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groovykathy's review against another edition
3.0
Honestly, I didn’t find this creepy at all. I like the idea of a haunted house being turned into a haunted attraction, but it never got to a spooky or scary level for me. I didn’t connect with the characters, and the pacing was slow, but not a slow burn. There is some gore toward the end, but that didn’t really make it any more creepy, I guess because I didn’t feel too invested in the characters. Had potential but didn’t quite get there for me.
captivatedbybooks's review against another edition
3.0
I was given the privilege of obtaining this book as an arc via Netgalley for free in exchange for my honest review. I love a good horror story, unfortunately for me this was not a scary enough for me but it did make me think twice about going to a haunted house this year that's for sure!
I found the book as an easy read and easy to follow, despite other's reviews that there were to many unnecessary characters. I found that each character was well developed and served it's purpose. I also did not find it hard to follow with the number of characters this story had. The plot was well written and definitely kept me intrigued until the very end. This book is a good read to have for the October holiday. I was all set to do a haunted house but after reading this book not so much LOL
I rate this book 3 stars out of 5.
I found the book as an easy read and easy to follow, despite other's reviews that there were to many unnecessary characters. I found that each character was well developed and served it's purpose. I also did not find it hard to follow with the number of characters this story had. The plot was well written and definitely kept me intrigued until the very end. This book is a good read to have for the October holiday. I was all set to do a haunted house but after reading this book not so much LOL
I rate this book 3 stars out of 5.
mxsallybend's review against another edition
3.0
As a huge fan of John Everson, there were few Flame Tree Press titles that I was more excited about than The House by the Cemetery. An abandoned house by an abandoned cemetery. Stories of Satanic sacrifices and ritual murders. A decades-old haunting by a real witch. Hidden rooms, secret doors, unexplained blood, and coffins in the basement floor. Is there a better place to build a haunted house attraction for Halloween, much less a better setting with which to build a story?
Unfortunately, as excited as I was, I have to be honest, I was disappointed in this. For one, it's too long. This feels like a great short story, or even a solid novella, stretched out and padded into a full-length novel. It takes far too long to get going, and when it does, it's largely formulaic. There were no surprises, no shocks, just the confirmation of plot twists I suspected from the opening chapters. It doesn't help that the characters are horror cliché foolish, prone to poor decisions, and blind to what's going on around them.
Now, with all that said, there was some great atmosphere to the opening 50 pages . . . some creepy, unsettling scenes that I just wish the book could have sustained. Similarly, the final 50 pages are over-the-top bloody fun, chaotic horror that really takes advantage of the haunted, haunted house setting. The prologue is one of the best scenes in the book, followed closely by the epilogue, which means it begins strong and ends strong. It's just a shame that there are so many prolonged soft spots in between.
The House by the Cemetery is just fine for a bit of B-grade Halloween horror, but don't judge Everson by its flaws - he's a much better writer than we see here.
https://beauty-in-ruins.blogspot.com/2018/10/horror-review-house-by-cemetery-by-john.html
Unfortunately, as excited as I was, I have to be honest, I was disappointed in this. For one, it's too long. This feels like a great short story, or even a solid novella, stretched out and padded into a full-length novel. It takes far too long to get going, and when it does, it's largely formulaic. There were no surprises, no shocks, just the confirmation of plot twists I suspected from the opening chapters. It doesn't help that the characters are horror cliché foolish, prone to poor decisions, and blind to what's going on around them.
Now, with all that said, there was some great atmosphere to the opening 50 pages . . . some creepy, unsettling scenes that I just wish the book could have sustained. Similarly, the final 50 pages are over-the-top bloody fun, chaotic horror that really takes advantage of the haunted, haunted house setting. The prologue is one of the best scenes in the book, followed closely by the epilogue, which means it begins strong and ends strong. It's just a shame that there are so many prolonged soft spots in between.
The House by the Cemetery is just fine for a bit of B-grade Halloween horror, but don't judge Everson by its flaws - he's a much better writer than we see here.
https://beauty-in-ruins.blogspot.com/2018/10/horror-review-house-by-cemetery-by-john.html
colorfulleo92's review against another edition
4.0
Autumn as arrived and so has my intense need of horror/spooky books! And what's not more fitting then an haunted house, a witch that doesn't want to stay dead and an idiot carpenter messing with the house? Creepy and gruesome this was an intense read perfect for fall.
zarco_j's review against another edition
5.0
Another sure fire hit from John Everson and Flame Tree Press.
Spooky, emotional and worthy of a second or third read. I absolutely loved this.
Spooky, emotional and worthy of a second or third read. I absolutely loved this.
waclements7's review against another edition
1.0
I am not entirely sure why I finished this, other than that I have a few books I haven’t been able to get through already this week. I think this might be better as a movie? It wasn’t scary, just gory. There wasn’t a lot of character development and just some things that didn’t make sense. Mike wanted to quit work over dead animals but finds a human bone and is fine with it? It’s sort of like a hacker/slasher movie as a book. Horror aficionados might appreciate all the horror movie references, but…
wildgurl's review against another edition
4.0
The House By The Cemetary
By John Everson
2018 due 10-8-2018
Flame Tree Press
In the small town of Bachelors Grove, Illinois, Perry has purchased the old Bremen home, rumored to be haunted by the spirit of a witch. Perry decides to renovate the house into a Haunted House for Halloween, hiring his friend Mike for the job. There are more than secrets in the walls, more than noises in the walls. Something spookier than bloody floors.
There is a ritual to continue and fulfill and this house will do anything to make sure it opens by Halloween. The witches spirit does not intend to remain at rest.
Dark, fast paced horror that will keep you on the edge of your seat. I loved the horror movie references.
Perfect for Halloween!!
Thank you to #NetGalley for the advance copy for review.
#TheHouseByTheCemetaryJohneversonFlametreepress #NetGalley
By John Everson
2018 due 10-8-2018
Flame Tree Press
In the small town of Bachelors Grove, Illinois, Perry has purchased the old Bremen home, rumored to be haunted by the spirit of a witch. Perry decides to renovate the house into a Haunted House for Halloween, hiring his friend Mike for the job. There are more than secrets in the walls, more than noises in the walls. Something spookier than bloody floors.
There is a ritual to continue and fulfill and this house will do anything to make sure it opens by Halloween. The witches spirit does not intend to remain at rest.
Dark, fast paced horror that will keep you on the edge of your seat. I loved the horror movie references.
Perfect for Halloween!!
Thank you to #NetGalley for the advance copy for review.
#TheHouseByTheCemetaryJohneversonFlametreepress #NetGalley
dnemec's review against another edition
3.0
Perry has decided that the perfect place to build a haunted house attraction is in an actual haunted house. He gets his friend Mike, who is a carpenter struggling for work, to fix up the house enough so that it's safe for horror lovers to traipse through all October. Mike, desperate to pay his bills, takes the offer and begins to fix it up himself. But weird things keep happening: the basement has animal sacrifices, he finds a wall with human bones behind it, and two young women keep showing up to "help" him out.
Meanwhile, the haunting coordinators plan to go all out creating an homage to a horror movie in each room. The set designers, make-up artists, and actors are all ready to deck the house out. And it's a huge success, well, except for one thing...
The march up to the conclusion is bloody and gore-filled, but a bit predictable. Overall, it was fairly fun though!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Meanwhile, the haunting coordinators plan to go all out creating an homage to a horror movie in each room. The set designers, make-up artists, and actors are all ready to deck the house out. And it's a huge success, well, except for one thing...
The march up to the conclusion is bloody and gore-filled, but a bit predictable. Overall, it was fairly fun though!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
dedasab's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
shaxx's review against another edition
4.0
Tady jsem byla rozpolcená při hodnocení.
Takže stručně:
Mínusy:
neskutečně nudná první polovina, kde tesař Mike opravuje dům
setká(vá)ní s postavou Katie je jak koukat přes arch plexiskla, tak průhledné...
zápletka není nijak extra originální
postavy jsou spíš jen hluk jmen, než charakterů
Plusy:
jako slasher/splatterpunk to funguje dokonale
z nudy se to do gore přehoupne docela hladce
reference na hororová díla
v rámci žánru (viz výše) je to dobrý počin a na to v závěru hodnocení myslím, zvlášť po zklamání, které jsem měla s knihou Děti Halloweenu od stejného nakladatelství (koupila jsem obě knihy v halloweenském balíčku)
Takže stručně:
Mínusy:
neskutečně nudná první polovina, kde tesař Mike opravuje dům
setká(vá)ní s postavou Katie je jak koukat přes arch plexiskla, tak průhledné...
zápletka není nijak extra originální
postavy jsou spíš jen hluk jmen, než charakterů
Plusy:
jako slasher/splatterpunk to funguje dokonale
z nudy se to do gore přehoupne docela hladce
reference na hororová díla
v rámci žánru (viz výše) je to dobrý počin a na to v závěru hodnocení myslím, zvlášť po zklamání, které jsem měla s knihou Děti Halloweenu od stejného nakladatelství (koupila jsem obě knihy v halloweenském balíčku)