and this reader and reviewer smiled the entire time he read the book.
Thanks, Danger. Well done.
Over the last number of years, I’ve really grown to love Danger’s unique take on storytelling. I do struggle with Bizarro as a genre, but Danger has always had these underlaying aspects of extreme horror slowly growing and mutating more and more with each release. Now, with ‘House of Rot,’ we’ve arrived at his first ‘official’ take on horror. If you’ve read ‘I Will Rot Without You,’ or even ‘Impossible James,’ you’ll have a strong idea of what to expect with this one. A body horror story that is designed to distract us from the narrative of the human condition and relationship bonds that float just beneath the repulsive.
What I liked: The story follows newlyweds Elenya and Myles, who’ve just moved into their first place together. They’re excited – the future for them starts now – but almost immediately, things begin to happen that are unsettling.
First – it’s footsteps throughout the house at night. When they look, there’s no one there.
Second – a mold begins to grow and infest everything, even sealing the windows and door shut, preventing them from leaving the place.
Danger uses this all as a distraction behind what is actually happening and I’m sad when I think about how much this will be spoiled for readers as the book rolls out and reviews share the truth. It was wonderful and will remind you of some of your favorite movies as a kid, but it worked so well to be teased out that the clues subtlety wrapped within will be big massive billboards if you know the ‘why’ of what Elenya and Myles and experiencing.
The ending was really well done. It was emotional – as most Slater books are – but quantified the message Danger was going for. This was a love letter, masked in the form of a body horror novella, and I’d gather that a lot of what Danger is saying is really meant for his real-life significant other.
What I didn’t like: Can I just say Brad and leave it with that? Because (and I know he was purposefully like that) I hated Brad. I wanted to punch Brad. Well done, Danger, the next Brad I see today is gonna get punched.
I will also say, there were a few rambling moments, when Myles discusses different commercials or a similar thing, that just felt unnecessarily long. I suspect it was to show Myles’ character and offer some comic relief, but for me, I found them to be a bit out of place.
Why you should buy this: I’ve said it in probably every Slater review I’ve written – I would love to see him do a straight forward horror story, and while this is more weird/body horror than straight forward, this may very well be as close to that from Slater – and he nailed it. Danger always writes from the heart, his characters feel like your group of friends and the body horror components here were fantastically squirm-inducing.
Danger’s finally done it and this reader and reviewer smiled the entire time he read the book.
Thanks, Danger. Well done.
December 3, 2024
3.5 Stars
Repulsive and claustrophobic, House of Rot follows a couple moving into a new apartment shortly before discovering a nasty mold infestation which continues to grow in severity ultimately trapping the two within their unit. Totally gross and filled with body horror, this was a quick read that I would recommend for lovers of the weird.
Repulsive and claustrophobic, House of Rot follows a couple moving into a new apartment shortly before discovering a nasty mold infestation which continues to grow in severity ultimately trapping the two within their unit. Totally gross and filled with body horror, this was a quick read that I would recommend for lovers of the weird.
Read
June 14, 2023Playfully disgusting- and subversive- Danger Slater's HOUSE OF ROT is overflowing with mold and mayhem. It's icky, relatable, tragic, ridiculous, and horrifying. This fungi fable fosters some serious thoughts on trying to survive in a world that wants to infect, poison, and consume you.
October 29, 2025
The concept was there but the execution was lackluster. Too much telling and not enough showing and when the author did show they also told. The main characters might have well been one person, their personalities indistinguishable (other than the use of my least fav trope- men not believing women). I almost dnf’d several times but the need to critique this in its entirety had me hate reading til the end.
June 25, 2023
Danger Slater's HOUSE OF ROT is built on the frame of life. It's about struggle. Its about inevitability. Its about futility. Its about hope in hopelessness. Its about fear and about the future. Its about learning from the past and never retaining the wisdom. Its about new words and pretty sentences. Its about 120 pages long.
You should definitely read it.
You should definitely read it.
