pickI wouldn't say this book was scary but it is definitely eerie. I am not sure how I feel about the ending. don't hate it, don't love it.
22 likes
The House Next Door | 
pickI wouldn't say this book was scary but it is definitely eerie. I am not sure how I feel about the ending. don't hate it, don't love it.
pickThe definition of a slow-burn, but it ends in dramatic fashion with horrifying stakes and a brutal insinuation.
Lots to love here, especially for those who are fond of gothic horror, haunted houses, and mysterious families.
pick2022 is a hell of a time to read this book! Hello you middle class Georgia people, with your multiple homes and your seemingly infinite vacations, and your evil house next door. Rooted in 70s norms, this book needs you to extend it some grace. Still, sometimes a book is a series of unfortunate events and I liked it!
After hearing good things about this book for half of forever I'm finally getting to it! So far this house kills animals and makes you gay, so a mixed bag!
pickA nation-wide internet outage yesterday meant that I could read without distraction. My July #bookspin is a dated but compelling haunted house story. By today‘s standards, there‘s nothing scary or horrifying in this tale, but it‘s so well-written (cringe-y references aside) that it was easy and enjoyable to read.
@TheAromaofBooks
pickWell, that's done!
Absolutely great! This is that kind of supernatural mystery that makes you wonder- it is really happening or has fear just unwound a few people? It's filled with shocking events but nothing is gruesomely detailed. It does not rely on that sort of horror for its suspense.
Do you ever just have a feeling about a place?
Bonus, I thought this narrator was fantastic!
Still really enjoying this- never heard of this author before yesterday and I'm pretty sure I'll take a gander at her other works. Also this narration is on point, at least IMO.
But a note, a work written in 1978 about affluent (mostly white) people in southern USA undoubtedly comes with particular tones and views. The first most table is in regards to homosexuality. However, treated not as badly as one might expect?
Just picked this one up today and I'm quite enjoying it. I wanted to find something scary, chilling, supernatural, thrilling, atmospheric, or something like that for the season 🎃 and I just googled some good, Halloween books and this popped up!
I read this book 20+ years ago (one of my moms old books) and i remember really liking it...love that i found the same cover thanks to #thriftbooks...excited to re-read this
And for my Halloween aesthetic! I'm calling it campy, cartoony, Midwestern Gothic. I feel better versed in horror as a film genre than as a literary one, but I like stories about ghosts, haunted houses (and motels and camps), urban legends, the underbelly of small towns and polite societies, and weird unexplained phenomenon.
#hhs #hauntedhollowswap
“The bluff heartiness, the posturing, the inflamed face, the badinage were missing. He was gray-white and his eyes were swollen and bloodshot.“
#WomenInHorrorMonth #WiHM
“'I found this guy standing out on the lawn admiring his handiwork,' Lucas Abbott said. 'I thought he was rooted to the ground...I didn't know architects got opening-night nerves.“
#womeninhorrormonth #wihm
pickI could not put this book down that came highly recommended by Stephen King.
Because it was written in the 70's some of the attitudes & social norms are a bit dated &out of touch for our woke times, but that did nothing to damper the experience in reading this story about Colquitt (seriously, is that a real name or a collection of Scrabble tiles), her husband Walter & the various families that move into THE HOUSE NEXT DOOR! (see what I did there?)
Faves of 2019 #adventrecommends Dec 13 & 14
Two very different but incredibly creepy & effective haunted house books. For me, Jackson edges out with the sheer quality of her prose & vision, but the Siddons book is also well-written & constructed. Both leave you with a sense of dread because of the ever-relevant questions about the nature of ghosts/hauntings/darkness, & how the mind works.
@emilyrose_x
pickI only learned about this book after the author's recent death. It's the perfect follow-up to The Haunting of Hill House. It's unnerving & progressively creepy/sad, & without revealing too much it raises questions about class war & 70s suburbia. It's like WASPy horror/Southern Gothic; the fear of the outside invading a life of comfort. The story is a slow-burn; reads like cosy middlebrow fiction about the well-to-do, then smacks you in the face.
so-soA couple watches a beautiful house bring built next door, not knowing what horrors lie within. The slow burn of this book slipped into my mind and will stay with me for a while. Not scary or spooky, but definitely horror.
I had not done this for a long time but back to bed after breakfast to get back to reading... Lazy saturday
Starting this one next. Will this be a buy or sell of a book ? We will see !
#TBRtemptation post 4! Don't let the bright, pretty cover fool you into thinking this could be a Hallmark movie! It's a tale of Gothic horror and suspense. Colquitt and Walter enjoy lazy weekends and neighborly gatherings on manicured lawns and patios. A beautiful home gets built on the empty lot next door. And that's when the strange accidents & inexplicable happenings begin. It's as if the house drives people...mad. #blameLitsy #blameMrBook 😎
Reading a haunting book, waiting for my bibimbap before I go see Solo solo.
This book cover does it no favors, but I‘m really loving the story and characters. I love a book with great characters 😍
pickThings I learned from this book:
1. Haunted houses do not like animals. :(
2. Upper middle class people basically did nothing but sit around and drink genteelly in the '70s, even when horrible stuff was happening.
I did enjoy this, but it was one of those "scary if you were there" books versus being scary to actually read.
Straight up analog, y'all. #tbt from this time last year. Restaurant industry around the holidays=lucky you can remember your own name. I remember grabbing this scary old favorite for a re-read to get through the madness.
Haunted house books for October! If you're looking for something scary but not gory, The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons is an underrated classic.
