The Devil's Inn: A horror thriller

by David Watkins

“I don’t want to die in a pub in Devon…”

There is a pub in the heart of Dartmoor where a fire has burned every day for over one hundred and fifty years.

It is said the fire never goes out. It is said that if it does, the Devil will appear and claim the souls of all inside.

Tonight, seven strangers are stranded there during a fierce snowstorm. Tonight, the fire will go out…

Genres: Horror

202 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 24, 2017

About the author

David Watkins lives in Devon in the UK with his wife, two sons, crazy dog and psychotic cat.

He has currently released five novels, two novellas and several short stories. Each book is well rated and reviewed on Amazon and beyond.

His most recent release is The Original's Rage, from Original Books.

"Great monsters and dynamic characters make this brutal, bloody, brilliant novel an essential read. I'll never see Exeter in the same light again!" - Tim Lebbon, The Last Storm (praise for The Exeter Incident)

"...gut twisting scenes...” 4* Joe X Young, Gingernuts of Horror (The Devil's Inn)

"..a damn entertaining read.." - DLS Reviews (The Devil's Inn)

"Watkins writes with a real flow for tension." - Steve Stred, Kendall Reviews

"Great horror! I couldn't put the book down" 4.5*, Pamela Kinney, Ismellsheep.com (The Original's Return)

He hates referring to himself in the third person, but no-one else is going to write this for him.

Dave can be found on Twitter so drop by and say hello @joshfishkins, where you'll find him ranting about horror, the British education system and Welsh rugby, but not usually at the same time.

Reviews

[Bandit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rounding up my freebie Sunday marathon of quick scary reads is this story of seven strangers who come together to battle the devil in a small Dartmoor pub. Of course, originally they only come together for food and shelter during a storm. They find both in a small local place with an old local legend that the devil himself is being warded off by the fire that has been burning at the pub for something like 150 years consistently. Now you’d think just to be on the safe side the pub’s owners would have plenty of wood around to feed the fire. Pascal’s wager logic and all that. Or even just have extra wood because it’s winter and the fireplace is what’s heating the entire place. But no…they let the fire go out and then everyone’s in for a doozy of a night. The devil turns out to be chatty, deadly and accompanied by a bunch of homicidal monks. From there on it’s just a fairly straight forward action driven battle for survival. Until the dawn’s early light. A fun quick read, pretty well written, though somewhat too heavily action based in the end. Nice spooky atmosphere, quick pacing, decent characters. The plot isn’t overwhelmingly original, familiar premise has been done and done before, but it’s fairly well executed. Nothing mindlblowing, but genre fans would probably have fun with this story. Definitely way above average for a random kindle freebie quality.

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

“It was survival, pure and simple: live through each moment and then worry about what the next one brings.” – David Watkins, The Devil’s Inn

I loved the premise of this book. Based on several old legends and myths, I was happy to find an Author’s note at the end of the book explaining the pub in the novel is, in fact, the Warren House Inn in Dartmoor.

Furthermore, the author states that “it does get cut off by snow and does indeed have a fire that has burned every day since 1845.” He’s not sure if it has ever gone out and has no intention of finding out. I don’t blame him.

The background provided by that note is one I wish I would’ve read before reading. I love information about old myths and legends and perhaps it would’ve added more depth to the tale for me. That being said, Watkins does a decent job with atmosphere and the description of the moor. Set in the depths of winter, this book would make for a good winter read, I think.

I didn’t connect as well to these characters though. Some truly devastating and disgusting (yay!) things happen in this story and I just didn’t have enough emotional investment. The gore and deaths were entertaining for what they were and I did have a good time with this book. The pacing is decent, and while I could’ve used some more exposition to break up the larger chunks of dialogue, it kept me turning the pages.

This read gets three stars from me- it’s a good read with an intriguing premise – it just lacks some of the connection I like to have with books. I plan to seek out more of Watkins’ work; keep this in mind as cooler months arrive.

[Shani White · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another outstanding novel by David Watkins, yet again he had me hooked from the moment I started reading, I couldn't put it down. As with 'The Original's Return' and 'The Original's Retribution', there is fantastic empathy with the characters who are strong and real, you feel you are living what ensues alongside them. For those who recognise the iconic setting and myths there is an added investment in the story.

A true British horror story, so much tension, and oh so much blood...

[Andrea Rodrigues · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nice action-packed slasher style horror. I enjoyed reading about the inn and the snowstorm and how all the characters make it there. However, the main lore behind the Devil and the characters were not developed enough.

[Austrian Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excuse this opener, it does have a relevance to the story:

The road to the Devil’s inn is long and winding, but always memorable, and my own journey to reading this book from David Watkins was equally indirect. A friend of mine, Kenton, from Devon (where I used to live), was one of the guests at my wedding (in Austria), some 21 years ago. Kenton had asked me for a couple of copies of my novel (3 paperbacks) a couple of Christmases ago (2020) and I sent them off to him. He got back to me that he loved the book, left a review (bless him) on Goodreads, and then a year later, brought over his daughter, his girlfriend, and their two boys, to the place I got married, St.Johann in Pongau.

Now I don’t live there. Never have, but I wasn’t going to leave a friend alone, so I took a week off work and met up with him, and showed them all the places to go – a thermal spa. I got them skiing gear and made sure they turned up at the right place for their lessons. We lent them a car for a day etc. It was fantastic seeing him again and meeting his extended family. Time well spent.

A couple of weeks after that, I received a couple of David Watkins' books, from Kenton, as a thank you. Turns out Kenny lives near (is that correct, Dave?) David, and knows him, and likes his books, and so swapped my book to Dave, and got me two signed copies of Dave's books, one of which is the Devil’s inn.

Dave then contacted me shortly before Chillercon, as I had posted that I was attending on the Saturday, and he was the first person to say hello to me, and invited me to watch his panel.

I'm easily swayed by friendliness, and honestly, Dave’s a lovely guy.

So I resolved to read his books asap.

Ok. That’s the back story. That's why I have a physical copy. How does The Devil’s Inn shape up?

Very nicely. Very nicely indeed.

There’s a certain confidence in the language, Dave gives his protagonist the same flair King gives to some of his more wicked villains – the surety of power and the confidence to lie through one’s teeth – it’s a malicious undertone that you get when he talks – it’s fantastic. There’s a killer two-liner when the mc’s have the possibility to run but know if they do, they're dead meat – and Dave sums up perfectly with :

“I wouldn’t.”


They didn’t.

Boom! Instant fan. Great lines, Dave. The action is brutal, the gore sudden and blinding clear, no camera is turned away, and you see the deaths happen in the same shocked state as the other characters. There’s a set sequence at the end that is nicely done, but honestly, you are on the edge of your seat pretty much as soon as the principal bad guy makes his appearance.

More than that, I don’t want to disclose. It's a thrill, a ride, it's tight. Dave's brought a lot of game to the table.

On this rollercoaster, no one is sacred, the stakes are high, the action intense, and the ending satisfying and believable.

I left the book wanting more, and fortunately, Dave’s got another three solo novels or novellas left for me to indulge myself in.

5 out of 5⭐’s, and next time we meet up, Dave, I hope to be able to chat longer. Great book. I suggest you all go get a copy. Hopefully, you’ll get to the inn by a less winding road, but you’ll be glad you made it. Say Hi to the devil for me when you do. We're old friends.

[susa lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well deserving of 5 stars. A must read, you will not want to put it down.

Wow, just realised I've hardly taken a breath for the last hour. You will feel the cold, taste the fear and hear your heart pounding as if you're living the nightmare.

[GBHBLOfficial · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Watkins style of writing is really enjoyable and I found it very difficult to not just read the whole book in one night. The characters are all developed carefully and immaculately. They will be very identifiable. There is a strong chance we all have a Jeff or James or Elana in our lives somewhere.
I found it very easy to imagine the way these characters looked and acted which is testament to the way they were brought to life by the author.

The story is interesting and I love how the traditional beliefs are blended in with little touches of fantasy to enhance them. There is plenty of gore and gruesome death on offer to please fans of that and even more psychological tension. A lot of this is brought by Adam (aka the devil) with his dangerous game playing and almost impish cheek mixed with devastating destruction. You also have 12 monks in robes surrounding a pub in the middle of the night which is scary enough. Christ, imagine seeing that outside your local waterhole?

Full Review at -

https://www.gbhbl.com/horror-book-rev...

[Lou Canning · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Devil’s Inn: A Horror Thriller

Exciting, entertaining and unpredictable!
I couldn’t put the book down. The characters were unique and so was the story !
Love a little devil of a read? Grab this book by the horns and enjoy!

[Terry and dog · Rating 4 out of 5]

The devil made them do it
Good story. I loved the setting and the foggy atmosphere, interesting detail and characters. Once the action got going it was hard to put down.

[Duncan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Riveting and entertaining

Well paced and interesting story. I love when authors put a twist into our old myths and legends. My on!y real criticism is that I felt the tension could have been built just a little slower as the story changes gear rather abruptly. This shouldn't put anyone off though I read it in one evening.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed it but just lacking that final unknown thing to push to 5 stars

Edit - still thinking about this book a couple weeks later so it obviously has something...bumped up to 5

[Kate Muniz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Creepy, scary, dark, delish.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fast paced gory horror that feels quite retro - in a good way. The build up feels like an episode of Tales of the Unexpected or some late night 70s drama. Interesting.

[Joe X Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I don’t want to die in a pub in Devon…”
There is a pub in the heart of Dartmoor where a fire has burned every day for over 150 years.
It is said the fire never goes out.
It is said that if it does, the Devil will appear and claim the souls of all inside.
Tonight, seven strangers are stranded there during a fierce snowstorm.
Tonight, the fire will go out…
And there you have it ladies and gentlemen, the basic premise of the story according to the back cover blurb. It is actually based on an apocryphal tale, which is a great idea. I grew up reading tales like this, the scary books of allegedly ‘true’ stories, and so I was eager to see where David Watkins took it as any tale of the Devil being let loose on the unwary in the misty moorlands of the UK should have a significant amount going for it. I wanted to enjoy this book, and… I actually did, yet that almost wasn’t the case.

Spoilers ahead. You have been warned!

I don’t normally mention a lot of plot points, however I believe there is a necessity for clarification which can’t really be achieved effectively without discussing certain elements of the plot. The reason it almost wasn’t the case is that hardly anything really happens for roughly the first 40% of the book. Now I understand that a lot of books like to give a decent build up before letting you have it with both barrels toward the end, and that is something of the case here, but I found the introduction of characters and circumstances far too long-winded.

As you are already aware by the blurb, the fire does in fact go out. The reason for this is somewhat silly given the circumstances. If the fire has burned consistently for 150 years and this is part of local legend, surely you would keep an eye on the woodpile. When I was a kid we had log/coal fires and enough common sense to make sure that we always had fuel. There were upon occasion complications with deliveries, but we improvised, finding enough to burn to ensure that we didn’t go cold. We only had to keep the cold out, not the Devil, so priorities people… priorities!

We have now established through sheer stupidity the fire has gone out. There’s a bang on the door. Can it be? Is it? Yes… It’s our old friend Satan! Woo hoo! Finally we might get to the big nasties. Oh, no, wait… More chatting. It turns out that Satan is a big fan of the slow build; he seems to want to spread his particular brand of misery in subtle ways via individuals rather than en-masse, so what better place to do it than in a pub in the middle of nowhere with just a smattering of occupants.

