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The Haunted Houses of Foxwood and Reindeer Manor #1
The Haunting of Reindeer Manor
Dr. Jonathan Anderson, chair of the psychology department of Dallas's most prestigious university, received a rejection letter on his life's work. The next day, October 31, 2008, he got a second chance, an article confirming the existence of ghosts at the infamous Reindeer Manor.
The current owner, who only goes by Andy, has been running the property as a Halloween attraction for years. However, it's not the attraction that is of interest to Anderson, but rather its true history.
Upon visiting the manor, he struck a deal with the owner to rent the entire property for five days, under the condition that all Halloween props are removed.
Unfortunately for Dr. Anderson, he got his way...
The current owner, who only goes by Andy, has been running the property as a Halloween attraction for years. However, it's not the attraction that is of interest to Anderson, but rather its true history.
Upon visiting the manor, he struck a deal with the owner to rent the entire property for five days, under the condition that all Halloween props are removed.
Unfortunately for Dr. Anderson, he got his way...
285 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 5, 2012
1 person is currently reading
69 people want to read
About the author
Kevin Michael Guest
40 books8 followersKevin M. Guest resides in Arlington, TX, with his lovely wife Tammi and their son, Chris. He finds the humor in life, even during hard times. He believes if you cannot laugh at yourself, then something is missing from you life.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
April 29, 2013
The book was ok. It held my attention and was a fun quick read. I would love to visit reindeer manor some day. I enjoy books that are based on a true place and legend.
August 12, 2020
It started out better than that rating indicates, I think, but the final third really didn't work for me. I'm a big horror fan, but for me the most frightening horror comes from suggestion, not the hack-hack-gore model where shock after bloody shock are piled on top of each other. There were points towards the end where it all got so over the top that the scare factor actually decreased. It didn't help that hardly anyone investigating this haunted house was likeable, and the main investigator was the most unlikeable of the lot. When I don't care if the house destroys a single one of the characters, that's something of a problem.
That said, I note that, at the end of the book, the about the author section said that Guest has actually worked at the house, manning the BBQ booth. I didn't realise Reindeer Manor was an actual place! But apparently it's run as an amusement park, in much the same fashion as Spookers here in New Zealand, or so I imagine. And the creepy history of the house that's related in the story is based on truth, or so the Reindeer Manor website tells me. Given this setting, I wish I could find the novel more appealing... but I bought the series all together, so perhaps the rest of the volumes in it will improve.
That said, I note that, at the end of the book, the about the author section said that Guest has actually worked at the house, manning the BBQ booth. I didn't realise Reindeer Manor was an actual place! But apparently it's run as an amusement park, in much the same fashion as Spookers here in New Zealand, or so I imagine. And the creepy history of the house that's related in the story is based on truth, or so the Reindeer Manor website tells me. Given this setting, I wish I could find the novel more appealing... but I bought the series all together, so perhaps the rest of the volumes in it will improve.
June 4, 2020
Interesting Ghost Story
This is my first book by Kevin Guest, The description sounded promising. But I have to say I was somewhat disappointed.. The worst thing was the editing- misspelled words, words used incorrectly, and some words were obviously missing The formatting was also weird, with new chapters starting all over the pages. Those things probably don't bother some readers, but they do me.
The story had a great premise, but never quite lived up to it The descriptions were well done and Reindeer Manor seemed realistic. The story seemed to drag in some places, as in the part where Any was wandering around aimlessly.
I think I will give Mr. Guest another try and hope that I will enjoy his next book more.
This is my first book by Kevin Guest, The description sounded promising. But I have to say I was somewhat disappointed.. The worst thing was the editing- misspelled words, words used incorrectly, and some words were obviously missing The formatting was also weird, with new chapters starting all over the pages. Those things probably don't bother some readers, but they do me.
The story had a great premise, but never quite lived up to it The descriptions were well done and Reindeer Manor seemed realistic. The story seemed to drag in some places, as in the part where Any was wandering around aimlessly.
I think I will give Mr. Guest another try and hope that I will enjoy his next book more.
December 21, 2022
This. Is the same book with a change of character names . Lazy and boring ghost story with unneeded graphic sex.
September 3, 2014
In a nutshell, The Haunting of Reindeer Manor is a story about a mediocre and aging university Psychology professor who has spent a career investigating haunted houses. Trying to put the finishing touches on a book, he decides to investigate the allegedly haunted Reindeer Manor (which, incidentally, is a real place in Red Oak, Texas, that bills itself as ‘The Oldest Haunted Attraction in Texas’) He goes there with four other people and strange things begin to happen. If you have read The Haunting of Hill House, Hell House, or Rose Red, then you have heard this story before. Therefore, Mr. Guest has to rely on his delivery, which isn’t bad. He isn’t going to make you forget Shirley Jackson, Richard Matheson, Stephen King or even Algernon Blackwood, but he does a decent job of telling his story, keeping the reader involved. There are a few problems, however, that prevent me from giving The Haunting of Reindeer Manor a higher star rating: As some other reviewers have stated, Mr. Guest overuses the phrase ‘eye rolling’ almost to ad nauseum: ‘He rolled his eyes’, ‘she rolled her eyes’, ‘they rolled their eyes.’ You will be rolling your eyes. Also, Mr. Guest rarely uses contractions and it makes the dialogue seem unnatural and stilted. For me, personally, I didn’t find any character in the book that I genuinely liked and was worried about to the point that I was hoping nothing bad would happen to them. Despite this, I liked the book well enough that I would be willing to read the other two volumes in this series; I hope they will be better written and provide more answers.
April 6, 2016
200 pgs in and it still feels like a bad rehash of rose red, the haunting, and phantasmagoria. don't care about the flat stereotypical characters or the typical creepy old house with a past type haunting they will encounter. liked the opening sequence and was really hoping for better than what i got.
June 27, 2013
Fast, easy read. I'm torn because I am not crazy about the ending, but I don't know how else you would end a book about a haunting. It was a book I couldn't put down. It also gave me strange dreams. I wish I knew some people's true roll although I won't say who as I wouldn't want to spoil it for others.
October 6, 2013
200 pgs in and it still feels like a bad rehash of rose red, the haunting, and phantasmagoria. don't care about the flat stereotypical characters or the typical creepy old house with a past type haunting they will encounter. liked the opening sequence and was really hoping for better than what i got.
October 30, 2015
Couldn't get into it. Did not find it scary at all. Deleted it at 50%.
November 1, 2012
Would be nice to know how true this was.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews