The Spite House, by Johnny Compton

It's always nice to see a new kid on the horror block who aims higher than merely trying to shock the reader. Johnny Compton has published some short fiction here and there, but The Spite House is his debut novel. It's a good one, too. The Spite House is literate, atmospheric, and downright scary.

An old woman is paying a handsome fee to find out what goes on in a bizarre house she owns. A financially desperate man and his two daughters accept the mysterious job. He is hesitant, but needs the money.

The Spite House is in the grand gothic tradition, and as such it is filled with secrets. The man and his daughters are running from a horrifying incident in their recent past. The woman who hired them has hidden motives and is not forthcoming on details of the house and the previous employees who attempted to stay there. The house itself has a terrible legacy and it harbors unrestful entities.

This book is a first novel, and while I feel it stands well above most of the competition, it reads a bit like one. Compton is good at characterization and mounting dread. The Spite House is a traditional novel, but also one that speaks to the current environment in America. If the book suffers at all it's in the pacing of the story. But then haunted house novels aren't meant for impatient readers.

Johnny Compton is flexing his muscles with The Spite House. I think the real lifting is ahead. This is a welcome book, but Compton is just getting started. I hope to see what other secrets are lurking in his mind.

Written by Mark Sieber