The House Next Door

“The House Next Door” by Anne Rivers Siddons started out pretty interesting as it was building up a bunch of unique characters that I thought would lead to some scary situations. I have to give credit to Siddons as her ability to fully flesh out characters is pretty good. I did like all the characters and their unique traits as I kept reading but see, I’m a huge horror enthusiast. I love horror and considering that this novel is under horror for an apparently haunted house or something of that nature, I did not get those vibes at all. The novel just kept going on and on as it got incredibly boring with a bunch of neighborhood chatter, situations, parties, making drinks, weekend getaways, eggnog, and just a lot of pure fluff. I kept waiting and waiting and waiting for something remotely scary or horrific to happen and nothing ever really scared me. Don’t worry, I won’t ruin anything for you but my goodness, this was just a huge dud in the grand scheme of things. The actual horror events weren’t really horror as this novel was divided up into three parts based on three different neighbors that moved in to live in this house next door to the main protagonists. Again, not scary, not horrifying, I literally felt like I was reading a recap of useless neighborhood chats and gossip. It was just filled with way too much dialogue on nonsense that didn’t do anything to keep me up late at night scared to turn each page as I was expecting. I give “The House Next Door” a 1/5 as it was just too much unnecessary dialogue and situations that didn’t really give a true horror aspect to a novel this long. It’s a shame but it just didn’t do it for me as I wanted to finally finish this and move on to something else. The ending also wasn’t satisfying to me and felt a bit rushed. Awe well, onto the next one!

I've always been a fan of the macabre in fiction. Not the kind that is all blood and guts, stuff that you can see coming from a mile away, but that quietly creeps up behind you, slowly spreading an iciness that you can sense,but not identify. This book has that quiet creepiness that makes it easier to read in the daylight, and less so in the dark, in the quiet. It is kind of like what a reader might expect from one of Stephen King's later novels: you know that it's coming, but not how. Maybe it's just the kid in me, looking for the thrill that comes from hearing that little bump in the night, that need to be frightened, not by the bizarre, but by the believable. More, please.

Read this after reading paperbacks from hell. Not bad for the 70s. Ended on an unexpected note. Good book though

I have no reason to give this book any less than five stars. It was everything I was hoping it would be. How can a brand new, never lived in, house be haunted, you ask! Read this book to find out. Trigger warning for those who are sensitive to harm coming to animals and such. This is a very dark novel, which is not the norm for this author. It's the first I've read by Siddons. I'm curious to read more now and see what her not so dark stories are like!

excellent could not put it down. mentioned in the book and sounded interesting. subtle but it builds. if you liked the first movie the haunting of hill house try this.interesting characters and great atmosphere thanks mr king.