In previous books, Bentley Little has written about weird supernatural phenomena such as a malevolent group of buildings and a supernatural mailman. In The Haunted, however, he returns to basics and develops a horror staple—the haunted house story. The Perrys are a normal family who have had some problems but now seem to be on the right track. Julian is a web designer who works from home and Claire is a lawyer. They have two kids, Megan and James. Their financial situation is pretty good but their original neighborhood seems to be declining. So they decide to take advantage of the recession and look for a new place.
Their agent tells them that she is really good at placing families with houses and that she knows the perfect place for them in the historic district. As promised, the house does seem to be ideal, with a wraparound porch, a room for Julian to work in, and a large living space. So the Perrys move in and strange things start happening.
There seems to be something eerie about the basement from the start and they later discover that a homeless man was found dead there. Things seem to move around of their own accord, such as the laundry basket, and shapes start appearing in mirrors. Megan also receives lewd text messages which she initially thinks are not meant for her, but later, they start including her name. The members of the family don't confide in each other right away but eventually, the number of oddities add up and they're forced to come together to defeat an ancient evil around which their house was built.
The Haunted is a suspenseful tale in which Little slowly builds up the atmosphere to breaking point. The book is tightly written with no extraneous material and the reader goes from one page to the other, fully engrossed in the characters and the plot.
Bentley Little was born in Arizona and went to school at California State University, Fullerton where he did a Bachelor's in Communications and a Master's in English. His Master's thesis was the novel The Revelations which was later published and won the Bram Stoker award. He has written a number of novels and short stories, one of which, "The Washingtonians" was made into an episode of Masters of Horror for TV. He lives in California with his wife Wai Sau and their son but spends a lot of time in Arizona as well. He's reclusive when it comes to promoting his writing and prefers to let the sales take care of themselves.
"This Little book I liked a lot more than some others I've read. Very creepy. So much so that I stopped reading it before bedtime because I kept thinking disembodied voices and strange shadowy men were going to show up in my room at night. It's plenty scary with some kinky sex scenes and unusual villains. I am now very suspicious of tent material, garages and mysterious holes in my garden, which I thought were being dug by animals but perhaps a more sinister presence is holing up down there. I'm just saying ..."
— Wendy (4 out of 5 stars)
Julie and Claire Perry and their two children, Megan and James, have made the move to a bigger, nicer home in their city’s historic district. But something isn’t right.
The neighbors seem reluctant to visit. Claire can’t shake the feeling that someone is watching her. Megan receives increasingly menacing and obscene texts. And James is having terrible dreams. No wonder, considering what he’s seen in the corner of the basement, staring at him and shuffling closer ever so slowly.
Pity no one warned the family about the house. Now it’s too late. Because the darkness at the bottom of the stairs is rising …
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“The Haunted is a fast-paced, fresh take on the haunted house theme with enough twists to keep you reading long into the night. The Haunted is highly recommended…a ‘must read.’”
— Horror Zine magazine“Reading at a comfortable pace in a midwestern accent, Butler carefully builds mood, expressing initial bafflement to full-blown terror as the story races to a dramatic and violent conclusion. Butler distinguishes among family members through modulations in pitch and tone as he personalizes the characters’ experiences and responses. His wonderfully effective performance demonstrates that listening to a horror novel is often more terrifying than silently reading the text.”
— Booklist (audio review)" Not his best but still a good read! "
— Mary, 2/16/2014" This book was awesome. I LOVED it. I can never get enough of horror. The ending was so sad but I it worked. Bentley Little is one of my favorites. LOVE LOVE LOVE this book. "
— Samantha, 2/3/2014" Great modern take on the classic haunted house story. I have always loved Bentley Little's books and this is one of his better ones. Good read for a fast-paced horror novel! "
— Brad, 2/2/2014" great scary book i loved it "
— Barb, 1/31/2014" Imagine moving into a home that had a nasty past, and no one told you about it. Creepy, suck-you-in, haunting that makes your skin crawl. If you like ghost stories, this is a goodie! "
— Jeanne, 1/18/2014" great read. wasn't happy with the ending. "
— Rosemarie, 1/17/2014" A quaint horror novel. The haunting manifestations are somewhat different, less gruesome or visceral than what you might find in other books or movies. But satisfying in its own way. "
— Rechan, 1/16/2014" Sufficiently creepy satisfying my liking for horror "
— Martha, 12/19/2013" This is a Bram Stoker nominee and it is an effective haunted house horror novel. The family move into their home but things ain't what they expected. Oh good lord NO! There's sex and violence and it is genuinely creepy in places. "
— Simon, 11/27/2013" Was somewhat freaky in places but I thought the ending was really weak. "
— Pamela, 11/15/2013" this book was awful-so far the worst I have read from this author "
— Paul, 11/14/2013" One of the best books I've read by Bentley Little thus far, and an interesting spin on the ghost story. "
— Dean, 9/20/2013" Read it in a day , couldn't put it down . It had me checking behind everything before bed ! "
— Nikki, 10/31/2012" It gave me a good scare and I would recommend it. "
— Angelica-, 10/19/2012" Not a bad book. It had some genuinely creepy scenes in it, and the writer does a good job of making the characters seem like real people. I would have given it a higher rating, but it kind of fell apart a bit at the end. It is still definitely worth a read if you like ghost stories. "
— Braxton, 10/10/2012" This book had me scared in several parts but was definately a rollercoaster ride for me. Had me scared on several occassions and yet was quirky on others and by the end reminded me of a scary lifetime movie. "
— Billiejo, 8/5/2012" Pretty standard American haunted house story featuring an average, unsuspecting family. I enjoyed the actual manifestations of horror, instead of only having subtle corner of your eye type scares. A good October read. "
— Danny, 6/27/2012" This book was good.Not great like his earlier stuff,but good. "
— Deedra, 6/6/2012Bentley Little is the author of numerous novels, short stories, articles, essays, and reviews. After earning a BA in communications and an MA in English, he sold his soul and abandoned all artistic integrity, working for eight years as a bureaucrat for a midsized city in Orange County, California. His first novel, The Revelation, won the 1990 Horror Writers Association Bram Stoker Award for best first novel. A Luddite with no access to the internet, he still listens to vinyl records and does not own a cell phone, an iPod, an MP3 player, or a Blackberry. He has one wife and one son.
Dan Butler, audiobook narrator, actor, writer, director, and producer, has had major roles on and off Broadway and has appeared in numerous television shows, including Frasier, House, and Monk. He cowrote and directed Karl Rove, I Love You and has appeared in such feature films as Crazy, Stupid, Love; Silence of the Lambs; Enemy of the State; and Fixing Frank, among others.