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enchantressreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, and Torture
Moderate: Vomit, Death, and Murder
ameliareadsstuff's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-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
3.5
The Last Haunt is an enjoyable horror novella that tells the story of an 'extreme' haunted house through a series of interview transcripts. I enjoyed the epistolic format and the unfolding mystery, and I appreciate Booth's attempts to really set the novel in the present moment just through the character's attitudes and language.
The book never quite reaches the level of horrific end the dark subject matter teases, but I did enjoy the nature of the ending regardless, given the level of repugnantness of some of the characters. That said, I'm not sure the novel was reaching for that level of horror; there's an interesting mix of morbidness and dark humour that was mostly successful, though I can see it not working for every reader.
The book never quite reaches the level of horrific end the dark subject matter teases, but I did enjoy the nature of the ending regardless, given the level of repugnantness of some of the characters. That said, I'm not sure the novel was reaching for that level of horror; there's an interesting mix of morbidness and dark humour that was mostly successful, though I can see it not working for every reader.
ckbadara's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
abbennsky's review
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
howlinglibraries's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
5.0
As someone who's already familiar with the guy and "haunt" this book was inspired by, this was a SUPER fun read. The Last Haunt is a documentary-style story told through interviews about the death of a haunt-goer at the McKinley Manor a year earlier, as well as a bit of insight into how the Manor came into being and what the consequences of the young woman's death were.
The Last Haunt is a very quick read that is PERFECT for the Halloween season, especially if you enjoy haunted houses. I've always loved haunted houses, but never been interested in "extreme haunts", and I'm definitely one of those people who can't help but question the motives compelling some of the minds behind those infamous places, so this little novella was right up my alley.
Between the unique storytelling format (with voices that actually felt distinct to each character, something not every author can accomplish), the absolute derangement of the mind behind McKinley Manor, and the suspenseful recounting of everything that went down, I really enjoyed The Last Haunt and I highly recommend picking up a copy. After loving this and We Need to Do Something, I'm landing solidly in the Max Booth III Fanclub and can't wait to read more of his work!
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy! All thoughts are honest and my own.
The Last Haunt is a very quick read that is PERFECT for the Halloween season, especially if you enjoy haunted houses. I've always loved haunted houses, but never been interested in "extreme haunts", and I'm definitely one of those people who can't help but question the motives compelling some of the minds behind those infamous places, so this little novella was right up my alley.
Between the unique storytelling format (with voices that actually felt distinct to each character, something not every author can accomplish), the absolute derangement of the mind behind McKinley Manor, and the suspenseful recounting of everything that went down, I really enjoyed The Last Haunt and I highly recommend picking up a copy. After loving this and We Need to Do Something, I'm landing solidly in the Max Booth III Fanclub and can't wait to read more of his work!
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy! All thoughts are honest and my own.
drakaina16's review
challenging
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Thank you to BookSirens for providing a review copy.
I had a ton of fun with this short novella. Max Booth III never disappoints and The Last Haunt is no exception. The story unfolds through interviews with the people involved in the McKinley Manor Massacre. It is very obviously based on a real extreme haunt and that made it all the more interesting to me. 4.5 stars, rounded up.
I had a ton of fun with this short novella. Max Booth III never disappoints and The Last Haunt is no exception. The story unfolds through interviews with the people involved in the McKinley Manor Massacre. It is very obviously based on a real extreme haunt and that made it all the more interesting to me. 4.5 stars, rounded up.
bobmetal's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
astoldbybex's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
sdsmith80's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
<b>Extreme haunts are tragedies in the making</b>
As soon as I heard about this novella, I knew I had to read it. My husband has worked in haunts off and on since the mid 90's, and a lot of the people in the industry are still our friends. Hell, the Queen of Screams (owner of Rocky Point Haunted House) herself was at our wedding. So to say I'm hungry for any horror based in that world would be an understatement.
The first thing I have to say is just how real it all feels. The cop is a total asshole, and seems reluctant to actually do his job. The description of the kinds of people that become actors, special effects artists, and even open haunts is also true to life. It takes all kinds, and I know our local community happily calls themselves "Freaks". Many of the people are on the fringes of society, and haunting gives them a place to call home.
As for the depiction of Gus McKinley and his "extreme haunt", it's very true that real haunters, the ones that are in it for the joy of giving someone a scare, do not accept these extreme places as haunts. I like that we get to see a little of the motivations that bring someone to open a place like this. Of course we can't really get inside the minds of the people who do it in real life, but I feel that this author is probably pretty close.
I love the way that this book shows how these places can easily go wrong, and why they should be heavily regulated, if showed to exist at all. They aren't about the scares, they're about true torture, and holding that power over someone. Honestly, I believe that this author is also spot on about the prize that some of these places offer. It's nothing more than a truck to lure in more people, but isn't actually real.
I also love the way this book is written, just as interviews that term the story. It's something I really enjoy, so I'm always down to read a book written this way. Almost epistolary. Lastly, the Easter eggs of all of the character names was so much fun!
As soon as I heard about this novella, I knew I had to read it. My husband has worked in haunts off and on since the mid 90's, and a lot of the people in the industry are still our friends. Hell, the Queen of Screams (owner of Rocky Point Haunted House) herself was at our wedding. So to say I'm hungry for any horror based in that world would be an understatement.
The first thing I have to say is just how real it all feels. The cop is a total asshole, and seems reluctant to actually do his job. The description of the kinds of people that become actors, special effects artists, and even open haunts is also true to life. It takes all kinds, and I know our local community happily calls themselves "Freaks". Many of the people are on the fringes of society, and haunting gives them a place to call home.
As for the depiction of Gus McKinley and his "extreme haunt", it's very true that real haunters, the ones that are in it for the joy of giving someone a scare, do not accept these extreme places as haunts. I like that we get to see a little of the motivations that bring someone to open a place like this. Of course we can't really get inside the minds of the people who do it in real life, but I feel that this author is probably pretty close.
I love the way that this book shows how these places can easily go wrong, and why they should be heavily regulated, if showed to exist at all. They aren't about the scares, they're about true torture, and holding that power over someone. Honestly, I believe that this author is also spot on about the prize that some of these places offer. It's nothing more than a truck to lure in more people, but isn't actually real.
I also love the way this book is written, just as interviews that term the story. It's something I really enjoy, so I'm always down to read a book written this way. Almost epistolary. Lastly, the Easter eggs of all of the character names was so much fun!
vanmeers's review
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Last Haunt introduces us to McKinley Manor, an extreme haunted house, and the horrific events that closed it down forever through a series of written interviews with people associated with Gus McKinley and his haunted house in the town of Pork Basket.
I’m a huge fan of interview style books and The Last Haunt is written to be just that: an almost true crime‘esque written documentary that tries to uncover what happened during the McKinley Manor massacre on Halloween night. It’s hugely entertaining, eerie and the characters feel fully fleshed out — you’ve got a lot of down to earth characters that you can fully imagine being interviewed for a real documentary and just like real life, you can never really be sure who’s telling the truth.
This novella is also obviously a huge nod towards the very real “extreme haunted house” of a similar name and a critique on the loose definition of the ‘haunted’ part when it’s mostly just unsupervised torture.
The Last Haunt was a lot of fun to read and a breeze to get through. It’s definitely a perfect October read — not too scary, but definitely full of suspense and unhinged moments with a lot of recognisable names from the horror community.
// ARC received through BookSirens.
// ARC received through BookSirens.
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