Twelve Nights at Rotter House
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3.3 • 6 Ratings
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
Felix Allsey is a travel writer with a keen eye for the paranormal, and he’s carved out a unique, if only slightly lucrative, niche for himself in nonfiction; he writes travelogues of the country’s most haunted places, after haunting them himself.
When he convinces the owner of the infamous Rotterdam Mansion to let him stay on the premises for 13 nights, he believes he’s finally found the location that will bring him a bestseller. As with his other gigs, he sets rules for himself: no leaving the house for any reason, refrain from outside contact, and sleep during the day.
When Thomas Ruth, Felix's oldest friend and fellow horror film obsessive, joins him on the project, the two dance around a recent and unspeakably painful rough-patch in their friendship, but eventually fall into their old rhythms of dark humor and movie trivia. That’s when things start going wrong: screams from upstairs, figures in the thresholds, and more than what should be in any basement. Felix realizes the book he’s writing, and his very state of mind, is tilting from nonfiction into all out horror, and the shocking climax answers a question that’s been staring these men in the face all along: In Rotter House, who’s haunting who?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Ocker, best known for his Edgar-winning travel guide, Poe-Land: The Hallowed Haunts of Edgar Allan Poe, fails to impress in this supernatural thriller. Travel writer Felix Allsey asks Emilia Garza, the owner of Rotterdam Mansion, named for a 19th-century Prussian immigrant, for permission to spend 13 nights in the derelict property, which is better known as Rotter House. Allsey intends to write a book about his experiences there, using the place, which is "legendary for its violent history and paranormal reputation," as a "sensory deprivation tank." Emilia gives her consent after Allsey persuades her that his book will generate publicity and profits. Once inside, he's spooked by noises suggesting that he's not the sole occupant, and mysterious sounds persist even after he's joined by his best friend, a fellow horror fan. References to such genre classics as Algernon Blackwood's "The Willows" only make this effort pale by comparison, and the unoriginal denouement fizzles. Those seeking scares and atmosphere will have to look elsewhere.
