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The Ghost of Longthorn Manor and Other Stories
A woman watches from a high window as her brother approaches the house... A little girl realizes that her family's new home is trying to warn her about something... A teenager with a debilitating mental health problem starts hearing a scratching sound, coming from the attic... The Ghost of Longthorn Manor and Other Stories is a collection of short horror stories by Amy Cross. From families looking to start over in a new house, to people trying to scrape a living in a harsh world, all the characters in these stories have one thing in common. They're all about to find that death isn't necessarily the end, and that some houses harbor the most terrifying secrets. The Ghost of Longthorn Manor and Other Stories contains the new stories The Ghost of Longthorn Manor, Black Pages, Isn't This the House..., Touched, My Father's House, The Swimming Pool and The House Speaks, plus a completely new version of The Writer. This book contains scenes of violence, as well as strong language.
486 pages, Paperback
Published February 28, 2017
193 people are currently reading
265 people want to read
About the author
Amy Cross
664 books1,677 followersAmy Cross writes novels and short stories in a number of genres, mainly horror, paranormal and fantasy. Books include The Farm, Annie's Room, The Island, Eli's Town and Asylum.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
March 31, 2023
Sometimes, there are books that captivate you from the very first moment, and keep you hanging on until the very last page. You absolutely cannot look away from these (and maybe you miss your subway stop. It happens. Oh, just us? Okay.) 😉 intriguing.....
February 19, 2018
This is an excellent collection of weird/strange/unsettling stories. Several are what I would call “horrific” and they are less my cup of tea, but most are moody and slowly, steadily build a subtle “hair standing on the back of the neck” feeling. Plus, many involve rambling, isolated houses - always a perfect setting. Read them slowly (I did) and savor.
July 10, 2017
A really good read
This book was Amy Cross at her best. These short stories were a joy to read, being both scary and intriguing at the same time. The twist at the end of the zombie tale was a masterstroke of creative writing.
This book was Amy Cross at her best. These short stories were a joy to read, being both scary and intriguing at the same time. The twist at the end of the zombie tale was a masterstroke of creative writing.
January 5, 2018
It's a shame to have a mostly negative review as my first on this site, but that's the way it has to be unfortunately.
The first story, the titular "Ghost of Longthorn Manor" started off the whole book really well, with a nice twist in the tale, albeit one you could guess fairly early on.
However, the rest of the collection was rather disappointing by comparison. The supernatural happenings of the tales lacked, for my taste, sufficient explanation or resolution. I understand the desire to leave a little mystery and not explain everything, but a lot the stories just ended with basically "the protagonist succumbs to the paranormal thing despite them somehow narrating the story in the first person".
The language used also bothered me, although I will acknowledge this is probably down to my own personal pickiness. Some of the stories seemed to be set in the US and some were clearly set in England, but the stories supposedly told by American characters used a lot of British slang, while those apparently with English characters used American phrases and idioms. This, for me, was very jarring, and diminished the atmosphere of the tales.
Additionally, I found the 'twist' of the final story "The Writer", which I think was supposed to be creepy and thought-provoking, to just be laughably cheesy, almost like something from a parody.
Perhaps other horror/ghost story fans might enjoy this collection more, but it wasn't for me, sadly.
The first story, the titular "Ghost of Longthorn Manor" started off the whole book really well, with a nice twist in the tale, albeit one you could guess fairly early on.
However, the rest of the collection was rather disappointing by comparison. The supernatural happenings of the tales lacked, for my taste, sufficient explanation or resolution. I understand the desire to leave a little mystery and not explain everything, but a lot the stories just ended with basically "the protagonist succumbs to the paranormal thing despite them somehow narrating the story in the first person".
The language used also bothered me, although I will acknowledge this is probably down to my own personal pickiness. Some of the stories seemed to be set in the US and some were clearly set in England, but the stories supposedly told by American characters used a lot of British slang, while those apparently with English characters used American phrases and idioms. This, for me, was very jarring, and diminished the atmosphere of the tales.
Additionally, I found the 'twist' of the final story "The Writer", which I think was supposed to be creepy and thought-provoking, to just be laughably cheesy, almost like something from a parody.
Perhaps other horror/ghost story fans might enjoy this collection more, but it wasn't for me, sadly.
August 20, 2017
Very good collection of stories. I felt the first one dragged a little. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th were interesting and creepy. The 5th story- Black Pages - had an intriguing hook (making me wonder again how she comes up with these ideas). However, it was difficult not to get irritated at the main character in that story.
I actually really liked the "zombie" story - The Swimming Pool - and I don't typically like them. But it has a good twist so worth reading.
The final story had an interesting twist, although it felt more to me like a Twilight Zone story than pure horror - although what happened to the character was horrific.
There were some minor typos, grammatical errors but can be overlooked because the stories were entertaining. All in a good collection from a very versatile writer.
I actually really liked the "zombie" story - The Swimming Pool - and I don't typically like them. But it has a good twist so worth reading.
The final story had an interesting twist, although it felt more to me like a Twilight Zone story than pure horror - although what happened to the character was horrific.
There were some minor typos, grammatical errors but can be overlooked because the stories were entertaining. All in a good collection from a very versatile writer.
did-not-finish
February 6, 2017'Borrowed' through Kindle Unlimited. Read two stories. Really quite good concepts, but poor writing. The first is marred by anachronistic language being used by people who are supposed to be speaking/writing in the 1960s. The second has awful dialogue that feels like it's been assembled using a Generic American Teenager text generator, with 'lame-ass' and 'like, totally' and 'goddamn' inserted at seemingly random points. Plus there's a continuity error. A shame, because I think I could have loved this if it'd had decent editing.
September 19, 2018
I love this writer for a reason. This book was such a treat. I enjoyed her writing style the most.
Among all the stories, my father's house was the one I loved the most. Next comes the house speaks, it also had an interesting perspective... creepy as how many different ages a building experiences.
Among all the stories, my father's house was the one I loved the most. Next comes the house speaks, it also had an interesting perspective... creepy as how many different ages a building experiences.
April 6, 2019
I really enjoyed reading the Ghost of Longthorn Manor and other stories. I love a good ghost story and these were all well written with characters that I could get behind. I also found that each of the stories brought something unique to the table which really mixed it up for me. Overall a good read.
March 2, 2017
Another great book from Amy Cross. The stories were scary. Some more scarier than the others were.
The story about the Zombies I had to skip over. I found that it just had too much foul language mostly using God's name in vain. The other stories I did enjoy.
The story about the Zombies I had to skip over. I found that it just had too much foul language mostly using God's name in vain. The other stories I did enjoy.
January 9, 2018
Cortos pero buenos algunos no tanto
Algunas historias muy buenas están cortas y otras no ya to son más repetitivas. Prefiero una sola historia más elaborada pero estos cuentos están bien.
Algunas historias muy buenas están cortas y otras no ya to son más repetitivas. Prefiero una sola historia más elaborada pero estos cuentos están bien.
March 26, 2018
Excellent stories
There were a few editing errors, doesn't detract from the reading. I love this collection of stories. Some were my favorite, other stories still a curl up relax and read with a hot cup of tea.
There were a few editing errors, doesn't detract from the reading. I love this collection of stories. Some were my favorite, other stories still a curl up relax and read with a hot cup of tea.
June 11, 2018
Fantastic book!
I truly enjoyed this book and always enjoy your books. I have never been disappointed with any book by this author, and can't wait to read more! Thank you for sharing your gift with us ,your readers, and please keep writing! Thank you.
I truly enjoyed this book and always enjoy your books. I have never been disappointed with any book by this author, and can't wait to read more! Thank you for sharing your gift with us ,your readers, and please keep writing! Thank you.
June 9, 2023
The Horror of It All!
I am never disappointed in an Amy Cross book. I particularly love short horror stories. So much must be crammed into so few words, compared to a novel. Each of the stories are good.
I am never disappointed in an Amy Cross book. I particularly love short horror stories. So much must be crammed into so few words, compared to a novel. Each of the stories are good.
October 4, 2023
Book was ok, it'd just be nice to read a book without the lords name taken in vain so much I feel that authors who put so much language in books are just using filler words and lack the imagination to just write a good decent story.
May 25, 2017
Great horror!
A terrific collection of Ms. Cross's horror. All stories are scary or creepy! Some of her best of her short stories!
A terrific collection of Ms. Cross's horror. All stories are scary or creepy! Some of her best of her short stories!
July 3, 2017
A good Amy Cross book with a lot of short stories. Each one of them I found to be very good. You just can beat Amy Cross as far as haunting books.
October 23, 2017
I found it poorly edited with lots of spelling mistakes / wrong words used. The stories were predictable and lacked any sort of suspense or fear. I felt I was reading a book aimed at young teens.
December 16, 2017
Few errors
There were a few errors here and there but nothing major. I loved the stories! It felt like there was a surprise around every corner.
There were a few errors here and there but nothing major. I loved the stories! It felt like there was a surprise around every corner.
April 22, 2018
Very nice
Great collection of short stories. I am really starting to enjoy this writers style. I had a hard time putting this one down.
Great collection of short stories. I am really starting to enjoy this writers style. I had a hard time putting this one down.
May 23, 2018
Yet again and to no surprise, Cross has put together an excellent collection of horror shorts. Everything single story had me hooked. My favorite though, was the Witcharoo story. Loved it.
May 31, 2019
Fantastic Amy is a star!
August 27, 2022
Great stories, spoiled slightly a bit by the odd mistake, poor proof reading editing. e.g.
" I replies", instead of replied. "I remember the goddamn back", instead of book.
" I replies", instead of replied. "I remember the goddamn back", instead of book.
June 29, 2024
good but…
Great stories but could’ve done with out the SA and incest that was involved. Enjoyed the supernatural aspects v very much.
Great stories but could’ve done with out the SA and incest that was involved. Enjoyed the supernatural aspects v very much.
August 2, 2017
Came across this book by chance when it was recommended to me by the Amazon filters. I had never heard of Amy Cross before, but the book was horror and it was free!!, plus I love ghost stories. Man, what a wonderful surprise. This is one of the best collections of horror stories I've ever read. Not one of them is filler or even remotely mediocre. Great book, and an author I'm going to follow closely from now on. I'll make sure to grab some more of her stuff, although she seems to have written tons of books... Where to start? The threshold was set very high with this one...
March 17, 2017
Old style ghost stories
Old fashioned writing getting back to
mysterious hauntings in a traditional manner.
Very easy to read and great value for the price.
I couldn't put the book down
Old fashioned writing getting back to
mysterious hauntings in a traditional manner.
Very easy to read and great value for the price.
I couldn't put the book down
February 5, 2022
A series of short horror stories, some more gruesome than the others. I do prefer stories with more psychological horror and mystery over those that are gruesome and gory. Quite a few of the stories rely on a sudden ending to emphasize the horror, which i find tedious. I prefer a book with more resolution, even if the ending is an unhappy or dark one.
February 23, 2017
Quite scary.
Some good stories in this book, but not good enough for five star. This book is let down by two tales, although are first class.
Some good stories in this book, but not good enough for five star. This book is let down by two tales, although are first class.
December 21, 2016
Great As Usual
Great collection of stories from ghosts to zombies to just plain spooky, crazy people. Ms. Cross has another great collection and I couldn't put it down until I finished it!
Great collection of stories from ghosts to zombies to just plain spooky, crazy people. Ms. Cross has another great collection and I couldn't put it down until I finished it!
January 5, 2017
Brilliant
Yet another great read loved every short story in this book especially the one with the zombie's and the horrific one at the end got me gripped from page one till the end loved it thank yo Amy Cross
Yet another great read loved every short story in this book especially the one with the zombie's and the horrific one at the end got me gripped from page one till the end loved it thank yo Amy Cross
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews