Accumulation by Aimee Pokwatka

 

A twisty, searing, conversation-starting novel about a filmmaker-turned-housewife who moves into her dream house and is forced to consider whether it's the house or herself that is haunted.

When documentary filmmaker turned stay-at-home mom Tennessee Cherish moves into the dream house her husband bought for her, a brighter future seems to be on the horizon. Even if her husband is frustratingly absent due to his new high-paying job. Even if their two young children begin acting out in strange ways. Even if she feels lonelier than ever.

Distracted by the endless details that come with moving into a new town, a new house, and new schools, Tenn doesn’t notice when odd things begin happening at home. The faucet that runs at all hours. The creepy doll that seems to show up in every room. The human tooth they found in the floorboards.

As the kids’ outbursts and the strange events start to escalate, the family finds themselves increasingly caught in loops, repeating everyday actions with dangerous—and then devastating—effects. Tenn realizes she must find the source of what is haunting her family, before it kills them all.

Taut and twisty, scary and searing, Aimee Pokwatka’s Accumulation lays bare the high price women pay for the promises of domesticity and motherhood, and the many ways in which families can be haunted.

Ward has recently gotten a new, higher-paying job and moved to what is supposedly his wife Tenn's dream home with their two children. I say "supposedly" because, although the home is much larger than what they had, it doesn't seem to be in good shape and is never really presented as anyone's idea of a dream home. Tenn has had some issues in the past with depression, and this is meant to be a fresh start for the family. Instead, everything goes rapidly sour as the children start behaving strangely, things go missing, silhouettes appear to be watching from the sidelines, and Tenn gets caught in a repeating loop of chaos. Trying to flee the house only seems to make matters worse. Is it really a haunted dream home, or is it Tenn herself who is haunted?

I always enjoy haunted house stories. When you throw in creepy happenings among kids, it really gets my adrenaline going. Particularly when I am not sure if you need to protect the children or need protection from the children. I have often times complained about repetitiveness in horror, but being caught in a loop worked for me in this book. I loved Tenn, and I loved to hate her husband, Ward. So many times I just wanted to smack him and say step up! But I guess all haunted house stories need a useless husband to make things worse before they can get better.

My thanks to G.P. Putnam's Sons for the e-ARC

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The Caretaker by Marcus Kliewer

 EXCITING OPPORTUNITY:

Caretaker urgently needed. Three days of work. Competitive pay. Serious applicants ONLY.

Macy Mullins can’t say why the job posting grabbed her attention—it had the pull of a fisherman’s lure, barbed hook and all—vaguely ominous. But after an endless string of failed job interviews, she's not exactly in the position to be picky. She has rent to pay, groceries to buy, and a younger sister to provide for.

Besides, it’s only three days’ work…

Three days, cooped up in a stranger’s house, surrounded by Oregon Coast wilderness.

What starts as a peculiar side gig soon becomes a waking nightmare. An incomprehensible evil may dwell on this property—and Macy Mullins might just be the only thing standing between it, and the rest of humanity.

Follow the Rites...

Macy Mullins is trying to support herself and her younger sister since their father's death. She is drowning in unpaid bills and threats of eviction when she answers an ad for a three-day job as a caretaker. The pay is great but there's a catch. She thought she would be taking care of a person. Instead, she is meant to follow a bizarre regimen of timed tasks. There are consequences for failing a task within the allotted time, and they increase in severity with each failure. Macy does not believe in any of these consequences; it all sounds to her like the ramblings of a troubled mind. She accepts the job and becomes a believer.

I was so excited when I received an invitation to read this! I loved the author's first book and can't wait to see the movie they are making from it. The Caretaker is also being made into a movie, and there are a few changes I hope they will make for the screen.

I loved the premise of this book. The house and wooded land it sits on are creepy. The tasks that must be completed are not physically difficult, but emotionally challenging. The atmosphere was delightfully spooky. What hampered my enjoyment was the repetitiveness and the back and forth between Macy and her sister who was not even there; it was just a running commentary in Macy's head. It made me want to skim the parts where Macy imagined what her sister would say about every situation. Don't let me dissuade you from reading it. Lots of people enjoyed it more than I did, and you might too. This was just an ok read for me.

My thanks to Atria/Emily Bestler Books/12:01 Books

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Come Sing for the Harrowing by Dan Coxon

 The newest collection from award-winning writer, Dan Coxon, Come Sing for the Harrowing, is a terrifying menagerie of the strange and weird. Unsettling, poignant, and always masterfully crafted, these 16 stories are a feast of folk horror where the fine line between the mundane and the malevolent is blurred beyond repair.

With five never-before-published stories as well as tales featured in publications such as Beyond the Veil and Great British Horror 7, this collection is a tour de force from one of the most talented rising stars in the horror fiction landscape.

Come Sing For The Harrowing is a collection of 18 stories, some of which were previously published but all of which were new to me.

A few of them ended so abruptly that I did wish there had been a little more, but I mostly enjoyed these weird and wondrous tales.

Some of my favorites were The Wives of Tromisle in which an estranged mother and daughter reunite when the mother needs help preparing for an expected but unusual occurrence for a woman her age.

Bring Them All Into The Light is an unnerving tale of a man who becomes obsessed with a cottage he sees while on a family vacation. After much arguing, his wife agrees with his decision to purchase it and move in. It is not their dream home, and his compulsion to build on the land will bring horror to them all.

A bullied child seeks revenge from beyond the grave in Bumblethatch.

The title story Come Sing for the Harrowing is a chilling tale of a young man who takes a job to pay his mother back the $200 he owes. Unfortunately, he will find out that he is paying so much more than that.

A camping trip with friends after a bad breakup is full of creepy happenings in Needles And Pins. 

The Darkness Below is another story of a family outing that goes horribly wrong for all involved when the son gets separated from his parents and sister in a touristy cave attraction.

A son leaves his father at a care home called Gorphwysfa, which translated means resting place. There will not be much rest for either of them once they separate.

If you enjoy dark fiction and strange tales, this is for you.

4 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Clash Books for the e-ARC

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Movie Review - Souls Chapel

 MTS Pictures is proud to announce the North American release of their latest feature, Souls Chapel, an indie horror-western inspired by the real-life legend of an early 1900s reverend who practiced the occult. The film is now available from Desktop Entertainment on DVD and VOD platforms, including Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, and Fandango at Home.

Inspired by the real-life legend of an early 1900s reverend who practiced the occult, Souls Chapel follows a drifter, who, while chasing rumors of gold, takes shelter from a brutal snowstorm inside a small church known as the Souls Chapel. As the night deepens, he learns the church, its clergy, and the land itself are bound to something dark and deadly.

Directed by and starring Jack C. Young, Souls Chapel also stars genre favorite Brian Bremer (Pumpkinhead, Society) alongside Adriana Curtsinger, Jermey Boggs, Gage Carnes, Joseph McDowell, and Molly Gill. 

I was invited to watch a screener of Souls Chapel.

It's an unknown point in time. The world has moved on from what it once was. Ray, a drifter, is making his way through the hills of old Kentucky in search of gold he has heard rumors about. He encounters a strange entity that promises him gold if he finds a mysterious icon and brings it back to him. After accepting the challenge, Ray finds himself in the middle of a terrible storm, from which he seeks refuge in a small church known as Souls Chapel. As things begin to unfold, Ray learns that church clergy are not who they seem, and that the chapel’s grounds are cursed with a presence of dark magic. Ray must not only survive the night but complete his task and make it out alive.

Souls Chapel gets off to a slow start and relies heavily on narration and dialogue for most of the movie. When Ray takes shelter in the chapel and meets the rest of our cast of characters, what should feel ominous is diminished by a lack of quality acting. I would love to name at least one actor who truly shined in their role, but am unable to do so.

The script was well written, and the cinematography did a great job of conveying the mood and atmosphere, making for a visually appealing film. The fact that it was more talk than action and the sometimes lackluster delivery of lines left me mostly disengaged from the movie. You may enjoy it more than I did but I am taking it as a bad sign that several other reviews I have seen are only posting the press release instead of saying what they thought about this movie.

I gave this film 5 out of 10 stars on IMDB

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