ghosts

BOOK REVIEW: Took by Mary Downing Hahn

/ E.A. Hoffmann / 1 Comment

Title: Took

Author: Mary Downing Hahn

Book Length: 272 pages

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Genre: Fiction, Horror, Middle Grade, Mystery, Paranormal, Ghosts

Read Start Date: December 24, 2022

Read Finish Date: December 28, 2022

Brief Summary of the Plot from Goodreads: “Folks say Old Auntie takes a girl and keeps her fifty years—then lets her go and takes another one.”
 
Thirteen-year-old Daniel Anderson doesn’t believe Brody Mason’s crazy stories about the ghost witch who lives up on Brewster’s Hill with Bloody Bones, her man-eating razorback hog. He figures Brody’s probably just trying to scare him since he’s the new kid . . . a “stuck-up snot” from Connecticut. But Daniel’s seven-year-old sister Erica has become more and more withdrawn, talking to her lookalike doll. When she disappears into the woods one day, he knows something is terribly wrong. Did the witch strike? Has Erica been “took”?

My Review: Daniel and Erica are forced to move to rural West Virginia when their father losses his job. Once a successful businessman, their father (and mother) take retail jobs at a local store. As an adult, this didn’t make sense to me — why would they leave a NYC suburb where all the business-esq jobs are, only to move to a rural community where only retail jobs are available?–but as this story is for Middle-Grade readers, I guess it’s not much of a problem. Or rather, a kid probably wouldn’t think in such terms.

To me, it seemed to be just a vehicle for moving to West Virginia, the location of the ghost story. It also helped explain the kids picking on them, and why they wouldn’t be aware of the history of the house. But again, these are adult thoughts and will not affect the storyline for the kids.

Anyway, they move to this rural area, to this house where 50 years ago, a child was kidnapped. All the kids at school make fun of Daniel and Erica because of where they live. At first, Daniel doesn’t believe them, but then strange things start to happen e.g. his sister starts talking to her doll and acting like it can talk back. Daniel doesn’t get any help from his parents, as things for them are also difficult. Their parents are working a lot to make ends meet, and they are constantly fighting with each other. The kids are also quarreling as siblings often do. So to say, the kids are having a really hard time with the move.

When the ghost of an old witch sets her sights on Erica, will Daniel be able to save her in time?

This book was being given away for free at a South Carolina library near where my parent’s live. Despite being Middle Grade, it sounded interesting and was highly enjoyable even for me, an adult. I think that kids will really enjoy this book, especially if they like books about ghosts.

MOVIE REVIEW: The 3rd Eye

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410955-the-3rd-eye-0-230-0-345-cropTitle: The Third Eye

Year: 2017

Genre: Horror, Thriller

My Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

Watch Time: 107 minutes

Platform: Netflix

Date Watched: June 24, 2019

Recognized Actors: This was an Indonesian movie, so I did not recognize any actors.

Brief Summary of Plot from Letterboxd: BELIEVING IS SEEING. When her little sister claims she sees the dead, Alia consults a psychic, who opens her own eyes to the vengeful ghosts haunting their childhood home.

My Review: After the first 15 minutes: The movie starts in the year 2005 and within the first few minutes the little girl already sees the first ghost. It is also a bit strange because the actress playing the sister (Alia) seems to be the same age as the parents. The story then jumps to 2017, where we learn that the parents were only 30 in 2005, which means I guess that they had the oldest daughter at 15. Maybe this is normal, but it was honestly my first observation of the movie. After the death of their parents, the sisters return to their childhood home (they had moved since the ghostly events).

Overall impressions: The movie had really bad computer graphics. Why were the ghosts always bloody? Does this automatically mean that they are “scary”? Because it didn’t feel that way. I wasn’t scared. The blood did not seem to have any relation to the way that they died and just seemed like a cheap trick.

This movie was just as hokey as the Evil Dead, but wasn’t as good. I’ve seen a lot of Asian horror movies, and this definitely was not the best; however, I watched it on the plane back to the States from Austria, and it was at least entertaining (since I was laughing at the really horrible CG). I gave it 3 stars because I didn’t dislike the movie per se, I just didn’t think it was great.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BOOK REVIEW: Haunted: Horror of Haverfordwest by G.L. Davies

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38247056Title: Haunted: Horror of Haverfordwest

Author: G.L. Davies

Book Length: 240 pages

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Genre: Fiction, Horror, Fantasy, Paranormal

Read Start Date: September 29, 2018

Read Finish Date: October 9, 2018

Brief Summary of the Plot from Goodreads: Blissful beginnings for a young couple turn into a nightmare after purchasing their dream home in Wales in 1989. Their love and their resolve are torn apart by an indescribable entity that pushes paranormal activity to the limit. Haunted: Horror of Haverfordwest is the prequel to the bestselling A Most Haunted House.

My Review: This book is actually 2 books in one, including the author’s previously published book A Most Haunted House.

Told in the interview style, this book was very well written and was very entertaining–if you like scaring yourself like me, the best time to read this book is right before turning out the lights.

Claiming to be non-fiction (of this I have no reason to doubt or confirm), the story starts in Wales, 1989, when Dai and Anne, a married couple get a good deal on the purchase of a house.  As is always the catch in these matters, the house is very, very haunted. At the beginning, the entities manifest themselves as shadowy figures, and over time move on to violations of both mind, body, and spirit–the entities terrorize the couple, so much so, that they are eventually forced to move out.

Decades later, an unsuspecting couple, “John” (who is in fact the author) and “Sarah” his now ex-girlfriend, move into the house.  Again, almost immediately they begin to experience strange occurrences in the house. The couple is so affected by the haunting, that they break up and move away.

The author ends the book with a recitation and summary of the varying theories of what could cause paranormal occurrences, or rather, people’s perception that these occurrences are happening to them.  While these theories are intriguing, I feel that they detract from the overall story of the individuals living in the haunted house.  In fact, I considered skipping it all together.  I would have rather liked to see these theories more fleshed out and investigated in a separate book.

Nevertheless, I really liked this book not only because of the overall story, but because of the realness of the characters. These people were just normal, average people who found themselves in an unspeakable situation. I could see myself a little in John, because at the beginning I also would have been excited to have a real haunting in the house, and can totally understand how this excitement could in fact turn to horror, fear, and despair.

If you love movies including Amityville Horror, the Conjuring 2, Stranger Things (the series), and Insidious, (or if you are looking for a good scare) then I would definitely recommend this book.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”