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Demon's Eye
While the Holmes, Davenports, and Bozics work to restore the old Blackwinter's Inn, a freak electrical accident triggers in thirteen-year-old Kevin Holmes a revelation of the ancient evil that will be unleashed if the stately inn is reopened
- GenresHorror
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
3 people are currently reading
113 people want to read
About the author
Stephen Gresham
33 books35 followersSuspense, supernatural, and young adult fiction writer Stephen Gresham (1947- ) has been intrigued by the gothic tradition of the South since moving to Auburn, Lee County, in 1975 to take a teaching position at Auburn University. This area of Alabama provides the backdrop for his novel The Fraternity (2004) and imbues works such as Rockabye Baby (1984) with the horror and fantasy elements of the southern magic genre that guide him as he writes of supernatural creatures and forces.
Gresham was born in Halstead, Kansas, on September 23, 1947, to Chester Gresham, a building contractor, and Helen Kennedy, housewife and wartime riveter. He was raised with five brothers. Gresham's literary passion was sparked by listening to his grandmother read him everything from comic books to Edgar Allan Poe and watching 1940s B movies by horror film producer Val Lewton. Gresham studied journalism for two years at Wichita State University, where he began his professional writing career as a freelance sports reporter at the Wichita Eagle. He then transferred to Kansas State Teachers College (present-day Emporia State University) to earn a bachelor's and a master's degree. In 1975, he completed a Ph.D. in English Renaissance literature at the University of Missouri. While in Missouri, Gresham married Linda Duffy in 1969, and the couple had their only child, Aaron, in 1974.
In 1975, Gresham joined the English Department at Auburn University as a professor of creative writing. By the later 1970s, he had published several pieces of short fiction with two small presses. Gresham is drawn to the mythical South and has described east Alabama as an inspirational place. Moon Lake, Gresham's first novel, uses such a backdrop to tell the tale of two honeymooners who encounter evil hidden in the water hyacinths on Moon Lake.
Gresham's novels have aimed to mesh the supernatural world of ghosts, magic, and witchcraft with the real horrors of places like his boyhood Kansas, with its tornados, polio scares, and threats of nuclear war. The most distinctive aspect of his writing is the centrality of unrequited love and the unexpected yet powerful bonds formed by his characters. When Teddy, the teenage hero of Haunted Ground, battles ghosts at a neighboring farm, he must also come to terms with his adolescence and the wrath of his dysfunctional family. This focus on the destructive innerworkings of families is balanced by a respect for what Gresham refers to as "soul" families, those united not necessarily by blood but by heart or circumstance. Even after Teddy is assaulted by his own brother and neglected by his psychologically unfit mother, he is able to find solace with his cousin Judith, the black sheep of his extended family.
Another characteristic of Gresham's books is his attention to research and historical settings. In the 1990 novel Blood Wings, Gresham researched the field of cryptozoology to create the massive batlike creature from which the novel gets its title. In The Fraternity (2004), two warring vampire fraternities battle against the backdrop of Depression-era America where the only threat greater than the crumbled economy of the Hoover years is the risk of being kidnapped by rival vampires.
In addition to the many novels he has published under his own name, Gresham has also written under two pennames to establish a distinct identity between his suspense thrillers and his young adult fiction. For the 1994 suspense/thriller Primal Instinct, he adopted the name John Newland from the 1950s television series "One Step Beyond." The next year, he paid homage to director Val Lewton when he published two novels, Just Pretend and Called to Darkness, under the name J. V. Lewton. Gresham's best selling novel to date has been Midnight Boy (1987), and Haunted Ground (2003) has garnered the most favorable response from readers. Reception from readers, especially young ones, has been largely favorable, and he continues to publish thrillers.
Gres
Gresham was born in Halstead, Kansas, on September 23, 1947, to Chester Gresham, a building contractor, and Helen Kennedy, housewife and wartime riveter. He was raised with five brothers. Gresham's literary passion was sparked by listening to his grandmother read him everything from comic books to Edgar Allan Poe and watching 1940s B movies by horror film producer Val Lewton. Gresham studied journalism for two years at Wichita State University, where he began his professional writing career as a freelance sports reporter at the Wichita Eagle. He then transferred to Kansas State Teachers College (present-day Emporia State University) to earn a bachelor's and a master's degree. In 1975, he completed a Ph.D. in English Renaissance literature at the University of Missouri. While in Missouri, Gresham married Linda Duffy in 1969, and the couple had their only child, Aaron, in 1974.
In 1975, Gresham joined the English Department at Auburn University as a professor of creative writing. By the later 1970s, he had published several pieces of short fiction with two small presses. Gresham is drawn to the mythical South and has described east Alabama as an inspirational place. Moon Lake, Gresham's first novel, uses such a backdrop to tell the tale of two honeymooners who encounter evil hidden in the water hyacinths on Moon Lake.
Gresham's novels have aimed to mesh the supernatural world of ghosts, magic, and witchcraft with the real horrors of places like his boyhood Kansas, with its tornados, polio scares, and threats of nuclear war. The most distinctive aspect of his writing is the centrality of unrequited love and the unexpected yet powerful bonds formed by his characters. When Teddy, the teenage hero of Haunted Ground, battles ghosts at a neighboring farm, he must also come to terms with his adolescence and the wrath of his dysfunctional family. This focus on the destructive innerworkings of families is balanced by a respect for what Gresham refers to as "soul" families, those united not necessarily by blood but by heart or circumstance. Even after Teddy is assaulted by his own brother and neglected by his psychologically unfit mother, he is able to find solace with his cousin Judith, the black sheep of his extended family.
Another characteristic of Gresham's books is his attention to research and historical settings. In the 1990 novel Blood Wings, Gresham researched the field of cryptozoology to create the massive batlike creature from which the novel gets its title. In The Fraternity (2004), two warring vampire fraternities battle against the backdrop of Depression-era America where the only threat greater than the crumbled economy of the Hoover years is the risk of being kidnapped by rival vampires.
In addition to the many novels he has published under his own name, Gresham has also written under two pennames to establish a distinct identity between his suspense thrillers and his young adult fiction. For the 1994 suspense/thriller Primal Instinct, he adopted the name John Newland from the 1950s television series "One Step Beyond." The next year, he paid homage to director Val Lewton when he published two novels, Just Pretend and Called to Darkness, under the name J. V. Lewton. Gresham's best selling novel to date has been Midnight Boy (1987), and Haunted Ground (2003) has garnered the most favorable response from readers. Reception from readers, especially young ones, has been largely favorable, and he continues to publish thrillers.
Gres
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 2, 2023
While most Zebra horror novels had rather garish covers, they really outdid themselves with Demon's Eye! This has the classic 'cut out' on the cover, giving a glimpse of the hideous demon on the next page. Nice! This is one you definitely want to buy just for the cover. I wish Zebra gave credit to their cover artists. So, what about the story?
Gresham was one of the more prolific authors in the Zebra stable and I have read several of his other novels. Demon's Eye was fun, with some interesting twists, but overall not that exceptional; in other words, pretty typical Zebra fare. Our main protagonist, 13 y.o. Kevin, journeys with his father, stepmom, and two other couples to and old Inn on an island in Alabama-- The Blackwinter. Built early in the 19th century, the three couples recently purchased the Inn and plan on spending a weekend surveying and deciding what exactly to do with it. One of the wives of the couples is a Blackwinter and spend some of her childhood at the Inn, which was then the home of her grandmother and grandfather. With their passing, the Inn as been largely abandoned.
During the obligatory horrific prologue, a servant woman afflicted with the Red Death, is giving birth in the cellar of the Inn to a hideously deformed child and dies during so. Nonetheless, the infant is saved by a drunken tradesman who had been sleeping off one in the cellar as well. 13 years later, the trademan returns with the boy to the Inn to partake of some of the special mineral water found there. The deformed boy seemingly gives the Red Death to anyone he touches and after causing one death at the Inn, he is murdered and buried in the cellar, only to arise from the grave shortly thereafter. So, we know there is some serious foo at the Inn! So, what will the three happy couples find?
Kevin is an interesting character at least. He survived an electrocution via downed power lines a few months back and now has some type of special powers. He senses something evil at the Inn, but alas, his father just puts it down to him going through a phase. Enough of the sitrep. Gresham writes well and the pacing is decent for the most part. This verges at times pretty close to a parody of the horror genre and the ending is really out there. Not sure why this has so many bad reviews here on GR as I found it pretty decent for Zebra fare. 3 demon stars!!
Gresham was one of the more prolific authors in the Zebra stable and I have read several of his other novels. Demon's Eye was fun, with some interesting twists, but overall not that exceptional; in other words, pretty typical Zebra fare. Our main protagonist, 13 y.o. Kevin, journeys with his father, stepmom, and two other couples to and old Inn on an island in Alabama-- The Blackwinter. Built early in the 19th century, the three couples recently purchased the Inn and plan on spending a weekend surveying and deciding what exactly to do with it. One of the wives of the couples is a Blackwinter and spend some of her childhood at the Inn, which was then the home of her grandmother and grandfather. With their passing, the Inn as been largely abandoned.
During the obligatory horrific prologue, a servant woman afflicted with the Red Death, is giving birth in the cellar of the Inn to a hideously deformed child and dies during so. Nonetheless, the infant is saved by a drunken tradesman who had been sleeping off one in the cellar as well. 13 years later, the trademan returns with the boy to the Inn to partake of some of the special mineral water found there. The deformed boy seemingly gives the Red Death to anyone he touches and after causing one death at the Inn, he is murdered and buried in the cellar, only to arise from the grave shortly thereafter. So, we know there is some serious foo at the Inn! So, what will the three happy couples find?
Kevin is an interesting character at least. He survived an electrocution via downed power lines a few months back and now has some type of special powers. He senses something evil at the Inn, but alas, his father just puts it down to him going through a phase. Enough of the sitrep. Gresham writes well and the pacing is decent for the most part. This verges at times pretty close to a parody of the horror genre and the ending is really out there. Not sure why this has so many bad reviews here on GR as I found it pretty decent for Zebra fare. 3 demon stars!!
December 16, 2022
It seems every year around this time (December), I end up reading what could potentially be the absolute worst novel of the year and while 2022 has some pretty strong candidates vying for this (dis)honorable award, Demon’s Eye is pretty damn close to running away with the prize.
Usually I can try to find something positive in even the worst books, but not so with Demon’s Eye. This book is so bad and so stupid that I can’t believe even the infamous Zebra line published it…even with their stalwart author Stephen Gresham. Clearly it was a very cheap manuscript that they could turn around and sell, because it flat out sucked.
The characters are all terribly conceived and I’ve seen better constructed dialogue in a beginning creative writing class. The plot makes absolutely zero sense with basically no explanation. The eventual conclusion (which takes about 983 years to get to) falls apart with even the barest amount of critical thinking, and even a bleak ending that could have been great had this book had any semblance of redeeming quality, can’t save what amounts to one of the worst novels I’ve had the (mid)fortune to read this year…or any other.
Usually I can try to find something positive in even the worst books, but not so with Demon’s Eye. This book is so bad and so stupid that I can’t believe even the infamous Zebra line published it…even with their stalwart author Stephen Gresham. Clearly it was a very cheap manuscript that they could turn around and sell, because it flat out sucked.
The characters are all terribly conceived and I’ve seen better constructed dialogue in a beginning creative writing class. The plot makes absolutely zero sense with basically no explanation. The eventual conclusion (which takes about 983 years to get to) falls apart with even the barest amount of critical thinking, and even a bleak ending that could have been great had this book had any semblance of redeeming quality, can’t save what amounts to one of the worst novels I’ve had the (mid)fortune to read this year…or any other.
April 11, 2020
A weird mish mash of concepts which seems, at once, too much and not enough. Perhaps, although, there was a lot going in here which seems as if it should meld somehow into a cohesive whole, the shallow quality of the dive into any of it makes it just come up short. Perfectly serviceable writing, interesting story concepts, and a villain that wants to be frightening don't quite gel, failing to deliver anything beyond average.
October 21, 2020
Poor time travel ending ruins the story. If going back in time and preventing the villain from becoming the villain stops the villain in the present, there should be other consequences. Instead, we get a depressing ending.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 5, 2020
This is book is laughably, laughably bad. Choppy writing with stupid dialogue plus outlandish plot lines makes for an unreadable experience.
August 10, 2024
Review to come.
March 20, 2012
Another piece of crap I read when I was in middle school. I think I liked this one, at the time. Couldn't tell you what it's about, although I want to say it had something to do with Edgar Allen Poe and 'the red death'? Maybe? Maybe not?
I write the worst reviews.
I write the worst reviews.
October 31, 2008
Such total crap! So bad it was funny when it was not meant to be. Bought it solely because the cover art of a rat faced boy peering out of a tunnel disturbed my sister.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews