Hell Manor

by Lisa Morton

Jack Lichtner is the genius behind Hell Manor, America's most successful Halloween haunted house. Mazes, scare zones, live actors, special effects, crazy gore...Hell Manor's got it all. But Jack gets in over his head when he hires Maeve, a mysterious woman with a penchant for bloody magic and murderous kin who want her back. This Halloween, Jack must use all his powers of illusion to fight off the real magic of the ancient tricksters who have invaded Hell Manor.

Genres: Horror

72 pages, ebook

First published October 31, 2012

About the author

Lisa Morton is a screenwriter, author of horror fiction, and Halloween expert. She is a winner of both the Black Quill and Bram Stoker Awards, and her short stories have appeared in more than 50 books and magazines. Her first novel, THE CASTLE OF LOS ANGELES, was released by Gray Friar Press in 2010, and her first collection, MONSTERS OF L.A., was published by Bad Moon Books in October 2011. She is a native and lifelong resident of Southern California, and currently resides in the San Fernando Valley.

Reviews

[Rob Twinem · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hell Manor is a haunted house run by Jack Lichtner and in the process of interviewing and hiring staff he makes the acquaintance of the beautiful and mysterious Meave. Unknown to Jack Meave has a secret she is part of the family of malicious fairies the "shee" and she is being haunted by three elders Finn, Angus and Cormac who wish for Meave to return to their world and are prepared to use any means to achieve this end. I thought the first third of this book was a great read, Jack is mesmerized by the porcelain beauty of Meave and she uses bloody black magic to entertain the visitors to Hell Manor. There is one scene I particularly enjoyed; Meave "The Blood Queen" asks for a volunteer and then cleanly removes the young man's head with the swipe of a sharp sword. The crowd goes wild, Meave in a jubilant mood displays her trophy "the head" for all to see...and then magically the head is reunited with the body and our young hero returns to his friends to tell the tale. Naturally when this happened there is laughter and then cries of disbelief and finally looks of astonishment when the boy is unharmed. The rest of this short story involves the attempts of the shee to find and punish Meave...or is that their true intention? I found the remainder of this story somewhat tedious and rather predictable and apart from an amusing conclusion not one of my favourite reads.

[Ms. Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 1/2stars
Hell Manor is a Halloween attraction thats magic is not all illusions as Maeve, the new girl, shows the owner, Jack. Others are after her and they leave a trail of entrails wherever they go.

A short, entertaining surface read.

[Kevin Clayton · Rating 4 out of 5]

What awaits when Samhain opens its doorways upon a lover of Halloween?

[Geoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a crazy ride of a story, and its fun, fast paced, gruesome, and full of Halloween lore. It tells the tale of a man named Jack who runs a Haunted House every Halloween, it’s his passion and he's good at it. This year however is a little different when a pale girl named Maeve, who almost looks like an albino, applies as a magician for his Haunted House. But these magic tricks seem almost real, too real, but Jack realizes this will be a great draw and hires her. What follows is what you would expect as it is a horror story, but this is Halloween too so the "Trickster" is also in full force in this tale.

I've enjoyed everything I've read by Morton so far and this is no exception. I enjoyed this tale a lot. Recommended, and a great Halloween read!

[Greg Chapman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lisa Morton’s HELL MANOR is like being chained to the front of a runaway ghost train. Relentless in its pacing, and drenched in dark, Celtic magic, Morton delivers one fright after the next; leaving the reader with a shaky,post-nightmare buzz, well after the tale has come to an end. Highly recommended
Halloween reading!

[Rhonda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished 10/13/12 the first time
Finished again 06/16/13

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fairy good book and not the friendly kind either. Highly recommended. (Thanks Rhonda)

[Craig Rettig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although there were a few minor plot holes and some overly-omniscient narrator syndrome, the action flows pretty well, and the story itself is pretty engaging. Definitely worth the read.