The Haunted Halls

By: Glenn Rolfe

Narrated by: Joe Hempel

Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

The Bruton Inn, located outside of the small Maine city of Hollis Oaks, is home to something sinister. An icy presence has made its way from a dark past to the present day. Cold spots, shadows, and whispers permeate the halls, and guests are beginning to change. For two front desk employees, the dark rumors are about to come to light. They call upon an urban shaman and his connection with the spirit world to dig up the truth. Will they be able to stand against this malevolent force? Or will they come face to face with something beyond their most frightful dreams. Welcome to the Bruton Inn. The Ice Queen has arrived.

©2016 Glenn Rolfe (P)2016 Glenn Rolfe

A Solid Haunted Halls story

A creepy and bloody haunted hotel story that is perfect for an October read (listen). Hey, it doesn’t have to be October, you can read or listen to it anytime.

I have listened to several Joe Hempel audiobooks and have enjoyed them all. I like his voice and cadence and he always paces the stories well.

This one was a little hard to follow for me because of the alternating timelines and POV’s. It didn’t help that I listened to it in my car and would occasionally get interrupted with work calls and appointments, so I’m sure that had something to do with it
.
The story itself was good and violent and had several genuinely creepy moments. Recommended for those who like a less subtle and more violent ghost story. A Solid 3.5+ Stars!

*I received a complimentary copy of this audio from the narrator in exchange for an honest review. This was it.

I may never stay at a hotel again!

If you could sum up The Haunted Halls in three words, what would they be?

Succubus Terrorizes Hotel

Who was your favorite character and why?

It's tough deciding between Jeff or Rhiannon. I thought both were going to be minor characters, but they really blossomed into characters I liked. I'm still undecided about Lee. I still think deep down he's an asshole.

What about Joe Hempel’s performance did you like?

Joe is a master is this craft. His acting skills turned this book into an amazing listening experience.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

She wants revenge, and is willing to embrace hell to get it

Any additional comments?

I was unsure if I would like this book. I'm not a huge horror fan, but it took no time to get pulled in. The writing is great, and the performance by Mr. Hempel was fantastic. This audio book was gifted to me by the narrator at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom.

Hanted Halls

I liked it ,a bit.The narrator,Joe Hempel,was great.I found the story to be more slasher than spooky horror. Everyone who stays at this hotel dies in a horrible,bloody way. I was given this book free for an honest review.

Evil poltergeists at their worst

Demented murder becomes
Evil spirit. Haunted hotel, urban shaman, terrified teens lots and lots of paranormal Love interests. Good ghost story. Too graphic for kids with some of the scenes (sex scenes). The narrator whose works I have always enjoyed didn't disappoint. Captured the depth of the different characters and conveys the feeling of terror the scenes are meant to have inspired. I received this audiobook from the author narrator or publisher for free via audiobookboom in exchange for an unbiased review

Not a stale ghost story!

The Haunted Halls reads like a B rated horror movie, and I so sincerely do not mean that it a bad way; I get a kick out of cheesy and very graphic horror movies, and this book truly provided all the same entertainment value! It’s nice a spooky, gory, and there are plenty of enjoyable adult themes. The characters in the book are so normal and relatable that they make the book feel extra creepy. I am very impressed with the freshness of this ghost story, and I recommend it to other lovers of horror stories! This is the first book I’ve listened to read by Joe Hempel, and he does a really great job. His diction is clear, the pace is perfect, and he narrates effortlessly.

This audiobook was given by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom.

The Haunted Halls

Any additional comments?

It's an okay story. Solid performance. I received this audiobook for free through Audiobook Boom for my unbiased review.

A gruesome ghost story

I absolutely love this story about a haunted hotel. It reminds me of American Horror Story: Hotel and that's not a bad thing.

Gory, graphic and very creepy

This is the story of a malevolent entity that inhabits the Burton Inn; it is strong, angry and is going a killing spree. This book is gory, graphic and very creepy. It is told from multiple POV and often skips between past and present as the author weaves his tale of terror. The narrator of the audiobook did a great job of delineating each POV and character. He also made it easy to follow wether a scene was in the past or present. His voice showed the fear and tension in the book but the constantly changing POV in the story made it difficult for the reader to maintain that tension. Although I did enjoy the book overall, I found I lost a bit of interest in the middle, as the fast paced skipping between characters tended to be somewhat distracting and it seemed to just go from one gory murder to another with no real progression in the story. With all the murder, rape and noise going on why did none of the other guests or the employees leave or call the police? If I had been working or staying there I would have left long before things took the real nose dive. The overall story concept was good, there were some great characters and the narration fit the audiobook very well, but the stories inability to keep my attention caused me to reduce the star rating. I received the audiobook under no obligation to review

Feels like a Stephen King TV Movie

I got a lot of Stephen King vibes while listening to this book, which was likely intentional as the author literally wrote in a physical copy of "The Shining" twice. Apt, given the whole haunted hotel thing. In fact, there were many scenes that felt like one huge nod to Stephen King.

The downside to that though, is that it felt more like the watered-down King you get when his masterpieces are adapted for TV movies than his actual novels. The movies are never able to truly capture you like the written tale did. There's some magic mising, and that also seems to be the case here.

We're introduced to a myriad of characters, most of whom are generic and forgettable. Were this a TV movie, you'd at least have their faces to help keep them straight, but alas, not here. The author does try to flesh them out and give them a bit of backstory though, so it's not like he didn't try. It just did not execute all that well.

On to the plot, it's your typical haunted hotel with demon that's killing toward some end-game. Fairly run of the mill, but the author does try to give us a bit of backstory via flashbacks. Again though, there's no "magic". There's backstory, but it's mostly hollow and left me mostly ambivalent.

Our heroes are a couple of hotel clerks and a shamin who has been using his gifts to con folks out of money until he turns around to use his gifts for good. Not very innovative, but again, the author tries. He pays special attention to the shamin and fleshes out much of his backstory and growth as we head into the end-game.

Once the demonic forces get going, there's no shortage of action, so if that's your cup of tea, bring a big ole mug. Most of the scenes are heavy-hitting and written in such a way that they would indeed make for very good TV (maybe even big screen).

It's hard to tell what the author was going for as the overall focus, but it's a fairly enjoyable romp. I could recommend more fulfilling titles in the genre, but it's by no means a bad listen. For the record, this book was provided to me free of charge in exchange for a fair review. My thoughts are my own and this review has not been influenced by the gift.

The Haunted Halls

Bruton Inn has a busy week ahead. checking people in as fast as they can. A shaman comes to rid the Inn of an evil, murdering ghost. But how many guests, including the shaman, will survive? And how many will survive with their sanity?
I thourouly injoyed this book from beginning to end. With twists and turns guaranteed to keep you intested.

The narrator was perfect for this audible. His voices were consistant with the charaters, and with emphasis on some phrases and words he really draws you into the story.

I recieved this audible from the author, narrator or publisher free of charge in exchange for an honest unbiased review