Amityville Horror knockoffNovember 29, 2008 0 out of 3 found this review helpful
uthor and his kids move into house in Union, Missouri where the lights turn on by themselves, they see and hear the groans and screaming of demons and sleep ruining nightmares are a nightly fixture. Guy moves out shortly after, but then he learns another tenant has moved in with similar results, so he tries to save her from the house with the help of psychics, priests and paranormal researchers.
Pros: A bit scary, short chapters. You'll probably enjoy this if you liked Amityville Horror.
Cons: True story? I believe not, as this would probably not be the only tale about it and extraordinary claims need extraordinary evidence. Not scary enough for my tastes. Writing is simplistic. Seems like an unoriginal Amityville Horror /Poltergeist knock-off. He does some research on the house's background and doesn't cite his sources. Ending is unsatisfying.
A Page TurnerNovember 12, 2008 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book was excellent and is on my list of favorite ghost stories. If you love a good true ghost story don't miss this one.
A Book You Will NOT be Able to Put Down!!November 5, 2008 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
A great book if you're into reading about actual paranormal events. It is well written and VERY interesting. These type of books (good ones) are hard to come by.
I feel a little skeptical of a few thingsNovember 3, 2008 3 out of 4 found this review helpful
First of all, as someone interested in the paranormal for most of my life, I must say that this is a frightening story indeed. However a few things bothered me. This first thing may be small, but I am a stickler for consistency. The eccentric landlord was an old woman in the author's account of his experience when he posted it online. In the book, the landlord is an eccentric old man. Is it a man or a woman?
I looked up this home in some of my most haunted places in America books but none of them contain even a mention of this house. I googled The Screaming House in Union, Missouri among other variations, and the only information that came up was connected to the author and his book or show. DOesn't anyone else know about this? Former tenants who left so fast that their personal belongings had been left there? How about some impartial witnesses outside the author's circle of family & friends? Amazingly, there is absolutely no local lure, like the people that walked on the other side of the road from the house. Did any neighbors hear the loud banging and the screams? Did any neighbors see or hear the hooded dark creatire or the wolf creature? Were the police ever called in to witness any of these phenomena?
I wish the author could have included some photos. Especially when he went back to help the other tenant and put his own fear aside to help her. He spent countless more hours in the house after he moved out and even worked with paranormal researchers - but he did not offer any photos and as far as I can see, did not try to set up a video camera to capture any of these strange creatures.
I applaud the author for getting his kids out of there as soon as he did. He seems like a very good father, and his vulnerability and honesty made him a likeable storyteller. I do believe there was something there, but demonic hauntings need to be dealt with differently than your benign can't-seem-to-cross-to-the-other-side spirits. I thought it was exceedingly dangerous for the author to go back to the house to help the next tenant, even if his intentions were good. Demons like this can attach themselves and go right with you.
I also do not think it was entirely responsible of the author to imply that a person who does not go to church or does not believe in Christianity is more susceptible to be the victim of a demonic haunting. Based on my understanding, it is more a circumstantial event, usually based on something that happened on the property itself in the past as I thought he was getting into as he dug into the history of the location a bit. The one thing that made me most skeptical however was HOW COULD THE NEW TENANT POSSIBLY STAY AS LONG AS SHE DID?? She too had kids to be responsible for. The brutality of the events - biting, sexual abuse, and extreme dangerous situations, causing eventual possession (and/or mental illness, however you interpret what happened to Helen), would have driven anyone out in days, or weeks, like the author and his family. To stay and endure that sort of haunting for years, and have it destroy your entire family right before your very eyes, is beyond crazy. NO matter how much they "couldn't afford" to move, in my opinion, that family couldn't afford NOT to.
So it was a very intriguing and scary book - but more collaboration with impartial witnesses, as well as possibly some photos or video, would bolster the credibility factor a lot. Three stars.
Awesome and Unbelievable!November 3, 2008 2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is an truly awesome book, I couldn't put it down once I started reading. Although I saw the Fear House episode of A Haunting the book provides so much more about what actually happened in that house. I would recommend this book to any paranormal fan (and non-believers too!).
