The Amulet

by Michael McDowell

When a rifle range accident leaves Dean Howell disfigured and in a vegetative state, his wife Sarah finds her dreary life in Pine Cone, Alabama made even worse. After long and tedious days on the assembly line, she returns home to care for her corpse-like husband while enduring her loathsome and hateful mother-in-law, Jo. Jo blames the entire town for her son’s mishap, and when she gives a strange piece of jewelry to the man she believes most responsible, a series of gruesome deaths is set in motion. Sarah believes the amulet has something to do with the rising body count, but no one will believe her. As the inexplicable murders continue, Sarah and her friend Becca Blair have no choice but to track down the amulet themselves, before it’s too late.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Audiobook, Gothic, Southern Gothic, Mystery, Fantasy

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

Michael McDowell is a prolific horror writer who has distinguished himself with a varied body of work within the genre. He was born in Enterprise, Alabama, in 1950 and died of AIDS-related illness in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1999.

His first horror novel, The Amulet, relates the tragedies that befall various individuals who come in possession of a supernatural pendant in a small town.

In McDowell's second novel, Cold Moon Over Babylon, a murdered woman's corpse is dispatched into a river, but her spirit roams the land, and in the evening hours it seeks revenge on her killer even as he plots the demise of her surviving relatives.

Don D'Ammassa, writing in the St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost & Gothic Writers, noted that McDowell's ability to maintain a sense of mundane normalcy against supernatural activity provides the novel with "a fine balance between reality and unreality," and he called Cold Moon Over Babylon "one of the best ghost stories ever written at novel length."

A similarly disturbing tension between dull reality and the supernatural is produced in The Elementals, wherein a host of visitors come to stay at a secluded house occupied by embodiments of elemental forces.

McDowell's Katie, meanwhile, concerns a clairvoyant serial killer whose powers of perception enable her to evade her trackers. The attractive but deranged heroine of this novel manages to conduct her murderous activities despite the awareness of her parents, who are content to derive financial gain from their daughter's crimes.

Madness is central to McDowell's Toplin, which details the vile imaginings of a man who suffers from mental illness but nonetheless determines to conduct himself within society. D'Ammassa praised Toplin as "perhaps the best novel ever written from the point of view of a schizophrenic."

Among McDowell's other writings is the six-part serial novel Blackwater, a chronicle of a southern family drawn to the supernatural. In addition, McDowell has also supplied the screenplays for various films, including director Tim Burton's horror comedy Beetlejuice and his animated production The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Stephen King called McDowell one of the "finest writers of paperback originals in America today." Tabitha King was asked to complete McDowell's unfinished novel Candles Burning, which was published in 2006 to good reviews. Concerning his career, McDowell never tried to be something he wasn't. "I am a commercial writer and I'm proud of that", he said in the book Faces of Fear in 1985. "I am writing things to be put in the bookstore next month. I think it is a mistake to try to write for the ages."

Reviews

[Char · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a good time! It contained all the good over-the-top-ness of 80's horror. (Technically this book was originally published in 1979, but I'm calling it 80's horror anyway. So sue me.)

This is another book by Mr. McDowell that was allowed to go out of print, but was brought back by Valancourt Books. (Another being the phenomenal book, The Elementals. ) With an introduction by Poppy Z. Brite (which I recommend you read AFTER you've finished the book), this novel was a tasty treat that I savored over the last week or so.

Even though this story starts off with about 5 or 6 chapters of pure description, (which I usually HATE), it captured my attention right from the get go. I was reminded of the chapters Stephen King wrote about Derry, ME and its history. If the author is talented enough they can make anything interesting and believe me, Mr. McDowell was talented, (more than) enough.

Take this southern Alabama town, populate it with the rich, the poor, the segregated, the opinionated and the lost; toss in a mysterious necklace, and then just sit back and watch people die. There's no tippy-toeing around in this novel, people die. LOTS of people die.In all kinds of creative ways too, which I thought was F-U-N, fun!

My only problem with this novel was that around the 75% mark, it got a little bit repetitive when the main character, Sarah, was dilly dallying around as to what to do. I have to say though, the ROCKING ending almost made up for that.

Overall this novel was a fantastic mix of over the top 80's cheese, excellent writing and descriptive skills, no holds barred, horror FUN. I recommend it to any fan of well written 80's horror.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Amulet is my fourth Michael McDowell book, and while it wasn't quite my favorite, it was still an amazing Gothic tale told by a master.

The book started strong with McDowell's usual picture-perfect atmosphere and world building.

...there were seasons in which Pine Cone was an exciting place to live--if you were a spectator, and not a victim.

The middle was filled with tons of fun and imaginative deaths.

She laid the child in the burning wicker bassinette, tucking it lovingly between smoldering sheets.

And the end is so freaking satisfying! This book it just another reason Michael McDowell is my favorite author.

[Grady Hendrix · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes you’re just wrong. Michael McDowell probably figured that his books would be his legacy. After all, Stephen King called him “the finest writer of paperback originals in America” and said he was “a writer for the ages.” Surely literary immortality was assured by his two screenplays for Tim Burton, Beetlejuice and The Nightmare Before Christmas. Collecting funerary ephemera was just a hobby. By now McDowell been dead for 15 years and his books are long forgotten while his massive “Death Collection,” containing everything from a tombstone salesman’s kit from the Thirties to wreaths made of dead people’s hair, was installed with great ceremony at Northwestern University.

But Stephen King wasn’t wrong. McDowell is one for the ages. In fact, he’d be called one of the great lights of Southern fiction if it wasn’t for the fact that most of his books deal with woman-eating hogs, men marrying amphibians, and vengeance-seeking lesbian wrestlers wearing opium-laced golden fingernails.

Read the rest of this review.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished this book in August, but couldn't find my rating up here.

THE AMULET was a superb, mysteriously supernatural novel by Michael McDowell. Both his characterization and atmosphere of this small town were wonderfully descriptive. While the title alone gives knowledge of what this book is about, it's the everyday occurrences, and interactions between the characters that fully bring the story to life. Captivating from first to last page, with an ending that will have you thinking for some time to come.

Highly recommended!

[Dave Edmunds · Rating 3 out of 5]

"There have to be families out there - I just don't want to have anything to do with them. I think they're violent and I think they're oppressive and I think they're manipulative - and I think they're interesting because of all those things." - Michael McDowell

3.5🌟's

Initial Thoughts

After reading Michael McDowell's sensational 'The Elementals' I got the feeling that he may just be one of the unsung heroes in the horror genre. It really did take me by surprise and had me thinking why I hadn't heard more about this guy. Based on the strength of that one book he certainly should be talked about in the same breath as Stephen King and Clive Barker. Thats my thoughts anyway.

But before I over egg the pudding I feel that I need to experience a bit more of what McDowell has to offer. And why not start right at the beginning with his very first published novel. 1979's The Amulet. Strangely enough the year I was born. Yes, find a first edition paperback and the cracks on that spine will match the wrinkles on my face. But enough feeling sorry for myself and on with the review.

The Story

This story starts in 1965 with a bang...literally. When new recruit Dean Howell is involved in a horrific accident on the firing range, when his rifle explodes. He's left disfigured, with severe brain damage, and is swiftly discharged and sent home to the southern town of Pine Cone to be cared for by his young wife, Sarah, and his volatile mother Jo. See there's nothing quite like the unconditional love of a parent. Jo places the blame squarely on those at the local factory, who manufactured the firearm, and pretty much everyone else the in the town.

Not one to waste time she then sets about obtaining some good old fashioned revenge with the help of a cursed artefact. When she passes an amulet to a manager from the weapons factory she sets in motion a chain of events that will lead to murder, ruin and widespread panic within the tight knit community. The chase is on for Sarah who seems to be the only person that suspects that dark forces are at play. All she has to do is follow the ever increasing trail of mutilated bodies in pursuit of...the amulet.



The Writing

While being a top quality author, McDowell is probably best known for his work on the screenplays for "A Nightmare Before Christmas" and "Beetlejuice," and to a lesser extent Stephen King's"Thinner." And to be honest this book does have the feel of being written for the big screen. In fact, in the foreword the author talks about how he originally written it as a screenplay and expanded upon it. And therein lies my main issues with The Amulet.

Don't get me wrong, McDowell's prose are very good. Even at this early stage in his career. Clear and at times beautiful. They're a cut above the standard fare you get in the horror genre, particularly by today's modern standards.

But the story is lacking in terms of plot development and building tension. There's some excellent set-pieces that have a very cinematic feel. But sometimes it felt like I was just bouncing from one death scene to the next as they became more and more outlandish. I mean, is it even possible for a ceiling fan to decapitate someone? I have my doubts.

But the way it moved so quickly, particularly toward the end, killed the level of suspense and the ending felt horribly rushed. I'm all for leaving things open at the end of a novel...when there's a purpose to it. But I didn't get that here and it had the overall effect of making this one appear incomplete and unfinished.

But something that can't be faulted is how McDowell sets the scene here. It was very evident in the Elementals that this is an author who's a master of atmosphere and location and he's on point again in this one. He quickly develops this rural community with real flavour and he certainly breathes life into it. There's some great humour and the author clearly has a keen eye for interpersonal dynamics as he illustrates how small town gossip quickly spreads information relating to the murders. Like bloody wildfire!

"But it could be said also that there is a great vitality in the mean-spiritedness of the town's inhabitants. Sometimes they are creatively cruel to one another, and there was a season in which Pine Cone was an exciting place to live - if you were a spectator, and not a victim."

The Characters

But my main critique has to be with the characters. I can't help but compare this to the Elementals and you're probably sick of me doing it. In which case...you're bang out of luck. It's my review! That book was full of weird, interesting and developed characters that I found them a fascinating bunch. But the ones in this particular story felt very flat. I'll admit I was expecting more.

The central protagonist, Sarah Howell, felt very one-dimensional and thinly sketched, and I found it difficult to get invested and care for her plight. There was nothing memorable about her and I know McDowell could have done more to remedy this, so it's a real shame.

The other two characters of Jo and Dean were fascinating. Dark and sinister, I wanted to know a lot about there motivations and history. But I just never got it. It just felt like there was a lot of missed opportunities here. But maybe my expectations were too high?

But again, it certainly wasn't all bad. The supporting characters in this one were off a very high standard, particularly for an 80's horror novel. The author is brutally honest in his representation of people in that period and his use of dialogue is absolutely top draw. I definitely got a sense of his skill as a screen writer in the way he made conversation a focal point of the narrative and there's definite talent in this department.

"Jo Howell don't have accidents. She's mean on purpose, she's mean 'cause she wants to be mean, and no other reason in the world. She wasn't born that way, I bet. She practiced."

Final Thoughts

While I would say this was a pretty fun read, that's pretty much all it was for me and one I'll quickly forget about as I move to my next book. Maybe I was expecting too much but I think I'm entitled to that. There's so many great books out there we don't have time to waste on those that were mediocre.

But the main point of reading this is that I'm interested in McDowell as a writer and it was important for me to see where he started as an author. And it's clear he's an author who developed as a writer while having real promise. Comparing him to others in the genre, this is nowhere near the level of Stephen King's Carrie, Dan Simmons' Sing of Kali or Peter Straub's Julia. Something more akin to Robert McCammon's Night Boat.

But I've heard a lot of good things about his next book, Cold Moon Over Babylon, and I'm excited to read that one. It's going to be interesting to see how quickly McDowell's skills were developed to the point where he wrote that haunted house masterpiece The Elementals.

And thats the last time you're going to have to hear me go on about that book.

Thanks for reading and...cheers!

[enzoreads · Rating 3 out of 5]

N’importe quoi mdrr

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the end, I'm giving this high 3 stars with an added note recommending other horror fans should read this book and a bonus nod to McDowell as an author. For what I have read to date, the guy was a fantastic writer, very apparent from my experience with “The Elementals”, now sustained with “The Amulet”. It's a first published novel, but in character work it does not feel like a first effort at all (and actually is not a first effort - only his first success in publication). He builds setting, story and purpose before proceeding to any significant a scene with the amulet. Only then does he follow each succeeding event with more careful and believable character work. Truthfully, later scenes do not particularly jive, like how the amulet moves to a next victim, and the final culmination is a more than over-the-top in my opinion. All-in-all though, it's the in-between that carries this story forward. The paperback copy I read includes an intro from another author addressing McDowell as an author, and this story (note: skip until after you've read the book). In it, she states McDowell's purposeful avoidance of any reasoning behind the necklace's power. I noticed this while reading as well. Though the book is named The Amulet, the focus on character remains the person, not the object.

[Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost 4.5/5.0 stars, not quite enough to round up to 5, but still very good 80's horror (well, 1979 is close enough in my book...). I've read multiple of Michael McDowell's books now, and I continue to enjoy his writing style. The Southern Gothic feel to all of his stories (Ok, this one is almost all Southern and very little Gothic..) is so strong and so different than anything else I normally read that it lends a fascination to the story that keeps me enthralled. This book did have its slow moments at times, but did definitely lead up to a big ending. If you like cheesy 80's horror, this is a good place to find a fun story!

[Michael Hicks · Rating 5 out of 5]

My original THE AMULET audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

After being wounded in a military training exercise, Dean Howell returns home to his wife and mother in a vegetative state, his face hidden behind layers of bandages. While Sarah administers to his treatment, in addition to working full-time at the local munitions factory (the same factory that built the rifle that exploded in Dean’s face), his bitter, resentful, and domineering mother, Jo, plots revenge. Jo blames the entire town of Pine Cone, Alabama for her son’s debilitating injuries and sets into motion a series of extraordinary murders. The titular amulet, a cursed (or, perhaps, possessed) item gifted by Jo to the man who failed to hire Dean into the factory and save him from being drafted into the Vietnam War, is the only thing connecting the otherwise unrelated and inexplicable deaths. As the bodies begin to pile up, Sarah realizes the amulet lays at the center of it all, and she must find it before any more killings can occur.

Originally published in 1979, Valancourt Books reprinted The Amulet for a new generation of readers a few years ago, and this past August released this audiobook edition narrated by Audie Award winner Julia Whelan. Whelan does an excellent job bringing Michael McDowell’s material to life, giving dialogue a soft and welcoming Southern lilt. Her reading of McDowell’s wonderful writing held me in rapt attention the whole way through, and this is a top-notch production all around.

McDowell is an author that has been on my radar for a while now, thanks largely to Charlene at Char’s Horror Corner, who has positively reviewed a number of the author’s works as resurrected by Valancourt Books. Huge props, too, to Valancourt, because now that I’ve read McDowell for myself I will most certainly be reading as many more of his works as I can get my hands on.

Despite being set during the late 1960s, The Amulet is far from anachronistic. I’ve read plenty of 80s novels that felt far more dated than McDowell’s (even Robert Marasco’s Burnt Offerings, published only a few years prior to this book, felt far old than its original 1973 pub date), and thanks to the human factors at play here — the family drama, friendships, and racial tensions between the white and black sections of Pine Cone — The Amulet feels just as relevant in 2018 regardless of its nearly forty-year -old history. McDowell has an ear for dialogue, and the Alabama-born author successfully captures the regional patois and atmosphere of the region. His characters are believable, each of them inhabiting their own lives within these pages, and we’re given just enough detail to care about them before they’re yanked away from us. None of Pine Cone’s residents are safe (not even the children, and there are several child deaths depicted throughout, so fair warning), and the diabolical piece of jewelry is a sort of traveling gun drawing them all toward danger. The body count here is significant, and McDowell does not pull any punches as he dispatches entire families, friends, and neighbors in delightfully creative and gruesome ways. In fact, I suspect the Final Destination film franchise owes a large debt, and a number of thanks, to this particular novel.

The Amulet is a wonderful and engrossing work of quiet, small-town horror, and McDowell does an incredible job building this story, ratcheting up the tension and taking us from one twisted murder to another as we follow this cursed object across Pine Cone and into the lives of those unfortunate enough to claim the strange necklace as their own. As his first published novel, The Amulet is an excellent introduction to McDowell’s work for newcomers such as myself. I can promise you now it certainly will not be my last, and I’m already debating which Michael McDowell book I should dive into next.

[Audiobook provided for review by the audiobookreviewer.com]

[Cindy Newton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really fun listen! I loved the narrator--her voice for the evil old witch who was creating all the mayhem was so creepy and authentic. I'm Southern born and raised, and have lots of relatives from small rural towns who have very pronounced drawls. The narrator's rendition of these characters was spot-on. The tale itself was suspenseful, gory, with a healthy dose of black humor thrown in for good measure. People died--LOTS of people died--and their deaths ranged from the mundane (gunshot) to the freakish (throat ripped out by a pig; scalp melted off with chemicals; knocked into a baler by a dog). I will definitely be checking out more Michael McDowell audiobooks in the future!

[Tressa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could kick myself for getting rid of my copy of this book decades ago. McDowell's books are sometimes hard to find because most are out of out of print. I used to get a thrill any time I found one of his books in a second hand book store.

This is a book set in Alabama about the terrible things that befall a small southern town when the townsfolk are in possession of an amulet. If you've read "The Monkey's Paw," you'll get the gist of what this story is about.

[Tony Vacation · Rating 2 out of 5]

Amulet opens with an accomplished sequence of chapters that introduces the reader to Pine Cone, Alabama and its impoverished denizens with all the grace for storytelling that McDowell would later flaunt in Blackwater. Too bad the promise of these early pages dissipates as the tone turns dreary and the narrative grows repetitive. The novel follows two plot threads: One stars poor Sarah who spends her days doing drone work in the local rifle factory and her nights as the personal slave to mummified Dean, her catatonic husband, and lazy Jo Jo, her awful mother-in-law; the other concerns the grisly travels of a cursed necklace that compels whoever possesses it to slaughter the person closest to them for whatever petty resentment presents itself first, followed then by the abrupt death of the murderer through one gruesome happenstance or another. In Poppy Z. Brite's introduction, which first-time readers should save for after, he reveals that McDowell compiled a list of different household items and how they could become tools for murder in a pinch, and then he framed the rest of the novel around these set-pieces. The contrivance of this shows throughout since most of the characters are only quick sketches that do little to endear themselves. While Sarah’s plight is rendered with enough realism to make a reader sympathetic, her passive role in most of the mayhem does little to build narrative tension. In short, Amulet impresses with select moments, but as a whole it's often less than engaging.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

*not sure what is happening with Goodreads but it seems to lose/ delete this review. Copied it again from Audible reviews*

Outstanding! This is my fifth Michael McDowell novel and I can't get enough. No one sets a scene like McDowell. He makes you feel like you are right there.

In this case "there" is the fictional town of Pine Cone, Alabama during what is probably the '60s. It's during the Vietnam war, anyhow. Most of the town works at the factory making and assembling Pine Cone rifles.

It's one of these rifles that misfires and maims Dean Howell, who loses an eye and suffers severe brain damage. Back home in Pine Cone, his few-screws-loose mother decides this accident is the town's fault. She sets upon them a cursed amulet. Whoever is in possession of the amulet is doomed to a horrible death. Somehow the amulet finds its way from person to person, seducing them with some kind of evil allure that makes them want to own it.

The amulet causes "accidents" which start off horrible and increasingly become more and more macabre with each victim, until the final horrific scene of the novel.

This was a fantastic first Halloween read/listen of the month. The narrator, Julia Whelan, was excellent.

Highly recommended for horror fans, especially fans of early Stephen King. Happy October!

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most horror fans may not know of this prolific author, who penned some of the most memorable paperback originals in the 70s, 80s, and early 90s, before his untimely death. McDowell even enjoyed Hollywood acclaim as a screenwriter, most notably writing Nightmare Before Christmas.

In his debut novel, THE AMULET, starts off slow, but much of this is McDowell's intent to completely set the scene and setting: late 60s Alabama, the town of Pine Cone, and how many of the townspeople work in the munitions factory. After one of its own is injured during a rifle training exercise at a nearby military base, preparing for Vietnam, the town of Pine Cone is about to experience a series of inexplicable violence and evil they are wholly unprepared for. But can two young women who suspect the reason behind the deaths stop it in time?

Think Mark Twain meets Stephen King, and you might be close, but McDowell is brilliant, sly, and sinister, one helluva storyteller!

Highly recommended!

[BrokenTune · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jo stared at Sarah uncomprehendingly. She was not sure whether to believe her or not. It sounded like a story that Sarah was making up as she went along. “Then how come—” Sarah smiled then.

Oh, I think what we have here is a first - a pulp slasher story that I actually enjoyed!

This is not one of McDowell's best: there were large parts that I found repetitive but I know that they were necessary to show the extent to which the amulet's evil has spread throughout the small town of Pine Cone. Or has it? Has the evil always been there? Was the amulet really the source of the evil or was the source closer to home?

Parts of this story very really boring, which is why I'm docking it a couple of stars in my rating, but I love what McDowell was trying to do with the story: we have a 70s horror novel that starts with a young man being trained for combat in Vietnam being horribly injured during a training exercise near his home town in Alabama, whose main industry is a rifle factory, producing the very same rifle that caused the injury. What follows is a series of killings that seem to start with the man who denied the young man a safe job and exemption from military service, and then the killing just doesn't stop.

There are lots of questions in this but the main ones: are any of the inhabitants of really Pine Cone innocent? And where does evil grow from?

I liked this, but it just doesn't measure up to the other books I have read by the author.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Amulet starts off a little slow but then kicks up into high gear. A rifle accident has left Dean Howell in a corpse like state. Dean's wife Sarah, must take care of him and her useless mother in law. Jo Howell will not get off her lazy butt to help Sarah at all. Jo is very demanding and ruthless to Sarah! After a full day of work, Sarah must come home and make dinner and do any other chores that need to be done. The rifle that put Dean in this corpse like state, was made in his home of Pine Cone, Alabama. Even stranger is, that his wife works on the assembly line that put these rifles together. Jo blames the entire town for what happened to her son Dean. Dean's best friend Larry comes over to visit Dean. Jo gives Larry this strange looking Amulet and said give this to your wife, I think she will like it. Soon after Larry's wife put on the Amulet, she kills Larry and their 5 children. The Amulet keeps changing hands and the body count starts to pile up. Sarah is determined to find the Amulet with the help of her best friend Becca and end these horrific deaths. This would have been 5 stars but there were a few unanswered questions at the end. If you are a fan of 80's horror, this is a must read.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

If ever there was an author you wished had been more prolific in there work I think for me, Michael McDowell would certainly be at the top of the list. I love the Blackwater series and regularly re-read it. So when it comes to his other works (which as you no doubt have realised are painfully few) I relish them all and the Amulet is no exception.

This for me is what horror is all about, don't me wrong I am not squeamish and a little blood and guts in the right place really do have an impact but its not the only tool in a horror writers tool box and Mr McDowell is a true artist.

But don't think for a second there is no action oh there is a plenty. For all my reluctance to get in to the mass market horror that seems to pervade horror especially in the 80s and 90s this book is able to capture all the "good' points without falling in to the cliche or predictable (though there is some over the top fun to be had too).

Having read Michael McDowells work before (and I think to a certain extend any horror writer if you read enough of their work) you can start to see where things will go but by this point you are more invested in the main character Sarah and what is going on to really care.

All I can say is if you get your hands on any books Michael McDowell - treasure them and enjoy them.

[Thomas Stroemquist · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well this was disappointing. When you buckle down to read a 1979 horror pulp paperback you’re probably not expecting an intro (actually, a good-sized portion of the book) with descriptions of a small Alabama town and some of the families in it and their recent history. And you would certainly not expect it to be the best part of the book!

When the simple but effective story finally kicked off, I thought I was in for a treat. Unfortunately, the proceedings are repeated time after another with very little variation and the story would feel spread thin over half as many pages. Since we have more or less the same story repeating itself, the coincides and explanations get more and more far-fetched until we end up in almost comedy land. Since there are gruesome deaths throughout, it gives the feeling (I know I’ve compared to this before, but when it fits…) of Monty Python doing Sam Peckinpah.



To instill the right amount of suspense in the finale, the base conditions are changed - much like in a horror movie, so that the hunt for, or attack on the hero can be dragged out. Can't have the main protagonist (or the antagonist) being knocked off as easily as the part of the cast making up the body count. On top of all this, I think the author got tired of killing off his characters; the final ones to go are just as gruesome or more, but related in a matter-of-fact and undramatic way.

Summary: one third 4-star and two thirds 1.5-star and falling...

[Latasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS BOOK WAS GREAT! Sarah's husband, Dean, has been drafted and is currently in training when there's a terrible accident. A riffle that just happened to be made at the plant Sarah works at, explodes in his face. He is sent home after a brief stay in the hospital. he is in a vegetative state. His mother, Jo (which i'm convinced is a relative of Delores Umbridge cause she's that awful) is a constant nag to Sarah. One of his friends comes to visit and all hell is unleashed. Jo blames this man (and everyone else) for Dean's accident. She gives him a gift and that's when the deaths start happening. is there a link between the amulet Jo sends out and the deaths that keep occurring? you have to listen to this excellent book to find out.
While that's the majority of the story, there is a lot more going on in here. Sarah is 21 and now trapped in this marriage and to Jo, her mother in law. Her despair is real and raw. She tries to make the best of her life but knows there is no way out. He friendship with Beka is beautiful and feels real. The town is still segregated because that's just how things are in Pine Comb, Alabama. I loved this story very much and was never bored with it. Julian Whelan reads it and she deserves all the stars too. Her narration was perfection.

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

Even after 42 years...this book is STILL one of my favorites in the Horror genre! It was just as great as the first time I read it.....McDowell NEVER lets you down. Get ready to to experience the horror of a piece of 'Killer Jewelry'! I LOVED it; AGAIN. I have read this now 4 times, and I am sure I will read it again before something kills me.

Michael McDowell has always been one of my all time favorite horror authors, and always will be. I sometimes wonder if he would not have died as young and as unexpected as when he did, if he would STILL be scaring the shit out of us with his HORROR classics, and that is what All his books were (IMO only) to me.....Classics.

It is the time of the late 60's: Vietnam, racism, and violence in a world of upheaval, and a young mans mother; Jo Howell is ready to get revenge on the entire town of Pine Cone, Alabama for sending her son home without a face! Yes, her son was involved in a training mission gone wrong. His wife Sarah, works full time in the factory that manufactured the same machine gun that disfigures Dean, and in a weird way, this upsets her. Jo starts her revenge by giving Larry; (Deans friend who sent him to the war, because he would not hire him for a job that prevented his drafting to Vietnam) a pendant to give to his wife because she thinks 'your wife will love this piece of jewelry'. Little does he know, that this amulet is cursed with death and EVIL! After Larry's wife kills all 5 of their children before suicide, the amulet is passed onto another unsuspecting, and soon to be Victim.

With this being McDowell's debut novel, and believe me you would never know this, with his engrossing and perfection in writing; he pulls you into this story of extreme violence, gore, suspense and horror from the first 5 pages. With his later writings, he eve got noticed by Hollywood, and Tim Burton hired him to write the screenplay and story for his movie 'The Nightmare Before Christmas'. The characters are so innocent yet so pathetic that when they lose to the Amulet, you can't help but chuckle with how disturbing and gruesome their demise is at times. And we are talking from everything to a victim being eaten alive by her pet farm animals, a young girl being scalped in the local beauty parlor while getting her hair permed, to death by a Baling machine!! These deaths are all very detailed, gruesomely gory, and very memorable. I remember reading this the first time as a senior in high school, and STILL remembered these scenes of Death!!

Some people think McDowell's epic book(s) was his serial novel, 'Blackwater', now if you ask me; this is at the top of his list of books for me. I STILL love 'The Amulet' and if you like very unique, and very disturbing novels of horror....this one will NOT disappoint you! Pick up a copy, that is IF you can find one.

5 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

[Nate · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Amulet was a wilder ride than I expected, and I was fully engaged from cover to cover. I couldn't help but think of the Final Destination movies as I read this, but Michael McDowell pulls of scenarios in a much classier way without getting silly. There was a fully developed sense of dread and foreshadowing that stayed fresh throughout despite the repetition of certain events. The writing was top notch with vivid descriptions and believable characters. I was slightly disappointed that some things didn't get revealed Such as the origin of the Amulet, or how Jo really came to own it, or some reveal of Dean under the bandages, but really this didn't take away from the story and allows me to dream up my own ideas. Highly recommended to any fans of horror and the macabre.

[Phil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read! Southern Gothic horror done right! McDowell amazes me that he did not have a bigger following. The dialogue and characters are first rate, and you can really feel the tiny town of Pine Cone! The small town harbors a pork barrel arms factory which exists as the largest employer; the only industry really. The main character's husband is wounded in Army training and is basically a vegetable; she lives with her evil and nasty Mother in law and now her brain dead hubby. Seeking revenge (a pine cone gun exploded in her son's face in training), the mother in law gives an Amulet to a factory director, and a few hours later he and his entire family die. The story revolves around the Amulet and its rounds as the body count rises. Masterful!! This was my first book by McDowell and it reads even better the second time.

[Ethan’s Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent debut novel by Michael McDowell. I can’t believe this was written in 1979.

Sara, daughter in law of a nasty old woman named, Josephine, is stuck in a house caring for her unappreciative mother in law. Sara’s husband, a Vietnam drafted soldier has a horrible accident at a firing range with his ‘Pinecone’ made rifle. Ironically, the rifle is made out of his home town ‘Pinecone’ where Sara works in a factory that’s barely keeping the town alive. In this factory, they make rifles for the military.
After a long day at work Sara comes home to news from Jo that her son (Sara’s husband, Dean) is coming home for good…
Dean arrives home alright, but he isn’t dead. He is badly disfigured with bandages all over his body. Mostly his face.
This puts more strain on Sara. She can’t tell if Dean is awake, sleeping, hot, or cold, listening, or not listening.
Then one night Jo gives an amulet to Larry’s wife. Larry is the man that could have given Dean a job before he went to the war which would have saved him from going to the war essentially.
Larry and his wife and kids all perish in a fire in there home after receiving an amulet from Josephine…

****Small Spoilers Ahead***

This book was terrifically written. The ending was good but I really wanted to know more about Dean. I feel like there was a lot of spookiness left untapped that was possibly behind those bandages.
Where did the Amulet go after? Was the Amulet a deal of the Devil? We don’t really get any closure on these things. As a whole this was a very good story with a body count that’s long.

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars!

I listened to this one on audio and I loved it. I could see the death a comin' and yet I could not look away. I wanted to see what would happen next. I knew it was going to be bloody. Real bloody. I still wanted it to come. And come it did. Raining down in spades.

[Michelle {Book Hangovers} · Rating 5 out of 5]

Horror done right!!!!
Michael McDowell,
it’s a damn shame you had to leave this world sooo soon!! Thank you for sharing your stories with us. They are absolutely EXCEPTIONAL!!! Such a talent!!

It will be a sad day when I don’t have any more McDowell books to read….BUT… at least I can always reread them!!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a slow burning, gruesome bloodbath.

[Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars
Southern Gothic Horror is not my preferred subgenre but this book really helped me to better appreciate it. This is currently my favourite novel by Michael McDowell.

I would recommend this one to horror readers who enjoy small town Americana stories.

[Eddy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Puéril, répétitif et trop long. Les Aiguilles d'Or again.

[Marie Helene · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michael McDowell was a gifted, underrated writer. Best known for writing the screenplay to Beetlejuice, he also wrote a string of horror novels in the 70s and 80s. I've now read most of them, and they are all bloody little Southern Gothic gems.

The Amulet was his debut novel, and while it's a little rough in places, it's still a thoroughly entertaining yarn. It's a page-turner with no pretensions, just lots of homicide and gore.

Sarah Howell is the young bride of Dean Howell, a recently drafted rifle instructor at the nearby Army base, waiting to be shipped to Viet Nam. A freak accident causes a rifle to blow up in his face, and he's sent home in a scarred, vegetative state. Ironically, Sarah works at the very factory that made the rifle that maimed her husband. Sarah's mother-in-law, Jo Howell, is fat, lazy, and mean, and blames the factory, the town, and the entire world for her son's misfortune. She gives the wife of the factory manager, a friend of Dean's, a mysterious black amulet. And so begins a tragic series of gruesome, inexplicable murders and fatal accidents that cuts a swath through the little Alabama town of Pine Cone.

McDowell doesn't waste time telling us where the cursed amulet came from or how Jo got it or just how it works. He just bloodily describes its path through the unfortunate community. The pattern is always the same: someone discovers it, and it mysteriously fastens itself around their neck. They are immediately possessed by a homicidal urge, and kill husbands, children, best friends, even babies — any unsuspecting person around. After a gruesome murder, the murderer immediately suffers an improbable and fatal accident, and the amulet manages to find its way into a new pair of hands.

Meanwhile, Sarah, who saw Jo give the amulet to its first victim, has figured out what's happening, even if she doesn't quite understand how, and with her best friend, Becca, tries to track down the amulet before it can cause more deaths.

That is pretty much the story. The amulet causes death and mayhem, and poor Sarah and her superstitious but skeptical friend try to stop it. McDowell had the knack that made later slasher flicks such popcorn thrillers, by making each "kill" memorable. There's the family burned alive, the farmer's wife eaten by hogs, the young babysitter who puts a baby in a washing machine, the beautician decapitated by a ceiling fan after melting her friend's scalp off... this is an R-rated bloodbath, but unlike many of the novels of the cheap horror paperback era, no sex at all, no virgins being chased naked through the woods, no gratuitous descriptions of T&A. Pine Cone, Alabama is a conservative Southern small town, after all.

And The Amulet reeks of Southernness. It's set in small-town Alabama in the 70s, so blacks are still "colored" (but only Jo uses the n-word). Sarah's mother-in-law is a terrible, selfish woman raised on bitterness and impoverished horizons. Sarah herself realizes the despair of her own situation, enslaved to Jo and a vegetative husband she's realizing she didn't really like very much even before his accident. Her best friend has just accepted that life as a factory worker is her fate. None of these people are rich or have grand lives ahead of them, yet as the death count grows, each one feels terrible and you're really rooting for Jo to get her just desserts. Because in a horror novel about a mean woman unleashing a curse on innocent people, you expect to see just desserts, right?

This isn't McDowell's best book (his Caskey Family Saga is an epic masterpiece), but if you like horror without embellishment that just gets straight to the plot, you can't go wrong with a little Southern Gothic for the month of Halloween.