The Spite House

A Novel

De: Johnny Compton

Narrado por: Adam Lazarre-White

Long-listed, Barnes and Noble Best New Books of the Year, 2023

"The plotting is intricate, following the points of view of many characters from the past and present, all of whom are expertly performed by Adam Lazarre-White."—Library Journal

"Adam Lazarre-White narrates this terrifying debut novel with a Southern drawl that puts the gothic into this gothic thriller."—AudioFile

A terrifying Gothic thriller about grief and death and the depths of a father's love, Johnny Compton's The Spite House is a stunning debut by a horror master in the making—The Babadook meets A Head Full of Ghosts in Texas Hill Country.

Eric Ross is on the run from a mysterious past with his two daughters in tow. Having left his wife, his house, his whole life behind in Maryland, he's desperate for money—it's not easy to find steady, safe work when you can't provide references, you can't stay in one place for long, and you're paranoid that your past is creeping back up on you.

When he comes across the strange ad for the Masson House in Degener, Texas, Eric thinks they may have finally caught a lucky break. The Masson property, notorious for being one of the most haunted places in Texas, needs a caretaker of sorts. The owner is looking for proof of paranormal activity. All they need to do is stay in the house and keep a detailed record of everything that happens there. Provided the house’s horrors don’t drive them all mad, like the caretakers before them.

The job calls to Eric, not just because there's a huge payout if they can make it through, but because he wants to explore the secrets of the spite house. If it is indeed haunted, maybe it'll help him understand the uncanny power that clings to his family, driving them from town to town, making them afraid to stop running.

A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Nightfire.

©2023 Johnny Compton (P)2023 Macmillan Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Compton’s chilling debut is horror with heart that puts a refreshingly modern spin on the haunted house story... This tense work of gothic horror provides a complex and multidimensional look at how anger, grief, and trauma can strengthen bonds of familial love...Even the most jaded horror fans will be wowed."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"One part road trip, one part family relationships, and one part haunted house, serve this update on genre staples to showcase the voice of a rising new writer to an audience that adores the classics."—Aaron Heil, Library Journal

“The Spite House is an aching, heartbroken meditation on what haunts us and the sins we inherit from those who came before us.”—Cassandra Khaw, author of Nothing But Blackened Teeth

Absolutely fantastic!

This was dark and wonderful and I absolutely loved it! And the narrator was phenomenal!!

Started out great…

…with learning Stacy was somehow special. You wonder for quite sometime why Dad and his 2 daughters left his wife and home and that they are on the run. It’s takes time in the story to reveal these answers.

But the end was a huge disappointment, as the it doesn’t explain the one thing you really want to know!!

SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!
Just how/ why was Stacy brought back alive after being dead and buried???

Leaves a bit to be desired

I’d give this book a 3.5/5 - I thoroughly enjoyed the story enough to be drawn to finishing it! I would say at times the story felt drawn out or slow, but it’s a great debut and I’m looking forward to more titles from the author.

Original and suspenseful

It started off a bit slow for my tastes, but sticking with it was definitely worth it.

Clawed Open

The Spite House is probably one of the most perfect books to read to get in the mood for Spooky Season! Not your typical ghost story, it is so much worse. Heartbreaking at times, although, this specific type of heartbreak makes it all the more frightening in a way. The characters are superb and it's so hard to pull yourself out of the darkness once you're in it. When the story of Stacy unfolds and that of Eric's family it just tore me to pieces. This is by far one of the best horror books I've ever read. And I read a ton! Johnny Compton writes in a way that claws into you and won't let go. The narrator is excellent, he reads it so well that you are completely absorbed. This was wicked and wonderful!

Totally unique supernatural thriller

Kept me guessing the whole way! A great “listen” on a long car ride. The main characters were well developed and the mysteries gradually unfolded until the very end.

Binge-listening worthy!

I loved this and am looking for the next book of his!
I came across this title after a Catriona Ward book listen (my fourth I think). I wanted something kind of similar and this was suggested.
Spite House is a little more mainstream compared to Ward's avante guarde, heavier, psychological-supernatural thriller feel. My husband says that I watch/listen to "weird shit" LOL, but he would love this!
I enjoyed the characters, the pacing, the plot, the twists, and that narrator...whew! As soon as I heard him start speaking, I literally said, "I LOVE his voice!" out loud. He does a great job with the Southern dialect. I'm Southern, so I appreciate the good job 😉.
Truly, I can easily see this as a PG-13 scary family movie. (Unless directors dialed up the jump scares, etc.,.
Marvelous job!

tangled SPOILERS

the story began with promise, but there were too many plot points left unfinished. The story history related by one character to another was either oblique, with gaps, or author assumptions that readers spuds fill in back story with too few clues. Thec actual haunted house part was far too brief, with no building dread, or atmosphere. only near the very nd of the novel do we get any ghosts or spooks. most of it told in a dry, third person without realty bringing in the scars. The performance was OK, but a little one note, with a slow, almost plodding pace and little of any affect to the varying voices. I think overall, the author had some great, and unique ideas, but there was so much going on in this story. SPOILER ALERT We never got any explanation for Stacy's return, or a clear idea of the curse that bedeviled Eunice's family.Equally we were left with no explication as to what happened to the previous people who stated in the house, other than they behave thin, and I'll. And in the one case we know the couple who were in the house before our protagonist were attacked in a way which left the wife somehow separated from her spirit which remained in the house, leaving her a virtual zombie,but again, no how, no why. Mostly telling with little showing. I will try another book by this author in the hopes that they will offer a good story with perhaps a little more clarity, and a little more substantive Haunting.

Needed a female voice

The story was good but I kept getting lost because all the voices sounded the same. With a different narrator it would have been a great book.

Intriguing Story

This story was very well written and beautifully narrated. The story held my attention so much that I could hardly stop listening.
I like horror stories but I don’t like to be scared and often am not however I crave the tension that builds and this book delivers.
I am left thinking about the themes that are brought up long after finishing the book.
The narrator is fantastic.