A creepy and frightening debut by Jennifer Fawcett, Beneath The Stairs is a classic horror tale guaranteed to freak you the hell out. If you can sleep after reading this book, you’re a braver person than I.
As kids, Clare and Abby find the Octagon House, an old, dilapidated house in the woods of their hometown in Upstate New York. The site of a gruesome murder that took the lives of a woman and her two daughters, this house is the stuff of rumor and legend and best left alone. However, the two best friends can’t help themselves and enter the premises, only to run from the house screaming after seeing and hearing something in the basement that changes them forever. 20 years later, Clare finds out Abby has returned to the Octagon House to attempt suicide and is now in a coma. Clare, who has been experiencing nightmares and is still inexplicably drawn to the house, returns to her hometown to help Abby and maybe in the process get over her own trauma so that she can finally find peace and live the life she has long desired.
Beneath The Stairs brilliantly plays upon the fears that many people have growing up – dark woods, unnerving basements, haunted homes and scary local folklore tales. It bounces around from present day to different points in the past to give the reader a glimpse into all relevant events, slowly revealing historical pieces of information critical to unraveling the mystery. And it continuously ratchets up the nail-biting tension until the terrifying pants-pissing dénouement that will have you seeking the comfort of a well-lit and highly populated space. In fact, I may or may not have run up the stairs from my basement at one point while reading this book.
Which leads me to this statement of caution. Do not read Beneath The Stairs alone, in the dark, in the woods, in a basement, or in an old and/or possibly haunted house. That’ll only amp up the terror to horrific levels given reading it in broad daylight and around other people will already scare the bejeezus out of you. You have been warned! Good luck.
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