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Old House of Fear
Attorney Hugh Logan leaves Canada for Scotland to negotiate the purchase of Carnglass Island and the castle Old House of Fear for his employer, Duncan MacAskival. Logan is continually thwarted and threatened on his journey. But no matter how bad his travels, his arrival onto the island brings much worse trouble. Carnglass is under the control of evil genius Dr. Edmund Jackman, a Soviet-educated political revolutionary convinced that Logan is a spy who must die. Will Jackman's plot be thwarted? Will Logan be able to rescue the lovely niece of the noble owner of Old House? Will anyone get off the island alive?
Debuting in the 1960s, Old House of Fear was Russell Kirk's most popular book, selling more than all his other books combined. Yet this Gothic tale is more than just a fascinating work of fiction. As in all of Kirk's stories, a deeper meaning emerges -- in this case, a satirization of Marxism and liberalism -- demonstrating the acute sense of the moral that sets Kirk apart from other genre writers.
Debuting in the 1960s, Old House of Fear was Russell Kirk's most popular book, selling more than all his other books combined. Yet this Gothic tale is more than just a fascinating work of fiction. As in all of Kirk's stories, a deeper meaning emerges -- in this case, a satirization of Marxism and liberalism -- demonstrating the acute sense of the moral that sets Kirk apart from other genre writers.
200 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1961
19 people are currently reading
444 people want to read
About the author
Russell Kirk
185 books305 followersFor more than forty years, Russell Kirk was in the thick of the intellectual controversies of his time. He is the author of some thirty-two books, hundreds of periodical essays, and many short stories. Both Time and Newsweek have described him as one of America’s leading thinkers, and The New York Times acknowledged the scale of his influence when in 1998 it wrote that Kirk’s 1953 book The Conservative Mind “gave American conservatives an identity and a genealogy and catalyzed the postwar movement.”
Dr. Kirk wrote and spoke on modern culture, political thought and practice, educational theory, literary criticism, ethical questions, and social themes. He addressed audiences on hundreds of American campuses and appeared often on television and radio.
He edited the educational quarterly journal The University Bookman and was founder and first editor of the quarterly Modern Age. He contributed articles to numerous serious periodicals on either side of the Atlantic. For a quarter of a century he wrote a page on education for National Review, and for thirteen years published, through the Los Angeles Times Syndicate, a nationally syndicated newspaper column. Over the years he contributed to more than a hundred serious periodicals in the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia, Austria, Germany, Italy, Spain, Bulgaria, and Poland, among them Sewanee Review, Yale Review, Fortune, Humanitas, The Contemporary Review, The Journal of the History of Ideas, World Review, Crisis, History Today, Policy Review, Commonweal, Kenyon Review, The Review of Politics, and The World and I.
He is the only American to hold the highest arts degree (earned) of the senior Scottish university—doctor of letters of St. Andrews. He received his bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University and his master’s degree from Duke University. He received honorary doctorates from twelve American universities and colleges.
He was a Guggenheim Fellow, a senior fellow of the American Council of Learned Societies, a Constitutional Fellow of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and a Fulbright Lecturer in Scotland. The Christopher Award was conferred upon him for his book Eliot and His Age, and he received the Ann Radcliffe Award of the Count Dracula Society for his Gothic Fiction. The Third World Fantasy Convention gave him its award for best short fiction for his short story, “There’s a Long, Long Trail a-Winding.” In 1984 he received the Weaver Award of the Ingersoll Prizes for his scholarly writing. For several years he was a Distinguished Scholar of the Heritage Foundation. In 1989, President Reagan conferred on him the Presidential Citizens Medal. In 1991, he was awarded the Salvatori Prize for historical writing.
More than a million copies of Kirk’s books have been sold, and several have been translated in German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Korean, and other languages. His second book, The Conservative Mind (1953), is one of the most widely reviewed and discussed studies of political ideas in this century and has gone through seven editions. Seventeen of his books are in print at present, and he has written prefaces to many other books, contributed essays to them, or edited them.
Dr. Kirk debated with such well-known speakers as Norman Thomas, Frank Mankiewicz, Carey McWilliams, John Roche, Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., Michael Harrington, Max Lerner, Michael Novak, Sidney Lens, William Kunstler, Hubert Humphrey, F. A. Hayek, Karl Hess, Clifford Case, Ayn Rand, Eugene McCarthy, Leonard Weinglass, Louis Lomax, Harold Taylor, Clark Kerr, Saul Alinsky, Staughton Lynd, Malcolm X, Dick Gregory, and Tom Hayden. Several of his public lectures have been broadcast nationally on C-SPAN.
Among Kirk’s literary and scholarly friends were T. S. Eliot, Roy Campbell, Wyndham Lewis, Donald Davidson, George Scott-Moncrieff, Richard Weaver, Max Picard, Ray Bradbury, Bernard Iddings Bell, Paul Roche, James McAuley, Thomas Howard, Wilhem Roepke, Robert Speaight
Dr. Kirk wrote and spoke on modern culture, political thought and practice, educational theory, literary criticism, ethical questions, and social themes. He addressed audiences on hundreds of American campuses and appeared often on television and radio.
He edited the educational quarterly journal The University Bookman and was founder and first editor of the quarterly Modern Age. He contributed articles to numerous serious periodicals on either side of the Atlantic. For a quarter of a century he wrote a page on education for National Review, and for thirteen years published, through the Los Angeles Times Syndicate, a nationally syndicated newspaper column. Over the years he contributed to more than a hundred serious periodicals in the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia, Austria, Germany, Italy, Spain, Bulgaria, and Poland, among them Sewanee Review, Yale Review, Fortune, Humanitas, The Contemporary Review, The Journal of the History of Ideas, World Review, Crisis, History Today, Policy Review, Commonweal, Kenyon Review, The Review of Politics, and The World and I.
He is the only American to hold the highest arts degree (earned) of the senior Scottish university—doctor of letters of St. Andrews. He received his bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University and his master’s degree from Duke University. He received honorary doctorates from twelve American universities and colleges.
He was a Guggenheim Fellow, a senior fellow of the American Council of Learned Societies, a Constitutional Fellow of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and a Fulbright Lecturer in Scotland. The Christopher Award was conferred upon him for his book Eliot and His Age, and he received the Ann Radcliffe Award of the Count Dracula Society for his Gothic Fiction. The Third World Fantasy Convention gave him its award for best short fiction for his short story, “There’s a Long, Long Trail a-Winding.” In 1984 he received the Weaver Award of the Ingersoll Prizes for his scholarly writing. For several years he was a Distinguished Scholar of the Heritage Foundation. In 1989, President Reagan conferred on him the Presidential Citizens Medal. In 1991, he was awarded the Salvatori Prize for historical writing.
More than a million copies of Kirk’s books have been sold, and several have been translated in German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Korean, and other languages. His second book, The Conservative Mind (1953), is one of the most widely reviewed and discussed studies of political ideas in this century and has gone through seven editions. Seventeen of his books are in print at present, and he has written prefaces to many other books, contributed essays to them, or edited them.
Dr. Kirk debated with such well-known speakers as Norman Thomas, Frank Mankiewicz, Carey McWilliams, John Roche, Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., Michael Harrington, Max Lerner, Michael Novak, Sidney Lens, William Kunstler, Hubert Humphrey, F. A. Hayek, Karl Hess, Clifford Case, Ayn Rand, Eugene McCarthy, Leonard Weinglass, Louis Lomax, Harold Taylor, Clark Kerr, Saul Alinsky, Staughton Lynd, Malcolm X, Dick Gregory, and Tom Hayden. Several of his public lectures have been broadcast nationally on C-SPAN.
Among Kirk’s literary and scholarly friends were T. S. Eliot, Roy Campbell, Wyndham Lewis, Donald Davidson, George Scott-Moncrieff, Richard Weaver, Max Picard, Ray Bradbury, Bernard Iddings Bell, Paul Roche, James McAuley, Thomas Howard, Wilhem Roepke, Robert Speaight
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
May 11, 2020
I love people's lists of books you really need to read; they have to be short lists, include book descriptions and precise reasons why this book and not others are ones you HAVE to read. Usually for this booklady, I find mostly old favorites, but every once in awhile I discover a new treasure. Imagine my surprise when this title showed up as Kirk's best seller in his lifetime, ahead of all the rest of his books combined!
