Hole: A Small Town Horror Novel

by Matthew Doggett

A teenage boy and his dog face an unimaginable evil in this coming-of-age horror novel.Seth Granger returns home from summer camp to find that there’s something wrong with the people in his small town. Even his dog is behaving strangely. His mother is distant and distracted, but she may have a very good her husband, Seth’s abusive father, has been murdered and dismembered—and several of his limbs have gone missing.

This brutal murder is only the latest in a long line of strange occurrences in the tight-knit community. As Seth struggles to deal with the swirl of emotions raging inside him, the town seems to be destroying itself from the inside out.

Seth’s return from camp ignites an explosive chain of events that pits him and a small group of citizens against a gruesome evil. And as chaos engulfs the town, this small group finds that they may have the fate of the world in their hands . . .

Hole by Matthew Doggett is a horror novel for fans of Stephen King, Robert R. McCammon, and H. P. Lovecraft. It’s a coming-of-age horror novel that explores the depths of human courage in the face of evil. Get your copy of Hole now to face the darkness below!

Genres: Horror

274 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 18, 2023

About the author

Matthew Doggett is an American author and freelance writer. He writes mostly in the horror, thriller, and crime genres.

He pens weekly stories for the Dr. NoSleep horror podcast and the SCP Experience horror podcast.

Chances are, you've read some of his nonfiction ghostwriting work, which covers many topics and appears under many names.

He's currently living on an island off the east coast of Mexico, spending too much time indoors, hard at work on his next novel.

Check him out on Facebook under Matthew Doggett Author!

Reviews

[Paul Pope · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightfully different. I was so captivated I had to read it in one day.

Returning from summer camp Seth discovers his father has been murdered, his hometown is suspiciously quiet, and dogs are indeed man’s best friend.

I do love when any author eliminates a main character.
It’s so unexpected and a chilling plot twist.

Not a possession story, nor a zombie adventure, nor a bio-engineered mass casualty epidemic. But smoosh these genres all together and you have arrived. The Hole. Five stars. Can recommend.

However…..

How is it the jaguar has fuel?
Are we going to talk about the murdered father?
Some clarity about the swallowing would be nice.
Why are the victims smiling?
How is the kid so active after being leg-shot?
The collective dog mob?

[Paula Michalowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

A boy and his dog must fight an ancient horror in a small townThis was an ARC copy of 'Hole given to me by the author.

The book opens with a man climbing down into a cave and dynamiting a hole closed. We then are introduced to a teenager, Seth, who is on his way back from Church summer camp. He returns to find his father murdered, his mom barely speaking to him and his home a mess of unwashed glasses and dishes. His dog is also acting suspiciously around their neighbors as he walks the neighborhood.

The book is filled with likable characters, a sheriff and his assistant, a married couple who are teachers of Seth's and a school mate, who battle alongside him.

As the book progresses we learn the townspeople are infected by a horror from the towns past. Is it an organism, or an alien entity? How does it take over the town, and who will survive?

This book is reminiscent of 'The Thing' in many ways but set in a small town with regular folk. There are some philosophical thoughts revolving around God and religion from Seth's point of view. Trigger warnings: children deaths, dog deaths. Not much gore.
Recommended

[Tourmalily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great monster horror

This review contains spoilers!

Overall, this is a really great monster in the woods with serious The Thing vibes running throughout.

TW: pet death, child death

This book racks up a serious body count. I knew we were headed for it when shit hit the fan, but Doggett manages to still make those deaths have an impact. It didn't feel gratuitous, each time another character fell it was neither premature nor unearned.

I personally really enjoyed Seth's internal struggle and the coming-of-age story arc. The religious overtones might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I felt the messaging was less about Christianity and more about engaging with the world, with actively participating and taking a stand (even if that stand is against a giant corpse tentacle worm monster)

The only thing I really took issue with was the end of the story. I thought the book was going to end with Seth being infected by this monster, but it doesn't really seem like that's what happened, but then there are other infected people suggesting that ??? The monster survived? There's another one? That didn't really work for me. I would have preferred a simpler ending with Seth and Melanie seeing the approaching police car lights and saying nothing at all. Fou stars overall as the story was fun and creepy and upsetting but really kept me routing for the protagonists.

[Greg D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Teenage protagonist Seth Granger returns from summer camp to find his hometown of Seven Springs transformed by a creeping, supernatural rot. The atmosphere of dread is punctuated by the grisly murder and dismemberment of Seth's abusive father, a crime that reveals a pattern of quiet violence and bizarre behavior spreading through the community like an infection, noted by "oily blackness" in the eyes of neighbors. As the town begins to physically and psychologically decay, Seth joins forces with a small, observant group of survivors, including a detective and two teachers, to confront an ancient, gruesome evil emerging from the darkness. Blending coming-of-age themes with Lovecraftian horror, the narrative escalates into a desperate battle for survival where the group realizes that stopping the spread of this malevolence may determine the fate of the world itself.

Well written, easy to read, unpredictable, good character development, and full of eerie twists and turns. This was a good horror novel with a high-creepy factor through and through. It had a small religious element to it though it wasn't in-your-face preachy. Story comes together nicely with a little bit of a cliffhanger at the end. If you are a fan of Koontz, Lovecraft, and Crouch, you will like the works of this author. Highly recommend.

[Perfectly Imperfect · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up to 4

I read this story as a short version in one of the authors' books. I was totally amazed by the excellent idea and the way the author wrote in that short version. Thus, when I read this full-length novel, I somehow "regretted" reading the short version because the current novel made me feel that it was lengthy. In fact, if you could tell your story in a short version, why would you expand it into a full-length novel when the outcomes were just the same?

To be fair, there were many more characters and many more unexpected deaths (yes. The ones you thought were the main characters might not be so in the end). But in the end, good defeated evil. Monsters died. Period.

If you are new to the story and the author, I cannot recommend this book enough! It will be excellent to you just as the way I felt towards the short version. Also, this is not some "coming-of-age" or teenager epic story. Nope. You will meet with full gore, blood, true monsters in every sense.

So, brace yourself, young readers, before you embark on your nightmare.

Best wishes to the author,

P.S: the cover was so lovely: the boy was tall and the dog was super cute! I always love and want a husky...

[joshua penrose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Evil pod people taking over a small Appalachian town through violent bloody murders with a splash of ‘coming of age’ story tropes provide us with a pretty enjoyable read. WARNING PET DIES.

Pros:
+ the monster(s) were a ton of fun. Well designed and just. Restive enough.
+ written with clues as to who is infected so we can make some guesses
+ once the shit hits the fan it becomes a good bloody mess
+ fun characters in which we only can guess who’s going to survive to the end
+ solid body horror

Cons:
- pet dog dies saving his person…
- possible unpopular opinion but… it was very heavy handed with talk of god and faith at the end. There was a sense that this was going to happen and if it hadn’t I would have given this five stars.
- we are introduced to a character at the beginning of the book with great detail and they never show back up, seemed like an odd choice

Again WARNING the dog dies and that’s a real bummer. I had a good time with the story and a great time with the monster but I did find the religious aspect especially at the end to be heavy handed. That said I’m a sucker for a pod person story and I think that combining pod people fears with coming of age makes a lot of sense.

[J KEEGAN · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unlikely hero.

When Seth returned from the youth camp, his town had changed or rather the people had begun to change.
Seth was a 16 year old who was a follower rather than a leader.
People were infected and those that were, attacked those that weren't.
A great read that keeps you hooked till the end and wanting more.

[Leonie Briggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great overall read. Disturbing and bloody, don't get attached to anyone. 😂

Knocked off a star because religious connotations and glowing wood from the cross made me roll my eyes slightly. But everything up to that point was super enjoyable. I read this book so fast because I couldn't stop thinking about it.

[Donna Heard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Matthew does not disappoint in this tale that will make you wonder the next time someone starts to act differently. I definitely don't want to be in the woods after this read. The writing is great as always and the characters are very likeable. I love the friendship between Seth and Dallas.

[Charna Gilfeather · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

At first, I thought this was a teenage novel but definitely not! It is scary, creepy, gory not the average teen book. It just he's main young man character. I would read another by the author.

[Lauren Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved when the setting is a small town that something is just a little off. Will make you look twice at your neighbors. Also loved the dog!!!!

[Alistair Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent

It’s a real page turner. A cracking read. Stephen king meets hp lovecraft in a small town I loved it

[Tamara Good · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally a good story

I !liked this story. I liked this story. I liked this story. I liked this story. You can see I'm no writer!

[Carl Tabor · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good read

Enjoyed this book only took 3 days to get through it.
Kept me coming back to read some more to find out what happens next

[Jenny Kier · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t understand the ending

Does the book just repeat? No thank you if it does. It was a page turner, but where is the ending?