[Book Review] WIDOW’S POINT: The Complete Haunting – By Richard Chizmar And W.H. Chizmar
If you’re selling me a ghost story or a haunted place story, it had better be scary; otherwise, it’s just not going to hold my attention. Kind of always been that way with me, I’ve started so many books about ghosts or hauntings and just never made it past the halfway point – so much so that I sometimes hesitate to start a new one.
I’m glad I didn’t let myself talk myself out of starting the latest page-turner from Richard Chizmar and his son, W.H. Chizmar. A found footage, haunted lighthouse tale that is a spook story for the ages. It’s titled WIDOW’S POINT, but once you read it, you’ll never forget the title.
You notice, I describe it above as “found footage”, and that is exactly what it is, told via a series of descriptions of videos, journal entries, observations, and audio clips, we learn the bloody history of Widow’s Point and the small town of Harper’s Point that cowers in the shadow of the lighthouse. After a series of horrible events through the early years after its construction in the mid-1800s, the lighthouse was closed for good in 1988, and a fence was erected to keep people out. It sat for almost 30 years, until now.
I had always kind of considered the late Peter Straub to be the king of the ghost story; for me, his novels were the master tomes by which all other haunted tales have been graded, in particular GHOST STORY and FLOATING DRAGON. Both of those tales left visual impressions via the written word like no other novels I had ever read. Until now.
The Chizmar’s construct a living nightmare that makes other paranormal tales pale in comparison. But the paranormal aspect is just the tip of this horror iceberg, as it works equally as well as an uber-creepy mystery, and this aspect drives you through the story to a point that you literally cannot turn the pages quickly enough. I could not wait to sit down and reenter this tale, and once I got to the final third of the book– there was no putting it down so be warned, don’t start this book if you need to be productive because once you get to a certain point – and you’ll know it when you hit it – you won’t be able to put it down till you’re done.
There is no punch pulling in this tale – the Chizmar’s have set out to scare the living hell out of us and they put us through the ringer, putting new spins on some old cliché’s while at the same time managing to conjure up some brand new horrors that are sure to have you searching for the light switch just to make sure there is nothing in the shadows behind you.
I’ve read some pretty good ghost stories these last few years, but WIDOW’S POINT is a great ghost story that is destined to be a classic, on par with The Shining.
You’ll notice that the novel carries a subtitle of The Complete Haunting, and there is an interesting story behind why that is; it’s best left described by the authors, which they do at the end of the book, so make sure you read the coda once you’ve changed your underwear when you finish the main story. The story has had an interesting journey.
WIDOW’S POINT hits booksellers on Sept. 30th, and it is the perfect haunt season read.
5 out of 5 boarded-up lighthouses on this one.
CLICK HERE to head to the publisher’s official site if you want to pre-order so you’re sure to get it as soon as it’s released.
