R.I.P. IV Challenge Wrap Up

I am happy to say I have completed Carl's R.I.P. IV Challenge - Peril the Second, which we are required to read two books of any length, from any subgenre of scary stories that we choose.

I can not resist reading another book so here are my list:

• The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
• The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
• Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill

I enjoyed reading them all but I have to say The Haunting of Hill House remains my favourite!

A BIG thanks to Carl for hosting this challenge! I already can't wait for the next round to begin!

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

ISBN-13: 9780486266848
Publisher: Dover Publications, Inc.
Published: 1991
87 pgs




This is a ghost story narrated by the governess when she took the position of looking after two young charges (Miles, aged ten, and Flora, eight) whose parents have passed away. When the governess was first interviewed for this job, she was told that she should never trouble her employer (who is the siblings' uncle and their legal guardian) due to his difficulty (which was never truly explained), nor could she appeal, complain or write about anything and only meet all questions herself. She would receive all moneys from his solicitor, take the whole thing over and let him alone. Though the conditions sound queer, the governess took up the position because the salary offered much exceeded her modest measure.

The governess knew of her predecessor though she does not know everything about her; she is like a mystery and no one wants to talk about her either. Mrs. Grose, the housekeeper, is a respectable woman but she does not offer information much about everything. All these did not discourage the governess and she strive hard to get settle down in the big country estate and getting to know the siblings.

All things seem to be normal in the beginning but slowly, she began to sense an apparition in the house. This is where the story took on a turn of psychological terror when the governess realizes they are ghosts of the previous valet and governess, which she believes they haunt the two children. Aside from keeping the children safe, she is also keen to unravel the mystery of the relationship of the dead valet, her predecessor and the family. When she later learned that the two spirits have appeared to the children in private and suspected they have some sort of evil communication, she is horrified but she could never understand why the children have adamantly refuse to acknowledge the presence of the spirits and why should she even feel threatened by Miles, especially.

Told from the governess' perspective, The Turn of the Screw has all the right elements of a true psychological horror. It has an eerie, creepy atmosphere but what made this classic different from other books of the same genre is that the author did not really articulate what is going on and that the story totally leave you to your own imaginations, and maybe this explain why I did not feel strongly with this story as compared to The Haunting of Hill House since I heard there are some comparison between these two. I think the writing style also plays a part but I have to say both have excellent main characters.

I think the relationship between Miles and the governess is the core of this story and often I find myself thinking about Miles' innocence (and behaviour) and wonder if there is a lot more of him than meets the eye. The dialogues are great and engaging though, and this is another reason why I was sucked into this story though I was perplexed over some passages which I could not fully grasp (oh, especially the ending!). I will have to keep this book back to my pile for a re-read in future.

Other reviews:

Age 30+...A Lifetime of Books

Bart's Bookshelf

Bending Bookshelf

Booknotes by Lisa

Out of the Blue

Semicolon

Tales from the Reading Room

(Let me know if I missed yours.)

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

ISBN-13: 9780143039983
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Published: November 2006
182 pgs

I have a habit of reading the introduction pages (or the Author's Notes, or any other stuff that are printed before the first chapter for that matter) but I have to say this is the book where you have to skip reading the introduction pages and jump to the story first. Why? Besides a little background of the author (which I enjoyed reading and learning more about her), they also include some information about the story and the characters which I felt are a bit of a spoiler so I would suggest anyone to read the story first unless you do not mind it at all. That said, let me get on with this review.

First, I have to thank Nymeth for mentioning this book. Without her lovely review, I would have given this book a miss. As the title indicates, this is a story that centered around Hill House and it had stood so for eighty years. It all begins when Dr. John Montague, a scholar who had taken his degree in anthropology when he wants to find some evidence of supernatural manifestations. When he heard about Hill House, he knew he had found an excellent place for his "investigations". Thus, he rented the place for three months, and he had engaged four assistants (they should fit the criteria of involving in any supernatural or abnormal event) but only Eleanor Vance and Theodora (that is as much name as she used) turned up. Together with Luke Sanderson, the future heir of Hill House, the four of them will stay in the Hill House and they shall wait to see if the supernaturals really do exist.

As much as this is about the haunted Hill House, I have to say there is much more than it. Besides the intensity thrill like any other ghost stories, this story is very much about the setting, the atmosphere, the psychological feeling and not to mention the set of characters that make this book a total different reading experience as compared with the others of the same genre. In this case, Eleanor plays an important role in this story as the readers get to experience the story from within her consciousness. Through Eleanor's perspective, the readers follow her through this grand adventure as the story moves along and that is the most intrigue experience in my opinion.

I can understand why the author chose Eleanor for this role because she is quite an interesting and a complex character. Before she took up Dr. Montague's invitation, she has been spending most of her life looking after her ailing mother and one could say she is very much a loner since she hardly interacts with anyone. However, that changes after she got acquainted with Dr. Montague's team and lives in Hill House and this is where I should stop telling more about the premise.

Oh, I feel I need to mention the housekeeper of Hill House, Mrs Dudley because she is a strange woman. She is not at all scary or menacing but there is definitely an aura of mystery surrounding her.

All in all, The Haunting of Hill House is a great read. I have also heard We Have Always Lived in the Castle is another great novel by her so this would be my next choice among her other list of books.

Other reviews:
A Striped Armchair
Bibliolatry
Books for Breakfast, Drinks for Dinner
Booknotes by Lisa
Jenny's Books
Sadie-Jean
So Many Books
Stuck in a Book
Things Mean A Lot
(Let me know if I missed yours.)

Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill

ISBN-13: 9780575081871
Publisher: Orion Publishing Group
Published: 2008
403 pgs






Judas Coyne is not your typical hero as you read from other thriller/horror novels. For starters, he is an ageing metal rock star, but the most intriguing thing about him is he collects macabre stuff. For example, he has framed sketches of the seven dwarves on the wall of his studio, and he has the skull of a peasant who had been trepanned in the sixteenth century etc etc. It all seem very bizarre but Judas has no qualms about his weird collection at all, until his assistant, Danny Wooten, told him that there was a ghost for sale on the internet.

When Judas heard of it, he just knew this would be another great addition to his collection. He bought it and chuck the thought out of his mind. When a black, heart-shaped box arrives in the mail, Judas is perplexed to find nothing but a black and old-fashioned suit. It then struck him that this was a purchase he had made not too long ago and he called it 'the dead man's suit'. As indicated, there is nothing ordinary about this suit as it comes with a vengeful spirit. It turns out that the ghost, Craddock McDermott, is the stepfather of a girl who committed suicide after Judas had played and dumped her.

And this leads to a terrifying hide-and-seek between Judas and Craddock, as well as a woman named Marybeth since she is living with Judas and like him, she has a fancy for anything gothic. Craddock is determined to track them down and since he has got a knack of hypnotising people when he was alive, he intends to use his every power to drive Judas to the edge of sanity. And anyone who is helping Judas would not be spared either.

However, that is not all to this story. Judas also found out more things about Anna, the suicidal girl he once loved and left, and her relationship between her sister and Craddock as well.

No doubt Heart-Shaped Box is a horror story through and through, but it is also an engaging character drive story that makes you feel for the characters, especially for Anna. I am not going to spoil the story for you but if you read this book, you would be able to know about her history and how (why) this horror story begins.

Aside from The Ghost Writer, Heart-Shaped Box is another creepy book I read thus far this year; I would not recommend this book to anyone who is squeamish about blood and all (though I think some of those scenes are inevitable). Then again, Heart-Shaped Box is not entirely a story about ghost and revenge, it also touches issue like abuse and the human sentimentality which I think can be scarier than the ghost itself.

Other reviews:

A Striped Armchair

Jo's Bookshelf

Lesley's Book Nook

Shelf Love

(Let me know if I missed yours.)