The House of a Hundred Whispers by Graham Masterton can be what you would consider your classic haunted house horror story/mystery. I’m not exactly into horror novels because it just isn’t scary to me. I don’t read Stephen King’s novels because they are scary but more so because he is a great story teller and author. I have a pretty vivid imagination but when it comes to horror type stuff, I’d much rather watch a movie instead. But I figured it’s been so long, so why not? The first half of this novel started off really well. The introduction was on point, the dialogue and characters felt real and the setup for the most part made me want to read on. In fact, it was a page turner and I was breezing through it quite fast. However, things got a bit dull towards the later half of the novel and it just went downhill from there.

“Satan and all your demons, go to hell.”

Father Salter

Surprisingly, I never minded all of the plain and regular characters in the novel. I think I knew deep down that they didn’t make or break a story of this type. They are your typical set it and forget type of characters where they are there because a story needs them. They are neither exciting, interesting or fun. That makes the family here feel a bit more real and relatable in a way. You’re also not going into this story looking for philosophical quotes or important life lessons. You’re reading this novel because you want to be scared! Unfortunately, this novel didn’t change my perception on horror novels. It just wasn’t scary. There might have been one quick scene where it got just a bit creepy thinking about it but that was it. Once the mystery was revealed, it just lead me to want the story to end that much quicker.

“He might have given me all the time in the world, but he’s stolen my life.”

Martin

One thing this novel did confirm for me though is that if you want your demons and spirits or whatever ghostly apparition to appear more creepy, definitely have them use early english. I had hoped the ending would have redeemed the novel somewhat but it didn’t. In fact, I actually laughed quite a bit and how absurd it all was with regards to the policemen and how they dealt with the situation in general. It felt so fake and unrealistic. My final words is that I felt the author did a great job with the writing. It could be that this novel was just a bad first choice to get introduced to him. I’m a harsh critic. Couple that with my lack of excitement for horror novels and you get the point.