Ambrose Ibsen

889 Morgan Road was supposed to be a fresh start for Joseph Dubois and his family. What they got instead was a nightmare. Dark shadows in the halls are only the beginning. At night, guttural noises issue from behind the walls, and the family reports seeing a terrifying figure wandering the premises. Desperately seeking someone with experience in supernatural matters, Joseph calls upon his uncle, Marcel. Retired surgeon Marcel Dubois has a special gift: The ability to communicate with his show more dead wife. Harnessing this gift allows him to plumb the depths of the afterlife and to confront the paranormal. Arriving in Detroit, Marcel seeks to uncover the truth about the strange figure seen in his nephew's new house. But when his questions are finally answered, Marcel finds himself at the center of a horror without parallel. The House of Long Shadows seeks another lodger.
The House of the Long Shadows, from book#1 of this series, is again, the star of the show...and the main character in this story also. To have read the first book is not at all necessary in order to enjoy this one. The reader will get enough information about the past important events. actually, this is a story that could very well be a standalone.

A new family is now living in the house, and the noises and the strange shadows are making life nearly impossible there. These things are creepy and disturbing. It seems that the house almost has a soul...even if that soul is a very dark one. I loved the first book, but I think this one is even better, if that is even possible. It's very well written, and if you have read the first book, you will learn more about the history of the house and its previous inhabitants.

Our new house owner is Marcel Dubois who is a relative of the family who is living there now. Marcel takes on the job of ridding the house of its current dark presence with the help of his deceased wife. You read that right...his wife...his very DEAD wife. The characters’ relationships and the dynamics between Marcel and his "dead" wife...are really "something else". Ambrose Ibsen has created and added an original, and unexpected detail that made this story 100% more interesting than it already was...and believe me, that was quite a feat!

The story is filled with the utter horror and despair of each of the characters, which you...the reader, will get to experience with them. I hope there is going to be more about this house, but believe me, this one will surely delight all true horror and paranormal fans. show less

Eccentric private investigator Harlan Ulrich has moved to Tanglewood, Ohio, from Toledo. He came with his cat and very little money. He's renting an office - actually a storage closet - on the third floor of a building housing a used bookstore on the first floor and an accounting firm on the second floor. He's placed an ad in the newspaper but spends most of his time doing crossword puzzles and drinking coffee.

When Nancy Pruitt comes to find him, he is reluctant to take her case. Nancy, the show more owner of the local pawnshop, has brought home a picture someone sold her and now finds herself being stalked by a ghostly presence. Harlan left Toledo because of too many paranormal incidents, but the rent is coming due and it is either taking Nancy's case or selling his blood.

The story is nicely creepy. When the investigation of Nancy's "stalker" leads to an investigation of the possible murder of a cheating husband's lover, Harlan finds himself following the trail of a possible - probable - murderer. The cheater's ex is sure that he and his lover have run off, but the lover's ghostly presence has convinced Harlan that something fatal happened to her.

The plot has a variety of twists. I was listening to it with a friend and we kept asking each other why the detective jumped to one conclusion or another and we each had our own opinion about who the murderer was. Both of us were distracted by the red herrings and chose incorrectly until very near the end.

The characters were quirky as was Harlan's work situation. I can see the potential for lots more stories with these characters. show less

"I thought it would stop. That I could take it with me in death. But I couldn't. It never stops. Never stops. Because death is not the end."

Third time's a charm. It's official; I'm now a bona-fide fan of the author. Three books I've greatly enjoyed, and each stands apart without blending. Not always an easy feat, especially if in a similar genre and trope (haunted spots). While I didn't dig this one quite as much as the other two I've read (in case you're curious, they are The Sick House and show more A House by the Sea), it's a fun little spook story that offers some different twists while keeping up the familiar for fans of the haunted stuff.

It's a novella size sampling that doesn't harbor nearly as much creepiness as some of his other works, but that's not to say it doesn't dish out its own goods. Enter the Ouija, creepy spirits without moving mouths, and a tiny mystery. The feeling of suffocation in the tiny apartment as it keeps growing darker is felt with the well-done writing style. Tension is tight, especially when she's caught (more than once!), and when she was attacking a window, I was especially tense. This would have been the scene where, if it were a movie, there would be high-strung orchestral music hammering on the audience's eardrums while they covered their eyes with their hands.

With horror I like to list how liberally it applies the blood splatter for those who are curious about gore level; there isn't much, if any, here. There doesn't need to be. It wouldn't fit into the vibe. This one is pure psychological tension all the way. It has what it needs: some creepy pauses, tense moments, characters dropped into volatile situations, a small mystery to keep it intriguing, an ending that closes the last page with a slam. Well done.

Oh, and don't use Ouija boards. This book tells you another reason why. show less

A Voice from Beyond the Grave? College students Kenji and Dylan stumble upon a strange recording in the background of an obscure song. It's a woman's voice, uttering a string of seemingly random characters. Upon further inspection, the song appears to have been embedded with a hidden message. Attempting to crack the mysterious code and becoming obsessed with the recording, Kenji and Dylan set off in search of answers. With every turn in the road however, the puzzle only seems to grow more show more complicated. Retired Vietnam vet Reggie Cash is also drawn in by this message, and before long both he and the two college students are on the trail of the mysterious woman featured in the recording. But who is she, and where is she leading them? As things fall into place and strange events unfold, the three of them begin to wish that they'd never heard the recording at all.
Kenji and Dylan are two college students who didn't go home for break like the rest of the campus. They choose instead to stay and just "hang out". They played video games and listened to music...until a pirated album that Kenji wanted, comes through their headphones. A particular song, "Cannibalism", seems to have something hidden beneath its steady drone...something that resembled a message delivered in a strange woman's voice.

Not far away, from the university is a man watching a WWII documentary who discovers a figure, that of a woman that didn't belong. She was absolutely not part of the film or the film crew. the figure shared a message which was barely audible...but very definitely there! The three men don't know one another, but together, they embarked on an endeavor with supernatural ramifications. They couldn't stop because the message claimed that the figure the needed help.

Ambrose Ibsen ​took me on a journey; one I didn't see coming. It presented itself in all of its "nightmarish glory". The story, written in a cryptic fashion, kept me tugging on the one line that I knew was going to reel me in. Revealing the one line would be a major spoiler so if you want to know you'll just have to read the book. It was creepy and I loved the way the book ended. I just couldn't stop reading! show less