Well, that did it. I LOVE his Ancestral Shadows: An Anthology of Ghostly Tales; have read it multiple times, and had read another of his books, but not this. So I immediately downloaded the kindle version. It is in the same vein as the short stories in Ancestral Shadows but in my humble opinion does not quite live up to them. And yet ... there is that promise of the greatness that Kirk is to realize later in his short stories. I can see why this had so much popular appeal, but for a true connoisseur of old-fashioned ghost stories, it does not realize the potential he will someday achieve. Very good, certainly worth reading, but not yet great. This would not make my list of books you really need to read, whereas Ancestral Shadows does!
4 and 1/2 stars
Well, that did it. I LOVE his Ancestral Shadows: An Anthology of Ghostly Tales; have read it multiple times, and had read another of his books, but not this. So I immediately downloaded the kindle version. It is in the same vein as the short stories in Ancestral Shadows but in my humble opinion does not quite live up to them. And yet ... there is that promise of the greatness that Kirk is to realize later in his short stories. I can see why this had so much popular appeal, but for a true connoisseur of old-fashioned ghost stories, it does not realize the potential he will someday achieve. Very good, certainly worth reading, but not yet great. This would not make my list of books you really need to read, whereas Ancestral Shadows does!
4 and 1/2 stars
October 9, 2022
Historian and philosopher Russell Kirk was a champion of American conservative thought in the 20th Century, but he also considered himself an aficionado of the Gothic ghost story. Does his 1961 fictional debut novel, "Old House of Fear," make good his claim? Well, put on your kilt, get out the Highland pipes, and let's travel to old Scotland and see for ourselves.
Kirk is often thought of in the same vain as other conservative fantasy writers, like Tolkien, Lewis, and Chesterton. When reading this book, I myself was reminded immediately of Hilaire Belloc's sociopolitical satire "The Haunted House," but whereas that novel was played for laughs, this one focuses on action and thrills. It is a spy adventure novel in the spirit of James Bond with Hammer Horror trappings.
Here, our 007 is a soldier who has turned to the practice of law, and he is sent by a wealthy Michigan steel tycoon to negotiate the purchase of a medieval castle on a remote isle named Carnglass in the Hebrides. He was chosen for the job due to his baby face, which his employer assumed would disarm the selling parties, but he hardly gets a chance to use his boyish looks. Instead, his military experience is put to good use. It appears that, even though he was expected by the Lady of the old house, nobody has been sent to retrieve him from his hotel, and there are no modern means of communication with the island. When he tries to charter passage to Carnglass, it is apparent that sinister forces are at work to keep him and anyone else away from the place. What secrets are being held there?
I sometimes wish I was a wealthy weirdo who could afford to buy my own castle. Carnglass is right up my alley, with sprawling wings and secret passages built in the time of the Vikings, dungeons containing old brine pits where people had been tortured centuries ago over forgotten conflicts, and a newer addition full of Victorian posh and elegance. Not that our hero has much time for sightseeing. As soon as he arrives, he finds himself embroiled in a plot straight out of "Austin Powers."
Kirk felt that horror was the best medium for allegory, even better than science fiction or fantasy, and you don't have to strain too hard to see his art in practice. "The island was the microcosm of modern existence," he flatly states. Carnglass is besieged by political extremism and superstition, both being the products of psychological immaturity and mental illness, according to Kirk. However, as seen in the character of Dr. Jackman, both can also be used by sociopathic leaders to manipulate the masses for personal gain.
But even if you overlook the deeper sociopolitical commentary, this book is a lot of wild fun. My main complaint is that this is one of those books with an impossible premise. Why is Hugh, our protagonist, being sent by himself to handle purchasing the island in the first place? His employer has never even laid eyes on the island he is buying! So it seems to me that the boss man himself should have made an event of it, arriving with a team of assistants in their own boats. If that had happened, however, there would have been no story. Similarly, Hugh seems like a genuinely sweet person, but his undaunted fixation on infiltrating the island himself is ridiculous. He's a lawyer, and he has multiple opportunities to realize that things on the island are not what his boss thinks they are, so he has more than enough reasons to tap out and let authorities handle it. But no. Unarmed and without a plan, he digs blindly into the situation like a tick to blood.
"Old House of Fear" was a big hit at the time, and the revenue he gained over the years from this novel helped keep him financially afloat for much of his life. I can understand why. The book was written before these kinds of stories became cliche, and so it was fresh and exciting, while being very topical for audiences in the early 60s. But I did find it a little tiresome in spots and had to stretch my suspension of disbelief a bit too much. Still, it sure to please fans of modern thrillers, but will also tickle the spooky bone in your spine.
I would say this is a good choice to put those who don't necessarily read a lot of horror in the Halloween mood.
Kirk is often thought of in the same vain as other conservative fantasy writers, like Tolkien, Lewis, and Chesterton. When reading this book, I myself was reminded immediately of Hilaire Belloc's sociopolitical satire "The Haunted House," but whereas that novel was played for laughs, this one focuses on action and thrills. It is a spy adventure novel in the spirit of James Bond with Hammer Horror trappings.
Here, our 007 is a soldier who has turned to the practice of law, and he is sent by a wealthy Michigan steel tycoon to negotiate the purchase of a medieval castle on a remote isle named Carnglass in the Hebrides. He was chosen for the job due to his baby face, which his employer assumed would disarm the selling parties, but he hardly gets a chance to use his boyish looks. Instead, his military experience is put to good use. It appears that, even though he was expected by the Lady of the old house, nobody has been sent to retrieve him from his hotel, and there are no modern means of communication with the island. When he tries to charter passage to Carnglass, it is apparent that sinister forces are at work to keep him and anyone else away from the place. What secrets are being held there?
I sometimes wish I was a wealthy weirdo who could afford to buy my own castle. Carnglass is right up my alley, with sprawling wings and secret passages built in the time of the Vikings, dungeons containing old brine pits where people had been tortured centuries ago over forgotten conflicts, and a newer addition full of Victorian posh and elegance. Not that our hero has much time for sightseeing. As soon as he arrives, he finds himself embroiled in a plot straight out of "Austin Powers."
Kirk felt that horror was the best medium for allegory, even better than science fiction or fantasy, and you don't have to strain too hard to see his art in practice. "The island was the microcosm of modern existence," he flatly states. Carnglass is besieged by political extremism and superstition, both being the products of psychological immaturity and mental illness, according to Kirk. However, as seen in the character of Dr. Jackman, both can also be used by sociopathic leaders to manipulate the masses for personal gain.
But even if you overlook the deeper sociopolitical commentary, this book is a lot of wild fun. My main complaint is that this is one of those books with an impossible premise. Why is Hugh, our protagonist, being sent by himself to handle purchasing the island in the first place? His employer has never even laid eyes on the island he is buying! So it seems to me that the boss man himself should have made an event of it, arriving with a team of assistants in their own boats. If that had happened, however, there would have been no story. Similarly, Hugh seems like a genuinely sweet person, but his undaunted fixation on infiltrating the island himself is ridiculous. He's a lawyer, and he has multiple opportunities to realize that things on the island are not what his boss thinks they are, so he has more than enough reasons to tap out and let authorities handle it. But no. Unarmed and without a plan, he digs blindly into the situation like a tick to blood.
"Old House of Fear" was a big hit at the time, and the revenue he gained over the years from this novel helped keep him financially afloat for much of his life. I can understand why. The book was written before these kinds of stories became cliche, and so it was fresh and exciting, while being very topical for audiences in the early 60s. But I did find it a little tiresome in spots and had to stretch my suspension of disbelief a bit too much. Still, it sure to please fans of modern thrillers, but will also tickle the spooky bone in your spine.
I would say this is a good choice to put those who don't necessarily read a lot of horror in the Halloween mood.
June 10, 2014
Not among Kirk’s very best writings, Old House of Fear is still interesting for at least two reasons:
1 – the book is an interesting story with a good end. He knows how to keep up the pace, how to describe, has a wealth of images which he works up into interesting situations. It is a gothic novel: there are desperate villains (occultist communists, interestingly enough, among them), there’s a lady in distress, and there’s a resolute chap thrust into unexpected circumstances, which he is able to overcome. There is even a great, genial idiot with a ghastly and effective sense of humor. The plot twists and turns enough to be unpredictable, at least for me, but I’m no world-weary reader who has seen it all. At times, near the end, the events almost seem to fish-tail: he jerks things around without really having a reason (as if the last of it was written in haste and ill-revised). But on the whole what happens is interesting and the story is successful. The setting is marvelous–you want to go there, to live and see it, and the characters and situations draw one in and exert the necessary fascination.
2 – he used his imagination to comment on the criminality of people who believe their ends justify their means. Against this attitude he sets decency, courage and love. The romance will bear no close scrutiny, but if the thing is understood as a symbol, and the decency and courage his real focus, then the story will hold up. What he does not have are cardboard villains, and that’s instructive. You learn that men who are not decent in their behavior are criminals in their hearts and only require the circumstances to show it, but they require different circumstances. Not all criminals are of the same sort. There are at least three different kinds of criminals our hero runs into in this book, and each one is dealt with in his own way. Kirk, like Evelyn Waugh, seems to have taken a certain interest in the criminal classes.
Anyway, it is a swift good book to read if you’re looking for an adventure with an island worth going to and the sea and peril and a red-headed heroine that isn’t just fluff and cliché.
1 – the book is an interesting story with a good end. He knows how to keep up the pace, how to describe, has a wealth of images which he works up into interesting situations. It is a gothic novel: there are desperate villains (occultist communists, interestingly enough, among them), there’s a lady in distress, and there’s a resolute chap thrust into unexpected circumstances, which he is able to overcome. There is even a great, genial idiot with a ghastly and effective sense of humor. The plot twists and turns enough to be unpredictable, at least for me, but I’m no world-weary reader who has seen it all. At times, near the end, the events almost seem to fish-tail: he jerks things around without really having a reason (as if the last of it was written in haste and ill-revised). But on the whole what happens is interesting and the story is successful. The setting is marvelous–you want to go there, to live and see it, and the characters and situations draw one in and exert the necessary fascination.
2 – he used his imagination to comment on the criminality of people who believe their ends justify their means. Against this attitude he sets decency, courage and love. The romance will bear no close scrutiny, but if the thing is understood as a symbol, and the decency and courage his real focus, then the story will hold up. What he does not have are cardboard villains, and that’s instructive. You learn that men who are not decent in their behavior are criminals in their hearts and only require the circumstances to show it, but they require different circumstances. Not all criminals are of the same sort. There are at least three different kinds of criminals our hero runs into in this book, and each one is dealt with in his own way. Kirk, like Evelyn Waugh, seems to have taken a certain interest in the criminal classes.
Anyway, it is a swift good book to read if you’re looking for an adventure with an island worth going to and the sea and peril and a red-headed heroine that isn’t just fluff and cliché.
August 1, 2015
A classic old haunting gothic tale. A great read of adventure and battle of good and evil. Kirk does great job with the characters. The tale, taking place in 1960, of a lawyer sent on a business trip to the Hebrides , to purchase an island for his rich employer, Duncan McAskival. The lawyer, Hugh Logan a man of honor and means, sets out to the island of Carnglass, His journey leads him into some treacherous confrontations with the evil side of man. Once there he is confronted with the evil Doctor Jackman, who has plans of his own to take possession of Carnglass, which has been in the McAskival family since the Vikings, now occupied by Lady McAskival,who lies on her death bed and her beautiful niece, Mary McAskival. together with Mary and Hugh, they join forces with the ancestral line of McAskivals, to remove and defeat the sinister Dr. Jackman and his henchman. Classed as a gothic romance, this novel has both horror and terror elements that will engulf the reader into the battle for good.
May 4, 2008
I finished the book! What a satisfying ending. It was suspenseful,intriguing, exciting, spiritual, full of old legends and all revolving around this old Scottish house.The main characters were a brave American Lawyer ( who narrates the story), a young Scottish woman heroine held captive and her antagonist/captor, a strange devil-like man. Russel Kirk has a narrative voice that keeps one very interested.
January 4, 2018
A Gothic adventure with everything: brooding atmosphere, sinister villains, a clandestine romance. After reading this you're likely to feel that if you've never played a life-and-death game on a remote Scottish island, with only a beautiful young clan leader and an ex-IRA terrorist to help you, against an international criminal who just might be the reincarnation of a mythical man-monster, then you just haven't lived.
May 14, 2018
Another good Kirk book, this one with less overt supernatural activity, but still his strong sense of justice and the way evil undermines itself.
