The Haunted

I have only recently taken an interest in contemporary horror novels, and I have been impressed by the originality of much that I have found: Poppy Z. Brite, Kathe Koja, Tom Piccirilli, Graham Joyce and others.

I picked this up because it has been nominated for the Stoker award and I am sucker for haunted houses. I made it to about page 200. The next chapter was going to be a flashback to the late 16th century, and I could not imagine that this device was going to add depth or interest to what struck me as the equivalent of Amityville IX, or whatever number that moribund franchise has reached.

Little's novel is a spook show where something predictably weird happens in every chapter. These incidents are as uninteresting as the writing. Little has a touching in faith in the ability of italics to convey the uncanny; i.e., "Somebody -- no, something--slammed the kitchen door."