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Rebekka Moon
The Branch: a quiet place, a sleepy Nebraska town, a place where nothing had happened - not for decades. Until it began...
First it was the children - their "innocent" pranks, their "childish" cruelties, transformed overnight into unspeakable acts of torture, madness, and sudden, hideous death.
Then it was more...much more. The town was swept into a current of irresistible evil...a tide of darkness that swirled around the solitary figure of a frail sixteen year old girl.
Could she control their bodies? Possess their minds? Could anyone grasp her secret and stop...Rebekka Moon
First it was the children - their "innocent" pranks, their "childish" cruelties, transformed overnight into unspeakable acts of torture, madness, and sudden, hideous death.
Then it was more...much more. The town was swept into a current of irresistible evil...a tide of darkness that swirled around the solitary figure of a frail sixteen year old girl.
Could she control their bodies? Possess their minds? Could anyone grasp her secret and stop...Rebekka Moon
384 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1983
1 person is currently reading
105 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 3, 2024
Though maybe a tad overlong, Rebekka Moon is pretty damn creepy. I've never been especially fond of the "evil kid" trope in horror, but when the kid is a sociopath teen girl who's able to bend anyone to her unholy will to the point that no one in town can be trusted? Very creepy. Especially for Rebekka Moon's school guidance counselor, Laura, who suspects that the many recent deaths and cruelties taking place in the small Nebraskan town are all Rebekka's doing. Somehow. Only, no one believes that a poor, seemingly feeble-minded 16 year-old girl could possibly be "hypnotizing" people into committing these horrific acts. But do they truly not believe Laura, or are they all, including the town sheriff, under the girl's sway as well?
While it is a bit slow in spots, especially during the portions where we the reader are waaayy ahead of the characters and their revelations, this was a surprisingly entertaining read for a book that has next to no online presence, with well-drawn, sympathetic characters and several genuinely chilling moments that raise it a notch above your typical 80s paperback original. Just goes to show that even after reading horror fiction for 30 years, it's still possible to discover new-old gems that have been lost to time. I look forward to eventually reading Michele Spence's only other novel, 1980's Shadow Play (even though the back cover copy makes it seem like a dry run for this one, with its eerily similar plot).
Fans of small town horror and/or evil kid stories should enjoy this. If you're not a fan of small town horror then we can't be friends anymore.
Kidding.*
4.0 Stars.
*But not really.
While it is a bit slow in spots, especially during the portions where we the reader are waaayy ahead of the characters and their revelations, this was a surprisingly entertaining read for a book that has next to no online presence, with well-drawn, sympathetic characters and several genuinely chilling moments that raise it a notch above your typical 80s paperback original. Just goes to show that even after reading horror fiction for 30 years, it's still possible to discover new-old gems that have been lost to time. I look forward to eventually reading Michele Spence's only other novel, 1980's Shadow Play (even though the back cover copy makes it seem like a dry run for this one, with its eerily similar plot).
Fans of small town horror and/or evil kid stories should enjoy this. If you're not a fan of small town horror then we can't be friends anymore.
Kidding.*
4.0 Stars.
*But not really.
February 15, 2024
Spence serves up a creepy tale staring Rebekka Moon, a 16 yo in The Branch, a small Nebraska town. Our protagonist, one Laura Holland, a psychologist, is from The Branch, but now lives and practices in Chicago. When one of her clients ODs, she and her mentor decide she needs a break and so she heads back to The Branch for some R&R, or so she thinks.
Along side Spence introducing Laura, we witness some strange goings on in The Branch. It seems Rebekka has some special 'talents' akin to hypnotism where she can bend people to her will, albeit often with the help of some drugs. What does Rebekka want? Well, that takes some time to discern, but basically, Rebekka is the proverbial 'outcast' in school, with her skinny body, knobby knees and no friends. Wouldn't be great if everyone loves and adores her? Well, she thinks so!
From the beginning, you know this will come down to a clash between Rebekka and Laura, but Spence takes us on a winding road to get there. First, Laura starts 'working' at the high school as a guidance consular where she meets Rebekka and many others. Laura also has some negative history of her own to sort through, for after the death of her mother, her father's affections dried up to a trickle and she left The Branch with no regrets; perhaps it is finally time to sort out the past...
What Spence did well here involved how she created a realistic cast of characters and an antagonist in Rebekka that you can almost root for. Further, Rebekka is just plain creepy! Spence never spends that much time on Rebekka, but when she enters the scene (often peeping into windows and such) the results are spectacular. This reminded me a bit of King's Carrie in that both featured an ostracized female teenager with special 'gifts', but this is no knockoff. Creepy kids are not really my bag, despite the large role they seemed to play in vintage horror, but creepy teenagers with a big ax to grind? I can dig it. Nonetheless, the pacing of Rebekka Moon was a bit erratic and it did drag a bit at times. Further, it also featured Laura making some rather dubious decisions at times primarily just to move the plot along. All in all, a good, spooky read and well worth reading if you like vintage horror and can find a cheap copy. 3.5 villainous teenagers!
Along side Spence introducing Laura, we witness some strange goings on in The Branch. It seems Rebekka has some special 'talents' akin to hypnotism where she can bend people to her will, albeit often with the help of some drugs. What does Rebekka want? Well, that takes some time to discern, but basically, Rebekka is the proverbial 'outcast' in school, with her skinny body, knobby knees and no friends. Wouldn't be great if everyone loves and adores her? Well, she thinks so!
From the beginning, you know this will come down to a clash between Rebekka and Laura, but Spence takes us on a winding road to get there. First, Laura starts 'working' at the high school as a guidance consular where she meets Rebekka and many others. Laura also has some negative history of her own to sort through, for after the death of her mother, her father's affections dried up to a trickle and she left The Branch with no regrets; perhaps it is finally time to sort out the past...
What Spence did well here involved how she created a realistic cast of characters and an antagonist in Rebekka that you can almost root for. Further, Rebekka is just plain creepy! Spence never spends that much time on Rebekka, but when she enters the scene (often peeping into windows and such) the results are spectacular. This reminded me a bit of King's Carrie in that both featured an ostracized female teenager with special 'gifts', but this is no knockoff. Creepy kids are not really my bag, despite the large role they seemed to play in vintage horror, but creepy teenagers with a big ax to grind? I can dig it. Nonetheless, the pacing of Rebekka Moon was a bit erratic and it did drag a bit at times. Further, it also featured Laura making some rather dubious decisions at times primarily just to move the plot along. All in all, a good, spooky read and well worth reading if you like vintage horror and can find a cheap copy. 3.5 villainous teenagers!
March 22, 2020
Rebekka Moon is a real hidden gem. Admittedly, I bought a copy of this book because I fell in love with the cover. I'm pleased to report that the contents absolutely lived up to it!
The titular Rebekka is a teenage girl who is able to use a form of hypnosis to make people do what she wants them to. She has a plan for the people in her small town, The Branch, but things change when psychiatrist Laura moves into town and starts to realise that the cause of some strange goings-on is Rebekka.
The set-up of teenage girl with special powers might sound a little Carrie-ish but I would say the similarity is only in the basic premise and the stories are very different. I really enjoyed Spence's writing and the cast of characters in this small town. I feel like it did get a little slow in places but overall this was an excellent read.
Rebekka is such a fascinating character and makes a great villain! The scenes when she is exercising her powers on people were some of my favourite parts of the book - they are very unsettling and squirm-inducing. I loved them!
It's really sad that Spence only had two novels published (that I'm aware of) as she is clearly a talented writer. I'm adding a link to my video review because one of my friends there found out some interesting information about the author so you can read that in the comments if you're interested: https://youtu.be/B0oy5Tlao1I
The titular Rebekka is a teenage girl who is able to use a form of hypnosis to make people do what she wants them to. She has a plan for the people in her small town, The Branch, but things change when psychiatrist Laura moves into town and starts to realise that the cause of some strange goings-on is Rebekka.
The set-up of teenage girl with special powers might sound a little Carrie-ish but I would say the similarity is only in the basic premise and the stories are very different. I really enjoyed Spence's writing and the cast of characters in this small town. I feel like it did get a little slow in places but overall this was an excellent read.
Rebekka is such a fascinating character and makes a great villain! The scenes when she is exercising her powers on people were some of my favourite parts of the book - they are very unsettling and squirm-inducing. I loved them!
It's really sad that Spence only had two novels published (that I'm aware of) as she is clearly a talented writer. I'm adding a link to my video review because one of my friends there found out some interesting information about the author so you can read that in the comments if you're interested: https://youtu.be/B0oy5Tlao1I
August 6, 2013
This book reminded of something Stephen King would write. It wasn't as good as a King book, though. Sometimes the transitions between scenes were too abrupt and occasional random head hopping left me confused about whose POV I was reading a few times. Still, it's not bad book. The parts where the story is told from the title character's point of view were eerie. I think the writer did a fine job of carrying the reader into the mind of a sociopathic teenaged girl. If you like Stephen King, you might want to give this one a try.
August 4, 2021
Nothing special here folks, move along.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews