The Poor and the Haunted by Dustin McKissen

As a child Jimmy Lansford and his sister Kelly suffered crushing poverty, their father’s unexplained and frightening suicide, and their mother’s constant abuse and cruelty. Having grown to be a successful adult, Jimmy must contend with the sudden re-emergence of memories from his childhood in Oklahoma and unexplainable events occurring inside his own home. Is it more than memories that haunt Jimmy? Did his parents suffer from mental illness and addiction, or were they possessed by something even worse—and has that presence arrived to take Jimmy?

The first horror novel from acclaimed author and journalist Dustin McKissen explores the nature of hauntings, the ghosts from our past that haunt our present, and the unbreakable bond between siblings who learn early on they can only rely on each other.

Well...

This was not an altogether bad book, but it is misleading to call it a horror novel. It isn't. It is the story of a man who was raised in an abusive and neglectful home by drug addled parents living in a poverty of their own making. It is a story of strength and love, it is a story of how this man escaped these awful circumstances, attended college and built a life for himself. It is a story of stopping the cycle of abuse, raising his own children with his wife and making a real family. It is also the story of how his upbringing still haunts him. But even throwing a ghost in the mix does not make this a horror novel.

3 out of 5 stars

I received a complimentary copy for review.

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About the author
Dustin McKissen is an award-winning journalist, author, novelist, and short story writer. "The Poor and The Haunted" is his first horror novel. He lives in Bellingham, Washington with his wife and three children.