The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons (1978)
5 out of 5 stars
This is a brilliant take on the classic haunted house story. The story is told from Colquitt's perspective; she and her husband Walter have lived in their house for some years, it is located in a lovely neighbourhood and they are friends with a number of their neighbours. The lot of land next door has always been vacant because the shape and structure of the land is seemingly too difficult to build on. That is until a young couple arrive with a hotshot architect in tow who has drawn up plans for a house to be built there. The house is built and...horrible things start to happen.
This story is a slow burn and very character driven. Quiet horror at its best. That said, there are some really intense scenes, a few of which literally gave me chills. It is excellently written, very clever and ahead of its time. I did not see the ending coming and I think it was absolutely brilliant. I think you can enjoy this story at surface level or you can dig deeper and find more things to enjoy about it. It's definitely one that stayed on my mind after reading it and the more I thought about it the more I liked it, and I already loved it!
This is a brilliant take on the classic haunted house story. The story is told from Colquitt's perspective; she and her husband Walter have lived in their house for some years, it is located in a lovely neighbourhood and they are friends with a number of their neighbours. The lot of land next door has always been vacant because the shape and structure of the land is seemingly too difficult to build on. That is until a young couple arrive with a hotshot architect in tow who has drawn up plans for a house to be built there. The house is built and...horrible things start to happen.
This story is a slow burn and very character driven. Quiet horror at its best. That said, there are some really intense scenes, a few of which literally gave me chills. It is excellently written, very clever and ahead of its time. I did not see the ending coming and I think it was absolutely brilliant. I think you can enjoy this story at surface level or you can dig deeper and find more things to enjoy about it. It's definitely one that stayed on my mind after reading it and the more I thought about it the more I liked it, and I already loved it!
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