The Legacy

by Jere Cunningham

"No one would believe what I have witnessed tonight - how can I even bring myself to tell what I saw on Sprague's cellar stairs, too late to even save the girl? Now I am convinced Sprague is a black master who must be destroyed. I am considering his murder or the end of myself..."
These words from his father's diary chilled David's blood. Now he knew. Sprague was the reason for his father's death. Exactly how, he did not know. But the sorrow was the thing that tormented his father's mind. Now Sprague was trying to get into their minds. David's mind, his wife Sandy's, and his daughter Melanie's. Sprague lived in a mansion near them but few people had ever seen him. But David knew one thing for sure. He must take his family and flee. Or was it already too late?

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Paranormal

255 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published November 12, 1977

Reviews

[Jack Tripper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here's the cover of the 1977 Fawcett Gold Medal mass-market I have (254 pages). Seems like a typical 70s slow-burn, "family invaded by supernatural evil"-type novel, but the writing so far is excellent (and is it just me, or is there something slightly off about the woman in the window?).

I've mentioned this before, but it seems that if you were pick a random horror novel from the 70s, and a random horror novel from the 80s, the chances of the 80s novel being awful and horribly written is astronomically higher. I've rarely read a really bad 70s horror novel from a major publisher, and the writing is almost always at least competent. I suppose that in the early days of the horror boom, publishers weren't just slapping a cover on whatever crap from their slush pile just so happened to catch their eye at the right time.

The Legacy, however, isn't just competent, it's a top-notch horror novel, dripping with atmosphere, the terror slowly building and building until the final page. After an intriguingly creepy prologue-- detailing an unnamed, panic-stricken man emerging from a forest while carrying a dead body during a downpour, seemingly in fear for his life by supernatural forces -- the novel takes it's time setting up the story. David, along with his wife Sandra and 10 year-old daughter Melanie, have to suddenly leave their home in Memphis and head for his small, woodsy hometown in Mississippi called Bickford, due to David's estranged father Chester inexplicably having committed suicide. Their stay in Chester's gigantic mansion is extended by several weeks when the will requests that David stay to keep an eye on the family crypt in the backyard (where Chester's body is of course), and tend to the ivy placed around the house and crypt. A strange request to David, one that suggests to him that his father had been slowly going mad.

But when strange things begin happening, such as the big black raven that constantly watches the family (but whose picture can't be taken), gruesome apparitions, Sandra's frequent eerie sleepwalking spells while carrying her daughter, and the two rotting fingers found near the family crypt (which David swears keep moving on their own), David can no longer deny that something sinister is happening in Bickford. Especially once he hears about other strange deaths and disappearances in town. David thinks it may all be connected to the eccentric, mysterious blind millionaire who recently moved into the nearest estate to David's father's, just a short walk through the ominous dark forest that surrounds his father's property.

In my initial thoughts up top I stated that this seemed like a typical slow-burner from the 70s, but after the basic setup, Jere Cunningham piles horror upon horror in a way that kept me glued to the pages. It's a traditional-style horror story in a lot of ways, and you're not going to find a whole lot here that's totally unique. But if you're a fan of well-written 70s/80s supernatural horror like I am, and are looking for a book with a handful of honest to goodness creepy-as-hell scenes, The Legacy should be on your to-read list post-haste. About the only negative I can name is that David could be a bit thick at times, totally denying the paranormal evidence before him and trying to rationalize everything, which became somewhat annoying after a while given the extremely irrational things happening around the house and in town. But then again I always hate that sort of thing in horror novels.

Still, this is first-rate 70s "family in peril"-style horror, and I'm eager to check out more of Cunningham's (extremely thin) repertoire, despite the rather mixed reviews here. Hard to believe this is his first novel. Hopefully he wasn't a one-hit-wonder.

4.5 Stars

[mark monday · Rating 3 out of 5]

a splendid tale of black magic and horror. this story of a family moving into an inherited manor and being faced with a diabolical threat from another manor was thoroughly absorbing. Cunningham is a talented writer - certainly far more talented than the packaging of this novel would imply. this is not a book of cheap thrills because the author takes his time with deliberate pacing, slowly building his realistic and sympathetic characters while drawing the net around them ever tighter. I particularly appreciated how the short timeline of the narrative and the relative lack of outright horrifying occurrences never had me scoffing at characters who stayed in a place that had Evil written all over it - that's always frustrating, that inevitable decision to stay in a dangerous place, and Cunningham dealt well with that problem. I also can't overstate how surprisingly well-written this book is: the prose is excellent. my favorite part of The Legacy was its focus on the family manor; I practically lived there myself, as the feel of the place - its atmosphere and all of the details - was so well-done. I'm a sucker for fantasizing about living in a huge country mansion and this novel sure helped with that fantasy! my only complaints were over the occasional and very aggravating misuse of certain words (e.g. he uses fetid incorrectly twice, but finally gets it right the third time) - mainly because Cunningham is so talented with the prose and this problem could have been solved by a more careful editor - and, as Jack noted in his excellent review, how long it takes for the hero to finally clue up and recognize what is happening.

despite those minor flaws, overall this was very enjoyable. because the horrors don't arrive until the final act, this is a perfect book to read a few chapters before bed over the course of a few nights - and then read the entire final third in a breathless rush while staying up past your bedtime.

[megs_bookrack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally released in 1977, The Legacy by Jere Cunningham has been lovingly-reissued by Valancourt Books as part of their Paperbacks from Hell collection.

I was lucky enough to be gifted the full set for Christmas a couple of years ago, and have been slowly making my way through them when the mood strikes. For the record, I've loved them all so far. There's something about dipping into a classically-told Horror story that's just so cozy!



In this story, we meet David Rawlings, an ambitious young doctor, and his lovely family, as they inherit David's childhood home after his father's untimely death.

When David is notified that his somewhat estranged father has passed unexpectedly, he is in a bit of shock. His father was always such a strong man. He seemed untouchable. What could have happened?

In order to see to the arrangements, and meet with his father's attorney, David packs himself and his family, including his wife, Sandra, their young daughter, Melanie, and beloved Doberman Pinscher, Streak, into the family car and makes the journey to small town Mississippi.



The property is outstanding. Sandra is struck by its vastness and beauty. At first she's hesitant to remain there for the 7-weeks asked in the Will, but eventually she comes around.

The family starts to settle in, but from the start disturbing occurrences are happening around the property, including another death. David becomes convinced his father's death wasn't from natural causes, or an accident.

Something is going on here, and he needs to figure out what, because now the rest of his family is at risk.



The Legacy captured my attention with the rich Southern Gothic atmosphere. I loved how it was slowly built through the descriptions of the property and surrounding area.

The way events rolled out, building the suspense and intrigue, I felt it was masterfully done. I grew to love this family and was so worried about them ((particularly, the dog, of course)), because things were feeling so dangerous and uncertain.

There was inclusion of a few local characters as well that only helped to enhance the story, IMO. You could tell that some of the locals, friends of his Dad's, knew what was going on, but they weren't sharing the info with David, which was frustrating.



The occult elements truly amp up as the story continues, and it all filled me with a complete, nail-biting, sense of dread. It really was a great build. Two thumbs up.

Additionally, the Southern Gothic atmosphere was chef's kiss and the trope-filled plot kept me on my toes. I would have given it a full 5-star rating, if it weren't for some animal content that made it less enjoyable for me. There were parts with the dog I had to skim...

Overall though, a great, slow burn, classic-feeling Horror story that I recommend to any true fan of the genre. I def need to read more from this author.

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a spooky little gem from Cunningham! The Legacy kicks off with a bang in the prologue, with man carrying a corpse from a mansion, burying it, and then retreating to his library as he gets ready to blow his brains out with a .38. The man, it turns out, is the father of our main protagonist David. David is somewhat estranged from his father as he went to college to become a doctor instead of continuing the family line on the plantation they own deep in Mississippi. Nonetheless, his father's death hits him hard, and he takes his lovely wife and 10 year old daughter back to Bickford from Memphis to deal with the arrangements. Needless to say, some things are seriously amok in Bickford!

The strength of The Legacy resides in its pacing and the building of tension, from a low simmer right off the bat to a rolling boil by the denouement. Cunningham also developed the characters well wasting very few words in the process, giving us someone to root for. David's wife is entranced with the family estate and the fact that they are now worth millions; their daughter loves the open spaces where she frolics with her big doggie. Even David, once the funeral is over, falls back in love with the place and the old memories there. Yet, right from the get go, seeds of disquiet are planted. A strange, nasty raven that kills the blackbirds outside the kitchen window. The restored estate next door that has an odd, lifeless quality. The dreams haunting David from the day his father died. The brooding nature of the old family servant Sam. The way the super friendly dog keeps getting disturbed and protective...

Cunningham does not shy away from the creep factor either, especially when the black magic starts to flow, giving us some memorable scenes to be sure: this would make a great movie! A taut, suspenseful creepshow of a story. Recommended for any horror fan! 4.5 stars.

[A.R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again, Mr. Cunningham has blown my mind with a brain-twisting tale, this time of the occult, kind of like John Everson, but better. The master of description did almost everything right, with only one or two cases of unbelievability. Yet, when a writer is as good as this, the reader overlooks that. Mainly, he made me fall in love with the protagonist and his family, then put them in harm's way with the most sinister force around. The plot was simply brilliant. What can I say? Old Jere's got game.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

David was chilled to the bone when he read the words in his father's diary about the old blind man, Sprague. Now David, his wife, Sandy and his daughter Melanie have returned to David's childhood home to claim David's inheritance. All he knew about Sprague was that he somehow had caused David's father's death by reading his thoughts. Now, Sprague lives down the road from David and his family and is a virtual recluse.

David feels terribly threatened as strange occult happenings begin in the woods near his home and he can feel the danger grow as he, his wife and daughter, experience Sprague's evilness for themselves. I really enjoyed this horror story and give it an A+!

[Matthew Bielawa · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun great read! It’s just what you’d expect from 1970’s horror: a good old fashioned slow burn filled with underlying dread and a wild cast of characters that ever so slowly crescendos to the very last page. The setting is the deep South, which is colorfully depicted by the characters with their accents and mannerisms set against a hot and sticky (and rainy nights if you’re lucky in more than one way) background.

In Jere Cunningham’s “a nerve-shattering novel of horror and the occult”, it’s all about good vs evil, light vs dark, sun vs shade. I absolutely loved the prologue and its opening lines: “Dusk gathered first in the deep pockets of the earth. Darkness pooled in crevices, shadows rising and overflowing. A black river ran through ditches and highways, its branches connecting, the oncoming night a web of long shadows connecting the depressions of the land…” And perfect for those of us who love to read late at night…”Behind locked doors men sought the oblivion of television and sleep. The night did not belong to them. In the dark was the unseen. In the stars was the unknown. As men dreamed nightmares, the creatures of the night gathered power.”

As any good southern horror novel goes, the setting is a small town, in our case it’s Bickford. A son returns to his boyhood home, along with his young family, to Whitewood Plantation. Cunningham has a good story here, which unfolds little by little. The more small town neighbors you meet, the more you learn that there is something happening in Bickford, something not quite right. From Sam (“proud in a quiet self-assured way that needed no posters”) or Phelps (the funeral home director, “like every other kid in Bickford, feared and avoided this shrewish ageless profiteer in death”) and my favorite, the bigger than life palm reader Sister Ruth.

Each of the characters hints at uneasiness for David and his family. But what is it that they all fear? Does it have to do with a haunting of Whitewood Plantation, or the incredibly spooky cemetery or nearby woods, or the new resident and from out of town, or that black raven? Or is it all in David’s imagination having returned home in an emotional state? There’s so much going on here, I can’t write much without spoiling all the fun. As Cunningham writes, “You see, point is that when a place is going bad, you stay away from it. Don’t ask why. Don’t look inside.” But that doesn’t go for us readers. On the contrary, open this book, look inside and enjoy the ride.

[Stay Fetters · Rating 4 out of 5]

"His body went rigid in the leather chair. His eyes dilated in horror. It was out there. It was coming."

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

When David Rawlings's semi-estranged father is found dead of an apparent suicide, he packs up his wife and young daughter to return to his home estate in a small Alabama town. After his father's will makes a strange request that he stay at the home for seven weeks, he reluctantly agrees despite his wife's wish that they don't. While being back home has some rewards, spending time with Sam, the older man who worked the property and was more than just an employee, as well as other old friends. But strange things are afoot: the vicious raven that seems impervious to bullets; the desecration of the elder Rawlings's tomb; the strange presence in the woods; the elusive blind gentleman from New York who's fixed up the run down estate down the road. Soon, David finds himself face-to-face with an ancient evil his father failed to stop.
This was an absolute classic kind of 70s horror novel, full of all the period tropes, yet also full of originality. A slow-burn beginning perfectly ratcheting up the atmosphere and tension, familiar yet unique occult elements and a heart-pounding finale, this was an absolute classic novel.

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reasonable fun little occult horror! Fairly predictable stuff. You can tell it was ahem written in 1970s tho!

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good horror yarn.

[Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's ... fine. Maybe a little less than fine. Cunningham's tone is very condescending, even outside of the fact that the main character is a doctor, and it just feels very distant and unemotional. The fact that the main thread of the story doesn't really get going until about 80% of the way through doesn't help much.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun little horror potboiler from 1977 about an evil warlock. To be honest it generally reads like cut-rate Stephen King, but I still enjoyed it.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hope to never read the word “sensuous” again.

[Christine Bittle · Rating 2 out of 5]

It took me way too long to read this book. It’s a slow burn. Way too slow. The author’s descriptions of the female child teetered a little close to gross, too. I would give this book 2.5 stars, but it will only let me do 2 or 3, so, 2 it is.

[Greg · Rating 2 out of 5]

By and large a poorly written occult tale, but Cunningham does bring it all together for a satisfying finale if you can get that far.

[CC · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boooooooooooooooring. Took so long to do anything. Also Cunningham writes about little girls in a creepy way throughout the book which isn't necessary to anything.

[Jim Nemeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

After receiving news of his father’s death—an apparent suicide—David Rawlings returns with his wife and young daughter to his childhood home, the Whitewood estate, in Bickford, Mississippi. Many strange events have already occurred here in Bickford: pets gone missing, a previous suicide, and the disappearance of a little girl. As David investigates further into the circumstances surrounding his father’s death, David and his family become embroiled in increasingly horrifying experiences, all seemingly tied to their mysterious blind neighbor, Sprauge, a man with a curious obsession to black magic and the occult.

The Legacy captures you early with the introduction of your typical “all-American” family, who are then slowly introduced (I believe the phrase du jour is “slow burn”) to the horrors surrounding the death of the main protagonist’s father. The book is well written, the pace brisk, and the horror here is restrained, yet effective. While I feel the ending is very rushed as well as predictable, this doesn’t take away from what has come before. A pleasant read.

Originally published in 1977, this Valancourt edition features the original cover art. Note: the book should not be confused with the novelization of the 1979 movie of the same name starring Katherine Ross and Sam Elliot.

[Dorothy · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you like a good B grade horror movie you will probably like this book. But if not I would not recommend it.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book. Well written with detail that gets you into the story

[Vincent Darkhelm · Rating 2 out of 5]

Has it's moments.

[Elizabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

Netflix could turn this into a great limited series