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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
Devil’s Creek takes place in the small town of Stauford, Kentucky, and is loosely based on the small towns of Keisling’s youth. We are immediately introduced to the religious commune that exists on the outskirts, led by the oppressive Father Jacob Masters, as a group of six grand-parents race to Calvary Hill and the Lord’s Church of Holy Voices to save their grandchildren. It soon becomes clear that Father Jacob is worshipping a far different deity than the typical Christian version, and he has fathered six children with six different mothers to offer as sacrificial lambs.
All of the above takes place in a fast-paced “part one”, all of the action occurring in 1983, with each of the children aged about six-years old. Keisling quickly sets the scene for the catalyst of the whole story, and cleverly bridges the gap of the intervening years with excerpts from the journal of one of the rescuers, Imogene Tremly, as well as excerpts from a local newspaper, covering the gripping story of that night, and the fates of the “Stauford Six”, the children. It brings us up to the present day when Imogene’s grandson—and our protagonist—Jack, arrives back in town to settle her estate. He is a successful artist who drew inspiration from his traumatic childhood at the hands of his father, Jacob, to create nightmarish scenes. And he wants nothing more than to get in and out as quickly as possible, reluctant to dredge up long-buried memories or take a trip down memory lane with any of his five half-siblings who never left Stauford.
While Jack is the main protagonist of the story, time is given to each of his half-siblings (shock jock Stephanie, lawyer Chuck, reverend Bobby, troubled Susan and meth addict Zeke) to develop them as characters and reveal the part they will play in the bigger terrifying story. Keisling does an excellent job of this, weaving each character’s strand together so that, when we leave one sibling to focus on another, we are never taken out of the story. And there is no danger of returning to a character’s arc to find we can’t remember what is happening. Exactly how much planning went into how the individual chapters were plotted and how they all came together to form the bigger picture is hard to know without asking the author, but it is clear that a great deal of work went into the structure, as well as the character development. Even secondary characters are fully realised to give the town of Stauford the perfect texture.
The longer Jack stays in town and the more he interacts with his siblings, going over their shared trauma, the more we learn about the town and its dark past. It soon becomes clear that Father Jacob, dead since that fateful night in 1983, along with all but one of his followers (Jack’s mother survived, only to be incarcerated in a psychiatric facility), isn’t finished with his children, the town of Stauford, or his dark master. But then, neither is Imogene (affectionately referred to as Mamaw Genie) as Jack, using her journal, uncovers more about her past and what she knew about Jacob’s nefarious plans. The evil that consumed Jacob begins to infect the town, in gleefully gruesome scenes reminiscent of Carpenter’s Prince of Darkness, and brings the most horrible and violent aspects of the victims’ personalities to the surface in their worship of this ancient and mysterious deity. To add to the authenticity, there is even one distressing scene of racially-influenced bigotry and violence that Keisling lifted from true Kentucky history, showing that, sometimes even the best imaginations in horror fiction can’t out-do the real-life human race for true evil.
Apart from the occasional flashback or aside to shine more light on the mystery of Devil’s Creek, most of the action takes place over a few days, and this is reflected in the quick pace of the story. Every scene in every chapter, despite possibly focusing on the relationship between a main character and a secondary, or an element of the town, serves the main story as Jack—along with Chuck and Stephanie—seek to unravel the mystery and get to the truth. It is an intricate plot with layers upon layers of character development that makes for a joyous reading experience. It is reminiscent of King’s It, but with the scenes from Jack and his siblings’ childhood much more streamlined and incorporated into flashbacks, and, honestly, without any of the baggage that sometimes slowed down the older book.
Given the large cast of characters, the great detail afforded the setting, and the overarching theme of good versus evil (not to mention the drama of the familial relationships), we would be forgiven for expecting a huge doorstopper-of-a-book. However, at just over four hundred pages, it exemplifies the effort expended in constructing such a tight and intricate story. It would be reasonable to say delivering such a grand story is quite ambitious, but it is also our opinion that, not only did Keisling deliver his magnum opus, he delivered it in style. He has received praise from some fans of the indie horror scene, but it is time that all horror fans knew his name, thanks to the universal appeal of Devil’s Creek, a masterpiece of horror fiction.
All of the above takes place in a fast-paced “part one”, all of the action occurring in 1983, with each of the children aged about six-years old. Keisling quickly sets the scene for the catalyst of the whole story, and cleverly bridges the gap of the intervening years with excerpts from the journal of one of the rescuers, Imogene Tremly, as well as excerpts from a local newspaper, covering the gripping story of that night, and the fates of the “Stauford Six”, the children. It brings us up to the present day when Imogene’s grandson—and our protagonist—Jack, arrives back in town to settle her estate. He is a successful artist who drew inspiration from his traumatic childhood at the hands of his father, Jacob, to create nightmarish scenes. And he wants nothing more than to get in and out as quickly as possible, reluctant to dredge up long-buried memories or take a trip down memory lane with any of his five half-siblings who never left Stauford.
While Jack is the main protagonist of the story, time is given to each of his half-siblings (shock jock Stephanie, lawyer Chuck, reverend Bobby, troubled Susan and meth addict Zeke) to develop them as characters and reveal the part they will play in the bigger terrifying story. Keisling does an excellent job of this, weaving each character’s strand together so that, when we leave one sibling to focus on another, we are never taken out of the story. And there is no danger of returning to a character’s arc to find we can’t remember what is happening. Exactly how much planning went into how the individual chapters were plotted and how they all came together to form the bigger picture is hard to know without asking the author, but it is clear that a great deal of work went into the structure, as well as the character development. Even secondary characters are fully realised to give the town of Stauford the perfect texture.
The longer Jack stays in town and the more he interacts with his siblings, going over their shared trauma, the more we learn about the town and its dark past. It soon becomes clear that Father Jacob, dead since that fateful night in 1983, along with all but one of his followers (Jack’s mother survived, only to be incarcerated in a psychiatric facility), isn’t finished with his children, the town of Stauford, or his dark master. But then, neither is Imogene (affectionately referred to as Mamaw Genie) as Jack, using her journal, uncovers more about her past and what she knew about Jacob’s nefarious plans. The evil that consumed Jacob begins to infect the town, in gleefully gruesome scenes reminiscent of Carpenter’s Prince of Darkness, and brings the most horrible and violent aspects of the victims’ personalities to the surface in their worship of this ancient and mysterious deity. To add to the authenticity, there is even one distressing scene of racially-influenced bigotry and violence that Keisling lifted from true Kentucky history, showing that, sometimes even the best imaginations in horror fiction can’t out-do the real-life human race for true evil.
Apart from the occasional flashback or aside to shine more light on the mystery of Devil’s Creek, most of the action takes place over a few days, and this is reflected in the quick pace of the story. Every scene in every chapter, despite possibly focusing on the relationship between a main character and a secondary, or an element of the town, serves the main story as Jack—along with Chuck and Stephanie—seek to unravel the mystery and get to the truth. It is an intricate plot with layers upon layers of character development that makes for a joyous reading experience. It is reminiscent of King’s It, but with the scenes from Jack and his siblings’ childhood much more streamlined and incorporated into flashbacks, and, honestly, without any of the baggage that sometimes slowed down the older book.
Given the large cast of characters, the great detail afforded the setting, and the overarching theme of good versus evil (not to mention the drama of the familial relationships), we would be forgiven for expecting a huge doorstopper-of-a-book. However, at just over four hundred pages, it exemplifies the effort expended in constructing such a tight and intricate story. It would be reasonable to say delivering such a grand story is quite ambitious, but it is also our opinion that, not only did Keisling deliver his magnum opus, he delivered it in style. He has received praise from some fans of the indie horror scene, but it is time that all horror fans knew his name, thanks to the universal appeal of Devil’s Creek, a masterpiece of horror fiction.
Thanks to NetGalley and Silver Shamrock Publishing for the digital galley of this book.
In 1983, following a mass suicide the Lord’s Church of Holy Voices burned to the ground, and so ended the hold of the death cult over the citizens of Stauford, Kentucky. Among the few survivors of the suicide were leader Jacob Masters’ six children and their grandparents. Thirty years later, Jack Tremly, on the “Stauford Six,” returns to settle his grandmother’s estate, and even though Jacob Masters is little more than a ghost story these days, weird things have been happening in the woods around town. There are secrets about Jacob and the town that won’t stay buried forever, and trouble is about to stir up in Devil’s Creek.
I really loved the idea of this book, and it started strong. I don’t want to say it lagged in the middle, because there was plenty of action, but there are a lot of characters, and a lot has happened in Devil’s Creek in the last thirty years. Each of Jacob’s children took a different path, and it’s really cool to see how different they all are and what parts they play in the secrets coming to light, but it’s a lot. I skimmed a little here and there but overall, the story was intriguing.
I love ghost stories and I have a weird fascination with cults. I would like to see one that’s not just about dudes wanting to have sex with and control many women, but I realize that’s a lot to ask for. This cult was really no different. Power and sex. That’s what Jacob was all about, but the cult really isn’t the focus of the story here. It’s really about the pursuit of the phrase, “as above, so below” and the quest for “heaven on earth” and the fact that really may mean “hell on earth.”
I think I liked the idea more than the execution, but it was plenty creepy and the supernatural type of creepy that I like, I just think I got bogged down in the many characters and the sheer volume of the story the author was trying to tell. Points for worldbuilding and character development, though, and also for actual supernatural elements in horror. Those are my favorite horror elements. It’s out now, so look for it at your local indie bookstore or request from your library if you wanna give it a go.
Overlong, uninspired tale of a blasphemous cult and the rebirth of evil. Some good characters, but the plot is thin and severely dragged out, and the author relies on gore rather than actual scares. Also, this novel is at least 100 pages too long.
On the plus side, if you have ever wondered how much repeated mention of pedophilia and icky black body burrowing worms it takes before they lose all shock value, then this is the book for you.
A generous 1.5 stars rounded up to 2.
On the plus side, if you have ever wondered how much repeated mention of pedophilia and icky black body burrowing worms it takes before they lose all shock value, then this is the book for you.
A generous 1.5 stars rounded up to 2.
I am fascinated by cults and cultish behavior. I watch a lot of documentaries about them, read true crime novels about infamous cult leaders and enjoy learning about the secret practices of cults. Naturally, Cult Horror is a favorite, fictional sub-genre but it can be hit or miss with me. I feel like a lot of authors want to spend time on the sensational aspects without doing the leg work developing the practical mechanics of a believable cult.
In order for me to buy in, I need a charismatic leader capable of convincing seemingly normal people to do outlandish acts of service.
Todd Keisling’s Devil’s Creek is the perfect example of quality cult horror. Let me unpack it for you, as always, I’ll be mindful of spoilers.
In the tradition of books like Salem’s Lot by Stephen King, Keisling lays down important, historical groundwork for the setting of his epic cult tale.
Stauford, Kentucky is a fictional small town haunted by the legend Jacob Masters’ death cult, The Lord’s Church of Holy Voices. Keisling spends quality time peeling back the layers of this seemingly quaint town in order to reveal the dark, insidious roots below. Prepare to settle in with Devil’s Creek and enjoy the ride. This isn’t the kind of book that makes for casual or light reading. Todd Keisling sets early expectations for the rest of this book by the way he sets everything up in the beginning. He takes you back in time to 1983 so that when the reader arrives in the modern day narrative, you carry with you more truth than most of the townspeople have.
This is a sprawling story with a large cast of characters. In order to help readers identify important, generational players, Keisling graciously calls people by their first and last names. (Mother Horror Pro Tip: Pay attention to the last names and keep a mental note of the Stauford Six.)
Over the course of the novel, a few main protagonists emerge: Imogene Tremly and her grandson Jack are the ones I connected to emotionally. Keisling does an amazing job giving life and personality to the people on these pages. This helps the reader become invested in their motivations and purpose. I find this to be so important because Devil’s Creek deals with extremely dark subject matter. Plenty of potential triggers abound so proceed with caution if you’re a sensitive reader. Not to mention this is scary shit. I read a lot of horror; it takes a lot of originality for something to get under my skin in a unique or new way. This book got to me more than once. I’d say at least several times I felt the blood cool in my veins.
The book which is doled out in 5 parts, readers can expect to witness graphically detailed accounts of cult practices lead by a murderous, sexual deviant. Some of it is pretty difficult to stomach.
At no point in this novel did I feel as though I was enduring the depravity needlessly. Keisling’s story development is clearly given top priority. Suffering through explicit scenes felt necessary instead of exploitive or gratuitous. I trusted Keisling to bring me through the muck and the mire to get me to the other side and I was only too eager to get there. There is a compelling almost compulsive nature to this story where I felt as if I had to know how this was all going to end. It has to be said that calling this Keisling’s magnum opus is accurate. He takes a small, dark cult of maybe twenty to fifty people and blows it up into a full-blown cosmic horror novel over the span of four hundred pages or so; impressive as hell to say the least. I don’t believe any word was wasted, no detail was left out or ignored, and every character was given a reason to exist on the page. I never experienced a dull moment. Definitely will make my Best of 2020 list at the end of this year.
~Sadie Hartmann
I'm tempted to offer up a warning, a word of caution. To read DEVIL'S CREEK is to lose yourself in a story of hideous depravity and unholy madness. Todd Keisling's local legend of The Lord's Church of Holy Voices joins the ranks of other ritualistic cult horrors but definitely rests at the top tier.
I compared a book to early King status earlier this year (TOUCH THE NIGHT by Max Booth III) and now I'm doing it again, this book gave me serious King vibes.
My full review to come!
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a dark, well-rounded, and thoroughly entertaining bit of cult fiction from Todd Keisling. It is a gruesome story that is brilliantly told and I am excited to read whatever Todd Keisling makes next.
dark
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Unfortunately, my review copy from NetGalley looked like this. I am very disappointed. I wanted to read this book so much. My Booksta and Goodreads trusted reviewers all gave such great reviews. I guess I will just go ahead and buy a copy and review again once I read it. *sadface*
4.5/5 stars!
If there were travel guides for places NOT to visit, the town of Stauford, Kentucky would top that list! Devil's Creek is about 15 miles away from Stauford, but that's not far enough to keep the town safe.
Devil's Creek was the site of a religious cult back in the early 80's, a site which burned to the ground in 1983. Those that survived suffer nightmares all the time, even though they've blocked a lot of their actual memories. The head of the cult, Jacob Masters, was a charismatic man who persuaded members of his "church" to give up their children to him, for whatever dark acts he wished to perform. One of them rebelled though, (Imogene), and was able to save six of the children. Unfortunately, Imogene has now passed on and her grandson has to return to the town he hates to settle her affairs. But something else has started happening since his return. The nightmares suffered by the survivors get even more vivid and scary, and soon after? They're facing something even worse: something that wants to make up for lost time and all it's asking for? Is their suffering. Will these survivors be able to get to the bottom of things before it's too late? Will the town of Stauford even survive? You'll have to read this to find out!
I'm struggling to keep this review short, because DEVIL'S CREEK was so epic. Packed with scenes from both the past and the present, there was a lot going on. The author took his time introducing the characters and giving each a thorough history. Which, of course, made it that much more difficult to take when these characters were then put through the wringer and tortured in ways you never thought possible.
Evil in a small town is one of my favorite horror tropes. I couldn't help but be thinking of Salem's Lot, or even Needful Things, where the author did the same kind of storytelling: introducing us to a town full of characters and then subjecting them to all kinds of terrors, both human and supernatural.
The level of writing here was excellent and the plotting well done. Any seasoned horror reader is familiar with these types of tropes, (evil in a small town, Satanic cults, etc...), so it's up to the author to pull something original and enticing out them. Keisling did that here, in spades!
The only issue I had with this book, (and it's a small one), was that it became a little repetitious in some places as events were sometimes told from different points of view. As I said, it was a small thing, but for that, I deducted half a star.
DEVIL'S CREEK is going to have a special spot in my memory, along with the corrupted town of Stauford. Give us that old-time religion, baby. Yes, sir!
Highly recommended!
Available June 16th, but you can pre-order here: https://amzn.to/2XURqrn
*Thanks to the author and to Silver Shamrock publishing for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it!*
If there were travel guides for places NOT to visit, the town of Stauford, Kentucky would top that list! Devil's Creek is about 15 miles away from Stauford, but that's not far enough to keep the town safe.
Devil's Creek was the site of a religious cult back in the early 80's, a site which burned to the ground in 1983. Those that survived suffer nightmares all the time, even though they've blocked a lot of their actual memories. The head of the cult, Jacob Masters, was a charismatic man who persuaded members of his "church" to give up their children to him, for whatever dark acts he wished to perform. One of them rebelled though, (Imogene), and was able to save six of the children. Unfortunately, Imogene has now passed on and her grandson has to return to the town he hates to settle her affairs. But something else has started happening since his return. The nightmares suffered by the survivors get even more vivid and scary, and soon after? They're facing something even worse: something that wants to make up for lost time and all it's asking for? Is their suffering. Will these survivors be able to get to the bottom of things before it's too late? Will the town of Stauford even survive? You'll have to read this to find out!
I'm struggling to keep this review short, because DEVIL'S CREEK was so epic. Packed with scenes from both the past and the present, there was a lot going on. The author took his time introducing the characters and giving each a thorough history. Which, of course, made it that much more difficult to take when these characters were then put through the wringer and tortured in ways you never thought possible.
