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The Haunt
The Kidd family battles against a malevolent, unearthly presence that controls their lives, keeps them healthy and safe, yet revels in their unhappiness and despises their very existence
363 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1999
2 people are currently reading
77 people want to read
About the author
J.N. Williamson
99 books55 followersGerald Neal Williamson (April 17, 1932 - December 8, 2005) wrote and edited horror stories under the name J. N. Williamson. He also wrote under the name Julian Shock.
Born in Indianapolis, IN he graduated from Shortridge High School. He studied journalism at Butler University. He published his first novel in 1979 and went on to publish more than 40 novels and 150 short stories. In 2003 he received a lifetime achievement award from the Horror Writers of America. He edited the critically acclaimed How to Write Tales of Horror, Fantasy & Science Fiction (1987) which covered the themes of such writing and cited the writings of such writers as Robert Bloch, Lee Prosser, Richard Matheson, Ray Bradbury, H. P. Lovecraft, August Derleth, William F. Nolan, and Stephen King. Many important writers in the genre contributed to the book. Williamson edited the popular anthology series, Masques. Some of his novels include The Ritual (1979), Playmates (1982), Noonspell (1991), The Haunt (1999), among others.
He was also a well known Sherlockian and received his investiture (The Illustrious Client) in the Baker Street Irregulars in 1950.
Source: Wikipedia
Born in Indianapolis, IN he graduated from Shortridge High School. He studied journalism at Butler University. He published his first novel in 1979 and went on to publish more than 40 novels and 150 short stories. In 2003 he received a lifetime achievement award from the Horror Writers of America. He edited the critically acclaimed How to Write Tales of Horror, Fantasy & Science Fiction (1987) which covered the themes of such writing and cited the writings of such writers as Robert Bloch, Lee Prosser, Richard Matheson, Ray Bradbury, H. P. Lovecraft, August Derleth, William F. Nolan, and Stephen King. Many important writers in the genre contributed to the book. Williamson edited the popular anthology series, Masques. Some of his novels include The Ritual (1979), Playmates (1982), Noonspell (1991), The Haunt (1999), among others.
He was also a well known Sherlockian and received his investiture (The Illustrious Client) in the Baker Street Irregulars in 1950.
Source: Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 11, 2013
I found this book to be quite intriguing. The characters were well established, and made it easy to cheer the new family on. Loved the ending. Nothing like a little horror with a happy ending. I will say that the ending did remind me of an episode of twilight zone. lol
March 8, 2011
A malevolent spirit has held the Kidd family hostage in their home for decades. No one has even seen this entity but it prevents them from dating the wrong people (by killing them) and from leaving the house for anything other than work and short trips outside. It kinda reminded me of the house from the Morganville Vampires series by Rachel Caine only this house wasn't nice.
Hearing the house's POV was interesting even though even it doesn't know the point of it's existence. The "thing" sounds like a demon but not quite though not really a ghost either. It is a huge presence that doesn't even fit in a mansion-sized living room. It crouches or lies flat all the time, so maybe that explains why it's so grouchy. Unfortunately, the house has more personality than either Jack or Ray Kidd, the only remaining Kidds.
I honestly just couldn't get into the story since there really wasn't any meat to it. I'm sure it I could have gotten past page 75, maybe it would have gotten better. After all the reviews are pretty good for this author but he's (she's) definitely not for me.
Hearing the house's POV was interesting even though even it doesn't know the point of it's existence. The "thing" sounds like a demon but not quite though not really a ghost either. It is a huge presence that doesn't even fit in a mansion-sized living room. It crouches or lies flat all the time, so maybe that explains why it's so grouchy. Unfortunately, the house has more personality than either Jack or Ray Kidd, the only remaining Kidds.
I honestly just couldn't get into the story since there really wasn't any meat to it. I'm sure it I could have gotten past page 75, maybe it would have gotten better. After all the reviews are pretty good for this author but he's (she's) definitely not for me.
November 9, 2013
I hated this book so much I couldn't bear to finish it.
What bothered me the most was the hatred of fat people. "...she found herself liking her despite her obesity...", so....fat people should be shunned? There were other statements that left me stunned. This is a book that is going into the recycling bin. No one else needs to read this trash.
What bothered me the most was the hatred of fat people. "...she found herself liking her despite her obesity...", so....fat people should be shunned? There were other statements that left me stunned. This is a book that is going into the recycling bin. No one else needs to read this trash.
May 15, 2021
This is a solid supernatural thriller featuring vibrant characters with one hell of a memorable "haunt" that's not really a haunt at all. I feel that the story is an allegory for something deeper--at least that was my interpretation of it. The Kidd family spends generation after generation being tormented by an anonymous entity that can take on whatever shape it likes, tormenting and "punishing" them at will like disobedient children and yet in the end, it is far from what they've all expected it to be.
This portrayal of the generational torture of an entire family in some way represents how fear and anxiety can cripple the confidence of an individual and the fear itself becoming more of a trap than anything else, really. Sometimes, reclaiming one's freedom means taking the risk to face down the source no matter how scary it may be. And sometimes, it will be surprising how the truly "small" artificially inflate themselves to intimidate others. In the end, how these main characters, Jack Kidd, his new wife Rachel and his step-children Nick and Tricia end the torture is squaring off against their mean-spirited, murderous "haunt" and seeing it for what it was. Which wasn't much.
The ending is hilarious. And I love a character that was included, a paranormal expert who helps the family, a part Black, part Caucasian man called Andre' who is of elegance, wit and confidence. He is an absolute master in how he helps them face down their not quite undead bully. At the same time, he confuses the hell out of the haunt about what exactly he is--after all the "haunt" IS the *spoilers* memory of an old White guy from over a hundred years before.
If you want a funny, scary read that is also pretty original, I recommend checking out "The Haunt". I can already envision it as a movie in my head.
This portrayal of the generational torture of an entire family in some way represents how fear and anxiety can cripple the confidence of an individual and the fear itself becoming more of a trap than anything else, really. Sometimes, reclaiming one's freedom means taking the risk to face down the source no matter how scary it may be. And sometimes, it will be surprising how the truly "small" artificially inflate themselves to intimidate others. In the end, how these main characters, Jack Kidd, his new wife Rachel and his step-children Nick and Tricia end the torture is squaring off against their mean-spirited, murderous "haunt" and seeing it for what it was. Which wasn't much.
The ending is hilarious. And I love a character that was included, a paranormal expert who helps the family, a part Black, part Caucasian man called Andre' who is of elegance, wit and confidence. He is an absolute master in how he helps them face down their not quite undead bully. At the same time, he confuses the hell out of the haunt about what exactly he is--after all the "haunt" IS the *spoilers* memory of an old White guy from over a hundred years before.
If you want a funny, scary read that is also pretty original, I recommend checking out "The Haunt". I can already envision it as a movie in my head.
September 3, 2022
It was a slightly different premise than I’m used to when reading horror. It was interesting and fun. I didn’t enjoy the writing style, and it didn’t really pull you into the storyline. I was very aware I was reading through the entirety of the book. I would still recommend it, because it was interesting.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews