Daniel’s Comments (group member since Jul 15, 2015)

Daniel’s comments from the Haunted House Explorations group.

It's been a while since I posted a review in here. I apologize. Here's what I wrote about The Shining. I did a novel/film/TV mini-series comparison -

From the blog:

"I must confess. I like The Shining more than the books that influenced it. But don’t get me wrong – I love all of the preceding works. It’s just that King’s work has that extra “shine” that lures me to his story over the others. It might be the depth of the characters. Maybe it’s because all the story elements fall perfectly into place. Perhaps it’s the trip itself; the scenic drive across the story arc that makes for the best reading experience. Or maybe I just happen to have a special gene that predisposes my taste buds for the flavor of “The King!” I don’t know."

https://danielwcheely.wordpress.com/2...

I had seen the movie Legend of Hell House and wrote a review. Then I read the book Hell House and watched the movie again. I had some new things to say

"From the Blog"

I watched The Legend of Hell House and I found the experience engrossingly chilling. But there was much left to be desired. I decided to go deeper. I bought and read the novel: Hell House by Richard Matheson. The book was like a descending staircase; each page was a stair. Step by step, I went down into the depths of the plot and unearthed the complexity of the characters. I arrived at a place the movie couldn’t or wouldn’t take me. Upon finishing the novel, I watched the film again. Did I enjoy it more, less or the same? Let’s find out.



https://danielwcheely.wordpress.com/2...

Been a while since I posted in this group. I apologize.

Here's a link to a review - Garrett Cook's "A God of Hungry Walls"

From the blog:
" If you’re looking for a unique style, settle on in, author Garrett Cook’s "A God of Hungry Walls" will see your quest for distinctive writing and raise you twenty!

But – If you’re looking for a quaint tale of chilling yet delightful specters, go away. These walls don’t want you"

https://danielwcheely.wordpress.com/2...

The “tome” that is the subject of this review should sit on the shelf above the fireplace. It should lure the eyes of visitors to its spine and provoke them to call out “What is that?” Then its owner can proudly say, “It’s an anthology of haunted house stories. It is The Mammoth Book of Haunted House Stories.”


Read more in link below


https://danielwcheely.wordpress.com/2...

Another review of a book by paranormal author Scott Nicholson. In the review I compare a fictional artistic retreat in a haunted manor (the fiction of S. Nicholson) with a real writers' retreat that takes place in a supposedly "real" haunted hotel - The Stanley Hotel.

From the blog:

"Whereas the ghosts of FO and Flora Stanley are harmless apparitions that sometimes play the Steinway piano or watch over the billiards room, the spirit of Ephram Korban is calculating and malevolent and his presence is not always as obvious as the hall-roaming ghost. He hides within the many self-portraits that hang on various walls. He comes into being via the authors that write out ancient spells, the painters that capture his presence on the canvas, and the sculptors that bring his form to life."





https://danielwcheely.wordpress.com/2...

Here is a link to my review of The Red Church by Scott Nicholson:

https://danielwcheely.wordpress.com/2...

From the review: "I enjoyed this novel and I’m going to pay it a rather strange compliment – It’s a fun, cozy read..."

"....how can a novel about a bell tower phantom with wings and liver eyes make me feel “cozy?” For one thing, I’m a bit weird. Let’s get that out of the way. But there are other reasons. It’s a straightforward tale spun in the familiar setting of small town Americana. The characters are folksy but the ghosts are creepy. I can lie out in the summer and read this with a cool glass of lemonade or sit back indoors in the cool winter and take this book in with a warm cup of cocoa. It works on all fronts."

Glad to see someone has added The Red Church by Scott Nicholson to the Bookshelf. I have read it and enjoyed it. Would love to write a review on it but the thing is I read it over a year ago. There is a lot going on in the book and I would have to reread in order to write a proper review.

Reviews of The Strange High House in the Mist and Dreams in the Witch House:

From the blog:

"So once again, Lovecraft’s entities march to the beat or their own cadaverous drum. Ah but wait! There is something else that sets these two stories apart. Not only are the houses inhabited with beings of myth and the occult, but they also possess portals to alternate dimensions"



https://danielwcheely.wordpress.com/2...

It's a tough read, very tedious. But I found something appealing about it in spite of all the complexity

Here is a link to my review of House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski.

From the review: "It is a book where the reader can easily get lost in a labyrinth of literal twists (the words flowed down in a spiral at one point) and non-linear flow (the reader will be led to a footnote that just might go on for a page or two before being set free to return to the place s/he left off. Where was that place again?) And guess what? This book is about a labyrinth that exists inside a dark hallway within a house. Sometimes it’s a one-level hallway that is few meters long. At other times, it is a space of unfathomable lengths and depths."


https://danielwcheely.wordpress.com/2...

Hello all, here is a link to my first review of several works by H.P. Lovecraft regarding Haunted Houses. In particular, I am writing about:

•The Picture in the House (Originally published in National Amateur –1921)
•The Rats in the Walls (Originally published in Weird Tales – 1924)
•The Shunned House (Also Published originally in Weird Tales – 1937)


More reviews from Lovecraft coming soon!

From the review - "Lovecraft envisioned gigantic aliens, vengeful deities, ravaging sea monsters, and terrifying savages. He plucked out the horrors within science, religion and civilizations and for the most part left the ghost behind to haunt the minds of other writers. This being said, what then haunts the creepy old houses that sometimes show up in his tales? The answer- very weird things!"


https://danielwcheely.wordpress.com/2...

I will be using the bookshelf feature to display haunted house books I'm interested in. It doesn't mean I am currently reading them, or that they are "the book of the week" or anything like that. Just books that are on subject.

Please feel free to add your own!

Hi everybody - welcome!

Here is an example of te kind of thing I like to write about - check out the link, a review of The Haunting of Hill House

post your haunted house stuff! Please!


https://danielwcheely.wordpress.com/2...