Review: The Exorcist's House

4 stars. YEP, that'll do the trick. It's very exciting to find fresh horror that uses the familiar tropes - like coming home to a clean house! Things feel new and nice even though I know where everything is. This is not even close to being a good use of figurative comparison (esp considering the subject matter of the book I just freaking read) but hey, it's Tuesday, I'm tired, and we are shooting down UFOs. 

The Exorcist's House is really just like, yeah, the family bought the house, weird shit ensued, they investigated the secret room in the creepy basement, they each started having terrifying but isolated experiences, one thing led to another and sure enough we've got a battle between the forces of light and the forces of darkness. Except guess what? The imagery is fantastic. The scary moments are actually scary. And the fucking dog survives (thank you), for which I've added an additional star.

I adore short chapters. I love that this book seemed to know exactly its purpose: to tell a frightening, concise, non-show-off-y story that will scratch the itch of any horror fan. Horror creators are especially guilty of over-employing Easter eggs (completely forgivable considering we have to cling to whatever inside jokes we can find). and this book is no different, but the clever references are fun and not OTT.

The ending, by the way, is pretty much perfect. I would've given it 5 stars but I found some of the dialogue - and the quippy humor - a little clunky/clumsy? Everyone tries to find that balance and almost everyone misses, so it isn't really any failure on the author's part. 

I could totally see this as an amazing movie. Read if you dare. Don't investigate the secret room. The end.

The Exorcist’s House on: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Goodreads