Evil in a small town is one of my favorite horror tropes. I couldn't help but be thinking of Salem's Lot, or even Needful Things, where the author did the same kind of storytelling: introducing us to a town full of characters and then subjecting them to all kinds of terrors, both human and supernatural.
The level of writing here was excellent and the plotting well done. Any seasoned horror reader is familiar with these types of tropes, (evil in a small town, Satanic cults, etc...), so it's up to the author to pull something original and enticing out them. Keisling did that here, in spades!
The only issue I had with this book, (and it's a small one), was that it became a little repetitious in some places as events were sometimes told from different points of view. As I said, it was a small thing, but for that, I deducted half a star.
DEVIL'S CREEK is going to have a special spot in my memory, along with the corrupted town of Stauford. Give us that old-time religion, baby. Yes, sir!
Highly recommended!
Available June 16th, but you can pre-order here: https://amzn.to/2XURqrn
*Thanks to the author and to Silver Shamrock publishing for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it!*
Childhood trauma can weigh heavy on the soul like a curse. Trauma that rests from time to time but eventually rears its ugly head when it’s not expected. Now what if that trauma truly was a curse. A curse that comes back and takes over a whole town and it’s inhabitants.
Stauford was a quiet little town in Kentucky with a very ugly past. A past involving a secluded religious cult that worshipped a God unlike any other. A God that lived not in the sky, but underground. An evil God.
But who gets to decide what is good and what is evil? Aren’t all Gods needy? Some Gods require monetary sacrifice. Some require strict devotion from their followers. According to Jacob Masters, leader of this cult, his God required mothers and fathers to sacrifice their innocent children.
Keisling unleashed a phenomenal story onto the world. Using his own experiences of growing up in a devout religious town as an outcast, not too different from Stauford, he pushes the boundaries of how far the devoutly religious are willing to go to prove their love for an unseen entity. His character work is masterful and the town of Stauford comes alive. Dare I say it’s reminiscent of Castle Rock, Derry, and Salem’s Lot, but not found in the woods of Maine. As I’ve said before, Kentucky may soon be seen as the Maine of the south.
The main protagonists are easy to like but complicated. Jack Tremly was a fun character to follow and it was interesting to see how he channeled his trauma to become an artist. The real brilliance of the story lies in the pure evil of the antagonist Jacob Masters. His cruelty and sheer passion to cause death to please his God is unmatched by any in horror literature.
This book never slowed down for me and I loved every minute of it. Keisling poured his life’s blood into the pages of this novel and I highly recommend it to anyone. That being said, much of the imagery is extremely unpleasant and at times horrifically disturbing, but as a horror lover, that’s what makes Devil’s Creek so charming and enjoyable.
Stauford was a quiet little town in Kentucky with a very ugly past. A past involving a secluded religious cult that worshipped a God unlike any other. A God that lived not in the sky, but underground. An evil God.
But who gets to decide what is good and what is evil? Aren’t all Gods needy? Some Gods require monetary sacrifice. Some require strict devotion from their followers. According to Jacob Masters, leader of this cult, his God required mothers and fathers to sacrifice their innocent children.
Keisling unleashed a phenomenal story onto the world. Using his own experiences of growing up in a devout religious town as an outcast, not too different from Stauford, he pushes the boundaries of how far the devoutly religious are willing to go to prove their love for an unseen entity. His character work is masterful and the town of Stauford comes alive. Dare I say it’s reminiscent of Castle Rock, Derry, and Salem’s Lot, but not found in the woods of Maine. As I’ve said before, Kentucky may soon be seen as the Maine of the south.
The main protagonists are easy to like but complicated. Jack Tremly was a fun character to follow and it was interesting to see how he channeled his trauma to become an artist. The real brilliance of the story lies in the pure evil of the antagonist Jacob Masters. His cruelty and sheer passion to cause death to please his God is unmatched by any in horror literature.
This book never slowed down for me and I loved every minute of it. Keisling poured his life’s blood into the pages of this novel and I highly recommend it to anyone. That being said, much of the imagery is extremely unpleasant and at times horrifically disturbing, but as a horror lover, that’s what makes Devil’s Creek so charming and enjoyable.
Full-blooded horror in the vein of King, whilst channelling his inner Lovecraft. Religion is such a good vehicle for horror, you just need to find the right preacher to deliver the sermon. Say a hallelujah for Rev. Keisling.