BOOK REVIEW: The House by the Cemetery by John Everson

Every town has that notorious house where - if the legends are to be believed -something horrible took place and is now haunted. In Bachelor's Grove, that house is in the woods next to a cemetery, and according to the rumours, it was once occupied by a witch. It's a spooky old house and seems like the perfect place for a haunted house attraction to a man named Perry. He recruits his carpenter friend, Mike, to repair the house before the Halloween season. But there might be some truth to the stories about the witch, as Mike, Perry, and several haunters and hauntees come to discover.

The House by the Cemetery reminded me a lot of a B horror movie. It was a fun and gory read. I loved all the horror movie references. Each room in the haunted house was inspired by a different horror movie (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Curtains, among others) and they were designed by the haunters, who love horror movies - two were even nicknamed Argento and Lucio.

The only part of the book I found lacking were the characters. In true B movie fashion, the main character, Mike, wasn't very bright and at times I just wanted to yell at him. There were a lot of characters and sometimes I had a hard time keeping them straight. I had an especially hard time telling Jeanie and June apart. Their names were similar, they were both makeup artists for the haunt, they both loved horror and Halloween, and they were both interested in the same guy. But I still found all the haunter characters, and their love of horror and Halloween, relatable.

Although I didn't love all the characters, I still enjoyed the book. If you're a horror movie fan looking for a book to read this Halloween, The House by the Cemetery would make a great choice.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 4/5