Every family has bad luck, but what if the bad stuff was more than just a coincidence?
It was meant to be a dream home, but something went incredibly wrong after the Dyers moved into the Maple House...From the bewildering car trouble, sudden medical problems, unexplained noises, ghostly music in the night, swarming insects, and strange lights their time in the house was plagued with problems.
When the life of their young son is taken, however, Jeanie starts to wonder if her family is being targeted by something supernatural.
In this short book based on a true story, Jeanie narrates her family's time at the Maple House and the experiences in the beautiful house on the hill that still plague her family today.
Awesome book! Very creepy and a real page turner - edge of the seat the whole time I was reading this - left the lights on to sleep at certain points in the book. Five stars for this book.
So she starts off the story saying that it probably isn't scary enough to be believable as a haunted house/ghost story. (That in itself kind of says a lot) Then there's talk of them being lower middle class living paycheck to paycheck but when the question of where the ghost came from a plausible answer was that they picked it up on a trip to Europe. Wait. What? Probably the most annoying part of this book was the screen shots of her Facebook posts regarding the house. As though that and her friends comments should convince you that what was happening was real because 'Look! Other people believe me!' I rarely dislike a book as much as I disliked this one. Im even almost sorry to say that because I DO believe she had some very difficult things happen to her. But it was sad, not paranormal (in my opinion). It's not that the book isn't scary enough or dramatic enough.... It's just that it's not what it's put out there to be. But then again she also said she wanted to be a writer... And here it is.
This falls into the author wants to write a book, or needs the income from a book, or wants to be considered an "author", so decides to write about their "haunted" house. The usual start, couple moves into a house, sees a few things, or thinks they do. But they don't follow up on any of that, they don't want to move, they are not really uneasy. Then it turned into a tale of illnesses and misfortune, which goes on and on and eclipses any further revelations of the so called "haunting", except perhaps as financial motivation for writing a haunted house book. I almost put the book aside at this point, but I plowed on through. I'm sorry for the author's misfortunes, but the author didn't relate them to the house (she wanted to stay and said she didn't connect them herself to the house) so it seems in relating them she was asking the reader to make a connection she herself did not. Otherwise the reader would wonder why she didn't just get out. After all this misfortune, they get a notice that the long absent owner is returning and they have to move out, which they are sad about, not relieved. End of story. Other than a few oddities at the beginning of the story, there was no haunting.
There are so many of these wannabe haunting tales by wannabe authors and this one was probably average, or a little less so, in its execution, since so little of the book had anything to do with the house, or any haunting.
If you want to read a literate example of this type of true ghost story, read "Night Stalks the Mansion". If you want to read a scary example, read "In a Dark Place"
Never second guess yourself and don't worry about what others may think of you .I'm sorry for what you've suffered through and I hope that there is only happiness for you and your family in your future and thanks for sharing.
I thought that it took allot of courage to share your story. Own it and don't apologize or second guess yourself nobody can honestly judge you unless they have walked in your shoe s and you know yourself , believe in yourself. Thanks for sharing
A truly believable story of a house and family plagued by too many "coincidental occurrences" to be just dismissed. The author says these things can be explained by nature. But really?
Perhaps the only negative thing to say, is the author constantly dismisses her own story throughout this book. Maybe she's trying to appear sceptical but I think the lady doth protest too much :-) I'm of the opinion that a good scary story should be mundane. It's definitely these constant, inexplicable variations in the everyday events of life that add up over time to make a riveting and unnerving story like this. The added tragedies of Jim and baby James whilst not paranormal events themselves, would certainly have left me in no doubt that it was time to move. This is the fourth true haunting book by Rebecca P. Howard I've read, but this had a decidedly different tone. Of course the last one I read was number 3, written by someone younger, and before the loss of a child, so maybe that's still too fresh in my mind as I write this review. I'm not the person I was a year/month/week ago, but that's MS for ya :) so maybe I shouldn't expect the same author after her life changing events. Ignore the Jennie Dyer pseudonym. It's Rebecca P Howard continuing her true haunted series, and it's well worth a read, if a little shorter than usual.
Corrected atrocious wrong words selected by Swype on my Kindle Fire.
Jeanie Dyer's fascinating chronicle of the two years she and her family resided in a spacious, but decidedly creepy mansion, is surprisingly well written, especially when compared to similar (but not nearly as competently composed) books in the occult paranormal genre.
Despite the fact that the author begins her mystery enshrouded missive by warning readers that what would normally be considered actual ghostly revenants were scarcely ever witnessed during her time in the house, she still manages to deliver a better than average 80 pages of suitably chilling detail about the phenomena she and others close to her purportedly experienced.
Mind you, The Maple House is really not in the same class as Jay Anson's The Amityville Horror, or any of the amazing stories Stephen King regularly cooks up for the masses that hunger and thirst for his usual brand of fright filled fiction, but this particular non-fiction narrative, as brief as it may in fact be, is still more than worth the effort. And let's face it; it's not like it'd take most readers long to digest this deliciously macabre morsel.
Wow, even though this was not like the usual Hauntings I've read about this family went through some very terrifying experiences. My heart broke for their losing a friend after visiting there home and then losing family members,most of all their baby. This was a short story but I don't think I would have wanted to read much more if they would have continued to live there much longer. I think they were better off having to move. kozetteksmith
Very quick read at less than 100 pages! I noticed a few typos, which bothered me, but they didn't detract from the main idea. The haunting described is indeed creepy, as others have mentioned but recounted in a believable fashion. I was expecting more chilling details. The paranormal has always interested me, and it takes a lot to scare me. Overall, entertaining and saddening but a bit short of my literary expectations.
There may be people who think the small things that happened here could've been coincidence, or something else. I believe there was something truly evil at play. When you add everything together, it's not "normal" to experience this many things in the amount of time they occupied the house. The music alone is unusual, to say the least. I believe something was off there. I'm glad they moved...
I always enjoy a good haunted house story and this one fits the bill. Thing is it isn't overly scary or even creepy but it's the way the author tells her story that makes it such a good read. The events that happened must have been difficult to share but it allowed me to feel like I could understand the authors feelings. An interesting story about a house that definitely had some interesting things go on.
I can't blame the author for using a pen name for this one, but contrary to her disclaimer regarding whether this was a haunting, I believe it was of a sort. Hauntings by negative spirits, rather than dead people. Indeed her story sounds rather typical to me, more likely than the classical ghost story told in Hollywood. She did an excellent job of telling her story. I only wish I could sit down and talk to her.
The book holds your interest. It is hard to believe that due to the many health problems that existed with the writer that she had no phone on or transportation in the desolate location. She evidently did not want to acknowledge that this was definitely a paranormal experience. Good reading.
It's not always that we get a peek inside the lives of others the writer allows us in her home and life, I have seen and heard lots of things in my life and I do believe you were targeting by the supernatural. I'm so sorry for the loss of your friend but even more sorry for the loss of your child. Peace be with you and your family for the rest of your days.
I believe land, as well as buildings can be haunted. And sometimes it's people. I firmly believe that hauntings happen. I've had my own experiences. I enjoyed reading about the account this family had.
I enjoyed reading this book and the way Jeanie Dyer wrote it. It wasn't the same haunting story I have been reading and she herself is not positively sure of what happened. I feel like the house was haunted but in a different way than most hauntings.
As many paranormal and haunted houses in her life and she questioned this!!! With a young son and husband, I would have vacated as soon as her friend, Jim warned her then died. I would have been gone!!!! Good story, though.
The author leaves the choice to the reader. Was the family having bad luck or was this a haunting? I go back and forth and in the end I am still undecided.