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A review by sdsmith80
The Last Haunt by Max Booth III
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!