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outsmartyourshelf's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Widow's Point lighthouse was built in 1838 & had an inexplicable number of deaths from the start. During construction, three workers were killed, followed over the years by suicides, unexplained accidents & disappearances, & even the murder of an entire family. The lighthouse was closed & secured in 1988 & no-one has been allowed in since, until tonight, when Thomas Livingston, author of books about the supernatural, arrives to stay at the lighthouse for three nights.
Thomas is locked in & the door secured by the owner of the property & then he is left entirely on his own with a camera, a voice recorder, supplies, & a torch - no phone, no radio. It's creepy but OK at first & Thomas gets settled in for the first day & night whilst narrating some of the lighthouse's supernatural history. Soon things start to happen: footsteps, voices, things going missing, supplies being tampered with....is Thomas really the only one there & if there is someone else there, are they alive or dead?
Despite this being a novella, there's a lot packed into the storyline. The author starts off slow & then ramps up the tense atmosphere, the main character's growing sense of unease, & his frustration upon realising he has no way of contacting anyone on the outside for help. The camera that was supposed to record Thomas's experience stops working the minute he steps into the lighthouse (although he doesn't notice until later) so the narrative is a transcribed version of his voice diaries which, as a format, mainly works. The historic cases were interesting & it keeps the attention well. If you enjoy short tales of horror where the ending doesn't wrap everything up neatly in a bow, then give this a try - it's a creepy haunted lighthouse, what's not to like?
Thomas is locked in & the door secured by the owner of the property & then he is left entirely on his own with a camera, a voice recorder, supplies, & a torch - no phone, no radio. It's creepy but OK at first & Thomas gets settled in for the first day & night whilst narrating some of the lighthouse's supernatural history. Soon things start to happen: footsteps, voices, things going missing, supplies being tampered with....is Thomas really the only one there & if there is someone else there, are they alive or dead?
Despite this being a novella, there's a lot packed into the storyline. The author starts off slow & then ramps up the tense atmosphere, the main character's growing sense of unease, & his frustration upon realising he has no way of contacting anyone on the outside for help. The camera that was supposed to record Thomas's experience stops working the minute he steps into the lighthouse (although he doesn't notice until later) so the narrative is a transcribed version of his voice diaries which, as a format, mainly works. The historic cases were interesting & it keeps the attention well. If you enjoy short tales of horror where the ending doesn't wrap everything up neatly in a bow, then give this a try - it's a creepy haunted lighthouse, what's not to like?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Violence, Child death, and Murder
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