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verkisto's review
3.0
I devoured the other two Greenhall books I read earlier this year. Elizabeth was eerily reminiscent of The Haunting of Hill House, and Hell Hound was a fascinating look at sociopathy, so I was eager to read Childgrave, even before Valancourt Books reprinted it. Once the reprint became available, I bought it and started reading.
The story is about Jonathan, a photographer who becomes infatuated with Sara, a harpist, and invites her into his life. Once she befriends him and his daughter, he begins to see apparitions in the photos he takes of his daughter. Later, he learns that the apparitions are connected to Sara, but instead of driving him away, it only serves to draw him closer to her.
The story manages to be eerie without being creepy, so long as you overlook Jonathan's harassment of Sara through most of the book. He's convinced he's in love with her, and goes out of his way to be with her, which is in and of itself pretty creepy. It's hard to tell if Greenhall intended this to be unsettling (the book was originally published in 1981, when this sort of behavior wasn't yet considered harassment), but looking at it from a modern eye, it certainly is.
Jonathan also serves as our narrator, and his obsession with Sara suggests he might not be a reliable narrator. At one point, he declares himself as "being an emotionally mature individual", while confessing love to a woman he doesn't even know, which made me question some of the events in the book. The thing is, he doesn't come across as unreliable; instead, he just comes across as a narrator I can't trust. I don't think he's lying to me about what's happening around him, but I can't believe everything he tells me, either.
The book is unusual in that it's essentially two stories in one, neatly divided down the middle of the book. Interestingly, the second story is the one that reveals the significance of the title, so we spend a lot of the book wondering what, exactly, Childgrave is. It's a long build-up, but it is necessary, even if it gives the book a disjointed feel. Again, I wonder if this was intentional on Greenhall's part.
Childgrave reminds me of Charles Grant's quiet horror, in that it has a slow build-up without much violence or gore. It doesn't quite reach the standard Grant created with his Oxrun Station books, but it's reminiscent enough to belong to the same class. Fans of that style of horror would do themselves a favor to read Childgrave, and then move on to Elizabeth and Hell Hound.
The story is about Jonathan, a photographer who becomes infatuated with Sara, a harpist, and invites her into his life. Once she befriends him and his daughter, he begins to see apparitions in the photos he takes of his daughter. Later, he learns that the apparitions are connected to Sara, but instead of driving him away, it only serves to draw him closer to her.
The story manages to be eerie without being creepy, so long as you overlook Jonathan's harassment of Sara through most of the book. He's convinced he's in love with her, and goes out of his way to be with her, which is in and of itself pretty creepy. It's hard to tell if Greenhall intended this to be unsettling (the book was originally published in 1981, when this sort of behavior wasn't yet considered harassment), but looking at it from a modern eye, it certainly is.
Jonathan also serves as our narrator, and his obsession with Sara suggests he might not be a reliable narrator. At one point, he declares himself as "being an emotionally mature individual", while confessing love to a woman he doesn't even know, which made me question some of the events in the book. The thing is, he doesn't come across as unreliable; instead, he just comes across as a narrator I can't trust. I don't think he's lying to me about what's happening around him, but I can't believe everything he tells me, either.
The book is unusual in that it's essentially two stories in one, neatly divided down the middle of the book. Interestingly, the second story is the one that reveals the significance of the title, so we spend a lot of the book wondering what, exactly, Childgrave is. It's a long build-up, but it is necessary, even if it gives the book a disjointed feel. Again, I wonder if this was intentional on Greenhall's part.
Childgrave reminds me of Charles Grant's quiet horror, in that it has a slow build-up without much violence or gore. It doesn't quite reach the standard Grant created with his Oxrun Station books, but it's reminiscent enough to belong to the same class. Fans of that style of horror would do themselves a favor to read Childgrave, and then move on to Elizabeth and Hell Hound.
ghoulnextdoor's review
4.0
I recall seeing this book in Valancourt’s catalog and though their offerings are consistently outstanding, I don’t think I was moved to read it until I tuned in to Kate and Jack discussing it in a recent episode of Bad Books For Bad People. Hm… you know…upon reflection, that’s not quite how it happened. I think I initially became intrigued with adding Childgrave to my stack when Jack tweeted this funny little snippet of dialogue from the book, before the BBFBP episode aired:
Jack Guignol
@ScholarOfDecay
“You don’t take good enough care of your daughter, Jonathan. I think there’s some parental neglect here.”
“What the hell do you mean, Harry? What the hell do you know about parenthood?”
"All I mean is that well-bred children don’t attract ghosts.”
- Ken Greenhall, Childgrave
Haunted children? Bad parenting? Judgy, erudite characters who take pleasure in the art of verbal evisceration? SOLD. Childgrave was a solid read, for all of these reasons. If I had to classify it, I’d put it somewhat in the “haunted kids” subgenre but I think it fits more appropriately in a sort of “small, isolated town guarding weird secrets” category. Jonathan Brewster is a successful photographer (who doesn’t quite understand his craft? I find this detail delightful) and a single dad living in Manhattan with his daughter Joanne. Jonathan is a really strange character and not…a great parent. He’s just an oddball human all around, really. I found him part endearing/part despicable, and the disturbing thing is that I’m afraid I really, REALLY related to him in some instances. Just the way he seems to navigate his way through the world and doesn’t quite seem to get how it all works and fits together and connects.
He falls madly in love with Sara, an elusive harpist who put hims off at every turn, but Jonathan is smitten and not having it. Right around the time Sara comes into their lives, his daughter seems to have acquired some unsettling imaginary friends, who may or may not be appearing as ghostly images in a series of portraits that Jonathan takes of Joanne and Sara. Through a series of stalkery moves, Jonathan eventually learns that Sara is from a town called Childgrave– and that this did not scare him away right off the bat is part of why Jonathan is such a damned weird character. We soon learn that this place is exactly what we think it is, and still, Jonathan is intrigued and wants to pack up his kid and move there.
Despite the fact that I was shaking my head and thinking “DUDE YOU ARE THE WORST,” I can’t say that I didn’t thoroughly enjoy being in this guy’s head. The book wrapped up a trifle too quickly for my liking, but the journey there was loads of weird, fun.
Jack Guignol
@ScholarOfDecay
“You don’t take good enough care of your daughter, Jonathan. I think there’s some parental neglect here.”
“What the hell do you mean, Harry? What the hell do you know about parenthood?”
"All I mean is that well-bred children don’t attract ghosts.”
- Ken Greenhall, Childgrave
Haunted children? Bad parenting? Judgy, erudite characters who take pleasure in the art of verbal evisceration? SOLD. Childgrave was a solid read, for all of these reasons. If I had to classify it, I’d put it somewhat in the “haunted kids” subgenre but I think it fits more appropriately in a sort of “small, isolated town guarding weird secrets” category. Jonathan Brewster is a successful photographer (who doesn’t quite understand his craft? I find this detail delightful) and a single dad living in Manhattan with his daughter Joanne. Jonathan is a really strange character and not…a great parent. He’s just an oddball human all around, really. I found him part endearing/part despicable, and the disturbing thing is that I’m afraid I really, REALLY related to him in some instances. Just the way he seems to navigate his way through the world and doesn’t quite seem to get how it all works and fits together and connects.
He falls madly in love with Sara, an elusive harpist who put hims off at every turn, but Jonathan is smitten and not having it. Right around the time Sara comes into their lives, his daughter seems to have acquired some unsettling imaginary friends, who may or may not be appearing as ghostly images in a series of portraits that Jonathan takes of Joanne and Sara. Through a series of stalkery moves, Jonathan eventually learns that Sara is from a town called Childgrave– and that this did not scare him away right off the bat is part of why Jonathan is such a damned weird character. We soon learn that this place is exactly what we think it is, and still, Jonathan is intrigued and wants to pack up his kid and move there.
Despite the fact that I was shaking my head and thinking “DUDE YOU ARE THE WORST,” I can’t say that I didn’t thoroughly enjoy being in this guy’s head. The book wrapped up a trifle too quickly for my liking, but the journey there was loads of weird, fun.
ecebozturk's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
sunflower_teeth's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Honestly the best written classic horror I've picked up so far in my forays into it. I didn't like a single character (except maybe the five-year-old, by virtue of her being five and without major vices) but I enjoyed reading it immensely nonetheless. By 'enjoyed', of course read 'slow dawning of horror throughout the story, interrupted by occasional puzzled delight at how damn weird the narrator is'.
In short terms: Jonathan Brewster is a photographer whose wife died after finding God, leaving him with a weird little daughter and a confused sense of emptiness. He meets a woman named Sara, a mysterious harpist who he falls in love with - or, more accurately, he falls in love with her self-possession, the sense that she knows some great secret that nobody else does. She seems disinterested in him at first, but fascinated by his young daughter - who upon meeting her instantly develops a new imaginary friend, a little girl called 'Colnee' who is always very cold.
And then 'Colnee' and a whole host of other figures - her mysterious daddy and a lovely but sinister angel, notably - start turning up in Jonathan's photographs. Jonathan finds himself on a collision track with... well, make up your own mind if it's God, but it's at least a very resolute group of people who believe they've got a closer line to Him than anyone else. And once Jonathan and his daughter are caught in the influence of Childgrave - Jonathan by his mingled love for Sara and obsessive fascination with her faith, his daughter via all her invisible friends and the secrets they tell her - it begins to seem impossible to get out.
The horror's a well done slow burn; you know what's going on long before it's said out loud, but so does Jonathan. It's just... the kind of thing you don't want to acknowledge, and in that area the quiet building horror is excellent. It's a book of its time, I'll graciously say - more bluntly, in this book abortions are murder and terms like 'obese transvestite' are slung around, but it's more background noise than some classic paperback horror. .75% of a star is subtracted for the ending being a little flubbed. Overall, a good winter horror read - slow, cold and creeping, with a climax set at Christmas.
In short terms: Jonathan Brewster is a photographer whose wife died after finding God, leaving him with a weird little daughter and a confused sense of emptiness. He meets a woman named Sara, a mysterious harpist who he falls in love with - or, more accurately, he falls in love with her self-possession, the sense that she knows some great secret that nobody else does. She seems disinterested in him at first, but fascinated by his young daughter - who upon meeting her instantly develops a new imaginary friend, a little girl called 'Colnee' who is always very cold.
And then 'Colnee' and a whole host of other figures - her mysterious daddy and a lovely but sinister angel, notably - start turning up in Jonathan's photographs. Jonathan finds himself on a collision track with... well, make up your own mind if it's God, but it's at least a very resolute group of people who believe they've got a closer line to Him than anyone else. And once Jonathan and his daughter are caught in the influence of Childgrave - Jonathan by his mingled love for Sara and obsessive fascination with her faith, his daughter via all her invisible friends and the secrets they tell her - it begins to seem impossible to get out.
The horror's a well done slow burn; you know what's going on long before it's said out loud, but so does Jonathan. It's just... the kind of thing you don't want to acknowledge, and in that area the quiet building horror is excellent. It's a book of its time, I'll graciously say - more bluntly, in this book abortions are murder and terms like 'obese transvestite' are slung around, but it's more background noise than some classic paperback horror. .75% of a star is subtracted for the ending being a little flubbed. Overall, a good winter horror read - slow, cold and creeping, with a climax set at Christmas.
quilly14's review
4.0
Jonathan is a Manhattanite photographer that prides himself on a sense of moderation. But when he starts seeing dead girls in his photographs, he slowly starts to lose sight of that moderation. To make matters worse, he's fallen in love with a harpist he met one time, and his four-year-old daughter is talking about death a bunch.
I joke, but this book is creepy as hell. The title is the name of a a village that Jonathan and his daughter find themselves visiting often. Its inhabitants are not much like the people Jonathan knows in Manhattan.
Slow burn horror. Great if you want to get the creeps, but not if you're looking for big scares. Not a haunting-type story, but I get a similar vibe from it.
Will definitely read more Greenhall.
I joke, but this book is creepy as hell. The title is the name of a a village that Jonathan and his daughter find themselves visiting often. Its inhabitants are not much like the people Jonathan knows in Manhattan.
Slow burn horror. Great if you want to get the creeps, but not if you're looking for big scares. Not a haunting-type story, but I get a similar vibe from it.
Will definitely read more Greenhall.
charshorrorcorner's review
4.0
CHILDGRAVE is a beautifully written quiet horror story, with a sketchy small town lurking in the background. By the time the secrets of the town are revealed, it's too late for the reader to turn back.
As I get older, I find myself more and more drawn to quiet horror. I can do without gore and torture and all that if I have a tale that's well written and atmospheric. I also need compelling characters and CHILDGRAVE has that in spades. The main character, Jonathan, is a widowed photographer. He, his daughter Joanne, and his housekeeper Nanny Joy, are so well drawn I feel as if I know them personally.
When Jonathan's photos of his daughter seem to show specters in the background, while at the same time Joanne seems to have developed some new invisible friends, Jonathan is intrigued. Are the two events connected? Who is Conlee, the name of Joanne's new invisible friend? Lastly, what is Chilegray and how is connected to Conlee? You'll have to read this to find out!
I'll get it out of the way now-this is a slow moving story. What kept me interested was the quality of the writing and the characters. Jonathan is a quirky man. He has few friends and little interest in fashion or modern day trends. His housekeeper Nanny Joy loves jazz and Jonathan's daughter, but is concerned about the appearance of Conlee and the specters in the photographs. Jonathan's agent Harry is hilarious and his girlfriend, Lee, is interesting as well. NYC of the 70's is the main setting, and it was fascinating to read about the city during that time of social upheaval and change.
I was inexorably drawn to the conclusion which leads the reader to a small town hidden in a valley. "Evil in a small town" is one of my favorite tropes and Greenhall knew how to deliver it in a chilling and shocking- yet believable way. You find yourself wondering what you would do in such a situation and I continued to think about it all night long...hours after finishing the book. I can't say that I blame Jonathan for the choices that he made.
While CHILDGRAVE isn't the psychological, fast moving story that both ELIZABETH or HELL HOUND were, it was excellent in its own quiet and compelling way. Slowly drawing the reader down into the valley where secrets are kept for generation after generation, Greenhall deftly brings things to a head and left this reader wishing for more.
Highly recommended!
You can get your copy here: https://www.amazon.com/Childgrave-Ken-Greenhall-ebook/dp/B076CFBS61/chashorcor-20
*Thanks to Valancourt Books for providing this e-book free, in exchange for my honest review. This is it.*
As I get older, I find myself more and more drawn to quiet horror. I can do without gore and torture and all that if I have a tale that's well written and atmospheric. I also need compelling characters and CHILDGRAVE has that in spades. The main character, Jonathan, is a widowed photographer. He, his daughter Joanne, and his housekeeper Nanny Joy, are so well drawn I feel as if I know them personally.
When Jonathan's photos of his daughter seem to show specters in the background, while at the same time Joanne seems to have developed some new invisible friends, Jonathan is intrigued. Are the two events connected? Who is Conlee, the name of Joanne's new invisible friend? Lastly, what is Chilegray and how is connected to Conlee? You'll have to read this to find out!
I'll get it out of the way now-this is a slow moving story. What kept me interested was the quality of the writing and the characters. Jonathan is a quirky man. He has few friends and little interest in fashion or modern day trends. His housekeeper Nanny Joy loves jazz and Jonathan's daughter, but is concerned about the appearance of Conlee and the specters in the photographs. Jonathan's agent Harry is hilarious and his girlfriend, Lee, is interesting as well. NYC of the 70's is the main setting, and it was fascinating to read about the city during that time of social upheaval and change.
I was inexorably drawn to the conclusion which leads the reader to a small town hidden in a valley. "Evil in a small town" is one of my favorite tropes and Greenhall knew how to deliver it in a chilling and shocking- yet believable way. You find yourself wondering what you would do in such a situation and I continued to think about it all night long...hours after finishing the book. I can't say that I blame Jonathan for the choices that he made.
While CHILDGRAVE isn't the psychological, fast moving story that both ELIZABETH or HELL HOUND were, it was excellent in its own quiet and compelling way. Slowly drawing the reader down into the valley where secrets are kept for generation after generation, Greenhall deftly brings things to a head and left this reader wishing for more.
Highly recommended!
You can get your copy here: https://www.amazon.com/Childgrave-Ken-Greenhall-ebook/dp/B076CFBS61/chashorcor-20
*Thanks to Valancourt Books for providing this e-book free, in exchange for my honest review. This is it.*
bumbledragonb's review against another edition
1.0
Main character falls instantly in love with a random woman for no reason. He also has a young daughter.
Character then proceeds to make stupid decisions, leading to him being entangled in a cult that sacrifices and eats 6 year old girls for some shoddy reason. He apparently accepts this as he immediately has sex with this woman - who is part of the cult and he loves SO much for no reason - even after finding out that they kill and eat children. I don't know what happens next because at that point I stopped reading, but I am going to guess it entails this main character sacrificing his 5 year old daughter to some cult because he LOVES this woman who believes in some cult nonsense. (Or at least attempting to before the get stopped.)
This is one of the dumbest plots I have ever encountered in a horror book.... and that is saying a lot.
Character then proceeds to make stupid decisions, leading to him being entangled in a cult that sacrifices and eats 6 year old girls for some shoddy reason. He apparently accepts this as he immediately has sex with this woman - who is part of the cult and he loves SO much for no reason - even after finding out that they kill and eat children. I don't know what happens next because at that point I stopped reading, but I am going to guess it entails this main character sacrificing his 5 year old daughter to some cult because he LOVES this woman who believes in some cult nonsense. (Or at least attempting to before the get stopped.)
This is one of the dumbest plots I have ever encountered in a horror book.... and that is saying a lot.
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