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Never Leaving
"Never Leaving evokes VHS classics like The Amityville Horror, House by the Cemetery, and The Boogens—all with Alley’s easygoing humor and wicked penchant for driving likeable characters up a tree only to chop it down." Coy Hall (Colossus with a Poison Tongue, The Switchblade Svengali)
“Elford Alley must be a chemist. He manages to construct horror comedy, with the perfect amount of scares and laughs, to create medicine for the soul. Never Leaving presents itself as a working-class take on the haunted house trope, before Alley gives the test tube a shake and you find yourself immersed in something else entirely. This is as much a story of struggles and love, as it is of hauntings and whispers in the dark.”
Adam Hulse (The Forgotten War, Below Economic Thresholds)
"You gotta run. Run toward them."
The Carters never want to leave their first affordable home. Even when spirits attempt to drive them out, they endeavour to fight back. They soon discover that these entities are desperately trying to warn them of what is burrowing beneath them as it hungers.
Home Cursed Home.
“Elford Alley must be a chemist. He manages to construct horror comedy, with the perfect amount of scares and laughs, to create medicine for the soul. Never Leaving presents itself as a working-class take on the haunted house trope, before Alley gives the test tube a shake and you find yourself immersed in something else entirely. This is as much a story of struggles and love, as it is of hauntings and whispers in the dark.”
Adam Hulse (The Forgotten War, Below Economic Thresholds)
"You gotta run. Run toward them."
The Carters never want to leave their first affordable home. Even when spirits attempt to drive them out, they endeavour to fight back. They soon discover that these entities are desperately trying to warn them of what is burrowing beneath them as it hungers.
Home Cursed Home.
168 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 26, 2025
3 people are currently reading
17 people want to read
About the author
Elford Alley
20 books84 followersElford Alley is a horror author and disgraced paranormal investigator. His novels include Apartment 239 and In Search of the Nobility, TX Wildman. He has two short story collections, Ash and Bone and The Last Night in the Damned House.
His short stories have appeared in multiple anthologies, including Paranormal Contact, Beneath, Cosmos, and Campfire Macabre. His work has also been featured in Huffington Post, Cracked, and DoomRocket.
He enjoys folklore, exploring strange places, and spending time with his family. You can also check out his website for updates: elfordalley.com.
His short stories have appeared in multiple anthologies, including Paranormal Contact, Beneath, Cosmos, and Campfire Macabre. His work has also been featured in Huffington Post, Cracked, and DoomRocket.
He enjoys folklore, exploring strange places, and spending time with his family. You can also check out his website for updates: elfordalley.com.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 7, 2025
Elford just gets it right. Pacing, story, characters. A little sprinkle of comedy in there. Tension. A little creepy. Some gore. Look, it's a little pot of horror that is stirred up nicely.
I really enjoy Elford's work. You should check him out.
You can blast through this one in a couple of hours.
I really enjoy Elford's work. You should check him out.
You can blast through this one in a couple of hours.
February 27, 2025
A great fast-paced haunted house story that is just as funny as it is gruesome.
February 14, 2025
Definitely my new favorite of Alley’s works. A great blend of haunted house, monsters, and humor. The only downside is that it’s over so quickly, leaving you wanting more.
June 8, 2025
This is as much a story of struggles as it is of hauntings and whispers in the dark.
Alley blends horror and comedy perfectly. The glue that binds it all together is a huge amount of heart and a dash of social commentary. If you don't relate to these characters then I envy your privilege. Never Leaving will break your heart. An incredible read with not a single page wasted.
Alley blends horror and comedy perfectly. The glue that binds it all together is a huge amount of heart and a dash of social commentary. If you don't relate to these characters then I envy your privilege. Never Leaving will break your heart. An incredible read with not a single page wasted.
February 11, 2025
So just finished Alleys latest novel & love it. Alley knows how to combine great pacing, humour - characters to connect with .. lil bit of gore, and creepiness into his books and somehow always makes me teary aswell. Alley knows how to give me all the emotions and read in one sitting equals another 5 stars 🌟
March 14, 2025
I wish I had a tiny chainsaw that could pop out eyeballs like on this book cover. If I tried that with my current chainsaw, the person’s head would explode.
Read
February 21, 2025Never Leaving is a creepy, unique tale about the horrors of being financially trapped in a mortgage while missing persons, sketchy townspeople, ghosts, and monsters pile into the money pit of your new home. Alley delivers a fresh take on the haunted house trope by giving us a lovable young family whom we root for every step of the way. An artful blend of horror, comedy, and heart.
September 24, 2025
An enjoyable haunted-house story, with a twist.
Having experienced a lot of haunted-house tales over the years, it's always a pleasure to come across one that puts a unique spin on or adds one or more interesting wrinkles to the formula. "Never Leaving" accomplishes that nicely, helping it to stand out a bit from the plethora of other similar titles one might choose.
Things I particularly enjoyed were the inclusion of (mild spoiler) literal biological monsters, which had their own separate existence and agenda apart from the ghosts that made for some clever and novel scenarios. I also liked the "rules" that governed what the ghosts could and couldn't do in certain circumstances, which had strong and sensible impacts on various aspects of the overall plot and how specific events unfolded.
On the down side, I would have preferred to see some of the characters fleshed out better, and depicted as more than typical, cookie-cutter stereotypes to make their eventual roles as fodder a little less obvious. There were also a few scenes that I felt could have used a bit more detail to better establish and maintain the flow from one action or event to another as those transitions at times felt a bit abrupt and disjointed to me. Finally, some of the dialogue occasionally struck me as somewhat forced and inconsistent to the point where it became noticeable, though that is admittedly a rather subjective and minor complaint, all things considered.
The book's elements of humor, which occur fairly frequently, were hit and miss for me, with some of the jokes and gags giving me a little chuckle, some falling flat, and the majority simply passing without much of an effect. Overall, I'd say those inclusions didn't particularly help or hurt the story and could easily be embraced or ignored depending on a reader's own personal taste and preference for such things.
In short, "Never Leaving" was a good, solid horror story that I found satisfying and worthwhile. It builds a fun haunted house for a reader to explore, with a few stand-out components that successfully bolstered those that for me were a little less sturdy.
Having experienced a lot of haunted-house tales over the years, it's always a pleasure to come across one that puts a unique spin on or adds one or more interesting wrinkles to the formula. "Never Leaving" accomplishes that nicely, helping it to stand out a bit from the plethora of other similar titles one might choose.
Things I particularly enjoyed were the inclusion of (mild spoiler) literal biological monsters, which had their own separate existence and agenda apart from the ghosts that made for some clever and novel scenarios. I also liked the "rules" that governed what the ghosts could and couldn't do in certain circumstances, which had strong and sensible impacts on various aspects of the overall plot and how specific events unfolded.
On the down side, I would have preferred to see some of the characters fleshed out better, and depicted as more than typical, cookie-cutter stereotypes to make their eventual roles as fodder a little less obvious. There were also a few scenes that I felt could have used a bit more detail to better establish and maintain the flow from one action or event to another as those transitions at times felt a bit abrupt and disjointed to me. Finally, some of the dialogue occasionally struck me as somewhat forced and inconsistent to the point where it became noticeable, though that is admittedly a rather subjective and minor complaint, all things considered.
The book's elements of humor, which occur fairly frequently, were hit and miss for me, with some of the jokes and gags giving me a little chuckle, some falling flat, and the majority simply passing without much of an effect. Overall, I'd say those inclusions didn't particularly help or hurt the story and could easily be embraced or ignored depending on a reader's own personal taste and preference for such things.
In short, "Never Leaving" was a good, solid horror story that I found satisfying and worthwhile. It builds a fun haunted house for a reader to explore, with a few stand-out components that successfully bolstered those that for me were a little less sturdy.
March 26, 2025
Although this was an interesting ghost/creature story with a lurking mystery, it seemed to have a bit of trouble finding its pace. It's a tale of a desperate family being conned into buying a haunted house by a fairly skeevy real estate agent. Due diligence would've been the key here; everyone in the nearby town knew about it, and were in fact proud of the local ghost.
I liked the story, for the most part, and there was a lot happening, but I just didn't have any characters to stand behind. I need someone to "root for", and I didn't really care what happened to anyone in the book. Even the two mains Corey and Zara were insufferable and constantly looking down on everyone while both stumbled around with their childhood baggage.
Regardless of its flaws, I still enjoyed it enough to say I liked it. There was an allusion of a sequel, and I do wonder if there'll be any further news of the adventures of 'Billy The Goat-Fucker'.
I liked the story, for the most part, and there was a lot happening, but I just didn't have any characters to stand behind. I need someone to "root for", and I didn't really care what happened to anyone in the book. Even the two mains Corey and Zara were insufferable and constantly looking down on everyone while both stumbled around with their childhood baggage.
Regardless of its flaws, I still enjoyed it enough to say I liked it. There was an allusion of a sequel, and I do wonder if there'll be any further news of the adventures of 'Billy The Goat-Fucker'.
January 25, 2025
Never Leaving evokes VHS classics like The Amityville Horror, House by the Cemetery, and The Boogens—all with Alley’s easygoing humor and wicked penchant for driving likeable characters up a tree only to chop it down.
Read
March 31, 2025DNF 61%
Such a short book and yet I didn't want to bother finishing it. The realtor and his rich father were strange, over the top caricatures and the parents were seemingly meant to be edgy and interesting but were flat and boring. All the characters seemed quite flat.
Such a short book and yet I didn't want to bother finishing it. The realtor and his rich father were strange, over the top caricatures and the parents were seemingly meant to be edgy and interesting but were flat and boring. All the characters seemed quite flat.
April 11, 2025
A house for sale in rural OK is too good of a deal to pass up for Corey and his family, tired of moving from apartment to apartment. But they quickly find they’re not alone in their new home. Both satirical and heartfelt, this was an entertaining read.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews