The Third Floor

Angel Hill #1

by C. Dennis Moore

Hell House. The Amityville Horror. The Haunting of Hill House.

Horror author C. Dennis Moore invites you to the newest haunted house on the block, a place so mean, even in a town where strange is the norm, the stories surrounding this house are legend. The problem is they’re all true.

THEIR NEW HOME IS OUT TO GET THEM

Welcome to Angel Hill, Missouri, a town that shot blood from the ground at its own groundbreaking. There are only two roads in or out of Angel Hill, and everything within those borders is subject to the whims of reality. Those who grew up here are immune to the town's peculiarities. But Jack and Liz have just moved here, and for their young son, Joey, it's almost like coming home again.

As the Kitches settle into their new home, a large abandoned house in need of a lot of TLC, Angel Hill welcomes them the only way it knows how. Footsteps in the middle of the night. Voices on the phone. Their big empty house wasn't so empty after all. There's a presence, and it's growing stronger. And angrier.

DOES MADNESS LIVE ON AFTER DEATH?

A hulking figure stalks the halls while childlike voices whisper in mourning. And there's something unexplainable happening to Joey. His hair is shorter now, and his eyes . . . they didn't used to be that color, did they? And that birthmark on his neck looks more like a scar every day. Jack doesn't want to believe his own eyes, but for Liz the threat is all too real, and it's closing in.

From the invisible shapes under the sheets, the eyes she feels on her constantly, and the banging coming from the third floor . . . is that something trying to get in? Or something wanting out? Welcome to Angel Hill.

C. Dennis Moore is the author of REVELATIONS and “The Man in the Window” as well as over 60 published stories in the speculative fiction genres. THE THIRD FLOOR is based in part on his real experiences in the house on which this novel is based. His horror fiction has appeared most recently in VILE THINGS, WHAT FEARS BECOME, DARK HIGHWAYS, DARK HIGHLANDS 2 and DEAD BAIT 3. In the review of his first short story collection, TERRIBLE THRILLS, CEMETERY DANCE MAGAZINE called him “an author worth keeping an eye on.”

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Paranormal, Audiobook, Supernatural, Ghosts

369 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 12, 2012

About the author

C. Dennis Moore is the author of the Angel Hill novels, the Monsters of Green Lake series, as well as the Holiday Horrors. He lives in St. Joseph, MO with his wife, Kara. They have seven children and three grandchildren. His website is www.cdennismoore.com

Reviews

[Justin Fraxi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Edit in 2025: This review is really fucking mean and I actually feel kind of bad about it. I don't know if the author ever saw it, but if this were now, I wouldn't lie and say I liked the book, but I'd try to be a bit more constructive about my criticism than this. Sorry about that.

Ugh, dear lord, no.

You're doing it wrong.

I seldom ever give out one-star ratings, but the whole time I was reading this book, I looked like how Beavis and Butthead looked when that one Milli Vanilli video came on. Hold on, I actually just screencapped that last week:



That. That is what my face looked like while reading this. Shitty writing, poor character development, and so many pointless sentences. Example:

Liz glanced into the empty rooms. They all looked so bare. Of course they do, she thought. They're empty.

THE WHOLE BOOK IS LIKE THAT. Any parts that might have been kind of cool or spooky if someone else had written them are completely overshadowed by TERRIBLE writing. I bought this book on Kindle because it was a dollar, but I feel like I got ripped off. I think the author should have paid me to read it. Even then, I might have refused if I'd known what I was getting into. Aaaaand I just ended a sentence with a preposition because this book made me dumber.*

*I know that's a bullshit grammar rule that no one actually needs to follow. I'm just being snarky. Let me be snarky. Like I said, I so very rarely give out one-star ratings. Let me shine just this once.

[Char · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5* rounded up to 3.

I read this novel with my Shelfari horror group. We were disappointed.

It's pretty obvious this is a haunted house story. As such, it could be hard to impress my group because we are all seasoned horror fans and have lots of experience with haunted house books. This book just did not measure up.

A couple moves into a new home. A haunting ensues. Apparitions of young children, both a boy and a girl appear. There are feelings of being touched. There are screams and laughter heard. There are knockings and bangings heard. So far, so good-right? No. I've left out the things that seemed to have NO bearing on the story whatsoever, and there were quite a few of those. For instance-there is a naked old lady in a nearby house that makes a couple of appearances, why?
We are told all kinds of things about Jack's job and how one of his buyers always calls at the last minute. Why? Who cares? It had nothing to do with the haunting at all.

The husband, Jack, hears some stories about the house and the town where it's located, Angel Hill. Even though he insists it's all hooey, he goes out and buys a book about the town and its hauntings. He promptly hides it under the mattress where his hysterical wife won't find it and start freaking out. Why? Then he doesn't even read it!

I guess you can tell by this point that I wasn't impressed by this book. I will say that I enjoyed what the haunting actually turned out to be. I thought that part showed the author had a good idea...but I think he needs to learn how to trim out the extraneous stuff and hone in on the story.

I would have loved to learn more about the town of Angel Hill and why bad things kept happening there. I would have loved if Jack had opened that book and learned more about Angel Hill's history. That would have interested me much more than the details about Jack's job.

All in all, this was just barely an OK story. I can't really recommend it.

[Aniko Carmean · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love horror stories set in small towns. I love haunted house stories. THE THIRD FLOOR by C. Dennis Moore combines both of those elements: a family moves to a small town, only to discover their new home is haunted.

I started reading with high hopes of having found the perfect book for my predilections. The shining star of THE THIRD FLOOR is Joey, the little boy. His characterization and dialog were excellent. When anyone other than Joey was on the page, I was disconnected from the story, and was more of an observer than an enthralled slave to the book. Fifty pages in, and I almost gave up on THE THIRD FLOOR because there was more about it that taxed my patience than thrilled me. I continued out of cussed stubbornness. I'd spent some of my precious vacation time on THE THIRD FLOOR, and wanted the continuation of the story to make it worthwhile.

There are some memorably creepy scenes, especially one involving a hanged man and a woman's tense descent down a staircase. Despite that, there were too many things that were left partially realized. There were tantalizing hints about the strangeness of the town, but few of these hints were tied back to the house or the main story. Joey's dreams seem to be manifesting as hauntings, which was an interesting idea that was unfortunately neither explored nor explained. Similarly hinted at, but not followed up, was the possibility of the female protagonist, Liz, having been impregnated by a spirit. The most frustrating partial thread, perhaps, is that Liz yearns for Joey to call her "Mom." I anticipated an emotional scene where he finally calls out to her, a perfectly timed tearjerker - but it never happens. I'm also very annoyed with the ending, mostly because no one dies despite the circumstances, and everyone gets to live happily ever after, thanks to a clear case of insurance fraud. THE THIRD FLOOR suffers from having too many options, none of which come to fruition and none of which lead me to recommend you read this book.

[Brenda Seaberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I thought I knew where this was going, it ended up surprising me. I loved it! For me, this was a very fast read.

How can you explain the unexplainable to those who are convinced it's not possible? Liz and Joey have both experienced supernatural happenings, but they don't discuss it because they don't know that the other has had these experiences, and they're both trying to be brave so the other won't be scared. Jack is sure that hauntings and such are not possible, so he attempts to logically explain away any odd happenings that he experiences.

I don't want to say much here because I really don't want to create a spoiler, but let me say I'm thrilled this author has several other books, and they're now on my want-to-read list!

[Megan Luff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this book was awesome and I will definitely read more books by C. Dennis Moore. A few times as I was reading it, i would hear a noise and jump. I would recommend this book to anyone that likes horror, thrillers, suspense and paranormal ghost stories. I give this book 5 stars!!!!

[Doreena · Rating 5 out of 5]

O. M. G!!!!
I wish I could give this book more than 5 stars!!!! This was a truly amazing book. It is really hard to freak me out, but I actually had to stop reading this book last night when my husband went to bed! That has not happened in a verrrrrrrryyyyy long time! Well dome Mr. Moore!
Everybody who has a penchant for horror,or the supernatural, YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK!!

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story had potential, but never went any where... And the ending was abrupt, you wanted a little more closure. The characters frustrated me.... Um if there were unexplained noises like that, I would be out of that house so fast! And I would tell my spouse exactly what was happening. Borderline 1 star for me!

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started out a bit repetitive for my taste, but about half way in, it got more interesting. The ending moved my review from a 2 star to a 3, since I felt that held a lot more action and excitement.

[Victoria · Rating 1 out of 5]

So, I guess it’s time for an additive to that old adage of “Don’t Judge A Book By A Cover” and tack on, “Don’t Buy A Book Based On Its Title”. In Home Alone, Kevin McCallister halts in front of the steps leading upstairs saying, “The third floor... It’s scary up there.” So, with fingers crossed, I bought this Kindle book and hoped that Moore’s version of the third floor would be scary.

Unfortunately, I never once felt scared, or even remotely pleased with this reading experience. The writing was clunky and just not very engaging. At times, it crossed the lines into being downright laughable. Take this sentence for example: “Liz lay there, praying for sleep or a stroke or anything that would render her unconscious.” In addition, to this type of callous and ridiculous phrasing, there were missing commas, inconsistent verb tenses used and some downright stiff characters. The phrasing never flowed smoothly and the author’s tangents on guitars were simply dull.

The characters had internal conflicts, but they never felt authentic. In fact, I never once cared about any of them. With their poor decision making (like Liz heard voices and immediately called the police, but when her stepson and herself began violently throwing up blood and he started Ebola-like eye, nose and ear bleeding she easily wrote off the possibility of going to the hospital), it was hard to feel any sympathy for any of them. This also impacted the “fear factor” of the whole book, as without that sympathy, their plight never felt remotely scary.

Some other details were downright confusing - there was scene with smoking inside the hospital! The Indoor Clean Air Act went up in the early 1990s, so it would have been nice to have other indicators if that was the year this story was set. In addition, it took Liz months to change the sheets - which considering the descriptions of the heat was pretty disgusting. The conclusion also felt very rushed. None of the “scary” moments felt fresh or original. I was actually amazed that I read this book all the way to the end... It simply was not what I was hoping for at all.

[Joanne Moyer · Rating 2 out of 5]

this book had a lot of promise, the basic storyline was good but there was just too much other stuff bogging it down. the haunted house/ghost story I would give 3 stars but the book should have been about 100 pages less for a better rating..

[Gabrielle · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read 4 chapters. Reminds me of Scooby Doo without the dog.

[Matthew Bielawa · Rating 4 out of 5]

OK, I'm a sucker for a haunted house story. And I liked the story....a family moves into a new house in a new state. And things start happening right off the bat, slowly at first. Nice. Then they start to meet their neighbors and hear the "rumors". Nice. Though nothing really new to add to the sub-genre, I liked many of the scenes. Like when the librarian hears the address and pauses a bit with a nervous look. Or the handy man getting a little antsy staying in the house to long. Hearing footsteps in the middle of the night and thinking it's your young son, who later denies having to go to the bathroom. . . Simple, quiet horror like that keeps me interested. Simple, yes. But still very effective when reading at night while alone in the house.


But then there were some things that just didn't scare me as much. The main characters didn't grab me. Yes, there was enough details like what was up with the intense detail about Jack's job. "How many calls from Aurora was he missing? Not that he didn't enjoy the break from them, but he knew that just because they couldn't get hold of him wouldn't negate their need for box loads of parts sent next day air. And what about other customers? We're their parts supposed to be put on hold, too, just to explain how an intercom is rewired......." What the heck is that about? but with all the detail, I didn't get pulled into their lives. And to be honest, even with my love for percolating horror, even I got impatient with the number of times that the family ran out of the house.....only to return as if nothing happened.


And then there was the scene where the mom and son were having a bad physical reaction to the priest who was blessing the house. I thought that was the direction the author was headed. But then it wasn't brought up again. I don't know, but if a perfectly fine kid starts throwing up violently while a priest is saying prayers, I'm heading in the other direction...


Frustrating at times in the middle. But around the other sides of these brief repeated scenes, it was still a good story to me.

[S. Wideman · Rating 4 out of 5]

OMG, I want to move to Angel Hill! The whole place is like one big paranormal amusement park. Between the ground-breaking ceremony that produced a red, blood-like liquid, to flowers that mysteriously bloom where no one planted any, to an invasion of lizards, it's so awesome! Not to mention, the apartment with a vortex and the haunted house on fourth.

When Liz, Jack and Joe move into their new house, they get a lot more than they bargained for. Sure, it's a little run down, but Liz wanted a fixer-upper. She and Jack married not too long ago, a second marriage for both of them. This is a new start. But strange things happen almost immediately. Liz and Joe hear voices and footsteps, while Jack ignores it all.

Actually, that was the only thing that annoyed me: Jack. Take him out of the book, and I would have loved it. I loved how the ghosts stalked and teased Liz and Joe. I loved how the haunting started off kind of slow and worked its way up from noises to full body apparition. I loved the terror Liz felt knowing that something was after her stepson, and she was powerless to stop it. Those things I loved. Jack and his "It's just the wind" routine, not so much. I get that there has to be a skeptic in every haunting story, but he was just bullheaded to the nth degree. His son was being scared and targeted, and he kept his head in the sand.

So, yeah, Jack was annoying. The rest, loved it. This book actually gave me chills, and not many horror novels can do that. I even loved the little short story at the end.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Third Floor is a solid ghost story. It combines standard ghost story tropes with a few new ideas. The spooky atmosphere of the house is well achieved. The ending is particularly strong. Unfortunately, it wasn't until I approached the ending that I was really gripped by the book. Here's why:

First, while Liz and Joey were interesting and sympathetic, the character of Jack was exactly the opposite. In many ghost stories, one family member refuses to accept the evidence right before his or her eyes until the very last moment—usually the adult male. It's just too overdone, and the more the story progressed, the less I liked Jack. He seemed like more of a problem than a character.

Secondly, and more importantly, I had trouble with the writing style. Characters' impressions, thoughts, and emotions were often stated in a matter-of-fact way. The style of "tell, not show" leaves very little room for the reader's imagination, which meant I didn't feel invested in the story. I felt like it was being told at me rather than to me, which really doesn't work for a horror novel.

That said, the story itself is a great haunted house tale and presents some interesting ideas. I would say that it's worth a read.

[Lisa Logan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for haunted house novels and movies, and this book definitely met my expectations. This author possesses the unique talent for creating a creepy vibe in his writing. Not many writers can do that. I really like the twist of this story, but I don't want to give details as to spoil it for others. This novel reminded me of one of my all time favorite novels of all--Stephen King's "The Shining." I highly recommend this for those who, like me, enjoy a good scare. Very entertaining and well written.

[Irene Well Worth A Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you love a good ghost story then this is a must read. The Third Floor is the best haunted house story I have had the pleasure to read in quite some time. In fact the entire town has a long history of strange and creepy occurrences which adds nicely to the spooky atmosphere of the story. Also includes an additional short story at the end which I would rate 5 stars as well.

[Karyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't get past the third grade book report writing style. Jack said...Joey asked...said Liz Unfortunately, the lack luster dialog-mode of writing made it impossible for me to give the story a chance.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't stop reading this book! I like the writing style; it made for a quick read. Really fun ghost story, and I hate to say it but this would make a good horror movie, too.

[Holly Stouffer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the story. Not the characters so much. Dysfunctional how they couldn't talk to each other. Liked the ending.

[DAISY READS HORROR · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good ghost story but I didn't get scared. Perhaps I should have read it at night?

I also enjoyed the bonus story "In The Presence of Loneliness"

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent ghost story. The author kept up the story and kept me wondering what the whole history of the house is.

[Kerry Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! what a great ghost story! Really enjoyed this story and was scared to turn the light off! Thank you Mr. Moore for the entertainment!

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this book was really good, and scary, loved it!!!

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Third Floor follows the path of many haunted house stories -- family has to move to a new town, the house the move into is haunted, bad things happen. However, Moore's exploration of the haunted house story includes some nice, unexpected twists. There are also portions which are downright terrifying.

The Kitches move into their new house in Angel Hill after the patriarch of the family lands a new job. The family dynamics (step-mother taking care of the son while dad is at work), provide a bit of an interesting area to explore.

Unfortunately, by the end of the book, the characters had become so unlikable that it was infuriating. Jack, the father, is so steadfast in his belief that nothing is happening that you just want to hit him with a brick.

The concept of Angel Hill, a town where so many odd things happen that the residents have come to accept them, is intriguing and I may visit the town again.

[Andrea Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first experience with author C. Dennis Moore. And I have to say, he did not disappoint! The Third Floor starts out from the very beginning full of action and all things spooky. It starts out when Jack, his wife Liz, and son Joey move into the house in Angel Hill. The very day they move in the activity starts.

This book takes you through twists and turns, some of which I was able to piece together before the ending which neatly ties everything into a bow and (thankfully) doesn't leave questions unanswered. I'm always a little apprehensive when starting a book that's clearly part of a trilogy or saga and figure that the end is going to leave cliff hangers. This doesn't do that!

I did try reading it in the middle of the night, but the description is so realistic that I swore I started hearing bumps in my own house! haha.

[David Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

While ghost stories are not my normal genre, The Third Floor kept me up for the night as I could not put it own until the story was finally resolved. To learn that it is based in part in actual occurrences made it that much better. I believe I'll be looking for more Angel Hill stories from C. Dennis Moore, however, due to lack of sleep I probably won't be reading them at night.
I received a free copy of this book from an author promotion and voluntarily chose to review

[Roger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read more than twenty works from author C. Dennis Moore. Well written & enjoyable I always look forward to the next book from him. Read his books and get into a good author and some amazing characters & stories as I have. Narrator Gary Tiedman’s voice was perfect for this book and added greatly to the listening enjoyment. I was given an Audible copy of this book & am voluntarily reviewing it. I’ll have to get more books in this series. (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 - July 24, 2018).

[Alanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story and am ready to read the next. I am not sure if my copy was an early release but i was a bit frustrated with some missed errors in a few places. It wasn't anything you could not read through , nothing that interfered with the plot. I like a good ghost story and this was the perfect break from the everyday.

[Ness Warren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it

I loved this book. I couldn’t put it down. By the end of the book I felt like I knew the people in it. And as I was reading i would get to engrossed in it that it felt like I was right there in it.

[Danielle Buchino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Page turner

The secrets that their new house holds may destroy their family. I was hooked from the beginning . The author draws you in keeps you on edge as you watch the terror unfold.