12/01/2022
DEBUT This novel by Compton (host of the podcast Healthy Fears) takes the haunted house story's emphasis on setting and amplifies it with questions about one family and a home's wider effects in a community. This book begins with a slow burn as Eric, fleeing Maryland for his Texas hometown with his daughters, becomes familiar with a local haunted house, after some long descriptions of their cryptic flight. Eric appears outwardly prepared and solid, but he harbors insecurities about his own strength and capacity for hard choices. Meanwhile, older daughter Dess storms through hardship with teenage arrogance bordering on confidence, while the much younger Stacy tries to hide supernatural capabilities behind practiced childishness. As the family attempts to live in the haunted home, all the while documenting the experience for their mysterious employer, readers will wonder not if this tight unit will break apart, but when. VERDICT 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
"You can trace the tradition of the American ‘Bad Place’ from Edgar Allan Poe through Shirley Jackson, Richard Matheson, and Stephen King, all the way to Johnny Compton and The Spite House."
—Neil McRobert, Esquire
"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 constant racial tensions, coupled with supernatural conflicts and a shocking twist near the end, make for a suspenseful page-turner. Great for fans of Tananarive Due, LaTanya McQueen, and Eden Royce.”
—Booklist
“…an exhilarating debut that will both warm your heart and leave you chilled to the bone. I look forward to reading more from Johnny Compton in the future.”
—Grimdark Magazine
“With his debut novel, Compton tackles our universal need to understand our past with this ghastly ghost story, cranking the dread to a fever pitch.”
—ThisIsHorror.com
"Another great entry into the horror revival."
—Molly Odintz, CrimeReads
"This debut novel... pushes the boundaries of Southern Gothic... This is destined to be a breakout hit."
—Agatha Andrews, Austin Monthly
"The Spite House promises to uproot the expected and build an entirely new breed of gothic horror."
—Michael J. Seidlinger, The Lineup
"[A] terrifying debut novel."
—BookTrib
"A satisfying haunted house story that, like so much good American horror fiction, probes the country’s deep historical wounds."
—James Grainger, Toronto Star
“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
“Ever since I devoured Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House as a boy, I’ve loved a good ghost story, and The Spite House gave me those same chills. Johnny Compton has built a haunted house that is creepy as hell, the bricks and mortar oozing not just spite, but evil. Here’s a supernatural thriller that will have you watching the windows and doors as you read.”
—Chris Bohjalian, New York Times bestselling author of The Flight Attendant and The Lioness
“Johnny Compton's The Spite House is the modern Gothic story full of dread we’ve all been waiting for. This strange house, perched on a hill and full of terrifying sounds and shadows that come out at night, will steal a part of you and never give it back.”
—Cynthia Pelayo, Bram Stoker Award–nominated author of Children of Chicago
“In The Spite House, Johnny Compton introduces us to a family with secrets and a house as mean and hungry as any in horror. The book is a work of great imagination and humanity, showing both love and terror in a world as real as the dust in the attic of a terrible old house.”
—Richard Kadrey, author of King Bullet
“The Spite House commences with an enigma that quickly morphs into a mystery, which ultimately leaves us with a riddle that’s perplexed humanity since the dawn of time—all the while rubbing our nerves raw with dread. Johnny Compton propels us through this creepy maze with the assurance of one who has likely stared into the abyss himself.”
—John Harrison, author of Passing Through Veils and writer/director of Tales from the Darkside, The Movie; Frank Herbert’s Dune miniseries; and Clive Barker’s Book of Blood
"If a house could knit a soul out of history and hatred, what many battles of wills might there be in that place? With chills as well as heart, The Spite House delivers much to think about and lingers as a good scary story should."
—Jamie Mason, author of The Hidden Things
"Johnny Compton is the new architect of terror. His novel The Spite House joins Anne Rivers Siddons' The House Next Door, Robert Maracso's Burnt Offerings, and Michael McDowell's The Elementals, reconfiguring the blueprints of a haunted house story in order to fashion something fresh and frightening."
—Clay McLeod Chapman, author of Whisper Down the Lane
"The Spite House is a haunting, multilayered gothic novel with a refreshing twist on ghosts that gives you chills on every page, and just as much family heart. [It] sets a new, and a very high bar, for haunted-house horror."
—Diana Rodriguez Wallach, author of Small Town Monsters
Adam Lazarre-White narrates this terrifying debut novel with a Southern drawl that puts the gothic into this gothic thriller. Eric Ross, who is on the run with his two young daughters, needs to make a lot of money fast. He stumbles upon an ad seeking someone to inhabit a notoriously haunted house owned by a less than forthcoming woman who claims to want proof of paranormal activity. As Eric uncovers the history of the house, he becomes enmeshed with the spirits who seek retribution. Why him? And what price is he willing to pay to protect his daughters? Lazarre-White's measured pacing keeps the chills coming and draws out the exquisite terror for the rapt listeners. Listen to this with the lights on. L.M.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
Adam Lazarre-White narrates this terrifying debut novel with a Southern drawl that puts the gothic into this gothic thriller. Eric Ross, who is on the run with his two young daughters, needs to make a lot of money fast. He stumbles upon an ad seeking someone to inhabit a notoriously haunted house owned by a less than forthcoming woman who claims to want proof of paranormal activity. As Eric uncovers the history of the house, he becomes enmeshed with the spirits who seek retribution. Why him? And what price is he willing to pay to protect his daughters? Lazarre-White's measured pacing keeps the chills coming and draws out the exquisite terror for the rapt listeners. Listen to this with the lights on. L.M.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