When things finally do take a turn for the nasty it’s vicious and gruesome and yet I still found logic problems with certain aspects of the story. Very early on we are repeatedly introduced to the shadowy figures of monks standing some distance away in near-Arctic blizzard conditions. It later transpires that they are not exactly monks, nor are they indeed any kind of supernatural entity, they are just specific people recruited by Satan. With that being the case, they should realistically have frozen to death in the extreme harsh conditions, yet that isn’t what happened (obviously). What they are really all about is a twist which clouds the potential they would have had as something supernatural. It’s a shame as the majority of the book is very well structured.

So it’s not all bad news then? No, it’s overall a book which I can actually recommend. The characterisation may well have been lengthy, but that serves to leave the reader in no doubt as to the personalities of everyone involved and when bad things do start to happen it’s served with realistic dialogue and excellent pace. Aside from the few problems I mentioned earlier this is certainly one of the better books I have read recently, and I can place my hand on my heart and say that I wanted to read more of it as it appeared to be over much too soon. It’s not often that I actually get to say that the quality was such that I wished it was a much bigger book, but I did, because I reckon that another 50 pages, even 100 pages more, would have done the story a much greater justice.

This is David Watkins’ third novel, with the previous two forming part of a series with ‘The Original’s Return’ and ‘The Original’s Retribution’ with I dare say the possibility of more to come.
​
I am giving The Devil’s Inn a four out of five as overall this was well written with interesting character development and interaction as well as some gut-twisting scenes.

[David]

One of the best I’ve read

Great book. Had a lot of fun reading it! Was cool to read that there’s an actual pub with a fire that’s been burning since the 1800’s. Look forward to more reading from this author. Great job.

[Phil Sloman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Devil's Inn is a book of two halves. It took me a bit to get into the story as we're introduced to the varying characters but once we're in The Devil's Inn and the action starts to happen the book really comes into its own. There's plenty of devilry here to satisfy lovers of the old pulp classics mixed with a page-turning style of writing as we get into the flow of things. A solid three stars for me and interested to see some of the author's other works.

[Veronik Durocher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun

I like stories in "milieu-clos". Those are harder to write but often give interesting results. Like this one did. The end.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a ride! Wow. I was glued to the screen, as “The Devil’s Inn” played out in my mind’s eye. Stumbling upon reads like this one is my drug of choice. Now I’m jonesing for more.

I loved all of the characters, but the setting was the biggest contributor to my personal enjoyment of the book. The physical building which houses most of the action, the surrounding grounds and Mother Nature all worked together to make me feel trapped in the Inn with the lot of them.

A hearth warming, heart wrenching read.

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Devil's Inn" was a nicely paced read which I whizzed through in a few hours. Set in Devon (south of England) when an unexpected snow-storm arrives two sets of unconnected travelers get stranded in a remote pub. A couple have been walking, the other three driving. The first half of this novel concerns how they arrive at the pub, with a bit of foreshadowing of what's around the corner.

Inspired by a local myth/ghost story the second half of the novel whips up the pace when things go to hell after an old myth seems to be true... If the fire goes out in the pub the Devil comes a knocking....

This was an entertaining, easy to read horror thriller. I could have done with a few more answers, but David Watkins' packs alot into this punchy enjoyable read.

[Chrissie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book, a must read. Loved it.

[Karen Fry · Rating 1 out of 5]

Is this a serious book? I have never read such drivel in my life! I pushed myself to keep reading once the characters reached the pub … then it became an utter farce! Sped read

[Daniel Lorn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a perfect horror tale to keep you company on a dark winter’s evening!

The Devil's Inn is an absorbing, atmospheric British horror tale set in an old, remote pub in Devon. What more could you want?

[Wayne Neylan · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it need to read more by this author

[Scott Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to meet the author and get a signed copy. This is a great story for anyone who visits Devon and Cornwall or is interested in its many myths.
I will be buying for from this author.