Squat

by Leesa Wallace

Nat & Spud are young and in love. One slight drawback; they are homeless. They spend their days eking out an existence on the cold, uncompromising streets of London. All they want is a roof over their heads. So they go looking for the perfect squat that will offer them some much needed respite. However, they get a lot more than they bargained for when they find an old, abandoned psychiatric hospital as their squat. Is it the spirits of the inmates that roam the creepy old mental hospital, or a more human nemesis that threatens their very existence? SQUAT is the first solo story by acclaimed writer Leesa Wallace. © WALLACE PUBLISHING

116 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Leesa Wallace runs a small independent publishing company called Wallace Publishing. She also works as a freelance editor and content creator.

Leesa has written the poetry book, Dark Woods, as well as the YA horror novel, Squat. She has also co-written and contributed to several other books, including Robot Love and Want to Bet.

Dark Woods: https://amzn.to/2DzVRym

Squat: https://amzn.to/2FyUoeb

Reviews

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Squat is a short novella was sent to me by the publisher (thanks!) and it’s an intriguing, classic ghost/horror story which, though short, truly brings to life the terror the characters experience. I really enjoyed it and will look out for more from the author.

Squat is a novella which is unsettling from almost the very first page. Spud and Nat are looking for some place to stay, an unoccupied building they can turn into their temporary home and after a recommendation, they choose a condemned asylum. Probably not the first place you’d choose but when you’re desperate (and when you’re a character in a horror story) this is the kind of place which you’re drawn to and of course, it was dry, warm and better than being out on the streets.

The first night at the asylum sees something strange and occult happen to Spud and he is changed, he isn’t sure how but he is definitely changed and as the novella progresses the change becomes more pronounced and the reader gets to see what has happened to Spud before he has the chance to realise it himself, a great technique which makes his terror and Nat’s even more believable.

By the end of the novella the revelations pour out and they are so satisfying and make the unsettling asylum become even more daunting and the characters who we think are nothing more than bit parts, central to the tale.

Things move quickly as you’d expect from a short work but this doesn’t stop the author from creating a truly eerie setting which is more than believable as a setting for such terrifying and unsettling events.

Squat surprised me by the intensity of the eeriness and the way in which it the story unwound and I really enjoyed it. I also like the finish of the novel, from a small publisher it is very well produced and it’s always nice to receive a paperback as opposed to an eBook.

[Stephen Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this novella, SQUAT, Spud and Natalie survive by staying in unoccupied buildings, until an unsettling occult encounter with an individual in a condemned asylum changes Spud. Their difficulties continue, escalating as the change in Spud develops. We see what happened to him before he fully confronts it himself. Thus his dawning understanding and fear enhances the suspense for the reader. Overall the characters are well-drawn, and their dialogue also resonates. Their speech is familiar enough to show their deepening friendship, while also expressing the momentum Spud’s fear gradually acquires.

Act 3 provides several satisfying surprises and a suitable resolution to what befell them in the asylum. This works quite well as a suspense novella with several believable and compelling characters.