January 27, 2024
Whoever is rating this book 5 stars is being paid to do so. I hardly see how this could be considered extreme horror, and if it even WAS, how people genuinely this plot was worth five stars. No one is talking about the Doritos tangents?? Or the one about the fucking Taco Bell dog?? I guarantee you that even though we are only 26 days into this year, no book will EVER beat this one out for the WORST book I’ve read in 2024. Spare yourself and avoid this one - don’t waste your time.
February 13, 2024
House of Rot follows two newlyweds who find themselves sealed inside their new apartment as rapidly-expanding sentient mould consumes their bodies and minds.
This is probably Slater’s most horrific book to date, while remaining firmly in the bizarro style. Revolting fungal gore is accompanied by Slater’s signature absurdist humour, which works better the more inexplicable it is (I enjoyed how his 21st century millennial protagonists occasionally speak like actors in an old-timey movie). He also invokes a genuine cosmic awe as his heroes come to understand their place in a callous and ever-evolving universe.
I’ve always found something existentially depressing about Slater’s works, despite the deliberately silly tone many of them share. I came away from his clone apocalypse comedy Impossible James thinking about dysfunctional families and intergenerational trauma; Moonfellows (about a group of incompetent astronauts marooned on the moon) was clearly about mortality.
House of Rot proves I’m not crazy to think like this; it’s grim. Slater creates a ghostly, claustrophobic tone where the humour - a vestigial remnant of his characters’ unshakeable optimism - makes their hopeless situation feel even more bleak. The fact that the whole scenario is biologically impossible just underscores how doomed they are.
This is probably Slater’s most horrific book to date, while remaining firmly in the bizarro style. Revolting fungal gore is accompanied by Slater’s signature absurdist humour, which works better the more inexplicable it is (I enjoyed how his 21st century millennial protagonists occasionally speak like actors in an old-timey movie). He also invokes a genuine cosmic awe as his heroes come to understand their place in a callous and ever-evolving universe.
I’ve always found something existentially depressing about Slater’s works, despite the deliberately silly tone many of them share. I came away from his clone apocalypse comedy Impossible James thinking about dysfunctional families and intergenerational trauma; Moonfellows (about a group of incompetent astronauts marooned on the moon) was clearly about mortality.
House of Rot proves I’m not crazy to think like this; it’s grim. Slater creates a ghostly, claustrophobic tone where the humour - a vestigial remnant of his characters’ unshakeable optimism - makes their hopeless situation feel even more bleak. The fact that the whole scenario is biologically impossible just underscores how doomed they are.
July 4, 2023
Bizarre, fun, and weird would be the words I’d use to describe House of Rot.
The two main characters were brilliantly real and reading how the House of Rot treated them was heartbreaking. I feel like most of us could relate to Myles’ and Elenya’s desire to try and make a life for themselves, struggling against the money hungry place the world has become.
Besides life-like, relatable characters, Slater also has a serious talent for writing punchy, sharp dialogue and really unsettling descriptions. I won’t say of what, just read the book! At one point, my skin got itchy. That’s all I’m saying.
Another stellar point: the pacing was impeccable and the end was perfectly nutso. I read this in one sitting, I couldn’t put it down.
Overall, House of Rot gave me heavy Junji Ito vibes and you know I am absolutely a huge fan of Ito’s manga. So if you’re a fan of the weird, grotesque things happening to people just trying to get by — House of Rot is for you. If you’re a fan of Junji Ito, this book is for you. The closest story I would compare House of Rot to would be “Greased” from the Shiver collection. If you know you know.
The two main characters were brilliantly real and reading how the House of Rot treated them was heartbreaking. I feel like most of us could relate to Myles’ and Elenya’s desire to try and make a life for themselves, struggling against the money hungry place the world has become.
Besides life-like, relatable characters, Slater also has a serious talent for writing punchy, sharp dialogue and really unsettling descriptions. I won’t say of what, just read the book! At one point, my skin got itchy. That’s all I’m saying.
Another stellar point: the pacing was impeccable and the end was perfectly nutso. I read this in one sitting, I couldn’t put it down.
Overall, House of Rot gave me heavy Junji Ito vibes and you know I am absolutely a huge fan of Ito’s manga. So if you’re a fan of the weird, grotesque things happening to people just trying to get by — House of Rot is for you. If you’re a fan of Junji Ito, this book is for you. The closest story I would compare House of Rot to would be “Greased” from the Shiver collection. If you know you know.
June 4, 2023
3.5/5
Firstly a big thank you to Tenebrous Press for sending me an ARC of this. My first read by Danger as well as first dive into Bizarro. I enjoyed this read though I think the point kind of went over my head. A mysteriously horrifying look into a Newlyweds move in to a new apartment where a mold is slowly taking over.
This read filled me with anxiety as I couldn’t figure out how the two would get out or survive. Heavy feelings of dread in the mix of scenes of body horror and truly disgusting descriptions of this mold. For what it’s worth, even though I know I didn’t understand what was going on I did enjoy this read. I think I’m just going to have to ask a couple friends what was going on haha.
Firstly a big thank you to Tenebrous Press for sending me an ARC of this. My first read by Danger as well as first dive into Bizarro. I enjoyed this read though I think the point kind of went over my head. A mysteriously horrifying look into a Newlyweds move in to a new apartment where a mold is slowly taking over.
This read filled me with anxiety as I couldn’t figure out how the two would get out or survive. Heavy feelings of dread in the mix of scenes of body horror and truly disgusting descriptions of this mold. For what it’s worth, even though I know I didn’t understand what was going on I did enjoy this read. I think I’m just going to have to ask a couple friends what was going on haha.
March 14, 2024
I read this for a Horror book club. While we came to the conclusion that the book was probably trying to be an allegory for the Millennial experience it didn’t really succeed. There is a difference between grotesque and gross and this book was just gross for the sake of being gross. Things escalate pretty quickly and without reason. Things that needed to be explained weren’t and yet there is a very lengthy passage describing a Taco Bell commercial. I kept expecting the neighbor, Brad to serve some purpose in the story or do something but he’s just a slightly menacing presence. I would not recommend this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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May 1, 2023A poignant and revolting masterpiece of fungal horror that captures the millennial condition with heartbreaking precision. House of Rot is a phenomenal read.
February 23, 2024
Well, what a weird little piece of fiction this was. This is a testament to what I love about Horror fiction. It's range, it's diversity of characters, and just how weird you can go without being bound by fictional boundaries.
It's quite difficult to sum up the harrowing beauty of House of Rot. The imagery of a house of mould, made me swear under my breath a lot, it got to the point that I even started to wonder if I could smell mould in my own house. The descriptions were beautiful. The decay of both the mind and the couple's physical form was visceral and gut wrenching.
It's quite difficult to sum up the harrowing beauty of House of Rot. The imagery of a house of mould, made me swear under my breath a lot, it got to the point that I even started to wonder if I could smell mould in my own house. The descriptions were beautiful. The decay of both the mind and the couple's physical form was visceral and gut wrenching.
May 22, 2023
Messed up and revolting in all the best ways.
August 11, 2025
Danger Slater has another fan. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this nihilistic macabre pageturner "The House of Rot. It is a masterpiece! This is why I have become a fan of this wonderful writer.
First of all, Danger Salter's lyrical evocative writing style is amazing. The comparisons and personifications that are made are all touching. They enhance the expressive way of the story, making the images stronger. One comparison related to the mold is this one:
Slime bubbled forth from the thicker patches like a wave of psychedelic sea foam (p.37).
On the one hand, the image presented is disgusting and on the other, it is intriguing because psychedelic sea foam, to my mind, refers to something grand and bizarre. The fungus and the sea foam also touch in the symbolic meaning as a reference to impermanence. Thus, the author gives the reader a lot of information about the book with just a few words.
And then there is the macabre humor reminiscent of Tales from the Crypt. The story is bizarre and surreal. As a counterpart, there is the lurid irony in the story, creating a balance that keeps the reader fascinated.
On the one hand, the picture painted is disgusting and on the other hand, it is intriguing, because psychedeli
Then, while reading, I was occasionally reminded of the work of Emile Cioran, a Romanian philosopher. In one of his books he writes that: '"If the expression "metaphysical exile" had no meaning, my existence alone would afford it one." It would be a shame to give too many spoilers about “House of Rot” and a whole explanation of the intertextual connection between the author's work and the philosopher. So I'll keep it short: this masterful novella is an illustration of some of the key ideas in Cioran's work.
There are several ways to interpret the story. In my experience, the story is about impermanence in its broadest sense. The main characters have just married and are soon confronted with the finiteness of everything. The author's dark fantasy has done this sublimely. 'House of Rot' is, to my mind, a forthcoming cult classic: quirky, creative and so creepy.
And that's how I became a fan of Danger Slater after reading this book. 'House of Rot' is a book that deserves cult status. Not only for its genius description of timeliness, but also for its original macabre fantasy and the author's amazing sense of language, this budding classic deserves five stars and the author has gained a fan.
First of all, Danger Salter's lyrical evocative writing style is amazing. The comparisons and personifications that are made are all touching. They enhance the expressive way of the story, making the images stronger. One comparison related to the mold is this one:
Slime bubbled forth from the thicker patches like a wave of psychedelic sea foam (p.37).
On the one hand, the image presented is disgusting and on the other, it is intriguing because psychedelic sea foam, to my mind, refers to something grand and bizarre. The fungus and the sea foam also touch in the symbolic meaning as a reference to impermanence. Thus, the author gives the reader a lot of information about the book with just a few words.
And then there is the macabre humor reminiscent of Tales from the Crypt. The story is bizarre and surreal. As a counterpart, there is the lurid irony in the story, creating a balance that keeps the reader fascinated.
On the one hand, the picture painted is disgusting and on the other hand, it is intriguing, because psychedeli
Then, while reading, I was occasionally reminded of the work of Emile Cioran, a Romanian philosopher. In one of his books he writes that: '"If the expression "metaphysical exile" had no meaning, my existence alone would afford it one." It would be a shame to give too many spoilers about “House of Rot” and a whole explanation of the intertextual connection between the author's work and the philosopher. So I'll keep it short: this masterful novella is an illustration of some of the key ideas in Cioran's work.
There are several ways to interpret the story. In my experience, the story is about impermanence in its broadest sense. The main characters have just married and are soon confronted with the finiteness of everything. The author's dark fantasy has done this sublimely. 'House of Rot' is, to my mind, a forthcoming cult classic: quirky, creative and so creepy.
And that's how I became a fan of Danger Slater after reading this book. 'House of Rot' is a book that deserves cult status. Not only for its genius description of timeliness, but also for its original macabre fantasy and the author's amazing sense of language, this budding classic deserves five stars and the author has gained a fan.
September 26, 2023
Danger Slater is one of the most innovative small press authors working today. Full disclosure: I have actually slept in the apartment that the House of Rot is based on. That leads to a very interesting reading experience. Regardless of my personal connection to this particular strain of mold, this book is a propulsive and shadowy story that goes to some very dark but relatable places. As a millennial who will probably never afford to own a home myself, the undercurrent of tension in our protagonist couple is palpable and real. They just want their castle. But entropy has different ideas. Very cool read.
December 19, 2024
How has it become a trend that I read one of my worst books of the year in the final week of that year and have to rearrange the already half finished list I had to include it!? Because I’m not liking this trend.
Still congratulations House of Rot: you’re on my end of year list. Not for the right reasons though…
Still congratulations House of Rot: you’re on my end of year list. Not for the right reasons though…
July 4, 2023
Danger and rot once again prove to be a winning combo.
June 8, 2023
This is a book that will leave you thinking; about the current state of the world, if you're really functioning in this society, and it might even make you wonder if there's any mold secretly growing in your house that's plotting to imprison you. All the fun thoughts.
Elenya and Myles have just moved into their apartment and are prepared to start their lives as newlyweds. However, almost immediately, they begin to hear footsteps at night, and an odd mold begins spreading rapidly throughout their new home. Soon, the mold has them locked in, and they're left considering if their problem is big enough to call for help; after all, the police and medics have much bigger, more important issues to deal with - don't they?
I loved every single second of this book. It's creepy from the very start and doesn't let up. This is the first book I've read by Danger Slater, and I think I'll have to check out his other ones now. This story is a genius take on what "living" in today's society is like. It was weird, horrifying, heartwarming at times, and incorporated humor in the oddest places (now, when I'm on my deathbed, I'll recite a Taco Bell commercial; hopefully, it'll make it less serious, and my loved ones will be wondering for the rest of their lives if it was meant to be some kind of metaphor). Overall, I really enjoyed this one, and I will most likely be avoiding mold and mushrooms in the future.
Thank you, Tenebrous Press, for providing me with the eARC!
Elenya and Myles have just moved into their apartment and are prepared to start their lives as newlyweds. However, almost immediately, they begin to hear footsteps at night, and an odd mold begins spreading rapidly throughout their new home. Soon, the mold has them locked in, and they're left considering if their problem is big enough to call for help; after all, the police and medics have much bigger, more important issues to deal with - don't they?
I loved every single second of this book. It's creepy from the very start and doesn't let up. This is the first book I've read by Danger Slater, and I think I'll have to check out his other ones now. This story is a genius take on what "living" in today's society is like. It was weird, horrifying, heartwarming at times, and incorporated humor in the oddest places (now, when I'm on my deathbed, I'll recite a Taco Bell commercial; hopefully, it'll make it less serious, and my loved ones will be wondering for the rest of their lives if it was meant to be some kind of metaphor). Overall, I really enjoyed this one, and I will most likely be avoiding mold and mushrooms in the future.
Thank you, Tenebrous Press, for providing me with the eARC!
November 22, 2023
DNF @ 75ish%
If this is a kink thing, I absolutely offer critical support, but, beyond the fact that a book like this exists, was written, and people enjoy it, no aspect of it really did anything for me and I was more consumed with trying to fathom what the actual tone and angle the book was actually going for.
Until the moment I decided to call it I was feeling this:
I...really don't know how I feel. This isn't Braindead gonzo ridiculousness, but it isn't Gray Matter disturbing horror either. It's kinda caught in the middle and come off like an homage to The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill/ Weeds leaving me to wonder, how much they would pay for it up the college?
But then there was a very strange, gross, grossly, strangely sexual scene that was played for laughs that just didn't land for me. I'm totally willing to say it was me, but it feels like an attempt to be as edgelordy and shocking as possible, while hanging a lantern on it, of it being just a joke. All of which combined feels incredibly forced and unnatual.
I'm a granddaughter of Nurgle. I can absolutely get down with the ridiculous glee of rot and ruin, and I can equally revel in the utterly creepifying terror of disgusting body horror. I'm not adverse to going either way and I'm more than happy to suspend belief.
The thing I most struggle with when it comes to heightened genre, especially horror, is the uncanny valley between genuinely affecting and truly horrifying horror, and the ridiculous fun, silly, and awful of the comic horrors (intended or otherwise). There are absolutely stories that bridge this gap, Hellraiser comes to mind, but this was not enough of anything and then suddenly so very much all at once 3/4 of the way through.
I'm becoming quite sure it's a me/ autistic thing that, while I can totally appreciate the tone of a story changing across the narrative or when hinted at and/ or built towards, suddenly throwing out all the tone building and establishing vibes (without the about caveats) just make me incredibly frustrated. It's like some kind of jump scare and leaves me wondering why we all wasted so much time not doing the story the author wanted to actually tell.
Building on this, I can't help but feel this novella would have made a much better short story. So much of the set up is rote horror set up stuff that anyone reading a book like this is very familar with and is filled with incredibly unnatural and stilted dialogue that does nothing to disguise the hand of the author. A lot of this frankly feels like filler. If you're going to do the normal times and low horror build up, you need to be able to handle that and feh dialogue well enough. It's an issue in films as often as it is in books.
I absolutely don't want yuck anybody's yum (or rather yuck in this case). I just think everyone would have had more fun if we just got into everything a bit sooner and with more of a throughline.
It also, especially through the neighbour, feels an oddly mean spirited story, with the author/ narrator seeming to feel a real animosity to the seemingly fine couple, denigrating them unnecessary. (I didn't finish so maybe something is revealed).
Just not for me, but happy stuff like this is out there making other people happy.
If this is a kink thing, I absolutely offer critical support, but, beyond the fact that a book like this exists, was written, and people enjoy it, no aspect of it really did anything for me and I was more consumed with trying to fathom what the actual tone and angle the book was actually going for.
Until the moment I decided to call it I was feeling this:
I...really don't know how I feel. This isn't Braindead gonzo ridiculousness, but it isn't Gray Matter disturbing horror either. It's kinda caught in the middle and come off like an homage to The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill/ Weeds leaving me to wonder, how much they would pay for it up the college?
But then there was a very strange, gross, grossly, strangely sexual scene that was played for laughs that just didn't land for me. I'm totally willing to say it was me, but it feels like an attempt to be as edgelordy and shocking as possible, while hanging a lantern on it, of it being just a joke. All of which combined feels incredibly forced and unnatual.
I'm a granddaughter of Nurgle. I can absolutely get down with the ridiculous glee of rot and ruin, and I can equally revel in the utterly creepifying terror of disgusting body horror. I'm not adverse to going either way and I'm more than happy to suspend belief.
The thing I most struggle with when it comes to heightened genre, especially horror, is the uncanny valley between genuinely affecting and truly horrifying horror, and the ridiculous fun, silly, and awful of the comic horrors (intended or otherwise). There are absolutely stories that bridge this gap, Hellraiser comes to mind, but this was not enough of anything and then suddenly so very much all at once 3/4 of the way through.
I'm becoming quite sure it's a me/ autistic thing that, while I can totally appreciate the tone of a story changing across the narrative or when hinted at and/ or built towards, suddenly throwing out all the tone building and establishing vibes (without the about caveats) just make me incredibly frustrated. It's like some kind of jump scare and leaves me wondering why we all wasted so much time not doing the story the author wanted to actually tell.
Building on this, I can't help but feel this novella would have made a much better short story. So much of the set up is rote horror set up stuff that anyone reading a book like this is very familar with and is filled with incredibly unnatural and stilted dialogue that does nothing to disguise the hand of the author. A lot of this frankly feels like filler. If you're going to do the normal times and low horror build up, you need to be able to handle that and feh dialogue well enough. It's an issue in films as often as it is in books.
I absolutely don't want yuck anybody's yum (or rather yuck in this case). I just think everyone would have had more fun if we just got into everything a bit sooner and with more of a throughline.
It also, especially through the neighbour, feels an oddly mean spirited story, with the author/ narrator seeming to feel a real animosity to the seemingly fine couple, denigrating them unnecessary. (I didn't finish so maybe something is revealed).
Just not for me, but happy stuff like this is out there making other people happy.
May 27, 2023
House Of Rot by Danger Slater is a bizarre tale of new beginnings, fungi, and trying to see outside of the box no matter what circumstance you find yourself in.
This entire read had me itchy and ready to go soak in an oatmeal bath!
A perfect read for fans of bizarre horror! If you can suspend belief and sink into this one, you’ll have an absolute blast while reading! Just don’t get too comfortable, or the fungus will come for you too!
Check out my full review here:
https://www.ericarobynreads.com/house...
This entire read had me itchy and ready to go soak in an oatmeal bath!
A perfect read for fans of bizarre horror! If you can suspend belief and sink into this one, you’ll have an absolute blast while reading! Just don’t get too comfortable, or the fungus will come for you too!
Check out my full review here:
https://www.ericarobynreads.com/house...
July 26, 2023
Another literary reminder that the best way to ruin a good relationship is to move in together.
June 5, 2023
Weird fiction, so often, is a marriage between the supernatural and the absurd. It’s through this lens that we see some of its most striking works. Kafka’s Metamorphosis comes to mind, where a man becomes a bug and from that unreality blossoms a story that interrogates reality. This, ultimately, I like to think, is the goal of Weird fiction—to dismantle our surroundings with a soundly strange aberration. If you imagine your immediate world, and make one thing wrong, it necessarily calls into question the rightness of everything around it. Danger Slater’s House of Rot works in this vein, although to say it is a comrade of Kafka’s is to also say it has kin with Cronenberg, the bizarro movement, and many others who make ooey-gooey horror with social commentary. Ultimately though, most readers will just be satisfied with a fun, readable story, with gross-out moments to spare. House of Rot excels here as well.
Slater’s novella centers around a young (but not that young) couple who have just moved into a new apartment. The first chapter explodes off the page with voice to spare. It is immediate, irreverent, funny, and slightly sinister. And really, I think it is Slater’s voice that is the unofficial third main character of House of Rot. He provides asides, dashes of humor, prophetorial exposition that makes the novella feel like it isn’t just a story, but an old story. A modern fable coming from the lips of an omniscient, streetwise smartass who’s seen it all before, and knows what horrors lurk beyond our immediate comprehension.
The crux of the story is our young couple coming to grips with the sheen of mold that at first appears as a disappointing flaw in their new living space, but then becomes its defining feature—locking them into their new apartment as the fungus spreads and spreads. All the while, their neighbor provides cryptic amusement while slamming down six packs of Hamm’s from a window. From there, things get gorey and gross as bodily functions are undermined in extravagant fashion.
If this sounds strange, it’s because it is. House of Rot is a weird fucking book. But it’s also so grounded in the millennial experience it’s hard not to find it relatable. There’s lots of commentary in here about millennials growing older and still struggling to make good on the American dream. Our characters in House of Rot are in their thirties and still living in apartments. They shroud their frustration and insecurities with endless irony, even as they’re literally falling apart. Because of this, in spite of its exceeding weirdness, House of Rot feels deeply relevant. The rot here is imbued with a sense of time and place—namely, now—and through it we gain a thoughtful exploration of aging millennial malaise.
But more importantly than all of that—House of Rot is plain old fun. I finished it in one sitting (In my apartment, two weeks from my thirty-third birthday. Yikes.) and found it to be lively and compulsively readable. It’s the sort of book that swallows you up, where you’re helpless to do anything but say to yourself: well, okay—maybe just one more chapter.
House of Rot is a fast-paced, thoughtful, and hilarious novella that is an ode to a generation’s shared depression. Propelled by its author’s inimitable voice and energy, it manages to take the fun of body horror and elevate it into economic discourse that never feels like a righteous diatribe, or worse: an afterthought.
Come for the Weird, stay for the ride—House of Rot drags its readers through a shared fever dream of apartment-sized proportions.
Slater’s novella centers around a young (but not that young) couple who have just moved into a new apartment. The first chapter explodes off the page with voice to spare. It is immediate, irreverent, funny, and slightly sinister. And really, I think it is Slater’s voice that is the unofficial third main character of House of Rot. He provides asides, dashes of humor, prophetorial exposition that makes the novella feel like it isn’t just a story, but an old story. A modern fable coming from the lips of an omniscient, streetwise smartass who’s seen it all before, and knows what horrors lurk beyond our immediate comprehension.
The crux of the story is our young couple coming to grips with the sheen of mold that at first appears as a disappointing flaw in their new living space, but then becomes its defining feature—locking them into their new apartment as the fungus spreads and spreads. All the while, their neighbor provides cryptic amusement while slamming down six packs of Hamm’s from a window. From there, things get gorey and gross as bodily functions are undermined in extravagant fashion.
If this sounds strange, it’s because it is. House of Rot is a weird fucking book. But it’s also so grounded in the millennial experience it’s hard not to find it relatable. There’s lots of commentary in here about millennials growing older and still struggling to make good on the American dream. Our characters in House of Rot are in their thirties and still living in apartments. They shroud their frustration and insecurities with endless irony, even as they’re literally falling apart. Because of this, in spite of its exceeding weirdness, House of Rot feels deeply relevant. The rot here is imbued with a sense of time and place—namely, now—and through it we gain a thoughtful exploration of aging millennial malaise.
But more importantly than all of that—House of Rot is plain old fun. I finished it in one sitting (In my apartment, two weeks from my thirty-third birthday. Yikes.) and found it to be lively and compulsively readable. It’s the sort of book that swallows you up, where you’re helpless to do anything but say to yourself: well, okay—maybe just one more chapter.
House of Rot is a fast-paced, thoughtful, and hilarious novella that is an ode to a generation’s shared depression. Propelled by its author’s inimitable voice and energy, it manages to take the fun of body horror and elevate it into economic discourse that never feels like a righteous diatribe, or worse: an afterthought.
Come for the Weird, stay for the ride—House of Rot drags its readers through a shared fever dream of apartment-sized proportions.
June 14, 2023
Happy pub day to House of Rot! This was incredibly gross, I highly recommend 🤣 as I was reading this I felt like an army of invisible ants was crawling all over me, it was in a word *EW*, be sure to set aside some time after finishing this to check your house from top to bottom for mould because this will leave you unsettled AF, underneath the disgusting imagery of fungal horror there is an even more horrific theme of the millenial experience, I really enjoyed this I found it utterly unique and although it made me very itchy and a squirmy wormy it left a lasting impression of meloncholy which I didn't expect, this was a fun read (guess you could say the author is a fun-gi..
I'm sorry) if you enjoy body/bizzare horror you will love this! Thankyou to the author for the arc copy!
I'm sorry) if you enjoy body/bizzare horror you will love this! Thankyou to the author for the arc copy!
August 2, 2024
If there’s one thing I extremely like, it’s fungal horror.
This book is disgusting at times and when you think it can’t get any worse, it gets worse. It’s filled with body horror, emotion, humor and very well done imagery.
While reading this it felt like I was there in the place with the characters. The story is compelling and the characters Elenya and Myles are fun and at some times even hilarious.
Even though this is a horror story, there were still tender moments which then quickly turned bizarre again. It’s grim, bleak and often times it even feels claustrophobic but done in a beautiful way.
This book is disgusting at times and when you think it can’t get any worse, it gets worse. It’s filled with body horror, emotion, humor and very well done imagery.
While reading this it felt like I was there in the place with the characters. The story is compelling and the characters Elenya and Myles are fun and at some times even hilarious.
Even though this is a horror story, there were still tender moments which then quickly turned bizarre again. It’s grim, bleak and often times it even feels claustrophobic but done in a beautiful way.
May 17, 2024
3.5 stars rounded up
Lately I’ve been really diving into the plant/fungal/eco-horror subgenre and I love it here🥰 This was a really fun, weird, shiver-inducing read! There was a scene having to do with spores that made me not even want to breathe while reading. The imagery was haunting. The characters were… something. lol. They definitely get a lil side eye. I wish one character had gotten a little more development though. I was hoping there would be a little more explanation in the end, but I still found the ending to be very satisfying. I had a fun time with this one!
Lately I’ve been really diving into the plant/fungal/eco-horror subgenre and I love it here🥰 This was a really fun, weird, shiver-inducing read! There was a scene having to do with spores that made me not even want to breathe while reading. The imagery was haunting. The characters were… something. lol. They definitely get a lil side eye. I wish one character had gotten a little more development though. I was hoping there would be a little more explanation in the end, but I still found the ending to be very satisfying. I had a fun time with this one!
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