Disgusting, puerile and not scary. The second and last book by him I'll ever read. This is the published equivalent of a baby playing with its own feces. Since Laymon was an adult when he wrote it, it's more a cry for help than something that should be traded for money. No stars, don't bother. (I gave it a half star to bring the rating down; I don't think 0 stars get counted.) ( )

The idea of a murderous beast killing hapless victims in the beast house sounds like a great read, however this book was plagued by too much disgusting child molestation and sadistic sex. The scary monster got lost in all the other crap and the ending was terrible. Wouldn't recommend this one. ( )

This is possibly the worst book I've ever read - molestation, child rape, illogical story line, and an ending that is more ludicrous than mysterious or thrilling. ( )

This was the first story I have read by Richard Laymon and I was quite pleased. The novel was a bit predictable and the characters were not terribly deep, but nonetheless this was an engaging entry in the horror genre. The basic plot is that a Mother and Daughter leave town when they learn that her ex-husband was freed from jail and will without a doubt hunt them down. The pair find themselves in a small town that is home to the infamous "Beast House". Blood, guts, gore, rape and many other unspeakable deeds follow. This is not a horror story for those that are easily disturbed by gruesome imagery.

Upon purchase of this book I did not realize that this was Richard Laymon's first novel. I look forward to picking up his later works to see how he matures as an author. ( )

An overused cliche plot with predictable ending even after the first few chapters. I wont recommend buying a new copy, if you really want to read it try getting it from e-bay or even better borrow it from a library. ( )