Haunted: Perron Manor: 1

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Little do they know that the manor is known to be haunted as none of them believe in such things as ghosts and hauntings. Paranormal investigator, David Ritter shows up on their doorstep letting them know the manor is haunted and that he would like to know if they would let him do an investigation. They do not let him in the manor and they tell him to leave as they do not believe in those kind of things. This book is a prelude to a book series that the author has coming out soon as this book sets up the rest of the series. I will be looking forward to reading the other books in this series to continue on with the hauntings of Perron Manor and what is in store for its next victims. Giving this book five Inside: Perron Manor is the prequel novella to Lee Mountford’s six-book Haunted series. I’m not normally a fan of the classic horror ghost-story, unless I’m reading the Gothic masters, but Lee Mountford’s novella blew me away. I listened to the audio book version of this prequel. Narrated by Hannibal Hills, the audio is about 3.5 hours long. Hills has a pleasant voice, reads at a nice pace and does an excellent job of voice acting! I enjoyed his performance from beginning to end. Chloe and Sarah go through a great transformative arc, both individually, as well as siblings and the added dependent (Emma), makes for some fantastically tense moments.

Do the sisters and Andrew make it out of the house? Why is the manor haunted? What is haunting the manor? What happens to this family when the haunting escalates? No spoilers here as you will just have to read the book! Nechci tím říct, že bych měla tendence klepat se při čtení takových knih hrůzou, to skutečně ne. A když se nad tím zamyslím, dokonce bych řekla, že knihy, které na k tomu přivedly, bych za celý dosavadní život, dokázala dokonce spočítat na prstech jedné ruky. Mnohem důležitější však pro mě je, moct si hlavně vychutnat, onu tíživě hutnou atmosféru a napětí, které taková kniha s sebou přináší. V tomto směru je, Sídlo hrůzy, jednou z těch hodně dobrých ukázek, jak má takové dílo, vlastně vypadat. Perron Manor located in Northern England has been around for centuries and ever since it has been built the manor has taken the lives of people that have lived in it. The manor has been other things besides just "a manor" but that doesn't make it all that less scary as when people move in or even stay the night, things happen that will make the people either run screaming into the night or they might just disappear altogether and may never be heard from again. Chloe, was an interesting character and while I felt sad that she had to experience all the spookiness, it was interesting to see how that affected her. How it was first fear and disbelief, into fear and NOPE, trying to run away. I would have liked to see her remember things from the past though, even little glimpses would have been fine.We also get some characters brought in along the way that I felt we learned too much about with not enough pay off from them. Again, they may very well return down the road, but otherwise, it came off as a lot of space taken up for other characters, instead of moving the story along. In many ways this is an excellent book. The characters of Chloe & Sarah, and the house itself are developed well over the course of the story, and for the majority of the story, the pacing is exactly on point for this story's subject matter.

This prequel delves into the history of the fictional Perron Manor, the horrific occurrences at the house on Halloween 1982 and describes a 2014 weekend investigation of the home by a team of paranormal researchers. I listen to a lot of podcasts, and this story had the tone of a paranormal podcast with the added horror aspects that fiction can add. Loved it! I will probably be reading the next book as well. Not sure when. I did try the second book but it couldn’t grab me, but then again, that may have to do with me having another book on my mind (Don’t Tell a Soul). Guess after I finish that one I will try again. Having no recollection of anything during that time, Chloe doesn't hesitate to urge her husband to move there, along with their young child, and co-heir sister. However, while I had a difficult time with these characters and their motivations, the atmosphere and history of the Manor captured my undivided attention. The scenes that dealt with the house itself and its sordid history were mesmerizing, to say the least, and some of the minor characters brought more interest and mystery to it.I’ve read a lot of Splatterpunk and Extreme Horror in my time. I’m certainly not against the spilling of guts. But I admire an author who can turn the camera away and give me a different kind of fear even more than one who can twist my insides in disgust. Lee Mountford has taken to heart the age-old lesson that what you don’t see is far scarier than what you do. He never oversteps the mark, which many horror authors do, where the plot then descends into parody, and even at the tense conclusion of the novella what is waiting for Ritter never quite steps into the light… Coupled with this intuitive sense of when not to show us something, or when to let the silence speak, is a concise descriptive power. Many of the “scares” in this book are classic horror fare: faces in windows, shadows at the end of the bed, and yet Mountford will often offer up just one subtle little detail that sets his image apart from the generic. For example, I will admit, I felt the "connection" between the characters was forced somehow, and many of their conversations/actions just didn't feel . . . authentic. . . to me. I am still very much in the mood for haunted houses and ghosts and so when I bumped into this book I just knew I had to try it out! It sounded positivity haunting! This book was one scary ride and author, Lee Mountford slowly builds up the haunting and spooky atmosphere all the way through the book then lowers the boom as things escalate in the manor to the point that I would stay up to the early morning hours reading it!

What I didn’t like: I think the toughest thing going in for me personally, was that this is part of a series. Knowing that I didn’t expect to get all the answers, but I found I didn’t get ANY answers. We got hints and bits of what had happened and maybe why the things were occurring, but I think, personally, too much was left unanswered as a draw for readers to dive into book two. As an example (spoiler-free) a discovery is made. A book. Not once do we hear about any attempt at research being done on the book. We do get an antiquities dealer, who may or may not return to the fold in the future, but otherwise nothing.This description (delivered by one of Ritter’s interviewees) is understated, yet extremely vivid. The fact it sounds like dialogue lends further potency to it. The detail I think is most unique here is actually the “no lips”. I can totally see those ape-like gums. But, in terms of scare factor, he saves the best until last: “No eyes” . It’s an iconic, almost archetypal image, that is made more powerful by what went before. We can’t help but picture Sam Neil in Event Horizon. Chilling. Which for this reader was a crying shame, as the story promised a lot more for at least 89% of the book (and from 96% onwards...)