The Perron family – Carolyn, Roger, and their five daughters – needed to get away from a bad bullying situation in their old neighborhood, and the beautiful farmhouse in Harrisville seemed like a godsend.
But then inexplicable things begin to happen; doors open mysteriously, bad smells, horseflies and chills pervade the house, and worst of all, Carolyn is repeatedly attacked in a variety of ways. Most of the haunts appear benign or indifferent, but one, named Bathsheba, is viciously hostile and terrifying, particularly to Carolyn. Each family member experiences the hauntings in different ways, and all eventually must question the nature of reality, life and death.
The book is unnervingly, vividly spooky, especially since it is told as a true story by the eldest daughter of the family, Andrea. She relates the supernatural events of the story with dramatic intensity, and her ability to find philosophical meaning even in attacks on her family and herself is quite impressive. The family’s cohesiveness, affection, and compassion for others make them quite likeable, and that likeability draws the reader into their struggles.
However, the author’s melodramatic style detracts somewhat from the book, making it difficult to read. The memoir could benefit from an editor, to trim the over-elaborate prose, organize the story more clearly, and catch the occasional ungrammatical phrase or misuse of words (“voracity” for “veracity,” for example). The story does not follow a coherent timeline, spending pages at times discussing marital discord between Carolyn and Roger that has not yet happened, and then going back abruptly to earlier years. Characters which have yet to be introduced are mentioned casually in passing, as if the reader already knew who they were. Much of the book is devoted to speculation and philosophical ponderings with little clarity or coherence.
Unfortunately, the chilling potential of this story is undermined by its tendency to drift and wander, rather like the ghosts it describes.
Reviewed by Catherine Langrehr for IndieReader