April 5, 2014
Those of you who like Austen's Northanger Abbey or Bronte's Wuthering Heights will enjoy this book. It has that Gothic romance/mystery to it and the setting (Scotland) is perfect for this sort of writing. Being Kirk's best selling book, it was apparently quite popular, and I'll admit that I enjoyed it quite a bit. The cover mentions some nonsense about Marxism, and there is some vague subtext of that in the book...but it is haphazardly jammed into so very few parts of the story that it's barely worth mentioning and easily ignored. The true value of this novel is the mysterious happenings on Carnglass, an island in the Hebrides. Chock full of interesting characters, even the island itself is so well-described, that the novel is compelling. At just under 200 pages, it's perfect for a rainy weekend.
August 1, 2013
Kirk writes a good tale. Heroine Mary and Carnglass (scottish island microcosm of the human race) must be rescued from Dr. Jackman and his terrorist schemes. Brave Hugh Logan must travel to Carnglass, sort out the truth from Jackman's lies, the mythic legends, and the muddled history, and save the day.
Kirk's tale is more allegorical than anything else. I enjoyed the book a great deal, but it might be a stretch to call his allegory "subtle." That said, it was a very enjoyable story as well, and I was glad to have read it.
Kirk's tale is more allegorical than anything else. I enjoyed the book a great deal, but it might be a stretch to call his allegory "subtle." That said, it was a very enjoyable story as well, and I was glad to have read it.
March 27, 2021
Wonderful entry into the gothic tradition by Kirk. Lush and vividly written but not overly purple, it - at the time it was published, I'm sure - is a nice blend of the natural/equivocal gothic tale and a modern suspense story of espionage and intrigue. More of Kirk's politics sneak into this tale than in his short fiction (Dr. Jackmen and his cohorts are of course evil, radical communists), but there's merely of whiff of it, nothing more. Definitely worth your time, if an old fashioned gothic tale with modern (circa the 70's) trappings is up your alley.
February 18, 2017
I love this book for many reasons. One, I just love a good, old-fashioned gothic thriller/romance. Two, I love all things Scottish and this is a great tale that takes place on a Scottish isle. The story is dated because the world has changed since it was written, but it is still a great story.
January 29, 2017
Shades of C. S. Lewis!
How have I never heard of this book? Set during the Cold War on earth, there ate still suggestions of Perelandra, though Russell Kirk makes the plot his own. No more spoilers. Read the book.
How have I never heard of this book? Set during the Cold War on earth, there ate still suggestions of Perelandra, though Russell Kirk makes the plot his own. No more spoilers. Read the book.
June 30, 2020
Imagine a very well-done 1960s B movie set in a Gothic castle. Kirk captures that feel perfectly. While it might seem cliched at times, objectively this novel is very well-done.
January 22, 2021
A first rate old-fashioned ripping yarn of adventure. A resourceful American is dispatched to a remote, craggy island off the coast of Scotland, and finds dastardly deeds afoot, dark secrets lurking, and a fiery redheaded damsel in need of rescue. If you've enjoyed John Buchan's stories, give this a try.
August 12, 2018
A lot of fun and nicely atmospheric. Keeps you guessing.
May 8, 2012
It's a good book, but slightly below my expectations. Not so intense as HP Lovecraft, and not so fast as one is used today. The story and background could be even more developed (I guess suggesting this 50 years after it was written is kind of ... late). Still I enjoyed it.
September 3, 2025
Russell Kirk was an interesting character. Depending on your own circle of acquaintances, probably about half of those who’ve heard of him know him primarily as a political philosopher, and the other half know him as a respected author of gothic fiction and one of the literary figures credited with revitalizing that genre for more modern audiences. This book, of course, is an example of the latter.
It really is a quintessentially gothic novel. It follows an American lawyer who travels to a remote island in Scotland to effect a real estate transaction. But while there, he discovers the entire island seems to be in thrall of a malevolent sort of character called Dr. Jackman. It really has everything one has come to expect of the gothic genre or subgenre—the magnificent but remote estate, the slightly unusual romantic interest, the hints of deep history and family secrets long preserved in the shadows, and the looming threat of violence from a source neither the main character nor the reader initially understands.
In fact, we could even call it a collection of cliches in some sense if we wanted to be uncharitable, but that’s the wrong way to think of this book. Yes, it draws heavily upon the genre’s established tropes, but it does it openly and proudly with full self awareness.
Though this wasn’t Kirk’s first writing, it was his debut novel, and one might also argue it suffers some of the pitfalls of a first novel. Perhaps the premise is a bit too direct. Perhaps some of the pacing is a little bit off. Maybe it’s not quite as truly scary as a horror novel ought to be. And perhaps the ending is, while largely satisfying to read, just a little too “just so.” Still, these are but minor criticisms because the book is a delightfully fun read.
It’s a bit of a slow burn, yes, and some modern readers might find it a bit too slow for their taste, particularly in the first half. But I’m here to tell you they’re wrong. This is the kind of slow burn people, much like myself, are talking about when we say we like a slow burn novel. It takes its time before any action happens, yes, but it fills that time with character, setting, and just a little smattering of philosophy, making for a rich read indeed.
Though Old House of Fear was a hit when it came out and devotees of gothic literature still regard it highly, I think it’s one of those classics a lot of people seem to have forgotten about and that’s a real shame, because I’d consider it one of those books everyone ought to read at least once. And that’s doubly true if you like gothic horror.
It really is a quintessentially gothic novel. It follows an American lawyer who travels to a remote island in Scotland to effect a real estate transaction. But while there, he discovers the entire island seems to be in thrall of a malevolent sort of character called Dr. Jackman. It really has everything one has come to expect of the gothic genre or subgenre—the magnificent but remote estate, the slightly unusual romantic interest, the hints of deep history and family secrets long preserved in the shadows, and the looming threat of violence from a source neither the main character nor the reader initially understands.
In fact, we could even call it a collection of cliches in some sense if we wanted to be uncharitable, but that’s the wrong way to think of this book. Yes, it draws heavily upon the genre’s established tropes, but it does it openly and proudly with full self awareness.
Though this wasn’t Kirk’s first writing, it was his debut novel, and one might also argue it suffers some of the pitfalls of a first novel. Perhaps the premise is a bit too direct. Perhaps some of the pacing is a little bit off. Maybe it’s not quite as truly scary as a horror novel ought to be. And perhaps the ending is, while largely satisfying to read, just a little too “just so.” Still, these are but minor criticisms because the book is a delightfully fun read.
It’s a bit of a slow burn, yes, and some modern readers might find it a bit too slow for their taste, particularly in the first half. But I’m here to tell you they’re wrong. This is the kind of slow burn people, much like myself, are talking about when we say we like a slow burn novel. It takes its time before any action happens, yes, but it fills that time with character, setting, and just a little smattering of philosophy, making for a rich read indeed.
Though Old House of Fear was a hit when it came out and devotees of gothic literature still regard it highly, I think it’s one of those classics a lot of people seem to have forgotten about and that’s a real shame, because I’d consider it one of those books everyone ought to read at least once. And that’s doubly true if you like gothic horror.
October 14, 2020
The most important thing to know about this book is that it is NOT the old fashioned Gothic horror novel that it claims to be. Alas, if you're looking for an eerie, atmospheric haunted house story, back to Shirley Jackson with you.
No, though it hints a few times at a supernatural presence, there really isn't one in what turns out to be a Cold War spy thriller. Indeed, that genre would be even more obvious if the action were transplanted from an island in northern Scotland to, say, Berlin or Prague.
The good news is that it works pretty well as that genre; John Le Carre would be proud.
But the anti-communist propaganda is way too on the nose (even for a conservative like me), and the rather short story is still bogged down by more exposition than it needs. Still, the last third or so is a mostly solid action story--I kept picturing it as a black and white noir adventure from the 50s, our hero in an impeccable three piece suit, and the young lady with curled bangs, dark lipstick, and a modest skirt just short enough to reveal perfect calves.
Which reminds me of another minor annoyance here--the love interest is mostly a prop, as old stories sometimes do--she's an idealized, zany, fairy woman...a midcentury version of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl. She only exists so the hero can have a romantic subplot.
I'd looked forward to this one for years, and saved it for a Halloween read. Ironically, though a minor character mentions Halloween a few times near the end, this just isn't what I was looking for. Oh well.
No, though it hints a few times at a supernatural presence, there really isn't one in what turns out to be a Cold War spy thriller. Indeed, that genre would be even more obvious if the action were transplanted from an island in northern Scotland to, say, Berlin or Prague.
The good news is that it works pretty well as that genre; John Le Carre would be proud.
But the anti-communist propaganda is way too on the nose (even for a conservative like me), and the rather short story is still bogged down by more exposition than it needs. Still, the last third or so is a mostly solid action story--I kept picturing it as a black and white noir adventure from the 50s, our hero in an impeccable three piece suit, and the young lady with curled bangs, dark lipstick, and a modest skirt just short enough to reveal perfect calves.
Which reminds me of another minor annoyance here--the love interest is mostly a prop, as old stories sometimes do--she's an idealized, zany, fairy woman...a midcentury version of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl. She only exists so the hero can have a romantic subplot.
I'd looked forward to this one for years, and saved it for a Halloween read. Ironically, though a minor character mentions Halloween a few times near the end, this just isn't what I was looking for. Oh well.
November 9, 2023
I ran across a suggestion to read this book as the author thought that the category of "ghostly tales" was dying. It is a sixty year old book, but is still an excellent read. The story line was really an interesting take on the far reaches of Scotland, and the main characters are all excellent. Hugh Logan is the hero of the book, and probably the most adventurous lawyer that I have read about in any book.
The one surprising aspect of the book is that there is virtually no eplilog. The pivotal scene unfolds with the Hugh Logan vs evil Dr. Jackman, then the book suddenly ends. It might have been fun to have a few more words about Hugh Logan and Mary.
The one surprising aspect of the book is that there is virtually no eplilog. The pivotal scene unfolds with the Hugh Logan vs evil Dr. Jackman, then the book suddenly ends. It might have been fun to have a few more words about Hugh Logan and Mary.
July 16, 2022
I own hundreds of these old gothic romance paperbacks that I bought and collected in the 80's and 90's just to read later in life. Well, that time has come and I pulled this book off my TBR stack. I knew this book was going to be different than the rest because it was written by a man. Yup, this book really shouldn't be in the gothic romance bunch at all. I had a hard time getting into this book but it did pick up a little towards the end. About the best thing I can say about the book is that I did finish it. Ready to start my next book but I will choose a woman author this time!
October 10, 2020
Another 3 1/2 star review!
This is an interesting thriller whose first four chapters deliver the protagonist to a wild and creepy setting. After that, the story becomes rather more routine, though the setting remains wonderfully eerie.
The conclusion was a bit disappointing. Though it is fast moving and brings things to a more or less satisfactory resolution, it is a bit potboilerish.
Very good writing throughout is a big help though!
This is an interesting thriller whose first four chapters deliver the protagonist to a wild and creepy setting. After that, the story becomes rather more routine, though the setting remains wonderfully eerie.
The conclusion was a bit disappointing. Though it is fast moving and brings things to a more or less satisfactory resolution, it is a bit potboilerish.
Very good writing throughout is a big help though!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 2, 2021
This novel starts slowly, but picks up speed halfway through. Unfortunately, the last couple of chapters collapse into blathering backstory and the novel loses propulsion. However,when the novel works, it really works - the villain is great/interesting and there is some nice depth of thought in the midst of the action. Not quite the gothic novel I expected, but fun nevertheless.
July 27, 2021
Wow, this was a fun book to read. Old castle in the Outer Hebrides, maiden in distress, evil communist plot, and a former army man who makes for a resourceful hero. A quick read at 200 pages, and well worth your time if you want to be caught up in a ripping good yarn.
April 22, 2022
Even though this was Kirk’s bestselling book I admit it was my least favorite book I’ve read from him. I love his nonfiction writing but the appeal of the ghost story, horror, occult fiction is lost on me.
October 31, 2020
What fun! Perfect to finish it on Halloween... I was quite sceptical along the way, but overall, it was a "rip-roaring yarn". Great to get lost in.
September 7, 2021
It took me a bit to get into this book but over all I really enjoyed it.
September 4, 2022
bit of a crossing of H.G. Wells and Ian Fleming - decent story
June 27, 2024
rollicking pulp adventure
January 5, 2025
Very nice romantic thriller.
January 5, 2025
Hugh Logan thought he was only going to negotiate the purchase of an old house on a remote Scottish Island from a stubborn, elderly matriarch. Instead, he stumbles into a cast of eccentric and dangerous characters that combine criminality, espionage, romance, and the occult. Logan overcomes the long odds against him through a combination of luck and pluck. He gets the bad guys and wins the hand of the fair maiden.
Today, this story would be rejected as not edgy enough. That says more about the immoral cynical world we live in than the quality of this work.
Today, this story would be rejected as not edgy enough. That says more about the immoral cynical world we live in than the quality of this work.
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