Review: Long Lankin, Lindsey Barraclough

Publisher: Bodley Head Children's Books
Pages: 448
Release: April 2011
Source: E - book bought by me

















A chilling, beautiful debut novel inspired by a haunting folk song about murder, witchcraft and revenge. Beware of Long Lankin, that lives in the moss ...When Cora and her little sister Mimi are sent to stay with their elderly aunt in the isolated village of Bryers Guerdon, they receive a less than warm welcome, and are desperate to go back to London. But Auntie Ida's life was devastated the last time two young girls were at Guerdon Hall, and now her nieces' arrival has reawoken an evil that has lain waiting for years. A haunting voice in an empty room ...A strange, scarred man lurking in the graveyard ...A mysterious warning, scrawled on the walls of the abandoned church ...Along with Roger and Peter, two young village boys, Cora must uncover the horrifying truth that has held Bryers Guerdon in its dark grip for centuries - before it is too late for Mimi. Intensely atmospheric and truly compelling, this is a stunning debut.

Unused potensial

I like the idea of basing a novel upon a scary folk song, but this novel is unfortunatly not that scary.

The year is 1959. Cora and Mimi are sisters, and are spending the summer at their aunts place in an old village. They soon discover that they are not welcome here, and their aunts wants them to leave. Her house is not that friendly either. The stairs creak at night, there are chilling paintings on the walls, and the house appears to be haunted. Cora and Mimi get to know two local boys, Roger and Peter, and together they discover something scary on the cemetery. They discover that the village is home to something very special...

I first heard of Long Lankin when I was at the London Book Fair in April this year. The publishers said that it was one of their best titles this spring, and it was supposed to be very, very scary. That triggered my curiosity, and back at my hotelroom I bought the kindle version of the book.

The book starts with the old folk song Barraclough based her story on. A scary song, that is not sutable for the youngest kids:

So he pricked him, he pricked him all over with a pin,
And the nurse held the basin for the blood to flow in

Then th story continues with Cora and Mimi, who are on their way to their aunt. We are told, through Cora's eyes, that they are poor.

The perspective in the book changes between the main characters. Sometimes I liked this, because it made the story progress more rapidly. Other times I found it tiresome. But my main objection about this book is that I didn't find it scary. There is too much time passing before anything thrilling happens, the first 200 pages were a bit slow. I was constantly waiting for something to happen. And when the story really takes off, there is too much going on at once.

There is no question that Barraclough knows how to write a scary story, when we eventually gets to the scarier parts. Those pages would have scared me when I was a child. Maybe the book would have been better if it had been shorter.

I am going to read the next book from this author, but Long Lankin didn't quite do it for me.

Other reviews:
Cively Loves Books
Book Chick City
Writing from the tub

Lindsey Barraclough on Goodreads

The Booktrailer:

Review: The Haunting of Hill House, Shirley Jackson

Publisher: Penguin Classics
Pages: 246
Format: Paperback
Released: First released i 1959, this version came out in 2009

Four seekers have arrived at the rambling old pile known as Hill House: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of psychic phenomena; Theodora, his lovely and lighthearted assistant; Luke, the adventurous future inheritor of the estate; and Eleanor, a friendless, fragile young woman with a dark past. As they begin to cope with chilling, even horrifying occurrences beyond their control or understanding, they cannot possibly know what lies ahead. For Hill House is gathering its powers – and soon it will choose one of them to make its own.

A very scary ghost story

The Haunting of Hill House is one of the best ghoststories I have ever read.

Dr. John Montague have studied antropology and is using his education to study supernatural phenomenon. He rents Hill House, which is known to be haunted, and sends out invitations for a stay to a group of people who all have experienced something paranormal earlier in their life. Together they will investigate if there is any truth in the stories that are being told about the house. Among the people arriving at the house, we find Eleanor Vance and Theodora. Luke Sanderson is the house owner's nephew. None of them have any clue what they are about to participate in.

Shirley Jackson's wellknown classic was not a all what I had anticipated, it was way better. It had me glued to the pages right from the first sentence. The opening of the book is one of the best I have ever read. Just listed to this:

No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream. Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone.

The main character in this story is Eleanor Vance, and a lot of the scenes are experienced through her eyes. Eleanor has spent the last ten years taking care of her mother, and she is thrilled to get the opportunity to stay at Hill House, meet new people and experience something out of the ordinary. Jackson makes sure that our sympathy lies with her.

The suspense is slowly built up. We get a lot of hints about the house and its story, but it takes some time before there is any real drama. But that does not make the story boring in any way, when there is finally some real action you are already at the edge of your seat. And it gets more and more spooky. I would not want to read this story home alone at night. Even though I read it with my boyfriend sleeping next to me in bed, I was still scared.

The Haunting of Hill House is so spooky, and the story will continue to haunt you even when you have read the last page. Read it, if you dare.






Other reviews:
Dark Echo
The Liminal State

I read this as part of the Horror & Urban Fantasy Challenge, and the Gothic reading challenge.

Horror & Urban Fantasy Challenge 2011

One of the reading challenges I will participate in this year is The Horror & Urban Fantasy Challenge, hosted by Book Chick City. I plan to read at least 24 books in these genres.

This is the books I am planning to read ( might change):

1. Laurell K. Hamilton: Burnt Offerings ( Anita Blake 7)
2. Laurell K. Hamilton: Blue Moon ( Anita Blake 8)
3. Laurell K. Hamilton: Obsidian Butterfly ( Anita Blake 9)
4. Laurell K. Hamilton: Narcissus in Chains ( Anita Blake 10)
5. Laurell K. Hamilton: Cerulean Sins ( Anita Blake 11)
6. Laurell K. Hamilton: Incubus Dreams ( Anita Blake 12)
7. Kelley Armstrong: Stolen
8. Kelley Armstrong: Bitten
9. Colleen Gleason: Rises the Night ( Gardella Vampire Chronicles 2)
10. Colleen Gleason: The Bleeding Dusk ( Gardella Vampire Chronicles 3)
11. Colleen Gleason: When Twilight Burns ( Gardella Vampire Chronicles 4)
12. Colleen Gleason: As Shadows Fade ( Gardella Vampire Chronicles 5)
13. Marie Treanor: Blood on Silk
14. Kim Harrison: Dead Witch Walking (The Hollows 1)
15. Kim Harrison: The Good, the Bad and the Undead ( The Hollows 2)
16. Kim Harrison: Every Which Way But Dead ( The Hollows 3)
17. Kim Harrison: A Fistful of Charms ( The Hollows 4)
18. Charlaine Harris: Living Dead in Dallas ( Sookie Stackhouse 2)
19. Charlaine Harris: Club Dead ( Sookie Stackhouse 3)
20. Charlaine Harris: Dead to the World ( Sookie Stackhouse 4)
21. Charlaine Harris: Dead as a Doornail ( Sookie Stackhouse 5)
22. J.R. Ward: Lover Awakened ( BDB 3)
23. J.R. Ward: Lover Revealed ( BDB 4)
24. J.R. Ward: Lover Unbound ( BDB 5)
25. J.R. Ward: Lover Enshrined (BDB 6)
26. J.R. Ward: Lover Avenged (BDB 7)
27. Cassandra Clare: City of Bones
28. Cassandra Clare: City of Ashes
29. Cassandra Clare: City of Glass
30. Lara Adrian: Kiss of Crimson ( The Midnight Breed 2)

As you can see, my main goal in this challenge is to read through a lot of the series I have stacked in my TBR - pile.