Hell Hollow

by Ronald Kelly

From out of a shadowy backwoods hollow, echoes a dark threat from the past, nearly a century lost and forgotten.

The rural town of Harmony, Tennessee possessed a disturbing secret; a secret so ancient that most of its residents were completely unaware of it. Even the last survivors of a vigilante raid long ago have filed the tragic events of that autumn night away, totally unaware of the evil that remains, dormant, but forever patient, among the tall pines and thick-leaved kudzu of a place known only as Hell Hollow.

There it would have remained, unrevealed, if not for a handful of unknowing participants. Four kids, bored for excitement during one of the hottest summers on record. A killer on the run, dodging his latest atrocity. And a rape victim on a deadly mission — scarred in both body and mind. All have a hand in bringing forth an unspeakable evil from the dark woods of Hell Hollow.

He is a skeletal figure in top hat and tails, brandishing a handful of magical cards and a patented elixir that was brewed in the very depths of Purgatory.

Genres: Horror, Fiction

442 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Ronald Kelly was born and raised in the hills and hollows of Middle Tennessee. He became interested in horror as a child, watching the local "Creature Feature" on Saturday nights and "The Big Show"---a Nashville-based TV show that presented every old monster movie ever made ---in the afternoons after school. In high school, his interest turned to horror literature and he read such writers as Poe, Lovecraft, Matheson, and King. He originally had dreams of becoming a comic book artist and created many of his own superheroes. But during his junior year, the writing bug bit him and he focused his attention on penning short stories and full-length novels. To date, he has had thirteen novels and twelve short fiction collections published. In 2021, his extreme horror collection, THE ESSENTIAL SICK STUFF, won a Splatterpunk Award for Best Collection.

He currently lives in Brush Creek, Tennessee with his wife, young'uns, and an ultra-hyper Jack Russel named Toby.

Reviews

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

While it is awesome that after a hiatus Kelly got back to writing again, Hell Hollow did not impress. What is it about established horror authors feeling the need to write a coming of age epic? Maybe it started with King's It, but McCammon's Boy's Life falls into this category as well, and of course Simmons' Summer of Night. Hell Hollow seems to be Kelly giving this trope the old college try.

Hell Hollow features Keith, a spoiled 12 yo boy from Atlanta. While his mother is from Harmony, Tennessee, she up and left for Atlanta, married a lawyer there, and basically turned her back on her roots. Her father, aged 95 or so, she hardly visits. Yet, when she and her hubbie decide to spend a month in Europe, they decide to send Keith to her father. Keith does not want to go; a month in rubes ville? The grandfather, however, is really happy, as he will finally have a chance to bond with the youngster.

Well, Keith arrives with a bad attitude, pissing off gramps, but he does make some friends-- his cousin Rusty, his buddy Chuck, and Maggie, a tomboy Rusty hangs with. Maybe the summer will not be so bad after all! Close to the town of Harmony, however, is Hell Hollow, a place shunned by the townies and the location of a dark secret. Via Keith's grandfather's dreams we learn of what took place 90 years ago in Harmony, when a 'snake oil' salesman sold his wares, which were actually poison, and which proved to kill several people, mainly kids. Well, the townies formed a posse and killed the man, whose remains (and his wagon) now lie in Hell Hollow, forgotten and shunned, until Keith induces his pals to go down to Hell Hollow to check it out...

I love Kelly's rambling, down home prose, but he really lays it on with a trowel here; with "you funnin me," "dangblastit" and all kinds of southern slang peppering the prose. The 'city kid in the country' theme got a lot of mileage as well as Keith learns and starts to love the down home country ways. All fine and good, but the plot? Pretty thin and predictable. All in all, not the best by Kelly by far, but still kinda addicting once you get going. 2.5 stars, rounding up as I have a signed edition.

[Latasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a big fan of Ronald Kelly and this one did not disappoint. Hell Hollow is scary yet touching. The horror is definitely here but it's also about a grandson and his grandfather getting to know each other and bonding. There's a story line that is about revenge. The characters are great, the location feels like it's just down the road. I think any fan of Ronald Kelly's other stories will enjoy this one as will fans of southern horror.
I listened to the audio book. J. Rodney Turner reads this one and he does such an amazing job! He was great to listen to.

*I received this audio book in exchange for a review. This is my own and honest review. *

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

From out of a shadowy backwoods hollow, echoes a dark threat from the past, nearly a century lost and forgotten. The rural town of Harmony, Tennessee, possessed a disturbing secret; a secret so ancient that most of its residents were completely unaware of it. Even the last survivors of a vigilante raid long ago have filed the tragic events of that autumn night away, totally unaware of the evil that remains, dormant, but forever patient, among the tall pines and thick-leaved kudzu of a place known only as Hell Hollow. There it would have remained, unrevealed, if not for a handful of unknowing participants. Four kids, bored for excitement during one of the hottest summers on record. A killer on the run, dodging his latest atrocity. And a rape victim on a deadly mission...scarred in both body and mind. All have a hand in bringing forth an unspeakable evil from the dark woods of Hell Hollow. He is a skeletal figure in top hat and tails, brandishing a handful of magical cards and a patented elixir that was brewed in the very depths of Purgatory.
Its horror set in the small country town of Harmony, Tennessee. Instead of horror with an extraterrestrial clown demon or burned up boogeyman, we get a demonic dark magician as our antagonist.

He comes with his amazing elixir and the promise that it will cure any, and all, ailments. But unless this is your first horror story, you know that it does anything, and probably everything, BUT that. After tricking and killing several of the gullible townsfolk, he is hunted down and killed.

Now...move ahead 90-years to a haunted spot in the woods called "Hell Hollow" by the townsfolk in this little Tennessee town. This it seems is his "not so final" resting place. Wicked laughter can be heard by anyone who ventures too close. The spooky man is back, and he's back with a vengeance. Four 12-year-old friends stumble on the evil villain who is in disguise and are tricked into a world found only in their dreams, which you can imagine, turns into their absolutely worst nightmare.

Will the town be doomed, or will, or can, the evil magician be stopped by these meddling 12-year-olds and the other equally questionable characters they pick up along the way? If you love horror, then I highly recommend "Hell Hollow". It's exciting, comes with an original plot along with a fantastic bunch of crazy characters, all in a quaint little southern town setting. Oh...and it also has a wickedly cool bad guy, that you might find yourself feeling a bit sorry for.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

A 90 year old threat has resurfaced in the small town of Harmony, Tennessee.

A horror that was put to bed years ago, given new life with the unknowing help of four kids and a masochistic murderer/rapist on the run.

They should have stayed away from the Hollow.

Because, now comes the Hell part…

A very well done and entertaining tale of small town horror with excellent characterizations and an evenly paced, engaging storyline. I dug it.

A solid 4+ Stars! I look forward to reading more from this author.

[Richard K. Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where do I start!? A NEW favorite coming of age 'classic' for me! I LOVED this book....

When I think of Ronald Kelly and his writing....I automatically think of the first book of his I had read and that was 'FEAR'.....and I really really enjoyed it. In fact I gave it a near 5 star review. But, now when I will think of this author "Hell Hollow" will be what I tell everyone to read of his. Yes; I LOVED this book that much! So I just got done reading this about 10 minutes ago......I do not know whether to smile or get a tear in my eyes. The tale of a dark, and pure evil man who comes to the town of Harmony, Tennessee almost 90 years ago, and leaves the darkest of dark shadows on it's people; is a tale you are not soon to forget.

Teenagers Rusty, his visiting from the city cousin Keith and their friends Chuck ( who is wheelchair bound) and Maggie are experiencing one of the hottest summers on record in the town of Harmony. For the next month and a couple days these will be the days that these 4 kids will NEVER ever forget, for this will be the summer that changes their lives. Almost 90 years ago, one of their family members thought he got rid of the most vile and evil of creatures ever to come to town. But 90 years later he has come back and they and the townspeople are about to experience that darkness and EVIL has come back to Harmony, and it is an evil you and they will never forget.

Kelly writes such horrifying yet beautiful (can I say that about horror?) horror in a way that this is a book to savor, and read on a day just going into Fall and or at the end of Summer. But be ready, Doctor Augustus Leech is an evil that you will remember until you too grow old. If you can (and are lucky enough to find it....) find this book........read it!

5 WELL deserved 💀💀💀💀💀

[DJMikeG · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of Ronald Kelly's work. His 80s and 90s novels are fantastic slices of imaginative southern fried horror. This was a lost book that was written in the mid 90s and not released until a few years ago. It starts off great, with many different plotlines and characters weaved together with skill. But somewhere around the beginning of the final third of the novel, the wheels start to come off a little bit. I raced through the first two thirds of the book and the final third took me weeks to slog through. Once the book focuses on the dreams of the characters it becomes pretty boring and repetitive. It sort of devolves into a "Nightmare on Elm Street" ripoff that isn't very entertaining or interesting. Unfortunately this goes on for way too long, effectively killing the momentum setup in the book's great two thirds. The climax is decent enough and wraps the story up nicely enough. The bloated dream sequences kind of ruined this book for me, but it was still a bit better than a "just okay" or mediocre read, as Kelly's writing is great. Some severe editing down of the dream sequences would have helped this book out immensely. If you are interested in Ronald Kelly's stuff, I wouldn't recommend starting here, as its far from his best stuff. For Kelly fans, read all the old stuff first.

[Kevin Lucia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sorry it's taken me this long to check out a Ronald Kelly novel. Loved his painting of a small Southern town. Looking forward to digging into more of his work.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hell Hollow is a thoroughly southern novel. For a yankee like me, it was like traveling to an entirely different world. The farms, the clothing, the food and the phrases are minor detailed touches that create an air of authenticity. It really makes you feel as if you are there with the characters.

The story itself is imaginative and rather thrilling at times. I enjoyed how the story spanned 90 years, bringing the grandfather into the thick of the story. The scenes with Allison, the rape victim, were some of the very best in the novel. Hell Hollow is a well balanced story, allowing neither the light nor dark moments to overwhelm the story.

For a thrilling horror novel, it doesn't showcase much that is too grotesque. Ronald Kelly's writing here avoids shock tactics and the gross out factor, allowing the reader to become emotionally invested in the characters. Things become a bit repetitive towards the end of the novel and the story seems to lose a little momentum. The focus seems to shift from the bad guy to the bonding of loved ones which I believe may alienate readers who have waited over 450 pages to get to the climax.

Overall, I really enjoyed the novel. It isn't terrifying by any means and had a few flaws, but the premise is solid and the pages flew by. I would definitely recommend Hell Hollow to anyone interested in expanding their reading into the horror genre without risking nightmares.

[Robin Wright · Rating 2 out of 5]

*This is a review of an ARC copy I received from the publisher. Some of the problems I focus on could very well be non-existant in the final copy*

I wanted to like this book. The premise is interesting, it had multiple story lines that came together, and it was horror. Plus, the cover looked cool. Well, I am disappointed.

A good novel has the ability to suspend reality, but a good horror novel needs to suspend it to the point where you aren't comfortable shutting off that last light and your pulse doesn't slow down until you have made sure all of the windows and doors are locked. There are far too many characterization errors in HELL HOLLOW for that to have occurred, at least for me.

The characters all seem to be part of a mass stereotype conspiracy. The "backwoods" inhabitants all speak with southern cliche's. In fact, the book is riddled with enough of them that when the author did NOT use a cliche, I was jolted out of reading.

The characters of the preteen children (ages 12) were also dated. They used slang words like "rad" and "dude" (ok, I'll give him "dude") to the point where I was confused about when this was taking place. I thought perhaps I was mistaken and that the novel took place in the 1980's, in which case, a little stereotyping and cliche could be forgiven for the sake of creating a sense of time, but then he references an iPod. Does the author know of any 12 year olds that use "rad" anymore? All he had to do was hang out in a skate park for an hour on a Saturday to get current the terminology correct. I worked with preteens and have a good sense of what they sound like, and the disorienting use of terms really ruined this book for me. That is because there are A LOT of them.

Another strange example of the author's lack of current teen slang is having a 12 year old punk from the city of Atlanta referencing "Gary Cooper", an actor from the silver screen. I seriously had a hard time imagining that kid watching old westerns, or that the 3 other preteens he had been talking to would even have know who Gary Cooper was. His cousin, sure, but not the punk, the tomboy, or the boy who sits in his room making models. There were a lot of these dated references as well as verbiage and phrases coming from the character's mouths that never really fit the character, but sound very much like the narrator.

The author seemed to have a hard time making distinct character voices. Whenever the author was not using something that was woefully stereotypical, the voices often sounded very much the same from one character to another. This problem was compounded by the fact that the author decided to use third person omniscient to tell the story and bounces around from one point of view to another, at one point changing points of view in the same paragraph.

This could have been a great book with more editing and perhaps another rewrite. The book is 500 pages, but I feel that it could have been cut to 400 with some tightening up and some of the repetitive parts deleted. It definitely reads like a first or second draft. There are only two typo's that I found, towards the end, and hell, typo's aren't a big deal (and that is a typesetter thing, besides). This author is very imaginative, and I have the feeling that after a few more books critiqued and his characterization skills sharpened, I'll be impressed. However, I can't say that I'd want to read this book again. I almost didn't make it through this time.

[Alex Telander · Rating 3 out of 5]

Posted with permission from the Sacramento Book Review

There’s something enrapturing about a story involving some kids who are heroes that save the day. It reminds us of times when we were young, going out on fantasy adventures in our own little worlds. Hell Hollow is one of those stories set in the rural town of Harmony, Tennessee. The secret of the evil of Hell Hollow has been hidden and forcibly forgotten by its residents for a long time, until it is awakened and will involve four bored kids looking for some excitement during their summer. Then there is the killer who has yet to be captured, on the run from the law, continuing to mercilessly kill. And the rape victim who is on a specific mission. All of these characters will play a part in Ronald Kelly’s Hell Hollow. Kelly uses a descriptive, colorful writing style that matches the tone and plot of the book, keeping you hooked.

For more reviews, check out the BookBanter site.

[Paul Preston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coming of age horror with hints of Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes. Not a traveling carnival in this one but a traveling cure-all salesman. Great story friendship and family and a ninety year old curse that has come back for revenge.

[Niko · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a good coming of age story and Hell Hollow is exactly that! I tore though this story so quickly, I just couldn't put it down. I switched between my physical copy and the audiobook version just so I could continue. The narrator J Rodney Turner was just perfection for this story, his southern accent elevated the story for me and I loved it so much. Ronald Kelly is such a master at weaving a great characters and a great story. I'm also from Tennessee and Kelly was able to transport me directly into one of the small towns I've seen here.

[Brennan LaFaro · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've yet to meet a Ronald Kelly story that didn't wrap its loving, yet sharp-taloned, hands around me and draw me in. Hell Hollow is no exception. Kelly excels at writing from the perspective of young children, and despite exploring multiple points of view, that's where we spend the bulk of our time in this tome.
Keith may not be as instantly likable as Jed from Fear, for example, but the book gives him space to breathe and develop before our eyes. It also helps that he's surrounded by a variety of endearing characters in Rusty, Maggie, and Chuck. There are pages galore where the reader gets to know these kids through their (mis)adventures. At times, it almost feels like Kelly is straying too far from the narrative, but the development pays off whenever one of these beloved characters is put in danger, especially with the dangers being so personal to each kid.
With that in mind, the forays into imagination and dreaming struck me as an element to separate Hell Hollow from other coming-of-age stories where kids in a small town band together to banish a seemingly-immortal evil. That and Augustus Leech, evil enough of his own, Kelly imbues him with more than a dash of real-world evil.
Protagonists you can root for, an antagonist you can root against, and a unique spin on the sub-genre. What more could you ask for?

[Debra · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was hoping for a lot more from this book (something in-depth and really spooky), and it just fell short. Character development was poor and stereotypical. The plot was pretty predictable, and didn't raise a single hair on my head! The heroes have very little trouble fighting the evil villain; which is just hard to believe. The author glosses over any of the nasty stuff. If you want a great read where kids fight an evil terror set out to take over their town, read Stephen King's IT. Skip this one!

[Tamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

HELL HOLLOW is 4+ stars and worth the read. Kelly writes with darkness and ease. Being from a southern background, I could really feel this story wrap around me and didn't want to put it down. If you're looking for an outright horror, slasher story, do not set yourself up for disappointment here nor the author for a negative review. If you're looking for a well-written ominous treat, give this book a go.

[Ken · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book ! Ronald Kelly has done it again, awesome.

[Shawn Bramanti · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took a bit to get into this one. At first the groundwork was laid for the main character, who came off as fairly unlikeable. Maybe that was the point, to set him up to show how profound a change the rest of the story has on him making him a different person. Anyway, once the setting is in place the story rolls along and it isn't a bad story, it just did not really completely click into place for me. As happens in many books the coincidences that occur to make the story come to its final conclusion can either be too distracting to allow you to get into the rest of the story or they can seem perfectly reasonable. In this case while reading the book they did not seem to be too implausible, but after thinking about them after the fact I guess they did not really hang together like they should leaving me hanging so to speak. A perfect review of this book is would I read a sequel, probably not.

[Tommy · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a southerner and a horror fiend, I really liked this. The characters and setting had me feeling right at home and the villain was fun and unique even if his motivations weren't especially interesting. Really, the only thing holding this one back for me was that it alternated between two plot threads and the B plot was undercooked in a way that made me question its inclusion altogether. That's a pretty minor gripe, though; most of this book entertained the hell out of me.

I'm gonna have to give Ronald Kelly's work a more thorough look sometime soon!

[Deedra · Rating 4 out of 5]

audible:I really liked this book.In Hell Hollow two boys take their sick pup to a magic man for healing.To their delight and horror,he does.A true scarey book for the ages. J.Rodney Turner was a very good narrator.I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.' 

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again Ron knows how to bring characters alive and believable. One of my favorite authors. Awesome story with a hero effect. Thoroughly enjoyed this book.

[Bradly Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one is packed full of adventure! Coming of age, good vs evil, horrors of the past. Great characters and a nicely spun tale.

[Stéphane · Rating 3 out of 5]

First half is a quite good coming of age horror novel with nice characters. The second half lost me with the dream stuff. It felt out of place. Too bad.

[Deanna Marzolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has everything coming of age story creepy bad guy supernatural elements heroic rescue and a cliff hanger at the end.

[Geoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a pretty darn good story and it has some length to it that helps give it an epic feel. The story centers on the town of Harmony Tennessee, which is a back water small town, and its creepy history with an evil traveling medicine show man from the early 1900's. Current events center on four young kids, three are from Harmony while a fourth (Keith) is sent to live with his grandfather for a month in the summer. Keith is from Atlanta and his parents are rich, so he comes into the town as a brat, but soon he falls in love with the town and his new friends - one which is his cousin.

The story kinda has that feel of Stephen King's IT, where there's a history of an event that happened so many years ago, and the main characters are kids. But really it has nothing to do with that story, it just had a similar feel to IT. Hell Hollow's story is all it's own, Kelly has created a rich environment with the small town in Tennessee, and rich characters to follow. Plus it has a good villain: the medicine man. The story, while large, was a breeze to read. I read it in one week, and was eagerly waiting to get back to the story each day after work.

I need to emphasize that this is a story that takes you on a journey. It is a horror novel but really relies more on its storytelling and character development as its strength, over the horror elements, although it still is a creepy book. I liked this book a lot, and it is easily recommended, I think anyone who likes a good story will like this book.

[Sandra Tober spahr · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh. It was okay, but fell flat & bored me quite often. It had a lot of potential, but I felt it was pretty anticlimactic. There were mini stories as well as the main story line & they lacked suspense for me.

[Dimmy-jimmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

GOOD BOOK BUT,STORY LINE STAYED ON THE DREAM TO MUCH

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved it. If you are a fan of King or Koontz you will like it.

[Emily Haynes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Four friends must try and stop a reincarnated evil before it can carry out its plan.