The Legend of the Albino Farm

by Steve Yates

The Legend of the Albino Farm is a horror story turned inside out. What if a thriving family were saddled with an unshakable spook tale? And what if that lore cursed them with an unending whirlwind of destruction from thrill seekers, partiers, bikers, and Goths? Hettienne Sheehy is about to inherit this devouring legacy. Last child to bear a once golden name, she is heiress to a sprawling farm in the Missouri Ozarks. During summer, childhood idylls in the late 1940s, Hettienne has foreseen all this apocalyptic fury in frightening, mystifying visions. Haunted by a whirling augury, by a hurtful spook tale, and by a property that seems to doom all who would dare own it, in the end, Hettienne will risk everything to save the family she truly loves.

The Legend of the Albino Farm has haunted two generations of Sheehys and marred all memory of the family’s glory days. Worse, this spooky lore now draws revelers, druggies, motorcycle gangs, hippies, and later Goths to trample the land, set bonfires, and vandalize its structures, all while Hettienne’s aged aunts cling to privacy, sanity, and a rapidly deteriorating thirteen-room mansion..

From her youth, throughout her marriage and her rearing of her children, the Legend of the Albino Farm and the curse of the Sheehys drag at her and her family like a vortex. Haunted by a whirling augury, by a hurtful spook tale, and by a relentlessly judgmental Ozarks city, in the end, Hettienne believes she must make decisions that might compromise her family’s financial security but will severe them from an ever more dangerous legacy.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction

225 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 17, 2017

Reviews

[Diane S ☔ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once the Sheehy family homestead was a beautiful place, a place where cousins came to spend the summer. Golden times in youth , when though you can sense the strain in the adult relationships, you don't really understand them. Hettienne will be the last of the Sheehy, will someday inherit it all. That is if the visions she experiences don't land her in a mental facility. One of her visions and an act by her favorite uncle will give rise to the rumors of a group of Albinos living at the place, and the beginning of the story of hauntings.

This does not really pigeonhole into any one genre, it contains crossovers from many. The Ozark mountains and stories, families in all their messiness, and a tale told by many that brings untold consequences and divisions within the family. The author does not hold your hand while telling this tale, sometimes it is hard to piece together exactly what is going on, what it means. Despite that I found this story intriguing, mysterious, and identified with stories about summers spent with cousins and family, remembering good times that will never come again. In fact I guess the best way I can describe this novel is to say it is like those stories, a little weird, a little strange, cautionary tale told around the campfire.

[Phil Overeem · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a must-read for any Springfield, Missouri, bibliophile or former/current thrillseeker who's spent time in the vicinity of the title patch of turf--it delivers a very surprising punch regarding that. Genre-wise, it's a little hard to categorize: it's not simply horror or mystery or modern gothic (that last is close to a peg); it's perfect young adult lit for rising high school readers, though it's not really designed to be; it even has a toe in historical fiction. Themes: the pressures and expectations of family; the challenge of being an outsider; the passage of time; plain ol' respect. I found it a little overwritten--stilted, too--early on, but the story, characters, and vibe eventually seduced me into muting that caveat.

[Susan Perabo · Rating 5 out of 5]

"At least with Cousin David here she felt the bright possibility of everything returning to summer again, becoming the Headley's Emerald Park again, what the farm had been called before the Sheehys had bought it, a place of Old Springfield legend where the only dreams that came true arrived in daylight and were never bad."

In "The Legend of the Albino Farm," summers are lost, dreams are fractured, and pasts and futures are visioned and re-visioned. A vivid cast of struggling characters, led by the memorable Hettienne Sheehy, a woman saddled forever with the local legend she helped to create. Beautifully written (see above!), laced with humor, and full of Steve Yates' affectionate attention to the details that bring these characters, their farm, and their town, fully to life.

[Steve Wiegenstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully drawn main character, Hettienne Sheehy, is the most appealing feature of this intriguing and original book. The story, based on the real-life situation of a family who lived near Springfield, Missouri, and who became the objects of local mythmaking, leads us into the workings of a large and intricate family whose farm slowly falls into decline as the propensity for local macabre tale-telling swirls around it. Well worth the read!

[Emily Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although the writing twists and is hard to follow in places, in other places it is a perfect example of story telling. A true southern gothic story. I was hooked from the beginning and really enjoyed this tragic story.

[Michael Downs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steve Yates has created a thrilling world of real eccentrics and real emotional complexity. This story is a reminder that who believes a legend and who doesn't––and why––can matter more than the legend itself.

[Dorreen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mercifully short. Not sure even now what the precise
Point was, though the reader (audiobook) drove me nuts with mispronunciation at times ( Manna rhymes with Hannah, not Donna... and to mistake condescension for condensation is unforgivable). In short, my overarching thought on the story itself is “meh”. Not good. Not bad. Not in the least suspenseful, and definitely not “horror”. I found the prose to be pretentiously overblown. Having said that, I LOVED the 3 mad aunts. A book about them would have been preferable to one about Hettienne, one of the few protagonists for whom I can muster barely an ounce of affinity.

[Marci · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-done family history and events set in the Ozarks, where I am from also. Some subplots are set around horses, also well done. It is not a ghost story, or a horror novel. Overall enjoyable reading.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. I'm not sure really what the point of this story was. It's NOT horror AT ALL; having a character that has a few visions when she's an emotional hormonal pre-teen does not make a horror novel. The dialogue was so incredibly unbelievable....nobody talks like that in real life. And while I wasn't alive in the time period this book is set, I'm pretty sure nobody talked like that back then either. Especially not in the freaking Ozarks. Nobody's motivations made any sense. They would have made sense if the author had bothered to elaborate on any of them.

A few random irritations:
-Calling a character by a nickname with no set up or elaboration. It took me a good 5 minutes of listening to figure out who the heck Charlemagne was.
-David. That character sucks so much it's ridiculous. The MOST unbelievable character right after Hettienne.
-Labeling this as a horror novel when it's barely a story. It's more like a young adult family drama.
-The UNGODLY amount of similes. Like is probably used 100000 in this book. I have a strong feeling the writer wants this to be a movie because the over-description of the most minor details is agonizing.

Ugh. Whatever. Thank goodness it was short.

[Elizabeth Thomas · Rating 1 out of 5]

All I can do is pat myself on the back for having the perseverance to finish this book. Please be aware that if you are looking for any type of spooky plot line, you won't find it here. A long and drawn out story, little if any resolution, and a thousand plot lines that were abandoned and never addressed. Thoroughly disappointed.

[Nancy Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

Albino farm

Well I read this book because I grew up and live around Springfield. I would give it a 3.5 really. Strange tale not sure I like how it ended. Drags in areas in the middle of the book. I am glad though that I did read it to fill in some info

[Dawn Larsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish there were half stars. I would give it a 3 1/2. If you grew up around Springfield, MO, this is a must read and it will bring back lots of memories. The story wasn’t as engaging as I would’ve liked it to be, but maybe that’s because I grew up much further south of there.

[Myra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sometimes you keep reading a book, hoping that it will get better again and will live up to the expectations.

This book failed to do that. There's a good story possibility here, but it just didn't happen for me.

[Chelsea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m from Springfield so I’ve heard of The Albino Farm and I liked that I was familiar with the area the story took place but the overall storytelling was unusually choppy.

[Pete · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engaging book about a family's past that darkens its future.

[Maridith Geuder · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Steve Yates' writing, and I'm a big fan of his larger works. I like this story, but I longed for more.