Worthe's Village: Supernatural Horror with Scary Ghosts & Haunted Houses

Haunted Village Series, Book 1

By: Ron Ripley, Scare Street

Narrated by: Thom Bowers

Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's Summary

How much fear can one man take? Marcus Holt thought his worst memories were behind him. A veteran of the Vietnam War, the tough old soldier is haunted by nightmares of brutal conflict. But he’s about to discover that his battle for survival has only just begun.  

Professor Abel Worthe is brilliant, wealthy, and utterly immoral. He is an expert in a very particular field: the study of fear and death. Using his vast resources, Worthe has purchased a collection of haunted houses and paranormal sites, hidden across the world. And he intends to subject a captive to each location in his collection of horror, all in the name of science. All he needs is a test subject, a human lab rat to undergo his experiment in terror. And the target of his sinister attention is Marcus Holt. 

The aging veteran soon finds himself snatched off the streets, and forced to endure a never-ending barrage of horror. But Marcus is no stranger to fear and death. He’s a fighter. And he is determined to survive long enough to find and kill his malicious captor.  

Let the games begin.

©2018 Scare Street (P)2019 Scare Street

Not a village you want to visit!

Marcus Holt is just trying to live his life. A veteran of the Vietnam War, his life isn't easy, but when he wakes in a strange house, it's about to get even worse. Welcome to Worthe's Village, a place you won't be able to leave!

I've read a lot of this authors work and pretty much loved every one of them, in fact I think they have all been 5 star reads. Well this one was no different!! I loved it and listened to it in a day.

I think what I loved most about this book were the characters. Marcus was awesome. Not much fazed him and he was able to keep his cool throughout. He is one heck of a person to have in your corner and I was rooting for him throughout. Professor Abel Worthe is an intriguingly evil character. He built the village with a particular goal in mind and so far it was going according to plan but Marcus has proved more wily than most and Worthe is upping the anti by introducing more "subjects". It was a unique concept and made me more eager to read it to find out what happens. I also loved finding out about the houses and what lived in each!! I'm thinking Marcus will have his hands full in future books!!

In all this was a well written, fast paced and entertaining read. Worthe's Village is scary and creepy and I can't wait to see where the author goes with the story. I need the next one pronto!

Thom Bowers was clear, easy to follow and had plenty of tones and voices for the characters. He was also able to capture the spooky atmosphere and portray the ghosts perfectly.

I was given this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. This in no way affected nor influenced my thoughts.

interesting idea, poor execution

It is a bit of a struggle to finish.
The most upsetting thing about this book is its constant marvel at basic, commonsense solutions to problems.
Marcus is not a genius as much as Able is just an idiot, but I don't think it's what the author was going for.

Can't Wait For The Next In This Series!

Ron Ripley does it again with his Haunted Village Series, this installment of his new series has fast become a favorite (along with his Berkeley Street Series). I Love the main character, secondary characters, and especially the storyline so much I own it (originally) in the separate installments, group anthology, and in Audible formats. The narrator of the Audible does a wonderful job. Highly Recommended!

A great paranormal

Able worthe has now transported a collection of haunted houses and paranormal sites to a hidden village. You have a well developed storyline with kidnapped people, who he has face many horrors. The characters are believable and interesting. You have a strong Viet Nam Veteran who is tough but now having nightmares. He has found himself trapped in the village. The narration is good and maintains your interest. I recommend this book and series.

I need book 2!

As usual, I’m eager for, yet another, great Ron Ripley series!!!!!!! Hoping the next book will be just as fun!

A Terrifying Village!

Team Ripley/Bowers do it again! The characters and setting are well developed, and the narration brings it all to life.
I loved this story and can't wait to listen to the rest of the series!

Worthe's Village

The premise of this book is unique IMHO, with a village being constructed as a kind of experiment. A professor named Abel Worthe is taking haunted houses and setting them up in a village which is surrounded by a fence patrolled by armed guards. Professor Worthe kidnaps people and places them in the village and then watches to see how they react to the ghosts that reside there.

First of all, it is a stretch that Mr. Worthe would be able to find people willing to kidnap people and watch them endure horrible deaths. Also, moving entire houses which are authentic down to the furniture and fixtures? A little unlikely. The high point of the book is the one man dropped into this horrific scenario: Marcus Holt.

I am not sure when the book is supposedly set, but since Mr. Worthe has extensive drone and security technology, I assumed it is set in modern day. If so, Mr. Holt's age of 62 years and stating that he is a Vietnam veteran doesn't work. Also, the author constantly refers to Mr. Holt as "elderly" and in my mind, that denotes someone much older than 62.

Another down side to the story is the extensive descriptions of child abuse suffered by two of the characters. I know it is a horror story, but I can see this part of the book as a definite trigger for some readers. It was almost too much to listen to these lengthy, graphic abuses.

The narrator did a good job and helped me keep listening. I agree with a couple of the other reviewers that the ending of this book seemed a little too convenient and rushed after a long trip to the end. I will probably listen to the next book in this series if only to see if Mr. Worthe gets his comeuppance. I was given the chance to listen to this book by the publisher and chose to review it.

Sometimes quaint little villages are not what they

Dream of living in a gated community? Well, not this one! Once the gates closed, you’ll die getting in or out. The ghosts will kill you if you’re inside, and the guards will kill you if you’re outside, unless they don’t catch you, and they watch as the ghosts deal with you. The guards aren’t even the main problem, the owner of the village is a psychopath who enjoys watching the torture and killing of innocent people by the ghosts. This village is definitely not for the faint of heart, or for those who don’t know how to deal with ghosts! I had a hard time putting this down!

Ron Ripley does it again!

As per all of the stories I have read and listened to by Ron Ripley, he did it again. His characters are easy to picture and understand. The storyline grabs you and makes you part of the story! Can't wait to finish the series!

Some Interesting Ideas, But overall ... meh ...

I really wanted to like this book, but in the end just found myself waiting for it to finish. The general premise of the book, apparently the first in a series, has potential. The older antagonist would be kind of refreshing, but like every other possibly intetesting concept or character, not much gets done there. Dialouge is awkward and often outright cringe-worthy. The narrator's women and children voices are annoying. The ghosts are just bad ... not interesting, just there to menace the hero (when he's not busy spouting really lame dialogue). The 'climax' is pretty short and dull; absolutely nothing important gets resolved; whole novel is a dull, improbable and drawn out setup for the rest of the series. Also, for reason, all the characters go by their first names ... don't know that bugged me, but it really did. So, no ... i didn't like it. Doubt i will listen to any more in this series ...

Okay 👌🏾 i guess 😊

This book 📖 wasn’t as good as some of the other ones i’ve heard from Ron Ripley but it’s alright i suppose 😊

Not a village you want to visit!

Marcus Holt is just trying to live his life. A veteran of the Vietnam War, his life isn't easy, but when he wakes in a strange house, it's about to get even worse. Welcome to Worthe's Village, a place you won't be able to leave!

I've read a lot of this authors work and pretty much loved every one of them, in fact I think they have all been 5 star reads. Well this one was no different!! I loved it and listened to it in a day.

I think what I loved most about this book were the characters. Marcus was awesome. Not much fazed him and he was able to keep his cool throughout. He is one heck of a person to have in your corner and I was rooting for him throughout. Professor Abel Worthe is an intriguingly evil character. He built the village with a particular goal in mind and so far it was going according to plan but Marcus has proved more wily than most and Worthe is upping the anti by introducing more "subjects". It was a unique concept and made me more eager to read it to find out what happens. I also loved finding out about the houses and what lived in each!! I'm thinking Marcus will have his hands full in future books!!

In all this was a well written, fast paced and entertaining read. Worthe's Village is scary and creepy and I can't wait to see where the author goes with the story. I need the next one pronto!

Thom Bowers was clear, easy to follow and had plenty of tones and voices for the characters. He was also able to capture the spooky atmosphere and portray the ghosts perfectly.

I was given this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. This in no way affected nor influenced my thoughts.

Good Story

This story kept me interested all the way through. I also love the narration by Thom Bowers. I really pretty much love anything by Ron Ripley, wish he had more books out. I think I've read almost all of them at this point. Very good story though on this one. Creepy, very creepy.