Publishers Weekly
08/12/2019
Ocker, best known for his Edgar-winning travel guide, Poe-Land: The Hallowed Haunts of Edgar Allan Poe, fails to impress in this supernatural thriller. Travel writer Felix Allsey asks Emilia Garza, the owner of Rotterdam Mansion, named for a 19th-century Prussian immigrant, for permission to spend 13 nights in the derelict property, which is better known as Rotter House. Allsey intends to write a book about his experiences there, using the place, which is “legendary for its violent history and paranormal reputation,” as a “sensory deprivation tank.” Emilia gives her consent after Allsey persuades her that his book will generate publicity and profits. Once inside, he’s spooked by noises suggesting that he’s not the sole occupant, and mysterious sounds persist even after he’s joined by his best friend, a fellow horror fan. References to such genre classics as Algernon Blackwood’s “The Willows” only make this effort pale by comparison, and the unoriginal denouement fizzles. Those seeking scares and atmosphere will have to look elsewhere. (Oct.)
From the Publisher
"It's easy to recognize Ocker as a future master of madness after this thrilling haunted house trip."—Fangoria Magazine
"A good pick if you want to spruce up your haunted house offerings for Halloween.”—Booklist
"TWELVE NIGHTS IN ROTTER HOUSE is the best haunted house book I've read in ages. Our skeptical tour guide is a film-fan narrator who knows all the horror tropes—how to riff on them, manipulate them, turn them into something fresh and frightening. I wanted to read the book in 'real time,' to savor it so it would last the full twelve nights, but it got its hooks into me right away and I couldn't put it down once I started."—Norman Prentiss, Bram Stoker Award-winner, author of ODD ADVENTURES WITH YOUR OTHER FATHER
Library Journal - Audio
02/01/2020
Ocker's (A Season with the Witch: The Magic and Mayhem of Halloween in Salem, Massachusetts) adult fiction debut spends most of its time as a better-than-average slow-burn haunted house story but ends with a well-executed twist. Travel writer Felix is intent on spending 13 nights at the eponymous house, trying to make his last chance as a writer finally pay off. He also wants to make up with his estranged best friend who he has guilted into coming with him. As the haunting mounts and the friends finally clear the air listeners learn that this is not a haunted house story at all, but that Felix did something terrible and all the ghostly phenomena were aspects of reality peaking through his delusion. With plot points this cliché it would be easy for the book to go off the rails, but Ocker's willingness to not overplay his foreshadowing and holding the big twist to the end leads to a satisfying pay off. Reader Matt Godfrey gets in on the character work too, layering in emotional depth in Thomas and giving Felix a sniveling, entitled undertone. VERDICT Twelve Nights at Rotter House rises above many contemporary horror books by ingenuity in its use and subversion of genre tropes and a string of clues that listeners will notice only looking backward. Recommended for fans of classic haunted house stories, modern horror readers, and mystery readers willing to dip a toe across genre.—Tristan Boyd, Austin, TX
