What do you think?
Rate this book
The Occult Madonna
Looking back at him, framed in a peaked hood, just visible in the gloom, was a hideous skull-face, its blackened, cracked flesh stretched tight over the bone. Teeth — fangs! - huge and hooked, curled out of its mouth and a wet, dripping tongue darted over them. Twin eyes, pupilless, like molten pools of swirling red and yellow fire, glared at him.
The Thing's terrible lips spread into a smile and a hiss poured from its black mouth.
The Thing rose slowly on the bed. It sat upright, its body enfolded in a ragged, ebony black cloak.
The Thing's lower body shifted and its enfolded legs swung off the bed. Its swirling, glistening orbs shone in the darkening room like the fanned embers of a rekindling fire. They glared.
He was gasping, sobbing, his throat constricted by terror. Tears streamed down his cheeks.
The Thing sat on the edge of the bed, extending its rag shrouded arm, a bony black skeletal finger beckoning to him to come to it...
...come to Her.
He took an unwilling step forward, feeling as if his body was no longer his own to command. His mind was clouded, entrapped by a force he could not comprehend...
The Thing's terrible lips spread into a smile and a hiss poured from its black mouth.
The Thing rose slowly on the bed. It sat upright, its body enfolded in a ragged, ebony black cloak.
The Thing's lower body shifted and its enfolded legs swung off the bed. Its swirling, glistening orbs shone in the darkening room like the fanned embers of a rekindling fire. They glared.
He was gasping, sobbing, his throat constricted by terror. Tears streamed down his cheeks.
The Thing sat on the edge of the bed, extending its rag shrouded arm, a bony black skeletal finger beckoning to him to come to it...
...come to Her.
He took an unwilling step forward, feeling as if his body was no longer his own to command. His mind was clouded, entrapped by a force he could not comprehend...
348 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1988
4 people are currently reading
55 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
April 4, 2019
Vince and Mary are the new keepers of the Mansfield cemetery, a deserted and derelict place out in the countryside. But who really hired them for that job and why are they so interested in the young woman being present? Tobias Rathbone tries to warn the young couple and teams up with two other oldtimers, Aggie and Josh, to fight the rising evil. Can they overcome the Black Madonna and her minions? Will this adventure end well for the participants? This was a solid 80s horror story set in a cemetery with a real 'evil bitch' as hellish monster. It's not too violent and brutal, the fighting scenes are well done and captivating. If you want to go back in time and live through a fine piece of 80s horror this is your book. I really enjoyed it. Is it cheesy, is it pulp, well, to me it's recommended cult!
July 7, 2024
Hawk serves up an action packed romp here, albeit one with a very thin plot. Vince, and out of work archeologist in Denver and his fiancé Mary, find out about a job as the caretakers of a cemetery; the pay is great, rent free house so they take it. Big mistake! Right off the bat things get hinky. Their first night in the cemetery cottage finds the couple possessed by lust and by morning, they both are bruised and sore. Then their boss shows up. It seems their job as caretakers basically involves walking through the cemetery each day reburying the coffins that 'pop up' during the night.
Vince that day sees and old bum by the fence, who warns him to leave the place ASAP! Turns out the bum is really an ancient druid who knows something big will go down soon at the cemetery and also knows Vince and Mary are pawns in some larger scheme. Meanwhile, an old, retired school teacher with an active interest in her Ouija board, along with Joshua, an old friend, play with the board and learn about the druid and the next day join forces to stop the outbreak of evil.
While fun and action packed, Hawk really dragged this one on. The druid, centuries old and power fading (as we are reminded numerous times), plus the two old codgers seem to be the only thing standing in the way of the Occult Madonna's 'rising' with some ceremony scheduled for the full moon at the cemetery. Oh, will our tired but intrepid band manage to stop the Madonna? Will they be able to save Vince and Mary? The suspense! Well, Hawk did give it a good go here.
If you are up for some demon foo, an evil, lecherous pair of men who hired Vincent and Mary, who seem to be behind the whole thing and such, you may really enjoy this one. Hawk seemed to toss every demon horror trope in existence at the wall here to see what would stick. All in all, not a bad read, but not a very good one. 2.5 demon stars, rounding up as I am feeling generous!
Vince that day sees and old bum by the fence, who warns him to leave the place ASAP! Turns out the bum is really an ancient druid who knows something big will go down soon at the cemetery and also knows Vince and Mary are pawns in some larger scheme. Meanwhile, an old, retired school teacher with an active interest in her Ouija board, along with Joshua, an old friend, play with the board and learn about the druid and the next day join forces to stop the outbreak of evil.
While fun and action packed, Hawk really dragged this one on. The druid, centuries old and power fading (as we are reminded numerous times), plus the two old codgers seem to be the only thing standing in the way of the Occult Madonna's 'rising' with some ceremony scheduled for the full moon at the cemetery. Oh, will our tired but intrepid band manage to stop the Madonna? Will they be able to save Vince and Mary? The suspense! Well, Hawk did give it a good go here.
If you are up for some demon foo, an evil, lecherous pair of men who hired Vincent and Mary, who seem to be behind the whole thing and such, you may really enjoy this one. Hawk seemed to toss every demon horror trope in existence at the wall here to see what would stick. All in all, not a bad read, but not a very good one. 2.5 demon stars, rounding up as I am feeling generous!
June 29, 2025
This is a fun 1980s horror romp. It's set in a cemetery (always a good start, right?) where a lusty young couple have accepted the caretakers' positions. There are some creepy old people in charge and a strong evil Druidic influence, and the graves keep popping up and all manner of cheesy pulpy horror tropes... It could have been edited down a bit to speed it up a bit and smooth off some rough edges, but it's still a pretty good spooky read.
January 19, 2021
Just goes to show that even when I think I'm picking a horror novel, it ends up being D&D in disguise, much like The Keep. Here we have an evil cemetery ruled by the Devil's Daughter and cultists attempting to bring all those buried there back to life, and a trio of senior citizens has to stop them. Luckily, one of those senior citizens is a 500 year old Druid with unlimited magic missiles and other handy spells. Entertaining, at times lascivious, but not particularly deep.
September 30, 2014
This book is one of the few that ever scared me. But I first read it 25 or so years ago, when in high school. I doubt the ride will be quite the same, but I'm excited to see what it has in store!
*****UPDATE*******
I gave it only 4 stars because the editing was terrible. Didnt really scare me this time, but definitely kept my focus. I'd recommend it!
*****UPDATE*******
I gave it only 4 stars because the editing was terrible. Didnt really scare me this time, but definitely kept my focus. I'd recommend it!
October 19, 2025
If you loved those 80's low budget B horror movies back in the day, you will love this! This book would have been a great choice to be made into one of those. This was surprisingly not bad at all.
A young couple down on their luck get a chance to be caretakers at a large cemetery in Colorado with a large paycheck included. Of course its too good to be true, and all hell breaks loose. A evil cult is trying to bring back its elderly members buried in the cemetery thru sacrifices and reincarnation of a nun accused of witchcraft. Yeah, its wild. The Occult Madonna oversees all this madness and makes several appearances.
A young couple down on their luck get a chance to be caretakers at a large cemetery in Colorado with a large paycheck included. Of course its too good to be true, and all hell breaks loose. A evil cult is trying to bring back its elderly members buried in the cemetery thru sacrifices and reincarnation of a nun accused of witchcraft. Yeah, its wild. The Occult Madonna oversees all this madness and makes several appearances.
June 4, 2023
A friend recommended this book to me and I'm glad they did. A young couple, out of work and scraping to get by, take a job that sounds too good to be true: caretakers of an old cemetery. One night on watch for vandals, Vince walks the grounds and sees two red eyes staring out from an old crypt. The forces lurking within the mausoleums soon have Vince and Mary in their grasp, and the horror continues to unfold from there. A dark tale of horror that will make you think twice about taking a cemetery walking tour. I will definitely be reading more of this author's books.
August 27, 2025
Interesting, if somewhat shocking book. Played out very much like a B movie. Hawk played a lot into sexual imagery for a good bit of this one, with some fantastical twists. Not sure I'd consider it a book I'll think back on much, but I don't think it's quite something I regret reading.
June 15, 2025
Love the 80’s cover. Book was decent in parts but a little too silly at times as well.
February 23, 2011
There are not alot of books lately that are thrilling me I am afraid....This one had elderly people as the good guys and that in itself was weird...Then the demon could have been a whole lot better....I have for sure had nightmares better than this book...Pass it up if you see it!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews