What do you think?
Rate this book
Crawlspace
After Jerry stumbles delirious from a bloody accident, a beautiful girl rescues the boy and brings him home to her decrepit apartment complex.
Soon Jerry discovers a hidden entrance into the attic, a crawlspace through which he can secretly enter any apartment.
But he isn't the only person aware of the secret entrance.
Crawlspace is a terrifying journey into urban legend, darkness, and murder.
Soon Jerry discovers a hidden entrance into the attic, a crawlspace through which he can secretly enter any apartment.
But he isn't the only person aware of the secret entrance.
Crawlspace is a terrifying journey into urban legend, darkness, and murder.
197 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 5, 2015
106 people are currently reading
229 people want to read
About the author
Dan Padavona
100 books607 followersAuthor of the Wolf Lake and Darkwater Cove series.
Want a free thriller and mystery book? Please join my VIP thriller readers club at
www.danpadavona.com.
I'm a father, husband, dog lover, and an advocate for animals and the homeless.
My kryptonite is ice cream, and my super power is cranking heavy metal.
More than anything, I love a good story. Let me tell you one.
Want a free thriller and mystery book? Please join my VIP thriller readers club at
www.danpadavona.com.
I'm a father, husband, dog lover, and an advocate for animals and the homeless.
My kryptonite is ice cream, and my super power is cranking heavy metal.
More than anything, I love a good story. Let me tell you one.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
June 18, 2025
4.5 stars. This was a tremendous showing by Dan Padavona. He created an awesome level of intrigue and uncertainty throughout. It almost read like a psychological thriller up until the very end, where it shifted hard into a horror. And that was a really fun effect, creating a unique sort of effect to the story. So often horror authors rush right into introducing a monster or antagonist so quickly, but very few romance things a bit, saving some surprises for the very end. Jerry, our main character, is a fun lead and is just a down on his luck type, who jumps at the chance to live with a beautiful, mysterious woman, Kelli. But Kelli is different. And she isn't necessarily looking for romance, so there's a ton of mixed signals as they feel each other out. Combine that with her odd live in friend, Hamel, and the gorgeous neighbor, Charlotte, and things are just a mess. Displaced feelings, odd relationship dynamics, differing ambitions, all combined with the supposed hauntings of the Maldens in the creepy complex that they all live in. But it doesn't stop there, as each character gets a ton of development, which I refuse to spoil. And, back to the ending, it was not at all what I expected. It had a wonderful lead up and fantastic execution, leaving me a bit dazed at everything that went down. An A+ horror finale! My only nitpick here was that I wanted a little more about Kelli and her background, and the last few pages summarized the conclusion, shifting to more of a narrator point of view. There was no clear division to the immediate characters and then the new POV starting, or even the beginning of the beginning of the end. So it was just a bit jarring to have an unannounced pivot like that. Hopefully that makes sense. But otherwise, I really loved this story and can't wait to see more of Dan Padavona's works. From one horror author to another, bravo!
June 24, 2018
Dan Padavona's CRAWLSPACE is the best horror book I've read so far this year (2018). It is gripping from the get go and begs you to read it to its conclusion. Its the type of story you convince yourself you know where its going and what the outcome is going to be only to get slapped in the face with a can't-be-seen-coming ending.
The characters in CRAWLSPACE are very well developed. The story is wonderfully crafted. Padavona, while still young in the writing game has the chops to be a master of the craft. CRAWLSPACE was near perfection. The connection to the titular crawlspace hammered home all the more by my own experience living in an apartment with the exact type crawlspace involved in this story.
My singular gripe with the book was questions I found left hanging. Questions about a professor's warning that never seemed to be fully answered to my satisfaction. Questions about relationships between characters that also were vague. Questions about the relationship between the main characters that left me perplexed. Yet, despite those enigmas, the story still stands strong above all.
CRAWLSPACE is full of surprises. It is creepy and gory. Its the type of story you may not want to read before bed lest you find yourself unable to fall asleep from the seed of fear Padavona plants in your mind. A frightfully fantastic read with enough gore for the extreme set and enough psychological terror for the more straight forward horror set. A legend is brewing in Dan Padavona.
The characters in CRAWLSPACE are very well developed. The story is wonderfully crafted. Padavona, while still young in the writing game has the chops to be a master of the craft. CRAWLSPACE was near perfection. The connection to the titular crawlspace hammered home all the more by my own experience living in an apartment with the exact type crawlspace involved in this story.
My singular gripe with the book was questions I found left hanging. Questions about a professor's warning that never seemed to be fully answered to my satisfaction. Questions about relationships between characters that also were vague. Questions about the relationship between the main characters that left me perplexed. Yet, despite those enigmas, the story still stands strong above all.
CRAWLSPACE is full of surprises. It is creepy and gory. Its the type of story you may not want to read before bed lest you find yourself unable to fall asleep from the seed of fear Padavona plants in your mind. A frightfully fantastic read with enough gore for the extreme set and enough psychological terror for the more straight forward horror set. A legend is brewing in Dan Padavona.
June 8, 2017
This book was extremely hard to put down, a genuine page-turner. With echoes of Laymon and Ketchum, Padavona has created a modern tale of terror for a new generation of horror readers. Carefully-crafted characters and nail-biting tension are just some of the things I liked most about Crawlspace. Seriously, if you're a fan of Laymon's best work, you need to check Crawlspace out. 4.5 bloody blades out of 5!
December 11, 2017
Not particularly compelling or scary. I had several guesses which were all wrong and far more interesting than the actual story resolution.
October 30, 2018
Spoilers in this review after the next paragraph, so be warned.
Crawlspace is a fairly standard "psycho killer(s) on the loose" story, but there are areas where I feel it falls short, bringing down the overall experience.
First, the author may find himself surprised when he turns 50 and discovers that everyone does not turn into haggard, out of shape old people as soon as they hit the half century mark. Every observation about an older character in the story would convince you otherwise. This is a common issue with younger authors and even Stephen King bungled middle-aged or older folks in his early novels. Still, it's 2018, not 1718. People live past their 30s now and can actually stay in shape. :P
The biggest problem with the story is the protagonist. Jerry Laymon has bad judgment, a bad temper, a bad attitude, regularly makes impulsive and irrational choices, and claims he's not all about sex while constantly describing the physical characteristics of every female character (that isn't a decrepit 50-year old) in lurid detail. He is, in a word, a schmuck. And he narrates the story, so you don't even get the satisfaction of him nobly sacrificing himself at the end.
The main issue with the character, though, isn't that he's actively unlikable, though at times he is, it's that his odd decisions are needed to drive the plot forward and as always this remains my least favorite thing authors do in their stories. When the plot drives the characters, you are unlikely to engage readers or make them care much about the characters. They become pieces being moved across a game board, except in this case the game board is covered in plastic to catch all the blood of the victims of the wife and husband team of Satanic and occasional serial killers.
Also, there is a weird anti-university thing going on that gets played up a lot in the first half of the book that feels more like the author's personal politics being injected than anything that actually serves the story. Laymon views all other students as entitled and spoiled, wasting their time while they acquire debt. The professors are terrible people who live in mansions and protect each other at the expense of the student body. The townfolk also apparently hate the university and all who attend it, leading to clashes--literal clashes, like fistfights and such--between the university crowd and the "townies." It all seems a bit odd, but maybe I've just lived in nicer cities.
Anyway, the last chapter is a drawn-out fight between the haggard/old/in their 50s Satanic killers, Jerry, Kelli (his girlfriend) and Charlotte (his next girlfriend) and it mostly takes place in near or total darkness so there's lots of wondering who's where and what's what. It all feels very conventional after the build-up to a possibly supernatural pair of murderous killers who move seamlessly through time to kill and kill again. No, they just use the crawlspace.
Some of the scenes moving through the titular crawlspace are actually fairly well-done, and the writing is always decent, if sometimes melodramatic. But this story is just a little too weird in the wrong ways to really recommend.
Crawlspace is a fairly standard "psycho killer(s) on the loose" story, but there are areas where I feel it falls short, bringing down the overall experience.
First, the author may find himself surprised when he turns 50 and discovers that everyone does not turn into haggard, out of shape old people as soon as they hit the half century mark. Every observation about an older character in the story would convince you otherwise. This is a common issue with younger authors and even Stephen King bungled middle-aged or older folks in his early novels. Still, it's 2018, not 1718. People live past their 30s now and can actually stay in shape. :P
The biggest problem with the story is the protagonist. Jerry Laymon has bad judgment, a bad temper, a bad attitude, regularly makes impulsive and irrational choices, and claims he's not all about sex while constantly describing the physical characteristics of every female character (that isn't a decrepit 50-year old) in lurid detail. He is, in a word, a schmuck. And he narrates the story, so you don't even get the satisfaction of him nobly sacrificing himself at the end.
The main issue with the character, though, isn't that he's actively unlikable, though at times he is, it's that his odd decisions are needed to drive the plot forward and as always this remains my least favorite thing authors do in their stories. When the plot drives the characters, you are unlikely to engage readers or make them care much about the characters. They become pieces being moved across a game board, except in this case the game board is covered in plastic to catch all the blood of the victims of the wife and husband team of Satanic and occasional serial killers.
Also, there is a weird anti-university thing going on that gets played up a lot in the first half of the book that feels more like the author's personal politics being injected than anything that actually serves the story. Laymon views all other students as entitled and spoiled, wasting their time while they acquire debt. The professors are terrible people who live in mansions and protect each other at the expense of the student body. The townfolk also apparently hate the university and all who attend it, leading to clashes--literal clashes, like fistfights and such--between the university crowd and the "townies." It all seems a bit odd, but maybe I've just lived in nicer cities.
Anyway, the last chapter is a drawn-out fight between the haggard/old/in their 50s Satanic killers, Jerry, Kelli (his girlfriend) and Charlotte (his next girlfriend) and it mostly takes place in near or total darkness so there's lots of wondering who's where and what's what. It all feels very conventional after the build-up to a possibly supernatural pair of murderous killers who move seamlessly through time to kill and kill again. No, they just use the crawlspace.
Some of the scenes moving through the titular crawlspace are actually fairly well-done, and the writing is always decent, if sometimes melodramatic. But this story is just a little too weird in the wrong ways to really recommend.
February 3, 2021
Crawlspace by Dan Padavona is an absolutely enthralling story. I sat down with the book and a bag of cheddar popcorn and finished both before the day was over.
crawlspace1bbCrawlspace is told in very compelling first person. I could both hear the narrator’s voice and visualize the story. The flow and wording fit the character narrating perfectly for me, providing continuity and disturbing believability.
Speaking of disturbing believability, there is a real-world premise here that was eerily familiar, and I can’t get the image of that ceiling panel in the closet of my long-ago apartment out of my head now. Add to that Padavona’s exert way with urban legend and his skillful suspense and tension and you have a masterwork of horror in Crawlspace.
This is not Extreme Horror, though it does have some intense brutality, terror, and gory scenes. Padavona’s Crawlspace falls between the works of Bentley Little and Brian Keene in intensity and story quality. A highly recommended read for all horror fans and for daring thriller fans.
crawlspace1bbCrawlspace is told in very compelling first person. I could both hear the narrator’s voice and visualize the story. The flow and wording fit the character narrating perfectly for me, providing continuity and disturbing believability.
Speaking of disturbing believability, there is a real-world premise here that was eerily familiar, and I can’t get the image of that ceiling panel in the closet of my long-ago apartment out of my head now. Add to that Padavona’s exert way with urban legend and his skillful suspense and tension and you have a masterwork of horror in Crawlspace.
This is not Extreme Horror, though it does have some intense brutality, terror, and gory scenes. Padavona’s Crawlspace falls between the works of Bentley Little and Brian Keene in intensity and story quality. A highly recommended read for all horror fans and for daring thriller fans.
August 22, 2018
Yes, it's that good.
My mind is blown. This one is tough, mean, tight as hell. It's CLEAN. Don't be deceived by simple prose. Yes, the comparisons to Ketchum and Laymon ACTUALLY stick to this one. The prose is simple but each short paragraph is a shotgun-blast of thrumming tension, depth, and beautiful brutality.
It's all here. Dan writes like I dream of writing. An amazing novel. Please, read it now!
My mind is blown. This one is tough, mean, tight as hell. It's CLEAN. Don't be deceived by simple prose. Yes, the comparisons to Ketchum and Laymon ACTUALLY stick to this one. The prose is simple but each short paragraph is a shotgun-blast of thrumming tension, depth, and beautiful brutality.
It's all here. Dan writes like I dream of writing. An amazing novel. Please, read it now!
May 2, 2016
My heart hasn't even stopped racing yet, and I'm straight on here to review it.
This book is fucking wonderful... pardon my French. If you like horror, this is for you. Old school horror made just to keep you looking over your shoulder constantly for the next week... It's great. Go pick it up and read it.
This book is fucking wonderful... pardon my French. If you like horror, this is for you. Old school horror made just to keep you looking over your shoulder constantly for the next week... It's great. Go pick it up and read it.
May 11, 2020
I loved Quilt and Camp Slasher but this book, not so much. I couldn't get into the characters and I felt none of them meshed with each other. Everyone was thrown into a story line that went no where in my opinion. It wasn't a thriller by any means but the idea of people in a crawlspace when you are not aware is creepy.
March 7, 2016
I've read most of Padavona's work, and this is easily his best. And while it is indeed a page turner, it's not so much the action or intensity that keeps you going but the need to find out why things are happening and what exactly the role is of each character. I read this book not knowing anything about it other than it was horror, which I believe really aided in the enjoyment I had when consuming each page. That being said, I want to keep this review light on summary and heavy on praise.
Protagonist Jerry Laymon finds himself in a decrepit apartment complex that still acts as housing for some. While residing there, he discovers that the ceiling in the closet of his apartment leads into a crawlspace which also gives access to the other apartments. This presents some voyeuristic temptations for Jerry but also a mystery he'd like to uncover.
Padavona has gotten much closer to finding his own voice, and I would recommend all of his work. But while some of his earlier stuff may reflect on themes already presented by Stephen King (though on his own terms), Crawlspace is Padavona's own brainchild.
Crawlspace seduces you and then slams the door and locks it, leaving you stuck flipping the pages. It doesn't care that you have to work in the morning. A claustrophobic tromp through the darkest of recesses.
~Chad Lutzke, author and contributor to Horror Novel Reviews
Protagonist Jerry Laymon finds himself in a decrepit apartment complex that still acts as housing for some. While residing there, he discovers that the ceiling in the closet of his apartment leads into a crawlspace which also gives access to the other apartments. This presents some voyeuristic temptations for Jerry but also a mystery he'd like to uncover.
Padavona has gotten much closer to finding his own voice, and I would recommend all of his work. But while some of his earlier stuff may reflect on themes already presented by Stephen King (though on his own terms), Crawlspace is Padavona's own brainchild.
Crawlspace seduces you and then slams the door and locks it, leaving you stuck flipping the pages. It doesn't care that you have to work in the morning. A claustrophobic tromp through the darkest of recesses.
~Chad Lutzke, author and contributor to Horror Novel Reviews
July 16, 2021
Talk about creepy! Do you have an attic in your house? Have you ever heard any strange noises coming from there? Don't read this book - it will NOT settle your nerves.
Imagine crawling about a crawlspace in pitch darkness, thinking there is someone in there with you...how would you react? Mess your pants, right?
This book certainly gave me the heebie jeebies, i could clearly picture myself in Jerry's shoes thanks to the superb writing.
My only issue with the book was the long chapters, each chapter varied from 25 up to 50 mins (and i read pretty fast) but that's my own personal preference. I like short sharp chapters, because i mainly read at night and like to finish on a chapter rather than in the middle of one (before my eyelids fall). Like i say, personal preference.
Would definitely recommend this is you are looking for a creepy, claustrophobic read to shread your nerves.
Imagine crawling about a crawlspace in pitch darkness, thinking there is someone in there with you...how would you react? Mess your pants, right?
This book certainly gave me the heebie jeebies, i could clearly picture myself in Jerry's shoes thanks to the superb writing.
My only issue with the book was the long chapters, each chapter varied from 25 up to 50 mins (and i read pretty fast) but that's my own personal preference. I like short sharp chapters, because i mainly read at night and like to finish on a chapter rather than in the middle of one (before my eyelids fall). Like i say, personal preference.
Would definitely recommend this is you are looking for a creepy, claustrophobic read to shread your nerves.
August 13, 2023
This was my first read by this author, and it was a pretty good one. A very intriguing storyline that held my attention the entire way through. I felt it moved at a great pace, and had very readable characters.
Jerry meets Kelli after he almost gets killed on his bike. (This is the one character/storyline I felt lacked explanation) She helps him get back to good health and then they become more than friends. But they live in Gardenia, a dilapidated former hotel, now an apartment building. And there are many things about it that aren't so great.
I enjoyed this one and will definitely read more of this horror author soon.
Jerry meets Kelli after he almost gets killed on his bike. (This is the one character/storyline I felt lacked explanation) She helps him get back to good health and then they become more than friends. But they live in Gardenia, a dilapidated former hotel, now an apartment building. And there are many things about it that aren't so great.
I enjoyed this one and will definitely read more of this horror author soon.
October 30, 2017
My October of Horror continues...
Crawlspace had real promise. It was well-written and very compelling. The problem was its execution. The story itself - and the characters that peopled it - were well-developed but about halfway through it felt as though the author lost the thread. And, as the reader, so did I.
Crawlspace was a great way to spend a couple of hours. It was entertaining, fun, and fairly creepy. But ultimately it didn't have the punch I was looking for out of a horror novel.
Crawlspace had real promise. It was well-written and very compelling. The problem was its execution. The story itself - and the characters that peopled it - were well-developed but about halfway through it felt as though the author lost the thread. And, as the reader, so did I.
Crawlspace was a great way to spend a couple of hours. It was entertaining, fun, and fairly creepy. But ultimately it didn't have the punch I was looking for out of a horror novel.
October 30, 2017
I downloaded this for a "guilty pleasure" Halloween read, expecting it would be fun and nothing more. (I mean, look at the cover.) But I was totally surprised by how well Padavona writes. I did not have to suspend my intelligence as one often does with horror movies and novels. Crawlspace is a cut above and certainly enjoyable, but it did get a little tedious for me at the end, so I gave it a solid 3 stars.
April 16, 2023
I enjoyed Padavona's writing and the plot is truly terrifying. The only reason for the 3 stars is that I didn't feel like I connected to any of the characters. I can usually connect to at least one, and when I do, I care about what happens to them throughout the book. With these characters, I just wanted to find out what was going to happen, not really caring if they lived or died. This sounds harsh, I know!
May 13, 2023
Decent idea that started out promising then got really dull and the chapters seemed to never end. Seriously, these chapters were way too long.
It also didn’t help that none of the characters were interesting and I didn’t care for any of them.
This is my second novel by the author and I’m surprised with how little I enjoyed it because Camp Slasher was very entertaining. I still have the read The Face of Midnight so I’ll see how that goes.
Overall, Crawlspace was not it.
It also didn’t help that none of the characters were interesting and I didn’t care for any of them.
This is my second novel by the author and I’m surprised with how little I enjoyed it because Camp Slasher was very entertaining. I still have the read The Face of Midnight so I’ll see how that goes.
Overall, Crawlspace was not it.
September 2, 2019
Loved reading Crawlspace by Dan Padavona! Think Off Season by Jack Ketchum + Cast Aways by Brain Keene, = Crawlspace by Dan Padavona. Such a page turner! I couldn’t be pried away! If you’re looking for true horror, gore, violence, and a scare. Then look no further then this book! I will definitely be checking out his other novels!
January 23, 2018
Not bad
This story kept me interested, but there were a few odd places where the plot devices felt a bit contrived or inconsistent. Overall, it was not bad, but not stellar, either.
This story kept me interested, but there were a few odd places where the plot devices felt a bit contrived or inconsistent. Overall, it was not bad, but not stellar, either.
August 17, 2019
Crawlspace is a fast-paced #horror read. A story of young love and a tale of bloodthirsty criminals still on the loose, the book delivers humanity and hell that both embraces and transcends the slasher genre.
July 18, 2023
Not Good
*SPOILER*
I was told this was 'demented', 'extreme horror'!?
When 1 person dies.....ONE PERSON, and it's all after the fact. No fly on the wall stuff. Very disappointed
*SPOILER*
I was told this was 'demented', 'extreme horror'!?
When 1 person dies.....ONE PERSON, and it's all after the fact. No fly on the wall stuff. Very disappointed
August 15, 2023
A mystery filled with plot twists
Whatever you think is going to happen probably won't. Enjoyed this mystery a lot. Can't wait to read his next book. So glad i found out about this author!
Whatever you think is going to happen probably won't. Enjoyed this mystery a lot. Can't wait to read his next book. So glad i found out about this author!
July 19, 2019
Good read
This was my first Dan Padavona book and it will not be my last .. tension builds a lot in this story as does the fear ...
This was my first Dan Padavona book and it will not be my last .. tension builds a lot in this story as does the fear ...
June 15, 2020
If you like Richard Laymon, you'll like this short, gory horror.
October 26, 2022
Perfect for a Halloween creepy story. I can totally see Tarantino or Corman doing this as a movie. Let's just say no FBI profiler happened in the book. Totally enjoyed it.
March 27, 2023
Well, I have to say....
I'm not much into horror stories because they scare the crap out of me. This one surely did just that. Read this and then go home and check your closet.
I'm not much into horror stories because they scare the crap out of me. This one surely did just that. Read this and then go home and check your closet.
May 1, 2023
The decisions by the protagonist had me shaking my head. Is he staying. Is he going? The female characters just didn't stick with me and make me care about them, not to mention the dumb jock. I gave it 4 * because the story was original and it wrapped up pretty nicely.
January 11, 2017
First time I've read this author and I must say I'm impressed. Part Richard Laymon and part Jack Ketchum. Fast-paced, suspenseful, claustrophobic at times and scary. Looking forward to reading more from Dan Padavona.
March 11, 2016
Outstanding
I really enjoyed this book, it kept me on edge not knowing. A lot of twist and turns this book will not let you down.
I really enjoyed this book, it kept me on edge not knowing. A lot of twist and turns this book will not let you down.
December 19, 2017
pretty good creepy story
May 26, 2020
1.5/5 ⭐️
Maybe I’m in the wrong here, but I was not a fan of this one
Maybe I’m in the wrong here, but I was not a fan of this one
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews