The Rising (Crooked Tales) by Chris Harrison

In the heart of a derelict, once-infamous hotel, believed to be one of Britain’s most haunted places, lies a chilling mystery that defies the understanding of the local police. Crooked House, buried deep in the woods of a sleepy village harbouring a chilling secret, with its dark history of unsolved murders and spectral whispers, becomes the stage for a group of unlikely heroes.

Wannabe influencer Kane Jackson and his best friend JJ saw the mysterious Crooked House as the perfect opportunity to capture the attention of their online audience and make a name for themselves. Little do they know that the shadows harboring tortured spirits are just the beginning. Kane’s strong-willed kid brother Zach, headstrong Meridia Wilson, and child prodigy Izzy Di Salvo are reluctantly dragged into the venture with them.

As the group delves deeper into the haunted halls, a malevolent force awaits, hungry for their fears and vulnerabilities. With every step, the secrets of Crooked House unravel, revealing a darkness that goes beyond their darkest nightmares.

Can this unlikely team unlock the harrowing secrets and survive the malevolent forces that threaten to consume them?

In this edgy and dark young adult supernatural horror novel, survival comes at a harrowing cost, and the echoes of Crooked House linger long after the final chapter.

"We've been waiting for you...

When a group of adventurous young kids decide to go explore an abandoned, notorious B&B called "Crooked House", known to be steeped in mystery and hauntings, they find more than they were expecting.  Only wanting to see if the hotel was simply haunted by ghosts and capture it on camera, they discover what's inside is much more malevolent and sinister. Trapped within, they all must fight to find their way out or be lost to the darkness forever. After what they have experienced, they continue to try to understand what is happening and why their lives are now entangled to the mystery and what lies waiting to consume their lives. As they each continue to experience a sinister being, they gather together to continue to try to discover and stop what is happening. 

From the start, we are given a look into some of the history that enshrouds the hotel, the previous owners, and the reasons for the abandonment.  Advancing forward to the present, we learn about the kids and the dynamics of their lives, giving us that connection to each of the characters. Each of them having their own endearments and troubles. 

The atmosphere is very foreboding as we are taken inside to experience the sinister forces that lie within. Feeling just as trapped and anxious as the group of kids. Wondering how they are possibly going to escape. It was like stepping through time and entering into a labyrinth of dreams, especially as more and more of the story unfolded. 

I really liked the inclusion of being taken back in time and learning the truth of the hotel and the reveal of what the sinister forces actually were. I felt it was a very interesting concept. There were some things that were revealed that were surprising and the ending was unexpected, as well. 

Format: eBook from BookSirens

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The Bone Drenched Woods by L.V. Russell

 

Carve the bones. One for the gate, one for the door, two for the mantel, and three for the floor… Hyacinth Turning knows the terrors beyond her village, the insatiable hunger of the Teeth. She listens to the sermons given by the Elders in their hare-skin masks. She watches as the heathens hang and the witches burn. They tell her to be good and quiet. But Hyacinth is neither good nor quiet. After a series of tragic events, Hyacinth finds herself hastily wedded and sent far away from all she has ever known to a settlement at the edge of the sea. Where more than just the Teeth are hungry. Another horror swims below, leviathan shadows kept at bay by offerings of flesh and bone.

But no sooner does Hyacinth take root in her new home do the Teeth and the Deep come to feed. Suspicion soon falls upon the outspoken Hyacinth, who spends more time with the outcasted Morgan Carroway than her own husband. The Elders want her burned, her husband wants her hanged, and a long-lost love claws at her dreams, but Hyacinth only wants one thing. A life and death of her choosing.

"Share the stories, keep the faith, bring the bones, carve the bones."

Hyacinth lives during a time of deep uncertainty. She is expected to always follow the rules of the village. Her parents as well as the elders. By rebelling she risks not only her life but her family. All are forced to follow the ways or be hanged as a heathen or burned as a witch and sacrificed to the woods. 

There is always an unsettling fear among the villagers. They must sacrifice and hang the bones for protection from what dwells deep within the dark and sinister woods. They must live in fear of the woods and always be sure to satiate its hunger or risk everyone. 

The elders decide the ones to be sacrificed. Everyone's lives are always in danger, not only from the monsters that dwell within the woods, but also from the human monsters.

Hyacinth in her rebellion has been chosen to marry, and they are both sent far away to another village. What she discovers there is even more terrifying than what she was forced to leave behind. 

The darkness that lies within this novel is permeating, right into the soul. The thought of having to live a life that was never yours to control with all decisions made for you is unsettling. Always living in fear of having to pay for your sinful ways with your life or being devoured by monsters, humans or otherwise. Feeling as if there is never a place that is safe and knowing that decisions are always made for you. Wanting more than anything to break free. Discovering that no matter where you go, there is something even worse waiting for you. 

It is so atmospheric that it always feels dark, it always feels cold, damp and chilling, with a deep-seated loneliness. It feels dreadful and deeply unsettling. It feels as if there is no hope for a better future, only peril. 

 "Folklore serves to validate culture, reinforce morals and values, and provide a means of social pressure." Indeed, this novel embodies the fear of these old practices from a time long past.

There is no greater light than merciful love. 

Format: Purchased Kindle eBook

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Song Pairing: Master of Death/Immortality by Peter Gundry

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Crossroads, Inc by Andrew Adams

When Crossroads, Inc—a life insurance company offering cash advances on policies—arrives in town, it brings something Glanton hasn’t seen in generations: hope.

Young Hannah Cassady and her seven siblings visit Crossroads to collect on their life insurance advancements for the family’s mounting bills, discovering the company intends to collect big returns on its investments—with severed body parts for the money.

How much is too much for free money? What’s the true cost of a better quality of life?

 

"Just when you think you can’t take no more darkness and will do anything to escape it then that’s when the sun peaks over that blessed horizon like some great symbol of hope."

Living in desolate times, young Hannah and her family are struggling to make ends meet. They live in a dilapidated house, live on meager meals, they work long hours in factories only to just scrape by and drink what they call "the brew" to try to feel better at the end of the day, The smog is so thick, it's hard to breathe. 

When Crossroads, Inc appears in their town of Glanton, they think that maybe this is their opportunity to get them out of their dire situation. The company is offering free life insurance and money to improve the people of the town's quality of life. Letting their curiosity get the best of them, members of Hannah's family decide to visit Crossroads, Inc and what they discover there is frightening.  They quickly learn that there is a much too high of a price to pay.

The people of the town are succumbing to the desire to get free money, which is essentially destroying their lives. The town is falling deeper and deeper into darkness and despair.

Hannah is the one telling her story and I just love her character. She's strong, smart, and wise beyond her years at just thirteen. She cares for her family a great deal and she is always trying to look out for them. Through all her difficulties, and even though she is scared, she stands her ground and sticks to her morals. She's a fighter and a survivor.

I was really impressed with the author's writing style and really enjoyed reading this book. It's dark, disturbing, and at times quite grotesque. But there are also moments that had me holding onto a hope for a brighter future for Hannah and the ending was quite thought provoking. 

Format: Purchased eBook

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Song Pairing: Dark Dystopian Music-Mentality

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Crone: A Witch's Tale by Jae Mazer

"By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes."  -- William Shakespeare

 Drowning in a sea of despair and fear, young Abbey struggles through her childhood alone and afraid. She lives on an isolated acreage with a cold and abusive family, spending her time afraid and miserable in her solitude.

 But is she truly alone?

 Abbey’s brother has convinced her that there is a witch living in their basement. Everyone knows it’s just a wicked story told for the sake of torment, but Abbey can’t help wondering if there really is something horrible and terrifying lurking beneath the stairs, watching, waiting…

 CRONE is a tale of a witch that hides in the dark corners of the mind and deep in the shadows of life. It is a tumultuous journey filled with pain and joy, blood and smiles, suffering and relief, monsters and magic. Come along with Abbey as she escapes her childhood and is thrust into adulthood, followed by the ghosts of her past, and a fairytale that couldn’t possibly be real.

 Could it?

"The words didn't hurt. They never did anymore. The same scar slashed over and over again hurts less every time."

Young Abbey's life is heartbreaking. Her family treats her as if she is less than human and she suffers much abuse by the ones she should be able to trust and should love her unconditionally. She finds an unexpected love from a realm of darkness and light. What she fears the most becomes her hope and her solitude.

Long into adulthood, she continues to encounter many difficulties. When she goes in search of a place of peace, what she finds is not what she expected, and her life once again begins to unravel.

There is so much dreamlike unreality, really makes one question what the reality is, but the wonderful prose brings the magic to life. There were lots of dark elements but also a tale of finding love and protection where least expected. It was not at all what I was expecting which made it all much more captivating. What started out in darkness, ends in a beautiful story of love and redemption.

An atmospheric tale of dread, darkness and light, and in the end, love wins!

Format: Purchased Kindle eBook

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Song Pairing:  Dark Creepy Gothic Piano by Divination

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What Happened at the Abbey (The Strathbairn Trilogy Book 1) by Isobel Blackthorn

When Ingrid flees a violent husband to become a housekeeper in the Scottish Highlands, she discovers the family she works for has a much darker history than her own.

Who haunts Strathbairn? Why are the adult McCleod children at each other’s throats? And why does the youngest sneak off at night? As Ingrid searches for answers, she grows ever more fearful that her husband will track her down.

Set in late 19th century Scottish Highlands, WHAT HAPPENED AT THE ABBEY is a gothic mystery brimming with intrigue, ghostly drama, and family secrets.

"Oh, to be a bat. To fly off when most of the rest of the world sleeps, and feast on other, lesser, creatures of the night. The freedom. The quiet. Away from the clamors of the day. Away from judgements and condemnations, and so many inquisitive eyes."

When Ingrid flees with her daughter from an abusive life, her hope is to start a new life. Going back to her homeland of Scotland, taking a position as housekeeper for a prominent family, she must protect herself and her daughter. Little does she know that she has stepped into a family that holds many dark and disturbing secrets. As the secrets are slowly revealed, each one becomes more disturbing, and Ingrid realizes how dysfunctional this family truly is. 

Putting her trust in another has proven to be a mistake, but in doing so has also provided her with an unexpected freedom. 

This story has so much mystery and intrigue that it is quite surprising as each one comes to light. Ingrid and her daughter Sarah are the light of the story that shines in the darkness that is deeply seated within the walls of Strathbairn. The McCleod family are so filled with dark hearts and disturbed souls, such unlikable characters, and yet one could not help but feel some pity for their plight. A past that forever haunts them. So much dissention and mistrust abound between them that leads them on a continuous dark path of doom. The past forever has a gripping hold, shattering their lives throughout their many years. 

The atmosphere is foreboding as the setting is in an isolated area in the highlands of Scotland. An old farm not far from an abandoned Abbey. A mire that holds a dark secret. Gloomy days and dark misty moonlit nights with seemingly voices on the wind. Haunting in the gloaming of the night.

A very captivating gothic story sure to entertain fans of the genre.

Format: Purchased Kindle eBook

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Song Pairing: My Dark Litle Rose by Roisin Dubh

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The Ghosts of Thorwald Place by Helen Power

Rachel Drake is on the run from the man who killed her husband. She never leaves her safe haven in an anonymous doorman building, until one night a phone call sends her running. On her way to the garage, she is murdered in the elevator. But her story doesn’t end there.

She finds herself in the afterlife, tethered to her death spot, her reach tied to the adjacent apartments. As she rides the elevator up and down, the lives of the residents intertwine. Every one of them has a dark secret. An aging trophy wife whose husband strays. A surgeon guarding a locked room. A TV medium who may be a fraud. An ordinary man with a mysterious hobby.

Compelled to spend eternity observing her neighbors, she realizes that any one of them could be her killer.

"The man who walks in shadow is not of this world. He was never human. He was created by humans." "He is a manifestation of all the dark urges, the wicked desires and cruel impulses of those who inhibit this building. He thrives on the pain, the fear, the hate, the evil that lives in every one of us."

Rachel has fled from a life she feels is threatened by the person that murdered her husband. She now lives a reclusive life in Thorwald Place. She never leaves her apartment or interacts with the other tenants. It is a place with high security and protection, at least, that is what she thinks until the day comes where she feels threatened again and decides to flee. As she is trying to flee, death finds her at the most unexpected moment, she finds herself stuck in the afterlife and tethered to her place of death. As she is pulled from place to place, she learns about her neighbors, all the things about their lives that she didn't know when she was alive. Many dark secrets are revealed, and her frustration rises as she is trying to understand why she is trapped and not allowed to move on. She learns that the person who murdered her husband is not who she thought it was and she also learns who the person is that murdered her. While all of this is happening to her ghostly self, she meets the other ghosts tethered to the building, one that is very threatening, "the man who walks in shadow."

The whole concept of this was so entertaining and intriguing. We are told the whole story through the voice of Rachel in her ghostly form. She learns so much more in death than she ever did in life. She comes to care so much for the neighbors and feels compelled to help them in any way she can, which in reality she can only watch as she is powerless to be able to do anything. It was so exciting to learn of all the hidden secrets of the neighbors who personified a perfect life, but in truth there was so much sadness and darkness. It was also a big surprise to find out who the real murderers were. This was all just so compelling and had just enough mystery to keep me intrigued. Then there was the macabre ghosts that added the ominous, shivery elements.

Format: Purchased Kindle eBook

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Song Pairing: When the Silence Screams by Lewis Capaldi

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