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Pendulum
Heather was forced to go live with her Uncle. Uncle Reece, her mother's brother, felt obligated to take her in. But, Aunt Pansy and her cousins resented that she was upsetting their lives. Heather hoped that her mother would soon save her. Coming home from school one day, a strange old man caught her eye and carefully laid a package on the lawn for her. When she opened it she found an old fortune teller's pendulum. Experiments soon progressed, and Heather seemed to have a unique ability to make the pendulum move when she held a person's hands and focused on their future. Some of the predictions were frightening! The pendulum might point at-DEATH, or UNSPEAKABLE HORRORS. Nicole encouraged Heather to host a fortune-teller booth at the upcoming Halloween carnival at school. Miss Upton, Heather's sixth-grade teacher, was immediately supportive of the idea. In fact, Miss Upton seemed to be trying to get closer to Heather. Heather certainly did not want to be a teacher's pet! Everything seemed to come together the day of the carnival. The pendulum's predictions seemed to be coming true! At the same time, she was hearing weird noises in her Uncle's house. While Heather began to learn more about the history of the house, she also began to remember more about the day that she had followed some older kids out to the sand pits-the day that Antol had drowned. Might all of these things be somehow connected?
272 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 1989
2 people are currently reading
196 people want to read
About the author
Ruby Jean Jensen
39 books211 followers
Ruby Jean Jensen
Born McDonald County, Missouri, USA, March 1, 1927
Died November 16, 2010
Website http://www.rubyjeanjensen.com
Twitter RubyJeanJensen1
Facebook www.facebook.com/Rjjhorror
Ruby Jean Jensen authored 30 published and 4 not yet published novels, and over 200 short stories. Her passion for writing developed at an early age, and she worked for many years to develop her writing skills. After having many short stories published, in 1974 the novel The House that Samael Built was accepted for publication. She then quickly established herself as a professional author, with representation by a Literary Agent from New York. She subsequently sold 29 more novels to several New York publishing houses. After four Gothic Romance, three Occult and then three Horror novels, MaMa was published by Zebra books in 1983. With Zebra, Ruby Jean completed nineteen more novels in the Horror genre.
Ruby was involved with creative writing groups for many years, and she often took the time to encourage young authors and to reply to fan mail.
Ruby Jean, a supreme story-teller, quickly captures and holds your attention. Her books, written for adults, are also suitable for adolescents and young adults. She continues to have an enthusiastic following in the Horror genre.
Born McDonald County, Missouri, USA, March 1, 1927
Died November 16, 2010
Website http://www.rubyjeanjensen.com
Twitter RubyJeanJensen1
Facebook www.facebook.com/Rjjhorror
Ruby Jean Jensen authored 30 published and 4 not yet published novels, and over 200 short stories. Her passion for writing developed at an early age, and she worked for many years to develop her writing skills. After having many short stories published, in 1974 the novel The House that Samael Built was accepted for publication. She then quickly established herself as a professional author, with representation by a Literary Agent from New York. She subsequently sold 29 more novels to several New York publishing houses. After four Gothic Romance, three Occult and then three Horror novels, MaMa was published by Zebra books in 1983. With Zebra, Ruby Jean completed nineteen more novels in the Horror genre.
Ruby was involved with creative writing groups for many years, and she often took the time to encourage young authors and to reply to fan mail.
Ruby Jean, a supreme story-teller, quickly captures and holds your attention. Her books, written for adults, are also suitable for adolescents and young adults. She continues to have an enthusiastic following in the Horror genre.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 27, 2016
Ruby Jean Jensen has always been one of my favorite authors her style is morbid and bleak like not many others. Some of her books scream 80’s plots, though, and Pendulum is one of them. It may sound silly, much like her Chain Letter, but blissfully it didn’t end juvenile like that one did. It involves are you ready for this? a young girl, Heather, acquiring a pendulum that can predict good fortune, birth, trips, riches, and of course ‘unspeakable horrors’ and ‘death’, like any other good pendulum does. The sixth grader finds the device left by a man many consider strange in the village, and soon all horror and havoc breaks loose. While this plot could easily walk down the silly, acid trip lane, it attempts to veer from it, creating instead something worth reading.
The reader would of course wonder why the pendulum was left for the young girl, how it does what it does, why it does, and so on and so on. I’m glad to report most of this was explained, and in a clever enough manner. The atmosphere was menacing and dreadful, with the small town being an apt setting near some deadly pits all the residents and their children were warned to avoid. Heather’s background plays well into the plot, and her role as a child is energetically well-written. I cared about some of the characters and mourned their death all Jensen books have a long list for the morgue. Here she succeeds again, making a story seeming so far-fetched digestible.
The creepy factor was slightly uneven, certainly not as creepy as Lost and Found, Celia, and the like, but it does its job in certain areas, and many moments were suspenseful enough to work. The ending is the typical bitter one by Jensen, leaving the reader with a cold, empty feeling. The middle drags a bit but then picks up speed again, redeeming itself. Violence here is plentiful, and some scenes stand out particularly the young boy with the rattlesnake pit. (Not my idea of the ideal way to die) The story is deep enough to include some typical family banter and melodrama you know, the type that makes up the typical American family now of days, even touching on themes not usually embraced, such as the wife openly admitting she wants a house that’s larger than her means, yet resents having to work so hard for it at the same time.
As usual, Jensen writes with an easy to follow style, but this book tends to gear toward younger adults or those who like simple reads. Still, it’s fun for all, even if it doesn’t focus on the more sophisticated adult who likes wolfing down ‘The Stand’ size novels. The plot may not sound like a picnic, but it’s more than workable. As with many of Jensen’s books, even if some of the plots are cheesy, they’re addictive and impossible to put down.
The reader would of course wonder why the pendulum was left for the young girl, how it does what it does, why it does, and so on and so on. I’m glad to report most of this was explained, and in a clever enough manner. The atmosphere was menacing and dreadful, with the small town being an apt setting near some deadly pits all the residents and their children were warned to avoid. Heather’s background plays well into the plot, and her role as a child is energetically well-written. I cared about some of the characters and mourned their death all Jensen books have a long list for the morgue. Here she succeeds again, making a story seeming so far-fetched digestible.
The creepy factor was slightly uneven, certainly not as creepy as Lost and Found, Celia, and the like, but it does its job in certain areas, and many moments were suspenseful enough to work. The ending is the typical bitter one by Jensen, leaving the reader with a cold, empty feeling. The middle drags a bit but then picks up speed again, redeeming itself. Violence here is plentiful, and some scenes stand out particularly the young boy with the rattlesnake pit. (Not my idea of the ideal way to die) The story is deep enough to include some typical family banter and melodrama you know, the type that makes up the typical American family now of days, even touching on themes not usually embraced, such as the wife openly admitting she wants a house that’s larger than her means, yet resents having to work so hard for it at the same time.
As usual, Jensen writes with an easy to follow style, but this book tends to gear toward younger adults or those who like simple reads. Still, it’s fun for all, even if it doesn’t focus on the more sophisticated adult who likes wolfing down ‘The Stand’ size novels. The plot may not sound like a picnic, but it’s more than workable. As with many of Jensen’s books, even if some of the plots are cheesy, they’re addictive and impossible to put down.
April 8, 2017
Young kids are disappearing, some falling into water-filled sandpits and drowning. Ten-year-old Heather thinks it's her fault, for predicting their deaths through her fortune telling. An old man had given her the pendulum that acted like a Ouija board. If only she could reverse the fortunes and rid herself of the pendulum.
I was hooked from the first page and felt compelled to read to the end, especially the later chapters as the tension grew. Jensen sets the atmosphere well. It's Halloween season after all.
The novel missed a 5-star rating because I felt the author needed to prepare the reader for what happens to Patrick, one of the boys, and for the surprise ending. It was hard to suspend belief because certain unspoken rules were not laid for this story. Also, the reader would need some reminder here and there of the fortunes each of the children bore.
The read is fun and scary without being gross.
I was hooked from the first page and felt compelled to read to the end, especially the later chapters as the tension grew. Jensen sets the atmosphere well. It's Halloween season after all.
The novel missed a 5-star rating because I felt the author needed to prepare the reader for what happens to Patrick, one of the boys, and for the surprise ending. It was hard to suspend belief because certain unspoken rules were not laid for this story. Also, the reader would need some reminder here and there of the fortunes each of the children bore.
The read is fun and scary without being gross.
October 18, 2021
I loved this book. For me, it's a perfect little work of 80s horror fiction. The story races along without ever leaving you behind. The action is crisp and stays focused. The ending totally caught me by surprise.
Jensen built a world that completely captivated me and I couldn't put this book down. When I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it.
Jensen built a world that completely captivated me and I couldn't put this book down. When I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it.
July 26, 2025
3.5 stars
Enjoyable, easy read. Went off the rails a bit at the end. It's still a lot of fun.
Enjoyable, easy read. Went off the rails a bit at the end. It's still a lot of fun.
Read
July 14, 2018The book was not too bad, Wish it would have had a sequel to it. Left me hanging.
February 21, 2023
He’ll never be back. Not the way he was.
Another small farmers community is struggling with a nightmare brought to life by a cloth scarf and a pendulum that seems to predict every horrific future of those it encounters. Heather Ridgely is only eleven years old and feels the cold isolation of having no true family to love, nurture and protect her. At only one year old her mother, Robin abandons her with her Grandmother as she runs away to live with Heather's real father. At merely eighteen she was a senior in high school when the hired gardener took her heart and it turn gave her a baby she never truly wanted. He was married, Julian Reinhardt, when the two ran off to be with one another, never to be heard from by any family ever again. Believing in her heart her mother would return to be with her, to bring her the father she never knew, Heather lived with her Uncle Reece, Aunt Pansey, and cousins Teddy and Nicole while she waited for that day to come. Yet hidden in the back of her mind was the knowledge they never really wanted her there, that she was a burden to their family's dynamic. After selling their home and purchasing the beautiful expansive home from Miss Clarice Upton, it was a constant struggle for finances to support that house and the growing family. One day, Heather was given a present from the homeless man who pushed the cart, and inside was a scarf adorned with Occult and devilish designs as well as a Pendulum that swung ok it's own when she held somebody's hands for a fortune. Holding the power of fortune telling, gave her an edge in the schools carnival, even when the readings all held similar nightmares. Embroidered in old gray-black thread was a large five-pointed star, with small points between each of the major points, so that there were ten in all. On each point, even the lesser ones, words were written. DEATH, she saw, repeated on two of the large star points, with LOVE on one, and GOOD FORTUNE, and BIRTH. The lesser points had much smaller letters. A TRIP, claimed one. MEET A HANDSOME STRANGER, read another..... The five large points had the words DEATH, LOVE, DEATH, GOOD FORTUNE, BIRTH, and on the smaller points between, embroidered in old English script, were the words MEET A HANDSOME STRANGER, SUCCESS, TRIP, DISASTER, and UNSPEAKABLE HORRORS. After reading the fortunes of her Aunt, Cousins; Nicole and Teddy, as well as Greta and Patrick Everest, Heather felt a cold fear settling within her. All of them received a similar fortune of unspeakable horrors and death. For Pansy, her shock would come as she discovered she was pregnant with a baby neither her nor her husband could financially afford to keep. Feeling backed into a corner with the mounting debt, a wave of resentment piled up for Heather as Pansy blamed the abortion on her. Going through with the toughest choices of her life, Pansy begins being haunted by the fetus shortly after the abortion takes place. Even coming home to the comforting walls does little to ease her pain as the poundings on the walls never seem to cease, but only to her ears. The night of the carnival comes, and she convinced everyone to go without her, a fatal mistake as hours later she is discovered in a closet supposedly dead from a heart attack. Now horribly broken, Reece is barely functioning after the death of his wife. Haunted by the same things that plagued his wife, he chose the ultimate way to escape, suicide. Deciding to burn the house down, he sent all three kids away for the night but never expected Heather to appear back home. Tossing her from the window, she lands in the basement where she discovers the two hidden skeletons and the ace that carved their skulls years ago. One belongs to her mother, still in her yellow dress, the other to her father whom she's never met. As police begin hunting for the suspect in the skeleton's discovery, Miss Upton snatched Heather before fleeing into the Pits with her ready to kill her. As she barely escapes, Miss Upton encounters a beast from hell, more wolf than human that stalked the Pits. Yet these Pits held other horrific secrets. The deaths of Greta and Patrick Everest, Clayton White more, and finally the unresolved drowning of Antol Reinhardt.
Come home, Heather, come home. I was meant to be your mother. We will be together, you and I, forevermore.
Another small farmers community is struggling with a nightmare brought to life by a cloth scarf and a pendulum that seems to predict every horrific future of those it encounters. Heather Ridgely is only eleven years old and feels the cold isolation of having no true family to love, nurture and protect her. At only one year old her mother, Robin abandons her with her Grandmother as she runs away to live with Heather's real father. At merely eighteen she was a senior in high school when the hired gardener took her heart and it turn gave her a baby she never truly wanted. He was married, Julian Reinhardt, when the two ran off to be with one another, never to be heard from by any family ever again. Believing in her heart her mother would return to be with her, to bring her the father she never knew, Heather lived with her Uncle Reece, Aunt Pansey, and cousins Teddy and Nicole while she waited for that day to come. Yet hidden in the back of her mind was the knowledge they never really wanted her there, that she was a burden to their family's dynamic. After selling their home and purchasing the beautiful expansive home from Miss Clarice Upton, it was a constant struggle for finances to support that house and the growing family. One day, Heather was given a present from the homeless man who pushed the cart, and inside was a scarf adorned with Occult and devilish designs as well as a Pendulum that swung ok it's own when she held somebody's hands for a fortune. Holding the power of fortune telling, gave her an edge in the schools carnival, even when the readings all held similar nightmares. Embroidered in old gray-black thread was a large five-pointed star, with small points between each of the major points, so that there were ten in all. On each point, even the lesser ones, words were written. DEATH, she saw, repeated on two of the large star points, with LOVE on one, and GOOD FORTUNE, and BIRTH. The lesser points had much smaller letters. A TRIP, claimed one. MEET A HANDSOME STRANGER, read another..... The five large points had the words DEATH, LOVE, DEATH, GOOD FORTUNE, BIRTH, and on the smaller points between, embroidered in old English script, were the words MEET A HANDSOME STRANGER, SUCCESS, TRIP, DISASTER, and UNSPEAKABLE HORRORS. After reading the fortunes of her Aunt, Cousins; Nicole and Teddy, as well as Greta and Patrick Everest, Heather felt a cold fear settling within her. All of them received a similar fortune of unspeakable horrors and death. For Pansy, her shock would come as she discovered she was pregnant with a baby neither her nor her husband could financially afford to keep. Feeling backed into a corner with the mounting debt, a wave of resentment piled up for Heather as Pansy blamed the abortion on her. Going through with the toughest choices of her life, Pansy begins being haunted by the fetus shortly after the abortion takes place. Even coming home to the comforting walls does little to ease her pain as the poundings on the walls never seem to cease, but only to her ears. The night of the carnival comes, and she convinced everyone to go without her, a fatal mistake as hours later she is discovered in a closet supposedly dead from a heart attack. Now horribly broken, Reece is barely functioning after the death of his wife. Haunted by the same things that plagued his wife, he chose the ultimate way to escape, suicide. Deciding to burn the house down, he sent all three kids away for the night but never expected Heather to appear back home. Tossing her from the window, she lands in the basement where she discovers the two hidden skeletons and the ace that carved their skulls years ago. One belongs to her mother, still in her yellow dress, the other to her father whom she's never met. As police begin hunting for the suspect in the skeleton's discovery, Miss Upton snatched Heather before fleeing into the Pits with her ready to kill her. As she barely escapes, Miss Upton encounters a beast from hell, more wolf than human that stalked the Pits. Yet these Pits held other horrific secrets. The deaths of Greta and Patrick Everest, Clayton White more, and finally the unresolved drowning of Antol Reinhardt.
Come home, Heather, come home. I was meant to be your mother. We will be together, you and I, forevermore.
September 22, 2019
Heather couldn't believe how fortunate she had been to find the pendulum right before the school carnival. She tried to put the old man out of her mind. But once she started telling fortunes, it sometimes seemed like the pendulum had a mind of its own. Then, the horrible deaths started. Was there really some connection? She desperately wanted to find the truth, and no one could have predicted what she would learn. Another masterful plot from Ruby Jean!
February 8, 2019
This was a re-read, but one I haven't cracked the cover on since I was a kid.
There was a lot to like about this one, but there were a few issues I had working my way through it. I have to chalk those up to things I've learned since I started writing my own stuff, though, to be fair. On the whole, an enjoyable read, and one I won't wait so long to dig into again.
There was a lot to like about this one, but there were a few issues I had working my way through it. I have to chalk those up to things I've learned since I started writing my own stuff, though, to be fair. On the whole, an enjoyable read, and one I won't wait so long to dig into again.
February 27, 2021
Oh, this was one creepy book. I found I couldn't put it down and needed to know how it ended. The main character, Heather, is this sad little girl you can't help pulling for. The author was relentless in making this poor kid's life miserable. The descriptions of the scenery, the pendulum, etc., were all great. I hated the ending, but others may like it. A good read for sure!
February 3, 2020
Ruby Jean Jensen is one of my favorite authors of the Zebra horror books. Loved this one
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews