Haunted

Haunted. James Herbert. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1988. 220pp.
David Ash, a skeptical investigator of the abnormal, was on his way to a town named Ravenmoor to investigate some strange happenings at a house called Edbrook. He met old Aunt Tessa and her two nephews Robert and Simon and her niece Christina Mariell. While at the house, David came across some unexplainable situations like nonexistent flames that somehow suffocated him and a girl that he followed all over the house and grounds who seemed to disappear. Then, he discovered the family mausoleum at the back of the property in the woods where he finally found the truth.
Haunted captured my attention at the beginning, but towards the middle, I pretty much knew what was going to happed at the end. This story was unique, though, because Herbert went into much more depth than most authors would. Herbert brought in David’s sister’s death and worked it into the story line, but he did leave out what happened to David after leaving Edbrook, which would have made the story more interesting. I have definitely read better horror/suspense novels because this one was not scary at all and predictable. The least convincing part was when the beautiful house and car just one day became old, filthy, rusty, and moldy. Basically, I thought that this book was predictable and unbelievable, and I do not recommend it. Rank 3 out of 10.
Reviewed by Hillary