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Hell Night in Hopewell
The seven were just looking for a paranormal experience, but what they found was far worse than anything they could have ever imagined…
The Hopewell Sanatorium has plenty of history for a group of local actors to explore on their night off the stage. Once a nationally recognized tuberculosis hospital and then an asylum for the mentally unstable, Old Hopewell has long been a source of urban legends, and its spooky, abandoned hallways are perfect for the theatre group to get some Halloween thrills.
But what the seven friends don’t know is that they’ve just encroached on someone else’s territory. And he is ready for some Halloween fun of his own...
The Hopewell Sanatorium has plenty of history for a group of local actors to explore on their night off the stage. Once a nationally recognized tuberculosis hospital and then an asylum for the mentally unstable, Old Hopewell has long been a source of urban legends, and its spooky, abandoned hallways are perfect for the theatre group to get some Halloween thrills.
But what the seven friends don’t know is that they’ve just encroached on someone else’s territory. And he is ready for some Halloween fun of his own...
167 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 15, 2021
8 people are currently reading
286 people want to read
About the author
Wofford Lee Jones
15 books68 followersWofford Lee Jones is a horror/thriller writer who loves coffee, a good book, and a great story. His love for horror grew from watching movies in the late 70s/early 80s. However, it was only in his 20s that he started reading horror. He enjoys art, drawing/painting, watching live theatre and movies, traveling, reading, and supporting his fellow writers.
He works as a designer at Yates Construction by day, but engineering is different from where his true passion lies. Nightly and on the weekends, he can be found with a hot cup of coffee, studiously banging out that next chilling tale. He always strives to keep it dark, disturbing, and a little bit creepy. Welcome to his darkness. With four books to his credit, and the honor of being featured in a few anthologies with some respected authors, he's not stopping there. More stories are coming down the pike
He lives in Greenville, South Carolina, with his wife Laurie and their Boxer, Baxter. He is working on his fifth and sixth books, a collection of stories titled These Bloody Games We Play and a novel Becoming Ally Winter. Stay tuned; there is more coming down the pike.
For more information about the author, please see www.woffordleejones.com. Consider signing up for his monthly newsletter. It comes out on the 3rd of every month, and a free flash fiction story comes out on the 18th of each month for his subscribers.
He works as a designer at Yates Construction by day, but engineering is different from where his true passion lies. Nightly and on the weekends, he can be found with a hot cup of coffee, studiously banging out that next chilling tale. He always strives to keep it dark, disturbing, and a little bit creepy. Welcome to his darkness. With four books to his credit, and the honor of being featured in a few anthologies with some respected authors, he's not stopping there. More stories are coming down the pike
He lives in Greenville, South Carolina, with his wife Laurie and their Boxer, Baxter. He is working on his fifth and sixth books, a collection of stories titled These Bloody Games We Play and a novel Becoming Ally Winter. Stay tuned; there is more coming down the pike.
For more information about the author, please see www.woffordleejones.com. Consider signing up for his monthly newsletter. It comes out on the 3rd of every month, and a free flash fiction story comes out on the 18th of each month for his subscribers.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
February 12, 2022
Reading a horror book was a GREAT way to mix things up during my month of romance! Anyone who knows me well knows that I not only love all things spooky, but I'm super into haunted houses, horror films, scary books (including the corny ones), and I collect classic horror.
I am pleased to say that I will be adding all of Wofford Lee Jone's books to my tbr, as I believe this was a perfect fit for the genre.
The Good Things
1. Just LOOK at that gorgeous, spooky cover. It's creeptastic and sets the book's dark tone before you even start reading!
2. This book certainly delivered concerning the genre! The horror aspect of the story is fantastic.
3. The Halloweeny-Haunted-Asylum vibes are on point, as are the dumb young actors who decide to enter the old abandoned asylum in hopes of a scare. I'd be happy to read this around Halloween or on a random dark and snowy night in February. I definitely plan to re-read it in October, though.
4. The gory parts are super detailed, and I LOVED it.
5. Billy. That's it, just Billy. He was creepy in all the right ways.
The Bad Things
1. Readers should be warned that the book is extremely gory, violent, and contains a LOT of cursing. I have no problem with these things (I curse like the sailor I'm married to), but I want people to be aware before reading.
2. The introductions of the characters seemed a bit rushed and felt more like a super corny horror movie in the beginning. There are a lot of super dialogue-heavy parts during these parts (in the first 20%). However, once you push past that, the book is absolutely fantastic.
I am pleased to say that I will be adding all of Wofford Lee Jone's books to my tbr, as I believe this was a perfect fit for the genre.
The Good Things
1. Just LOOK at that gorgeous, spooky cover. It's creeptastic and sets the book's dark tone before you even start reading!
2. This book certainly delivered concerning the genre! The horror aspect of the story is fantastic.
3. The Halloweeny-Haunted-Asylum vibes are on point, as are the dumb young actors who decide to enter the old abandoned asylum in hopes of a scare. I'd be happy to read this around Halloween or on a random dark and snowy night in February. I definitely plan to re-read it in October, though.
4. The gory parts are super detailed, and I LOVED it.
5. Billy. That's it, just Billy. He was creepy in all the right ways.
The Bad Things
1. Readers should be warned that the book is extremely gory, violent, and contains a LOT of cursing. I have no problem with these things (I curse like the sailor I'm married to), but I want people to be aware before reading.
2. The introductions of the characters seemed a bit rushed and felt more like a super corny horror movie in the beginning. There are a lot of super dialogue-heavy parts during these parts (in the first 20%). However, once you push past that, the book is absolutely fantastic.
March 21, 2024
A classically creepy Halloween tale. Choose this story if you’re looking for blood, ghosts, demons, and more.
I was genuinely scared at some parts, especially with the abandoned asylum as the main setting. There are 7 main characters, and since it’s such a short story you don’t get too much depth from them.
The only thing I wasn’t a huge fan of, and maybe this is because it’s not my passion, but the characters were all in theatre together and were huge drama/broadway nerds. So expect lots of references to that theme.
I was genuinely scared at some parts, especially with the abandoned asylum as the main setting. There are 7 main characters, and since it’s such a short story you don’t get too much depth from them.
The only thing I wasn’t a huge fan of, and maybe this is because it’s not my passion, but the characters were all in theatre together and were huge drama/broadway nerds. So expect lots of references to that theme.
December 3, 2021
A group of friends decide to check out an old abandoned insane asylum on Halloween night. 🎃
Well, this book was a surprise in more ways than one....
First surprise: The Halloween 🎃 atmosphere was so thick, you could cut it with a knife 🔪(pun definitely intended!)
Second surprise: It had a whole lot of cursing, so if that isn't your thing....it will bother you.
Also, It was very violent, bloody and extreme, so if that isn't your thing....it will bother you.
Third surprise: Major spoiler:
Fourth surprise: This wasn't necessary a bad surprise, just was expecting different.
Also, I expected it to
Fifth surprise:
🖤
(Yes, another spoiler) ....
I'm being honest when I say I was creeped out, officially. No lie; I was very unsettled.
August 19, 2021
I was a lucky recipient of an ARC of Hell Night in Hopewell. This was a killer story. A group of theater actors spend Halloween night in the abandoned Hopewell Sanitarium for the scares. But they get much more than they bargained for inside the not-so-empty halls of the rundown facility. Hell Night in Hopewell is aptly named as their night is just that. Hell. Jones has an incredibly ability to paint a vivid picture of each carefully crafted scene and make you feel as though you are there. And trust me when I say, Hopewell is not somewhere you want to be! Hell Night in Hopewell will leave you shaking long after you've finished the final chapter. Do yourself a favor and pick up this book.
October 13, 2021
The youths in Wofford Lee Jone's latest, Hell Night in Hopewell, show up for a night of delightful scares. What they get is a nightmare.
All acquaintances from a local theater troop, seven twenty-ish-year-olds decide to scare themselves by visiting the Hopewell Sanitarium on Halloween night. The dead grass outside shifts with the wind like the whispers of long-dead patients. Crows cackle from the barren trees as portents of doom. Graffiti screams of recent occult activity. A boy named Billy is waiting for his friend to arrive so they can have a slumber party--wait, what?
Yeah, a prepubescent lad is just hanging around inside the abandoned insane asylum so he and his pal can have a cozy sleepover in the tower. But hey, while he waits for his friend to show, why don't you seven young adults follow him around for a tour...to the basement.
Isn't it clear you should never follow anyone, let alone a creepy kid (because creepy kids are the worst), into a basement? But they do it anyway and what ensues is an all-out gorefest. Occult practices mix with the slasher genre for a bloodbath any horror fan would squeal for.
This story has all the tropes. First, there are the characters; the bully, the athlete, the mouthy one, the shy one, etc. Then there are the trappings of the haunted asylum and the maniacal doctor who did terrible things to patients inside the walls of the now derelict compound. Finally, add in a splash of the good old-fashioned fun turned wrong, a sprinkle of a final girl, maybe a touch of the loss of intelligence by characters in a horror film, and finish with a garnish of creepy kid.
Hell Night in Hopewell is the quintessential goodness of horror and Halloween. Jones pulls out all the punches. The gore and blood escalate into a fervor of madness which is simply delicious for the genre. However, the first part of this novella suffers from characters who seem forced, fake, and not at all like they'd be friends hanging out with one another.
The entire prelude of getting into the asylum where the action starts is taxing. These characters do not seem at all appropriate for the times nor the scenario. I don't know about you, but I'm not heading off for some urban exploring in a haunted building unless I've got people I trust. All seven of these characters seem as if they are grudgingly hanging out with one another.
Perhaps in some parts of the world, and within some groups of friends, the kind of bullying, snarky banter, and calling out sexual preferences is de rigueur. To me, it plagues the start of an otherwise fantastic book. I just don't buy going anywhere that may be unsettling, dangerous, or out of your comfort zone with people you can't trust. On the flip side, I thought Jones did an excellent job with our final girl, Julie. Myles is also intriguing, but he lacks the fleshing out that the protagonist (if there really is one) Julie gets.
If I can't cheer on the characters or at least relish in their deaths, then it deflates the danger that they're in. For this reason, I had to dock some stars.
Overall, this novella is a treat for the Halloween season and is thoroughly enjoyable. It's a lot like watching a throwback slasher that has some great production design, an excellent makeup/special effects team, and some toss-away characters. Entertaining, gory fun!
All acquaintances from a local theater troop, seven twenty-ish-year-olds decide to scare themselves by visiting the Hopewell Sanitarium on Halloween night. The dead grass outside shifts with the wind like the whispers of long-dead patients. Crows cackle from the barren trees as portents of doom. Graffiti screams of recent occult activity. A boy named Billy is waiting for his friend to arrive so they can have a slumber party--wait, what?
Yeah, a prepubescent lad is just hanging around inside the abandoned insane asylum so he and his pal can have a cozy sleepover in the tower. But hey, while he waits for his friend to show, why don't you seven young adults follow him around for a tour...to the basement.
Isn't it clear you should never follow anyone, let alone a creepy kid (because creepy kids are the worst), into a basement? But they do it anyway and what ensues is an all-out gorefest. Occult practices mix with the slasher genre for a bloodbath any horror fan would squeal for.
This story has all the tropes. First, there are the characters; the bully, the athlete, the mouthy one, the shy one, etc. Then there are the trappings of the haunted asylum and the maniacal doctor who did terrible things to patients inside the walls of the now derelict compound. Finally, add in a splash of the good old-fashioned fun turned wrong, a sprinkle of a final girl, maybe a touch of the loss of intelligence by characters in a horror film, and finish with a garnish of creepy kid.
Hell Night in Hopewell is the quintessential goodness of horror and Halloween. Jones pulls out all the punches. The gore and blood escalate into a fervor of madness which is simply delicious for the genre. However, the first part of this novella suffers from characters who seem forced, fake, and not at all like they'd be friends hanging out with one another.
The entire prelude of getting into the asylum where the action starts is taxing. These characters do not seem at all appropriate for the times nor the scenario. I don't know about you, but I'm not heading off for some urban exploring in a haunted building unless I've got people I trust. All seven of these characters seem as if they are grudgingly hanging out with one another.
Perhaps in some parts of the world, and within some groups of friends, the kind of bullying, snarky banter, and calling out sexual preferences is de rigueur. To me, it plagues the start of an otherwise fantastic book. I just don't buy going anywhere that may be unsettling, dangerous, or out of your comfort zone with people you can't trust. On the flip side, I thought Jones did an excellent job with our final girl, Julie. Myles is also intriguing, but he lacks the fleshing out that the protagonist (if there really is one) Julie gets.
If I can't cheer on the characters or at least relish in their deaths, then it deflates the danger that they're in. For this reason, I had to dock some stars.
Overall, this novella is a treat for the Halloween season and is thoroughly enjoyable. It's a lot like watching a throwback slasher that has some great production design, an excellent makeup/special effects team, and some toss-away characters. Entertaining, gory fun!
December 13, 2021
Well, he's done it again!
Following on from loving his short story collection, Off the Beaten Path, I was desperate to get stuck into Wofford Lee Jones's recent novella. Creepy haunted asylum, slasher throwbacks, a brilliant final girl, and an unexpected (and chilling) antagonist - this book has it all. Oh, and gore. Loads of lovely gore.
Hell Night in Hopewell is a tight, well-paced read that can easily be digested in one or two sittings. Wofford has a way of writing that both keeps the pace of the story up, but also paints a vivid picture of the world into which we're stepping. Luckily, this is a story that pays tribute to many loved horror tropes, and so there's plenty of hallmarks of the genre for a veteran of the macabre such as myself on which to get his bearings. But don't be fooled: this is an entirely original story, and you can be expect to be yanked out of your comfort zone with some force.
So don't be a scaredy-cat; spend an evening in Hopewell Sanatorium and allow Wofford to give you the guided tour of your life. It ain't gonna be an easy ride, and you may not come out in one piece, but I promise it'll be a hell of a lot of fun.
Following on from loving his short story collection, Off the Beaten Path, I was desperate to get stuck into Wofford Lee Jones's recent novella. Creepy haunted asylum, slasher throwbacks, a brilliant final girl, and an unexpected (and chilling) antagonist - this book has it all. Oh, and gore. Loads of lovely gore.
Hell Night in Hopewell is a tight, well-paced read that can easily be digested in one or two sittings. Wofford has a way of writing that both keeps the pace of the story up, but also paints a vivid picture of the world into which we're stepping. Luckily, this is a story that pays tribute to many loved horror tropes, and so there's plenty of hallmarks of the genre for a veteran of the macabre such as myself on which to get his bearings. But don't be fooled: this is an entirely original story, and you can be expect to be yanked out of your comfort zone with some force.
So don't be a scaredy-cat; spend an evening in Hopewell Sanatorium and allow Wofford to give you the guided tour of your life. It ain't gonna be an easy ride, and you may not come out in one piece, but I promise it'll be a hell of a lot of fun.
October 15, 2021
Perfect spooky season read
July 21, 2023
Oof. Good grief, it’s a good thing this was only 180 pages.
Okay, I’ll say one good thing about this. I was honestly shocked to see that it didn’t have excessive typos. I found a couple but nothing too distracting. I say that because the last time I read a locally indie published author it was absolutely atrocious. Hoping to change that stigma, I plunged into this full speed.
I was a little excited yet equally apprehensive to read an independently published local author, especially in the genre of horror. SC and most of the neighboring states tend to yield more authors akin to the romance and/or historical/modern novel-esque kind of crowd. We don’t really get a lot of horror writers and not really any come to mind that are relatively known/successful for that matter. Therefore, when I first came across this book it was quite a surprise. I read a lot of horror and it’s probably become my genre of choice these days, so this certainly piqued my interest from the beginning. Bearing that in mind, I’m not out to bust anyone’s balls so to speak or get on my high horse. I’m not a published writer, I’m just a dude that reads for pleasure every now and then. With that, I like to chronicle my thoughts and share them with folks. Some people may agree, find it helpful, entertaining, or maybe even disagree and find them offensive. If you like this book, great. But here’s why I didn’t like it. (And I won’t sugar coat it either)…
This wound up being quite bad. While the writing itself is passable, much of it didn’t really do anything for me. The prose itself isn’t much more sophisticated than that of a high schooler writing a scary story for their creative writing class. The structure and nature of the narrative I found to be completely derivative of every cheap horror flick you could imagine. Every plot point reads as musty and simple; completely stripped down to the point that it’s hilariously predictable. I didn’t really jive with the cast of “characters” if you can even call them that, mostly because they were just bodies to begin with. Any characteristics they had where just a thin veneer of an archetype covering the fact that they were a plot device for an increased body count. Spoiler alert, there’s lots of murder and excessive gore. Now, hear me loud and clear here, I don’t really have any issue with gore and the grotesque. I think that it is certainly a brand of horror, and when done right it can be effective. This however, was just an author relying on poorly constructed and unoriginal scenarios all for shock factor. There isn’t anything substantial or nuanced going on here. It’s just “hey I’m not sure what to do here so here’s several pages of blood and guts but not really presented in a unique or clever form. Lots of flashing lights and shock for the sake of *gasp* ahhh gross to distract from the weak structure.” The plot line and the character arcs are paper thin at best and non-existent at the worst, (which is quite often).
You’re telling me 7 grown ass adults end up locked in a room with a possessed 10 year old yet they act like they’re all a bunch of immature teenagers? They can’t even find these areas in the wide-open-ass room that the killer is pilfering through to find weapons to defend themselves with said weapons that are hiding in plain sight? Most of them idly stand by yelling out expletives and what not as the possessed boy attacks each one of them. I mean, I’ve seen some movies where characters act like idiots but this takes the cake. Jesus. I mean, quoting the gospel of SpongeBob here “did you just blow in from stupid-town?” Anyone ever play the early Assassin’s Creed games where the enemy AI wasn’t sophisticated enough to bombard you with multiple enemies attacking at once regardless of how many enemies were considered hostile? Yeah, remember that? It’s okay if you don’t but just to prove my point. You’re standing in the middle of a bunch of pissed off dudes with swords and such and they politely wait their turn to attack you after you’ve disposed of their comrade. Yeah, that’s exactly what happens in this book. It’s ludicrous. You’d think if you or better yet, your created characters were in such a dire situation they would bombard the attacker as opposed to waiting around and spectating. But I digress…
Also, there’s so much lazy dialogue and copious amounts of cursing and 13-year old crass humor that just reek of perfunctory writing at best. I found myself consistently rolling my eyes at how amateur the entire story felt. I kept waiting for a big twist or something else to grasp me and make me feel like I read a small piece of something original, sadly it never happened. Listen, I wanted to cut this some slack but, I’ll be brutally honest, it’s just not worth your time. If you haven’t read horror before and want to dive headfirst into a lazy depiction of the grotesque and not much else, then be my guest. But just know, there’s plenty more quality works out there and much more that the horror genre has to offer than just that.
This just didn’t land with me, sorry, not sorry. Also, it doesn’t help that I just couldn’t buy into the premise shortly after the start. Even though things move along quickly it all feels too campy and ridiculous to actually become invested in. If you’re one of those people that watches a lot of horror films, you could categorize this as below that of B-movie slasher with an extremely low budget. I want you to picture some movie that you’ve never heard of before in your life. Something that has probably only been released on YouTube or some now defunct website and compare it to a bigger name motion picture. That’s essentially what we have here. Don’t get me wrong, the occasional diamond in the rough when it comes to independent art does exist, and books are no exception. Sadly though, this is not the case with this particular book. I hate to rag on an author from my hometown, but I gotta call it like it is. Goodreads gets flooded with too many skewed reviews as is already, good and bad. I said what I said.
Okay, I’ll say one good thing about this. I was honestly shocked to see that it didn’t have excessive typos. I found a couple but nothing too distracting. I say that because the last time I read a locally indie published author it was absolutely atrocious. Hoping to change that stigma, I plunged into this full speed.
I was a little excited yet equally apprehensive to read an independently published local author, especially in the genre of horror. SC and most of the neighboring states tend to yield more authors akin to the romance and/or historical/modern novel-esque kind of crowd. We don’t really get a lot of horror writers and not really any come to mind that are relatively known/successful for that matter. Therefore, when I first came across this book it was quite a surprise. I read a lot of horror and it’s probably become my genre of choice these days, so this certainly piqued my interest from the beginning. Bearing that in mind, I’m not out to bust anyone’s balls so to speak or get on my high horse. I’m not a published writer, I’m just a dude that reads for pleasure every now and then. With that, I like to chronicle my thoughts and share them with folks. Some people may agree, find it helpful, entertaining, or maybe even disagree and find them offensive. If you like this book, great. But here’s why I didn’t like it. (And I won’t sugar coat it either)…
This wound up being quite bad. While the writing itself is passable, much of it didn’t really do anything for me. The prose itself isn’t much more sophisticated than that of a high schooler writing a scary story for their creative writing class. The structure and nature of the narrative I found to be completely derivative of every cheap horror flick you could imagine. Every plot point reads as musty and simple; completely stripped down to the point that it’s hilariously predictable. I didn’t really jive with the cast of “characters” if you can even call them that, mostly because they were just bodies to begin with. Any characteristics they had where just a thin veneer of an archetype covering the fact that they were a plot device for an increased body count. Spoiler alert, there’s lots of murder and excessive gore. Now, hear me loud and clear here, I don’t really have any issue with gore and the grotesque. I think that it is certainly a brand of horror, and when done right it can be effective. This however, was just an author relying on poorly constructed and unoriginal scenarios all for shock factor. There isn’t anything substantial or nuanced going on here. It’s just “hey I’m not sure what to do here so here’s several pages of blood and guts but not really presented in a unique or clever form. Lots of flashing lights and shock for the sake of *gasp* ahhh gross to distract from the weak structure.” The plot line and the character arcs are paper thin at best and non-existent at the worst, (which is quite often).
You’re telling me 7 grown ass adults end up locked in a room with a possessed 10 year old yet they act like they’re all a bunch of immature teenagers? They can’t even find these areas in the wide-open-ass room that the killer is pilfering through to find weapons to defend themselves with said weapons that are hiding in plain sight? Most of them idly stand by yelling out expletives and what not as the possessed boy attacks each one of them. I mean, I’ve seen some movies where characters act like idiots but this takes the cake. Jesus. I mean, quoting the gospel of SpongeBob here “did you just blow in from stupid-town?” Anyone ever play the early Assassin’s Creed games where the enemy AI wasn’t sophisticated enough to bombard you with multiple enemies attacking at once regardless of how many enemies were considered hostile? Yeah, remember that? It’s okay if you don’t but just to prove my point. You’re standing in the middle of a bunch of pissed off dudes with swords and such and they politely wait their turn to attack you after you’ve disposed of their comrade. Yeah, that’s exactly what happens in this book. It’s ludicrous. You’d think if you or better yet, your created characters were in such a dire situation they would bombard the attacker as opposed to waiting around and spectating. But I digress…
Also, there’s so much lazy dialogue and copious amounts of cursing and 13-year old crass humor that just reek of perfunctory writing at best. I found myself consistently rolling my eyes at how amateur the entire story felt. I kept waiting for a big twist or something else to grasp me and make me feel like I read a small piece of something original, sadly it never happened. Listen, I wanted to cut this some slack but, I’ll be brutally honest, it’s just not worth your time. If you haven’t read horror before and want to dive headfirst into a lazy depiction of the grotesque and not much else, then be my guest. But just know, there’s plenty more quality works out there and much more that the horror genre has to offer than just that.
This just didn’t land with me, sorry, not sorry. Also, it doesn’t help that I just couldn’t buy into the premise shortly after the start. Even though things move along quickly it all feels too campy and ridiculous to actually become invested in. If you’re one of those people that watches a lot of horror films, you could categorize this as below that of B-movie slasher with an extremely low budget. I want you to picture some movie that you’ve never heard of before in your life. Something that has probably only been released on YouTube or some now defunct website and compare it to a bigger name motion picture. That’s essentially what we have here. Don’t get me wrong, the occasional diamond in the rough when it comes to independent art does exist, and books are no exception. Sadly though, this is not the case with this particular book. I hate to rag on an author from my hometown, but I gotta call it like it is. Goodreads gets flooded with too many skewed reviews as is already, good and bad. I said what I said.
September 19, 2021
I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this book, and let me tell you, it is great! It’s a fun read for any horror fan. The story is interesting and even surprising at times. I totally recommend it to anyone looking for a good Halloween read.
September 19, 2021
A perfect read as we approach Halloween. It was a well-written, exciting, spine-tingling adventure. The pace was fast, the dialogue snappy, and I couldn't put the story down. I probably shouldn't have read it right before I went to sleep, but I just had to see what happened. You need this book!
October 8, 2023
I listened to Hell Night in Hopewell on Audible. I thought the Narrator did a good job, having so many characters to voice - but the female voices were a little lacking for me. But, the story itself was awesome! Seven local college-aged theater actors decide to spend some time on Halloween night in a local abandoned asylum - The Hopewell Sanatorium - hoping to experience some paranormal activity. Then they meet a 10 year old boy named Billy and little do they know but, as Billy is giving them a tour, he has quite a bit of fuckery up his sleeves. The story was creepy. The gorefest scenes were on point for sure, and as a lover of gore, I appreciated that. Things get gnarley and escape seems impossible. The only issue I had with the book was the dialog between the 7 sounded more like high school kids - not sure if that was the actual writing or the way the narrator’s voice chosen for the 7. But it did not deter me so much that I didn’t enjoy the story! Great book, Wofford!
September 6, 2021
Very nice horror novel for Halloween. It was a bit gory and graphic, some slasher and a little bit paranormal. It was a pretty quick read, 178 pages or so. I do wish the lead up to the climax had been just a bit scarier. There were a lot of opportunities for creepy things to happen as they group was searching through the asylum. But nonetheless, I enjoyed it. It literally had me tensed up, anxious, on the edge of my seat, trying to finish it to see what would happen.
January 28, 2022
Fun and creepy buildup in the first half to an all out onslaught of terror and brutality and gore in the second half. Full review to come!
January 16, 2022
You should read this book if:
*You like good Halloween story. Seven friends decide to explore an old abandoned sanitarium ON HALLOWEEN NIGHT. I mean, of course.
*You like modern takes on classic tropes. Haunted hospital. Dumb young people doing dumb things for fun and facing evil as a consequence. A final girl. Blood and guts.
*You like lots of fast back-and-forth dialogue between witty and trash-talking friends. There's lots of that here. Especially in the first half of the book. You know, when everyone is still capable of talking.
*You like uncomfortable characters. I mean: little kids...we all like little kids, right? We want to protect them, right? They're sweet and innocent... right? (Maybe not.)
*You like a bit of throwback 1990-ish slasher goodness. Again, blood and guts. And then more blood and guts.
*You've ever asked yourself, "Just how many items in my garage could be used to kill someone?" Because you'll find out. (Answer: all the things. Did I mention blood and guts?)
So, there's these seven twenty-somethings who need something to do on Halloween night and get the brilliant idea to crash the creepy old Hopewell Sanitarium in hopes of some good fun. The atmosphere is all there: rustling grass by the light of a Halloween moon as they approach the hulking monolith. Foreboding graffiti adorning the walls. Crumbling staircases. Ravens. Rats.
Billy.
Billy is a ten year old kid who has also decided that hanging out in an old abandoned hospital sounds like the perfect way to spend Halloween, and while he waits for his friend Trent to finish trick or treating and join him, he offers to take our seven intrepid explorers (er, theater nerds) on a tour of the place. Because Billy's been here before, loads of times. He knows all about the building.
He's also mouthy, sarcastic, and extremely creepy.
The seven friends, perplexed and sort of amused by this mouthy kid, agree to take his tour. He shows them how to ascend the one semi-safe staircase, takes them all along the second floor, up to the bell tower with its breathtaking views, and, one last hurrah before they leave him there to wait for Trent, he takes them down to the basement.
Never go in the basement.
Also, I don't think Trent is coming.
Anything else would be spoilers but let me say that I read the whole book in one sitting. At the halfway point, I yawned and told my husband I didn't know if I'd make it through the whole book before I fell asleep. (As in, "it was ten at night and I'd been up since four in the morning" yawning, not "the book is boring" yawning.) And then they went in the basement and I was suddenly very much awake.
This book starts off fun and kind of goofy-spooky but then takes a sharp and bloody tumble into something much more sinister in the second half. The amount of violence and carnage is mind-blowing, in a deliciously dark way. I finished this one and let out a satisfied sigh. It's a good one.
Get it. And read it, preferably starting as the light fades from the October sky and an inky black night falls around you. Beware of rustling grasses and mouthy kids.
*You like good Halloween story. Seven friends decide to explore an old abandoned sanitarium ON HALLOWEEN NIGHT. I mean, of course.
*You like modern takes on classic tropes. Haunted hospital. Dumb young people doing dumb things for fun and facing evil as a consequence. A final girl. Blood and guts.
*You like lots of fast back-and-forth dialogue between witty and trash-talking friends. There's lots of that here. Especially in the first half of the book. You know, when everyone is still capable of talking.
*You like uncomfortable characters. I mean: little kids...we all like little kids, right? We want to protect them, right? They're sweet and innocent... right? (Maybe not.)
*You like a bit of throwback 1990-ish slasher goodness. Again, blood and guts. And then more blood and guts.
*You've ever asked yourself, "Just how many items in my garage could be used to kill someone?" Because you'll find out. (Answer: all the things. Did I mention blood and guts?)
So, there's these seven twenty-somethings who need something to do on Halloween night and get the brilliant idea to crash the creepy old Hopewell Sanitarium in hopes of some good fun. The atmosphere is all there: rustling grass by the light of a Halloween moon as they approach the hulking monolith. Foreboding graffiti adorning the walls. Crumbling staircases. Ravens. Rats.
Billy.
Billy is a ten year old kid who has also decided that hanging out in an old abandoned hospital sounds like the perfect way to spend Halloween, and while he waits for his friend Trent to finish trick or treating and join him, he offers to take our seven intrepid explorers (er, theater nerds) on a tour of the place. Because Billy's been here before, loads of times. He knows all about the building.
He's also mouthy, sarcastic, and extremely creepy.
The seven friends, perplexed and sort of amused by this mouthy kid, agree to take his tour. He shows them how to ascend the one semi-safe staircase, takes them all along the second floor, up to the bell tower with its breathtaking views, and, one last hurrah before they leave him there to wait for Trent, he takes them down to the basement.
Never go in the basement.
Also, I don't think Trent is coming.
Anything else would be spoilers but let me say that I read the whole book in one sitting. At the halfway point, I yawned and told my husband I didn't know if I'd make it through the whole book before I fell asleep. (As in, "it was ten at night and I'd been up since four in the morning" yawning, not "the book is boring" yawning.) And then they went in the basement and I was suddenly very much awake.
This book starts off fun and kind of goofy-spooky but then takes a sharp and bloody tumble into something much more sinister in the second half. The amount of violence and carnage is mind-blowing, in a deliciously dark way. I finished this one and let out a satisfied sigh. It's a good one.
Get it. And read it, preferably starting as the light fades from the October sky and an inky black night falls around you. Beware of rustling grasses and mouthy kids.
October 20, 2023
Late on Halloween night, a groups of friends in search of scares and a good time make their way to an abandoned sanatorium. Among the rats and forgotten equipment, they find a special host who’s been anxiously awaiting their arrival.
Jones’ storytelling is tense and threatening. As the seven friends explore the abandoned building and gradually uncover its secrets, the reader is constantly teased by an impending horror, suspecting what may come next, only to be shocked by a twist far more horrifying than imagined. Hell Night in Hopewell is the perfect companion for the Halloween season, or great for anyone just looking for a brilliant horror read.
Jones’ storytelling is tense and threatening. As the seven friends explore the abandoned building and gradually uncover its secrets, the reader is constantly teased by an impending horror, suspecting what may come next, only to be shocked by a twist far more horrifying than imagined. Hell Night in Hopewell is the perfect companion for the Halloween season, or great for anyone just looking for a brilliant horror read.
November 30, 2021
You can find this review and all my others over at www.readbookrepeat.wordpress.com
Actual rating of 2.5
It's Halloween night and seven theatre friends are out for some spooky fun. Deciding to head up to The Hopewell Sanitorium which has been a source of urban legends and ghost stories ever since it shut down. It used to be a tuberculosis hospital, then it became an asylum for the mentally insane. The perfect place for these seven friends to catch their Halloween thrills on a night off from performing. What starts out as some innocent fun, soon turns into a fight for their lives as they realise they have stumbled into someone elses domain, and he's looking for some fun of his own...
I was in the mood for a spooky read as Halloween had not long finished, and I saw this reviewed by someone, quite possibly on Goodreads in fact, and thought, hey, why not go for a classic haunted asylum horror. I wasn't super disappointed, but I honestly wasn't blown away by this story either. It's incredibly cliche, and incredibly predictable, which took away some of the fun. Sometimes what you need is something cliche and predictable, and I won't ever condemn a book for being both of those things, just this time it didn't work for me, and it wasn't quite what I was looking for.
I do want to state that Jones definitely knows how to set the theme and create a creepy atmosphere that I felt even after I'd put the book down for the night. Even though I knew what was going to happen, it didn't make it any less spooky and didn't take away from the feeling of helplessness and isolation that Jones created. I feel like it's incredibly important in horror novels to be able to set the scene and make your atmosphere a character of its own and feel real to the reader, and Jones did this in spades.
The characters are where it fell pretty short for me. They were written well enough, but I just didn't really care about them until right at the end. I began to cheer on the two remaining characters, and found that I DID care whether they lived or died, but it took basically the entire story for me to get to that point. And if you're not invested in your characters, what are you invested in? The characters were cookie cutout stereo types which I found odd to be part of a friendship group and some of the characters I even found it odd that they were part of a theatre group in the first place, but then, I feel like that's me stereotyping them then them not completely fitting the stereotype that I gave them. So in part, that's definitely on me.
The story itself is pretty straight forward. Friends go looking for Halloween fun, which you know is going to end badly. Friends end up in terrible situation that is threatening their lives. Majority of friends possibly end up dead or horribly injured. Some escape to remember the terrible tragedy. I do think that the character chosen as the villian in this story was a bit unbelievable. And I know, it's fiction, and it's horror. And in the beginning, sure, the person seemed innocent enough, but you could tell from the get go that something wasn't right because this character is incredibly persistent, which rings big alarm bells for me, so I can't help but wonder how the other characters in the novel didn't pick it up.
I also feel like this story relied a lot on shock horror for its effects. As said above, the atmosphere was set really well, but the over use of gratuitous gore was a bit on the nose, and I love me a good gory horror movie or book, as long as it's sole purpose isn't for shock factor, which I feel like a lot of this was. So if you have a problem with gore, I would advise against reading this as it gets quite graphic in a couple of parts.
All in all, it's not a terrible book, it just didn't work that well for me. I'm glad that I'm in the minority on this because every book has it's audience, and it seems like the right audience has found this one. If you love a good creepy Halloween story, and don't mind the violence and gore, give it a crack , you might just love it.
Actual rating of 2.5
It's Halloween night and seven theatre friends are out for some spooky fun. Deciding to head up to The Hopewell Sanitorium which has been a source of urban legends and ghost stories ever since it shut down. It used to be a tuberculosis hospital, then it became an asylum for the mentally insane. The perfect place for these seven friends to catch their Halloween thrills on a night off from performing. What starts out as some innocent fun, soon turns into a fight for their lives as they realise they have stumbled into someone elses domain, and he's looking for some fun of his own...
I was in the mood for a spooky read as Halloween had not long finished, and I saw this reviewed by someone, quite possibly on Goodreads in fact, and thought, hey, why not go for a classic haunted asylum horror. I wasn't super disappointed, but I honestly wasn't blown away by this story either. It's incredibly cliche, and incredibly predictable, which took away some of the fun. Sometimes what you need is something cliche and predictable, and I won't ever condemn a book for being both of those things, just this time it didn't work for me, and it wasn't quite what I was looking for.
I do want to state that Jones definitely knows how to set the theme and create a creepy atmosphere that I felt even after I'd put the book down for the night. Even though I knew what was going to happen, it didn't make it any less spooky and didn't take away from the feeling of helplessness and isolation that Jones created. I feel like it's incredibly important in horror novels to be able to set the scene and make your atmosphere a character of its own and feel real to the reader, and Jones did this in spades.
The characters are where it fell pretty short for me. They were written well enough, but I just didn't really care about them until right at the end. I began to cheer on the two remaining characters, and found that I DID care whether they lived or died, but it took basically the entire story for me to get to that point. And if you're not invested in your characters, what are you invested in? The characters were cookie cutout stereo types which I found odd to be part of a friendship group and some of the characters I even found it odd that they were part of a theatre group in the first place, but then, I feel like that's me stereotyping them then them not completely fitting the stereotype that I gave them. So in part, that's definitely on me.
The story itself is pretty straight forward. Friends go looking for Halloween fun, which you know is going to end badly. Friends end up in terrible situation that is threatening their lives. Majority of friends possibly end up dead or horribly injured. Some escape to remember the terrible tragedy. I do think that the character chosen as the villian in this story was a bit unbelievable. And I know, it's fiction, and it's horror. And in the beginning, sure, the person seemed innocent enough, but you could tell from the get go that something wasn't right because this character is incredibly persistent, which rings big alarm bells for me, so I can't help but wonder how the other characters in the novel didn't pick it up.
I also feel like this story relied a lot on shock horror for its effects. As said above, the atmosphere was set really well, but the over use of gratuitous gore was a bit on the nose, and I love me a good gory horror movie or book, as long as it's sole purpose isn't for shock factor, which I feel like a lot of this was. So if you have a problem with gore, I would advise against reading this as it gets quite graphic in a couple of parts.
All in all, it's not a terrible book, it just didn't work that well for me. I'm glad that I'm in the minority on this because every book has it's audience, and it seems like the right audience has found this one. If you love a good creepy Halloween story, and don't mind the violence and gore, give it a crack , you might just love it.
October 7, 2023
Seven theater friends decide to spend Halloween in the local abandoned Hopewell Asylum. They just want a few spooky thrills but instead find themselves dealing with horrors beyond belief.
There were several things that make this a less than 5 star read for me. First of all, the friends are supposed to be twenty-ish, but act more like teenagers. They are supposedly good friends, but before even entering the asylum, harsh words are thrown around and a fist fight erupts. This really didn't add anything to the story and made their "closeness" questionable.
Then, when they are in the asylum, they come across a 10 year old boy who claims that he is going to spend the night in the building with his friend. The (supposed) adults are much more frightened than Billy and blindly follow him on a tour of the place, complete with a basement. As all horror movie fans know, you NEVER go into the basement! Their actions reminded me a bit of a B-horror movie and a bit of a karate flick. Instead of these 7 adults ganging up to take on one scrawny young boy, they instead try to attack individually (karate flick move!). Then, there is the juvenile crude jokes from some of the characters and the continuous cursing. I'm no prude, but it was just a bit over the top for me.
There were numerous gruesome and descriptive injuries and death with plenty of blood and gore. And, in true slasher movie style, you have a final girl who saves the day (sorta).
The narrator did a good job with the different voices and great pacing. I just didn't enjoy this one as much as I would have liked and would only recommend if you are a true buff of B-movies with characters that have obviously never watched one of those movies and act accordingly.
There were several things that make this a less than 5 star read for me. First of all, the friends are supposed to be twenty-ish, but act more like teenagers. They are supposedly good friends, but before even entering the asylum, harsh words are thrown around and a fist fight erupts. This really didn't add anything to the story and made their "closeness" questionable.
Then, when they are in the asylum, they come across a 10 year old boy who claims that he is going to spend the night in the building with his friend. The (supposed) adults are much more frightened than Billy and blindly follow him on a tour of the place, complete with a basement. As all horror movie fans know, you NEVER go into the basement! Their actions reminded me a bit of a B-horror movie and a bit of a karate flick. Instead of these 7 adults ganging up to take on one scrawny young boy, they instead try to attack individually (karate flick move!). Then, there is the juvenile crude jokes from some of the characters and the continuous cursing. I'm no prude, but it was just a bit over the top for me.
There were numerous gruesome and descriptive injuries and death with plenty of blood and gore. And, in true slasher movie style, you have a final girl who saves the day (sorta).
The narrator did a good job with the different voices and great pacing. I just didn't enjoy this one as much as I would have liked and would only recommend if you are a true buff of B-movies with characters that have obviously never watched one of those movies and act accordingly.
September 11, 2021
Hell Night in Hopewell - I'm literally speechless! The words that come to mind are Genius! Brilliant!
A book that would put Freddy Krueger, Jason (Friday, the Thirteenth, Chainsaw Massacres anything like them before or after to shame!
Jones, is one hell of a writer! He not only captivates you with his writing and his characters, he keeps you there. Not one for horror books, I found myself not wanting to put this down! The descriptive scenes, were so vividly written, you can't help but to feel you're right there in the terror of that Halloween night! Where seven friends explore an old "haunted" asylum. I fell in love with the group of seven! They were witty, sassy, talented and fought fast, then had each others back.
This book brought out almost every emotion, I laughed, grew scared, but what struck me most was the epic ending, I thought I was reading a romance novel! Yes, I cried, reading a horror book, and no it wasn't out of fear.
Kudos Jones, You've taken the horror genre to an entirely different level. This is not, silly post high school, romp around, while getting chased by a psycho. This is horror at it's best! Anyone that thinks they're not into horror, think again and read this book!!
A book that would put Freddy Krueger, Jason (Friday, the Thirteenth, Chainsaw Massacres anything like them before or after to shame!
Jones, is one hell of a writer! He not only captivates you with his writing and his characters, he keeps you there. Not one for horror books, I found myself not wanting to put this down! The descriptive scenes, were so vividly written, you can't help but to feel you're right there in the terror of that Halloween night! Where seven friends explore an old "haunted" asylum. I fell in love with the group of seven! They were witty, sassy, talented and fought fast, then had each others back.
This book brought out almost every emotion, I laughed, grew scared, but what struck me most was the epic ending, I thought I was reading a romance novel! Yes, I cried, reading a horror book, and no it wasn't out of fear.
Kudos Jones, You've taken the horror genre to an entirely different level. This is not, silly post high school, romp around, while getting chased by a psycho. This is horror at it's best! Anyone that thinks they're not into horror, think again and read this book!!
January 22, 2022
I'd like to start off by saying that I am a very avid reader, but I have not read a ton of horror books in my time. With this being said, the plot was clever and the story was interesting. In the beginning, it starts off lighthearted with young adults wanting a bit of Halloween scare, but begins to really go down hill as the night goes on.
As someone who grew up in the same city of Waverly Sanatorium (a haunted TB hospital in Kentucky), I found myself very intrigued since I have always heard horror stories of the place growing up. I also am a nurse and read most of the story in the middle of the night in a hospital! haha
However, I had a difficult time following the writing simply due to the fact it was written in third person and kept changing from different POVs, sometimes from paragraph to paragraph. I usually don't have any qualm with changing of POVs (especially as a GoT reader) but I found it confusing at times and made me pause in the story, taking away from the experience. For this reason, which might not be everyone's experience, I am giving 3 stars.
Bravo on making me squirm and uncomfortable! This story did just that. I still recommend picking this up and reading if you want an interesting plot and scare!
As someone who grew up in the same city of Waverly Sanatorium (a haunted TB hospital in Kentucky), I found myself very intrigued since I have always heard horror stories of the place growing up. I also am a nurse and read most of the story in the middle of the night in a hospital! haha
However, I had a difficult time following the writing simply due to the fact it was written in third person and kept changing from different POVs, sometimes from paragraph to paragraph. I usually don't have any qualm with changing of POVs (especially as a GoT reader) but I found it confusing at times and made me pause in the story, taking away from the experience. For this reason, which might not be everyone's experience, I am giving 3 stars.
Bravo on making me squirm and uncomfortable! This story did just that. I still recommend picking this up and reading if you want an interesting plot and scare!
September 26, 2021
Creepy, Gory, Suspenseful!
I've read several of the author's short stories and loved them. This is the first full length book and it did not disappoint! Going to pick up some of his others now.
Hopewell is interesting in that it feels standard...Group of teens in an abandoned asylum. What could go wrong? Except the way it goes wrong and the degree to which it goes wrong were completely unexpected. The relatable characters make the mayhem more painful as no one is safe and anything can happen. And does.
Wofford Lee Jones crafts a story that you are going to want to read. Just in time for Halloween!
I've read several of the author's short stories and loved them. This is the first full length book and it did not disappoint! Going to pick up some of his others now.
Hopewell is interesting in that it feels standard...Group of teens in an abandoned asylum. What could go wrong? Except the way it goes wrong and the degree to which it goes wrong were completely unexpected. The relatable characters make the mayhem more painful as no one is safe and anything can happen. And does.
Wofford Lee Jones crafts a story that you are going to want to read. Just in time for Halloween!
March 2, 2022
So I never read Horror stories, but as this was the chosen book as part of a online book club I thought I would give it a go.
It is a great story and very well written by the author. It will have you hanging on the edge of your seat, and as others have said you will be screaming at the characters to get out of the place as quickly as they can. All in all it is a good book if you like this kind of genre, but it wasn't my cup of tea. Hence why I have only given it four stars, but that is just my personal opinion. Please don't let that put you off though if you like a good horror story, because you will probably love it.
It is a great story and very well written by the author. It will have you hanging on the edge of your seat, and as others have said you will be screaming at the characters to get out of the place as quickly as they can. All in all it is a good book if you like this kind of genre, but it wasn't my cup of tea. Hence why I have only given it four stars, but that is just my personal opinion. Please don't let that put you off though if you like a good horror story, because you will probably love it.
December 23, 2022
I loved a lot of things. The setting, creepy and so descriptively written. I loved the over all plot, the twist and the horror. It was well done, from creepy to full on terror and gore. Not gratuitous though, it was just enough. I didn't love the characters. There were too many for me to get to know and overly care about and they had an awkward relationship. Maybe if they'd been a bit more fleshed out, some back story thrown in, but mostly it was a bit of a struggle keeping up with who was who. The very ending felt a little too drawn out, but I found it satisfying, and I was pleased with how it all "played" out .
January 19, 2022
Gruesome, creepy story
I will start by saying that this not my typical genre. I don't read horror stories, so I do not have anything to compare it to. With that said, I really liked this book. The first chapter's were filled with great banter between the characters. I laughed a bit, even with building suspense! As the story progressed, I was yelling at the characters to just get out of there and run!
I am surprised how much I loved the book, and I would recommend it to my friends,!
I will start by saying that this not my typical genre. I don't read horror stories, so I do not have anything to compare it to. With that said, I really liked this book. The first chapter's were filled with great banter between the characters. I laughed a bit, even with building suspense! As the story progressed, I was yelling at the characters to just get out of there and run!
I am surprised how much I loved the book, and I would recommend it to my friends,!
February 11, 2022
This was not a typical read for me but I read it as part of my book club. The group of twenty-something-year-olds that decide to go through the abandoned asylum on Halloween night are in for a terrifying night of horrors and death. This story has a little bit of humor between the friends included with plenty of scares and horrors. It was a fun and interesting read that I enjoyed. I will definitely be picking up another book by this author.
August 13, 2021
The title is fitting as Hell rears it’s sinister head and unleashes itself on a group of teens in the depths of Hopewell Sanitorium. Jones builds the tension perfectly as you get to know these characters and grow to connect and identify with them, but when the blood started flowing, I was locked into this entrancing and horrific tale. This is horror of the highest order.
March 2, 2024
I thought Hell Night in Hopewell would be another novel about exploring a haunted sanitarium. I'm so glad I was wrong, because the truth is a whole lot wilder. I found a couple of the characters insufferable, but the pacing was pretty great, with just the right amount of build up until things really start popping off. 3.5 stars
August 17, 2025
I bought this because it took place in an asylum. I love me a good asylum! But I had such a hard time believing that a 10-year-old kid, even with the devil behind him, could not be taken out by 7 twenty-somethings. If that's true, then I guess I don't have to worry about too many survivors after the next pandemic/apocalypse/whatever.
October 4, 2022
I went into this book blind, and I’m so glad I did. This was not at all what I was expecting, but in the best way. This book turned out to be something so much more intense and brutal than I imagined.
I won’t give any details because I think it’s best you just read it for yourselves!
I won’t give any details because I think it’s best you just read it for yourselves!
September 24, 2023
Perfect listen for the Halloween season
Creepy setting,slightly campy and lots of gore is why I had a blast with this one
Dean does a great job narrating, and really captures the tone of the book
Another home run from fright night audio 5stars
Creepy setting,slightly campy and lots of gore is why I had a blast with this one
Dean does a great job narrating, and really captures the tone of the book
Another home run from fright night audio 5stars
January 31, 2022
Usually I don't read horror but I'm glad I stepped out of my comfort zone. I enjoyed the twist and turns and the development of the characters. It was a great read!
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