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Runaway
LOST BOYS
Mark Blackwood was only thirteen, but he was old enough to know his parents didn't need him around. They were too busy with their high-powered careers. And he was old enough to run away from home and find refuge in a place called Redemption House, a shelter for kids just like him. Kids who were lost, alone, and helpless…
LOST SOULS
Reverend Robert W. Eversfield, known to his boys as Brother Bob, was proud of his home for runaways. They were one big happy family. That is, as long as they obeyed the rules. For those who broke the rules, Brother Bob was particularly ingenious at devising suitable punishments. Punishments that ensured they would never fail him again. And for those who tried to escape Redemption House, Brother Bob reserved the most horrifying fate of all…
Mark Blackwood was only thirteen, but he was old enough to know his parents didn't need him around. They were too busy with their high-powered careers. And he was old enough to run away from home and find refuge in a place called Redemption House, a shelter for kids just like him. Kids who were lost, alone, and helpless…
LOST SOULS
Reverend Robert W. Eversfield, known to his boys as Brother Bob, was proud of his home for runaways. They were one big happy family. That is, as long as they obeyed the rules. For those who broke the rules, Brother Bob was particularly ingenious at devising suitable punishments. Punishments that ensured they would never fail him again. And for those who tried to escape Redemption House, Brother Bob reserved the most horrifying fate of all…
- GenresHorror
447 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 1, 1988
1 person is currently reading
153 people want to read
About the author
Stephen Gresham
33 books35 followersSuspense, supernatural, and young adult fiction writer Stephen Gresham (1947- ) has been intrigued by the gothic tradition of the South since moving to Auburn, Lee County, in 1975 to take a teaching position at Auburn University. This area of Alabama provides the backdrop for his novel The Fraternity (2004) and imbues works such as Rockabye Baby (1984) with the horror and fantasy elements of the southern magic genre that guide him as he writes of supernatural creatures and forces.
Gresham was born in Halstead, Kansas, on September 23, 1947, to Chester Gresham, a building contractor, and Helen Kennedy, housewife and wartime riveter. He was raised with five brothers. Gresham's literary passion was sparked by listening to his grandmother read him everything from comic books to Edgar Allan Poe and watching 1940s B movies by horror film producer Val Lewton. Gresham studied journalism for two years at Wichita State University, where he began his professional writing career as a freelance sports reporter at the Wichita Eagle. He then transferred to Kansas State Teachers College (present-day Emporia State University) to earn a bachelor's and a master's degree. In 1975, he completed a Ph.D. in English Renaissance literature at the University of Missouri. While in Missouri, Gresham married Linda Duffy in 1969, and the couple had their only child, Aaron, in 1974.
In 1975, Gresham joined the English Department at Auburn University as a professor of creative writing. By the later 1970s, he had published several pieces of short fiction with two small presses. Gresham is drawn to the mythical South and has described east Alabama as an inspirational place. Moon Lake, Gresham's first novel, uses such a backdrop to tell the tale of two honeymooners who encounter evil hidden in the water hyacinths on Moon Lake.
Gresham's novels have aimed to mesh the supernatural world of ghosts, magic, and witchcraft with the real horrors of places like his boyhood Kansas, with its tornados, polio scares, and threats of nuclear war. The most distinctive aspect of his writing is the centrality of unrequited love and the unexpected yet powerful bonds formed by his characters. When Teddy, the teenage hero of Haunted Ground, battles ghosts at a neighboring farm, he must also come to terms with his adolescence and the wrath of his dysfunctional family. This focus on the destructive innerworkings of families is balanced by a respect for what Gresham refers to as "soul" families, those united not necessarily by blood but by heart or circumstance. Even after Teddy is assaulted by his own brother and neglected by his psychologically unfit mother, he is able to find solace with his cousin Judith, the black sheep of his extended family.
Another characteristic of Gresham's books is his attention to research and historical settings. In the 1990 novel Blood Wings, Gresham researched the field of cryptozoology to create the massive batlike creature from which the novel gets its title. In The Fraternity (2004), two warring vampire fraternities battle against the backdrop of Depression-era America where the only threat greater than the crumbled economy of the Hoover years is the risk of being kidnapped by rival vampires.
In addition to the many novels he has published under his own name, Gresham has also written under two pennames to establish a distinct identity between his suspense thrillers and his young adult fiction. For the 1994 suspense/thriller Primal Instinct, he adopted the name John Newland from the 1950s television series "One Step Beyond." The next year, he paid homage to director Val Lewton when he published two novels, Just Pretend and Called to Darkness, under the name J. V. Lewton. Gresham's best selling novel to date has been Midnight Boy (1987), and Haunted Ground (2003) has garnered the most favorable response from readers. Reception from readers, especially young ones, has been largely favorable, and he continues to publish thrillers.
Gres
Gresham was born in Halstead, Kansas, on September 23, 1947, to Chester Gresham, a building contractor, and Helen Kennedy, housewife and wartime riveter. He was raised with five brothers. Gresham's literary passion was sparked by listening to his grandmother read him everything from comic books to Edgar Allan Poe and watching 1940s B movies by horror film producer Val Lewton. Gresham studied journalism for two years at Wichita State University, where he began his professional writing career as a freelance sports reporter at the Wichita Eagle. He then transferred to Kansas State Teachers College (present-day Emporia State University) to earn a bachelor's and a master's degree. In 1975, he completed a Ph.D. in English Renaissance literature at the University of Missouri. While in Missouri, Gresham married Linda Duffy in 1969, and the couple had their only child, Aaron, in 1974.
In 1975, Gresham joined the English Department at Auburn University as a professor of creative writing. By the later 1970s, he had published several pieces of short fiction with two small presses. Gresham is drawn to the mythical South and has described east Alabama as an inspirational place. Moon Lake, Gresham's first novel, uses such a backdrop to tell the tale of two honeymooners who encounter evil hidden in the water hyacinths on Moon Lake.
Gresham's novels have aimed to mesh the supernatural world of ghosts, magic, and witchcraft with the real horrors of places like his boyhood Kansas, with its tornados, polio scares, and threats of nuclear war. The most distinctive aspect of his writing is the centrality of unrequited love and the unexpected yet powerful bonds formed by his characters. When Teddy, the teenage hero of Haunted Ground, battles ghosts at a neighboring farm, he must also come to terms with his adolescence and the wrath of his dysfunctional family. This focus on the destructive innerworkings of families is balanced by a respect for what Gresham refers to as "soul" families, those united not necessarily by blood but by heart or circumstance. Even after Teddy is assaulted by his own brother and neglected by his psychologically unfit mother, he is able to find solace with his cousin Judith, the black sheep of his extended family.
Another characteristic of Gresham's books is his attention to research and historical settings. In the 1990 novel Blood Wings, Gresham researched the field of cryptozoology to create the massive batlike creature from which the novel gets its title. In The Fraternity (2004), two warring vampire fraternities battle against the backdrop of Depression-era America where the only threat greater than the crumbled economy of the Hoover years is the risk of being kidnapped by rival vampires.
In addition to the many novels he has published under his own name, Gresham has also written under two pennames to establish a distinct identity between his suspense thrillers and his young adult fiction. For the 1994 suspense/thriller Primal Instinct, he adopted the name John Newland from the 1950s television series "One Step Beyond." The next year, he paid homage to director Val Lewton when he published two novels, Just Pretend and Called to Darkness, under the name J. V. Lewton. Gresham's best selling novel to date has been Midnight Boy (1987), and Haunted Ground (2003) has garnered the most favorable response from readers. Reception from readers, especially young ones, has been largely favorable, and he continues to publish thrillers.
Gres
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 2, 2016
I know this horror writer is far from being everyone’s cup of tea. Personally, I think he’s very talented...
http://sleaze-factor.blogspot.ca/2016...
http://sleaze-factor.blogspot.ca/2016...
August 25, 2013
At first, I didn't like this book at all. The writing was mediocre at best, there was way too much telling, and I couldn't connect to the main character. The book does get better as it goes along, though. Not in the quality of writing, but in the story.
I liked seeing the story from the point of view of Mark and Brother Bob. But I could have done without all the head hopping. I can see how at certain points seeing through the eyes of the other children trapped at Redemption House was needed, but I really don't understand the point in even having the characters of Mike McCarty (or sometimes McCarthy, the spelling of the name kept switching) or Gentry Thompson, the two adult 'good guys'. They didn't add anything to the story that I could see. I found getting dragged into their viewpoints jarring, because it pulled me away from the heart of the story, the plight of the kids.
There are some ghosts in this book, but like the two characters mentioned above, they don't do much. It almost feels as if the author simply threw them in for the sole purpose of adding a supernatural element to the story rather than advancing the plot.
The only thing that saves this book from being a total loss is Mark and the other children of Redemption House. At first, they all seemed a little wooden and depthless, but as the story progressed, I found myself drawn into their plight and even sharing their despair as repeated attempts to flee the horror of Redemption House fail. By the end of the book, I was rooting for each and every one of them to survive.
There is a good, engrossing story here. Sadly, it gets derailed by several pointless side stories and unnecessary characters.
I liked seeing the story from the point of view of Mark and Brother Bob. But I could have done without all the head hopping. I can see how at certain points seeing through the eyes of the other children trapped at Redemption House was needed, but I really don't understand the point in even having the characters of Mike McCarty (or sometimes McCarthy, the spelling of the name kept switching) or Gentry Thompson, the two adult 'good guys'. They didn't add anything to the story that I could see. I found getting dragged into their viewpoints jarring, because it pulled me away from the heart of the story, the plight of the kids.
There are some ghosts in this book, but like the two characters mentioned above, they don't do much. It almost feels as if the author simply threw them in for the sole purpose of adding a supernatural element to the story rather than advancing the plot.
The only thing that saves this book from being a total loss is Mark and the other children of Redemption House. At first, they all seemed a little wooden and depthless, but as the story progressed, I found myself drawn into their plight and even sharing their despair as repeated attempts to flee the horror of Redemption House fail. By the end of the book, I was rooting for each and every one of them to survive.
There is a good, engrossing story here. Sadly, it gets derailed by several pointless side stories and unnecessary characters.
March 20, 2025
Mark runs away from home and is captured and forced to live at redemption house, a religious work house / orphanage run by a group of nuts. Boys die and the survivors plot escape.
Ugh this book was bad. Plot threads and characters came and went, some never to return (demon possession angle that happened once and was never brought up again) Ebonics use was sporadic, and the whole ghost thing was forgotten for huge chunks. Mostly it was just lots digging holes and “making heartfists” over and over again. Too much telling not enough showing, wafer thin characters and a total slog to get through. At least the cover was great.
Ugh this book was bad. Plot threads and characters came and went, some never to return (demon possession angle that happened once and was never brought up again) Ebonics use was sporadic, and the whole ghost thing was forgotten for huge chunks. Mostly it was just lots digging holes and “making heartfists” over and over again. Too much telling not enough showing, wafer thin characters and a total slog to get through. At least the cover was great.
March 10, 2021
It's less horror than it is "Lord of the Flies" meets "The Shawshank Redemption." The horror/supernatural elements seem like an afterthought - lightly peppered throughout but never playing a significant role. It's also about 150 pages too long and made for an arduous read. I love the cover and, as a fan of vintage horror paperbacks, really wanted to enjoy this book. Unfortunately, I found myself identifying with the characters and desperately wanting to escape!
January 29, 2014
What can I say other than this book was too long and not well done at all they should've done a lot more and regards to the possible demon of the brother Bob character by his suppose it grandfather but in the end it was just a severe flop like all the others I've read so far
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews