In the House in the Dark of the Woods

By: Laird Hunt

Narrated by: Vanessa Johansson

Length: 5 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

The eerie, disturbing story of one of our perennial fascinations - witchcraft in colonial America - wrapped up in a lyrical novel of psychological suspense.

"Once upon a time there was and there wasn't a woman who went to the woods."

In this horror story set in colonial New England, a law-abiding Puritan woman goes missing. Or perhaps she has fled or abandoned her family. Or perhaps she's been kidnapped, and set loose to wander in the dense woods of the north. Alone and possibly lost, she meets another woman in the forest. Then everything changes.

On a journey that will take her through dark woods full of almost-human wolves, through a deep well wet with the screams of men, and on a living ship made of human bones, our heroine may find that the evil she flees has been inside her all along.

In the House in the Dark of the Woods is a novel of psychological horror and suspense told in Laird Hunt's characteristically lyrical prose style. It is the story of a bewitching, a betrayal, a master huntress and her quarry. It is a story of anger, of evil, of hatred and of redemption. It is the story of a haunting, a story that makes up the bedrock of American mythology, but told in a vivid way you will never forget.

©2018 Laird Hung (P)2018 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"With the surprise of fairy tale and fable but with the complexity of one's favorite literary novel, Laird Hunt again gives us fierce, complex women living in American history." (TaraShea Nesbit, author of The Wives of Los Alamos)

"Hunt's accomplished prose creates the atmosphere of possibility and danger that lurks in the best fairy tales, where anything can happen but everything has a cost. Highly recommended for fans of that amorphous border between fantasy, horror, and literary fiction as found in the work of Kelly Link, in Joy Williams' The Changeling (1978), or in Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber (1979)." (Booklist, Starred Review)

"Like Richard Hughes' In Hazard or Arthur Machen's 'The White People,' Hunt's In the House in the Dark of the Woods tells a dark story brightly, leading the reader to see and sense the things that the protagonist isn't saying, and maybe can't even acknowledge. A wonderful, luminous, sly tale that orbits around a very grim core, growing darker and darker as it goes. A stunning contemporary fairy tale." (Brian Evenson, author of A Collapse of Horses)

Started off strong

Hooked from chapter one. Then lost me somewhere before the end. Certainly entertaining. Four stars

better to read it

this was hard to listen to, as you are in the dark on the plot the entire time and the author is purposefully vague For plot reasons. I enjoyed it but needed to read with my eyes on this one.

Interesting! I was surprised how much I enjoyed it.

This was a good listen and an interesting fairy tale. At first I wasn’t sure but it really sucked me in. I’m glad I got it!

it's alright

I enjoyed this book maybe on a second go around I might even like it better. maybe I was a bit distracted maybe I was not taking the plunge and remained more so on the surface. I liked the story of the puritan. im left with a lot of what. what being what I can't describe. I kind of get it. I kind of don't. I am a Massachusetts man I know the woods. I feel inspired. wish the voice actress changed voices. this was not a one voice fits all scenario at all. Though her reading and voice were great. I'll be quite uncomfortable if I ever hear the word goody aloud the way she says it if I'm out in the woods. Think I'll start calling my wife that.

it's worth holding on

This is such a different style than modern-day books that it was difficult to get into it first. the lack of character development ( not that there isn't obvious defining parts for each character but they're vague for a reason) and darting from one character back to another, makes the book difficult to follow and hard to get attached to everyone. the fact that the main character more or less doesn't have a name almost makes the book feel like an outline but it's all done purposefully. this is one of those books by about the end of it I felt like I had done psychedelic drugs or something like that, because it's so out there and beyond anything that's considered consistent with fantasy or even science fiction in today's world. it definitely had some moments that weren't scary but it is listed as a psychological thriller and by the end of it I felt Disturbed, and honestly haven't really stopped thinking about it for the last 12 hours or so, it really takes time to sink in and kind of realize the consequences of everything that's going on and some of the horror that goes into the book. I will say some of it was nipped in the butt by the ending of the book only because they tried to make it this cliffhanger that you don't know where it's going to go per se with obviously no intention to follow up, but it almost looks like they're trying to make it look like it could possibly be a good ending eventually or things can get disastrously worse. either way I thought it was a decent book and would definitely recommend it for newer horror fans if you really want to be mortified or even for like a standard horror fan if he just wanted decent read. if you're good at looking in between the lines this is a book for you because even whenever you think you have it mostly figured out there's definitely some odd twists.

Grown up fairy tale

I liked it, the story that is, not so much the characters. But, I wonder, if that was not how it was meant. I thought I had figured it out, and for the most part was correct - but not the why. When that was revealed it all clicked. " Ah, well there you go" moment.

Had high hopes

I loved the initial visuals, but i never understood the overall meaning and was frustrated by her lack of love for her family.

I get it but I don’t care to.

Prophetic with out being alluring. There is not enough truth in the deceptions. It is wondering.
If you like dreams described to you by someone who you are not attached in any way and kind of don’t like..

Unique adventure

I wouldn’t say this is a horror book, but I wouldn’t really say it was anything I can name either. It was very unique and entertaining and I would recommend it to anyone interested in an experience unlike any other book

A Darkly Tinted Whimsy

Narrative poetry is the best I can come to describing the author's style in this modern fairy tale. The sense of wonder and ethereal other worldliness is helped along by intermittent bursts of rhymed meter within the story's rich prose. This is the first Laird Hunt piece I've listened too and found myself captivated by the sheer strangeness of the tale. The narration was strong and brought life to the many female characters within. I'd strongly recommend for those with a inclination to fantasy and literary tales.