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Footsteps
A tranquil resort in the sun baked sands of southern Utah... A pioneer archaeologist haunted by a bizarre ESP experience, whose footsteps would deliver him to the brink of everlasting evil... A strange old woman who lives in a local hotel, spinning tales of dread & retribution... A tower of blood red rock called Satan's Seat looming over the town like a monolithic gravestone. The stage is set as an unearthly artifact is exhumed from the depths of Hell.
- GenresHorror
311 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1982
34 people want to read
About the author
Robert Irvine
54 books4 followersAka Val Davis, R.R. Irvine, Peter Heath, Peter H. Fine, Peter Heath Fine
Robert Ralstone Irvine studied anthropology and archaeology at the University of California at Berkeley and now lives in Northern California.
Robert Ralstone Irvine studied anthropology and archaeology at the University of California at Berkeley and now lives in Northern California.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 8, 2024
-Mysterious supernatural force in a small town? Check.
-Town secluded and/or cut off in some way? Check.
-Townspeople gathered together in old inn for protection? Check.
-Vaguely ominous psychic premonitions? Check.
That's really all I need when looking for a plot to hook me when it comes to vintage horror. Good writing and relatable characters help too, of course, but anyone who's read my reviews probably knows I'm typically drawn specifically to this sort of setup, so just be aware that I'm more than a little biased.
Actually, lumping this in with other "evil in small town" tales seems a bit disingenuous, as it's more of a ghost town than an actual town, populated only by the newly arrived pair of archeologists, a couple of gold prospectors and their hired hands, the sheriff from the next town over, and a couple hermit types who chose to remain in the old, abandoned southern Utah village. Oh yeah, and there's, for some reason, an old hotel there run solely by a young woman and her eccentric recluse mother, the latter of whom somehow seems to know everything going on with the new visitors in town. So yeah, hotel in area that no one ever goes. It sort of works within the context of the story, though.
The archeologists are there due to ancient legends of a lost Zuni "city of gold" buried there, and the gold-hunters/land-buyers are there for similar reasons, i.e. rumors of gold nearby. Little do they know there's a perfectly good reason why next to no one lives there, and previous attempts to populate the area have failed: something...unnatural is out there, and it doesn't take kindly to strangers. Too bad a suspiciously-timed rockslide has blocked the only road out.
I enjoyed nearly everything about this, even though novels of this type were a dime a dozen back in the day. It wasn't overly padded, the characters were sympathetic and well-drawn, and the tension remains at a pretty consistently high level throughout. At least that's true if you're the type who gets spooked at the thought of being trapped in an old ghost town near the foot of a towering mesa known as Satan's Seat while people slowly go missing or end up dead, one by one. Plus a creepy old lady.
Not entirely original, but very well done, nonetheless.
-Town secluded and/or cut off in some way? Check.
-Townspeople gathered together in old inn for protection? Check.
-Vaguely ominous psychic premonitions? Check.
That's really all I need when looking for a plot to hook me when it comes to vintage horror. Good writing and relatable characters help too, of course, but anyone who's read my reviews probably knows I'm typically drawn specifically to this sort of setup, so just be aware that I'm more than a little biased.
Actually, lumping this in with other "evil in small town" tales seems a bit disingenuous, as it's more of a ghost town than an actual town, populated only by the newly arrived pair of archeologists, a couple of gold prospectors and their hired hands, the sheriff from the next town over, and a couple hermit types who chose to remain in the old, abandoned southern Utah village. Oh yeah, and there's, for some reason, an old hotel there run solely by a young woman and her eccentric recluse mother, the latter of whom somehow seems to know everything going on with the new visitors in town. So yeah, hotel in area that no one ever goes. It sort of works within the context of the story, though.
The archeologists are there due to ancient legends of a lost Zuni "city of gold" buried there, and the gold-hunters/land-buyers are there for similar reasons, i.e. rumors of gold nearby. Little do they know there's a perfectly good reason why next to no one lives there, and previous attempts to populate the area have failed: something...unnatural is out there, and it doesn't take kindly to strangers. Too bad a suspiciously-timed rockslide has blocked the only road out.
I enjoyed nearly everything about this, even though novels of this type were a dime a dozen back in the day. It wasn't overly padded, the characters were sympathetic and well-drawn, and the tension remains at a pretty consistently high level throughout. At least that's true if you're the type who gets spooked at the thought of being trapped in an old ghost town near the foot of a towering mesa known as Satan's Seat while people slowly go missing or end up dead, one by one. Plus a creepy old lady.
Not entirely original, but very well done, nonetheless.
September 8, 2024
A very good, creepy story by Irvine, and one I found much better than his The Devil's Breath, which preceded this by a few years. Most of Footsetps takes place in a tiny 'ghost' town in Southern Utah-- Genesis-- that was first settled in the late 19th century by Mormons who broke from the church. Something bad happened shortly thereafter, killing most of the people, only leaving a few survivors. Now, the town of Genesis sits largely abandoned except for one hotel (the only one).
Our main protagonist, Manwill, teaches archaeology at the university of Utah; young, only 33, his retired mentor slipped him some old documents about Genesis and also the diary of sorts of a Spanish conquistador who met his fate also around Genesis. Well, Manwill and his mentor head off one summer to check it out. Also in Genesis, besides the hotel proprietor and her reclusive (and creepy) mother, a few others still plug along; a minister, a local prospector, and a hermit. When Manwill and his mentor arrive, barely missing a landslide that closes the only road into town, they find out a couple of business guys have eyes on the town and are there with a small crew. The business guys envision a resort of sorts there, keeping the old ghost town around as basically eye candy.
Well, all of them become trapped due to the landslide, including the local sheriff who happened to be paying a visit, and they hang out at the hotel. Dominating the town, 'Satan's Seat', an odd rock formation, provides the mystery and glue that tie the tale together. Manwill and his mentor think this may be the site of a lost city, fabled like El Dorado for its riches. The business guy's crew, when poking around, find some serious gold nuggets around Satan's Seat, and they hatch a plan. Everything starts coming undone quickly, however, as people start dying in nasty ways...
Irvine really captures Utah well; that became apparent in his previous The Devil's Breath. Further, the pacing here just feels right; a bit slow to start, but then off like a rocket to the end. We get some inkling of what is going on via the POV of something doing the killing, but Irvine keeps us guessing about it all the way to the end. Good stuff, and I wish he wrote more horror before turning to mystery thrillers. 4 creepy stars!!
Our main protagonist, Manwill, teaches archaeology at the university of Utah; young, only 33, his retired mentor slipped him some old documents about Genesis and also the diary of sorts of a Spanish conquistador who met his fate also around Genesis. Well, Manwill and his mentor head off one summer to check it out. Also in Genesis, besides the hotel proprietor and her reclusive (and creepy) mother, a few others still plug along; a minister, a local prospector, and a hermit. When Manwill and his mentor arrive, barely missing a landslide that closes the only road into town, they find out a couple of business guys have eyes on the town and are there with a small crew. The business guys envision a resort of sorts there, keeping the old ghost town around as basically eye candy.
Well, all of them become trapped due to the landslide, including the local sheriff who happened to be paying a visit, and they hang out at the hotel. Dominating the town, 'Satan's Seat', an odd rock formation, provides the mystery and glue that tie the tale together. Manwill and his mentor think this may be the site of a lost city, fabled like El Dorado for its riches. The business guy's crew, when poking around, find some serious gold nuggets around Satan's Seat, and they hatch a plan. Everything starts coming undone quickly, however, as people start dying in nasty ways...
Irvine really captures Utah well; that became apparent in his previous The Devil's Breath. Further, the pacing here just feels right; a bit slow to start, but then off like a rocket to the end. We get some inkling of what is going on via the POV of something doing the killing, but Irvine keeps us guessing about it all the way to the end. Good stuff, and I wish he wrote more horror before turning to mystery thrillers. 4 creepy stars!!
January 13, 2015
Every page was suspenseful...
September 1, 2019
Read this in 1985 and said in my journal from that time, "I liked it."
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews