Elsewhere

I first read this in the anthology [b:999|967876|999 New Stories of Horror and Suspense|Al Sarrantonio|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388228330s/967876.jpg|952773], where it was one of the few really good stories. Since I didn't keep that volume, I was happy when Cemetery Dance republished the novella on its own, so I could have a copy in my permanent collection.

Joan Freeboard is a hard-boiled realtor tasked with selling the fabulous mansion Elsewhere. Unfortunately, it was once the site of a murder and now has a reputation for being haunted. Joan stands to make quite a bit on the sale, so she's determined to make it happen. Finally she hits upon an idea: hire a paranormal investigator and a psychic, prove it isn't haunted, and then show more have a writer friend publish an article in a prominent magazine attesting to the fact.

To say things don't go as planned is an understatement.

This is a chilling story with a twist so shocking it (and much of the plot) was swiped by a popular film only two years later. I wish I could have read it again for the first time, but with this reading I was able to see all the clues, so it was interesting in a different way. show less

There's a subgenre of haunted-house stories that might be called "psychics investigate haunted houses," most prominent (and best) among them being Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House and Richard Matheson's Hell House. Add to that short but illustrious list Elsewhere, by William Peter Blatty, best known of course for his novel The Exorcist. Elsewhere is more a long novella than a full-length novel - I read it in a couple of hours - but it packs a punch and paints some very memorable images and scenes in the mind's eye of the reader. Joan Freeboard, high-powered realtor in Manhattan, takes on an unusual commission - a mansion set on an otherwise empty island in the middle of the Hudson, a beautiful building in a beautiful setting show more that somehow never remains sold for very long, due to its reputation as being a haunted place. She enveigles/coerces well-known author Terry Dare and British psychic Anna Trawley to join her, along with ghost-hunting college professor Gabriel Case, in investigating the house and, hopefully, laying the rumours of ghostly haunting to rest once and for all, so that she can sell the mansion and earn a huge commission. Only the investigation doesn't turn out the way she expects....I much enjoyed this short but complete novel, and although I should have, I didn't see the twist ending coming - a fine recommendation for a scary story in and of itself! I'm not sure I'd pay $20+ again for the hardcover edition, but pick it up when it comes out in paperback, you'll be glad you did. show less

In the beginning, Blatty's language put me off of the book--in fact, I read the first chapter, got frustrated with what I saw as constant over-writing, and left it behind for a few days. This morning, I wasn't particularly inclined to pick it back up, but figured I'd give it a bit more time before calling it quits. I then, in one sitting, read the next/last two hundred pages.

First, since I've already mentioned language, I'll say now that I think Blatty is actually making some fairly subtle choices with language throughout the text, and that what I saw as early over-writing is an annoyance that not only evens out, but serves a purpose in the end. Similarly, the characters who seem fairly flat (in fact, nearly indistinguishable) early on, show more are more and more subtly drawn as the book goes forward; in the end, text really is a bit of a web that asks for re-reading, partly based on Blatty's language and intricacies of description and change.

As a haunted house story, the book also succeeds fairly gracefully. Not only has Blatty incorporated the hallmarks of haunted house literature (as I see them, at least), but he's taken a unique spin that does in the end make the work stand out as an original contribution which begins conversations that aren't so often seen in haunted house stories, much as they may be regular inclusions in horror. Of course, that's incredibly vague, but I want desperately to not give anything away. This is one work where I'd say you should be cautious of reviews...

As a last note, my only disappointment with the book is the ending--it was a bit too quick, and a bit too much as well. It's not that Blatty doesn't build toward the ending choices, but some of the subtlety that makes other portions of the book come together so powerfully is just absent from the last chapter. Otherwise, though, this is an interesting and quick haunted house story...and kind of perfect for what it is.

If you like haunted house stories, or ghost stories, you'll probably find this well worth your time. show less

Senza infamia e senza lode, si legge in una giornata. Piacevole, narrazione avvincente e serrata, buona trama.
Unica pecca il finale: troppo prevedibile e scontato.
Si prevede vagamente dove va a parare prima della metà e la conclusione è qualcosa di molto “già visto, già sentito”.
Da godersi quanto un bel episodio di “Ai confini della realtà”.

Senza infamia e senza lode, si legge in una giornata. Piacevole, narrazione avvincente e serrata, buona trama.
Unica pecca il finale: troppo prevedibile e scontato.
Si prevede vagamente dove va a parare prima della metà e la conclusione è qualcosa di molto “già visto, già sentito”.
Da godersi quanto un bel episodio di “Ai confini della realtà”.

'Elsewhere' is a mansion built in the 1930s and situated on Craven's Cove, a tiny isolated island in Manhattan. Realtor Joan Freeboard - in an effort to dispel the mansion's eerie reputation, obviously fueled by decades of persistent rumors of unexplained activity in the house - arranges for a psychic, a parapsychologist and a noted author to move into 'Elsewhere' with her and ultimately declare it ghost-free. Isolated from civilization by a storm, and stranded on Craven's Cove, the four would-be researchers become absorbed by the house and its growing sense of strangeness. Inevitably, exploring the house's secrets exposes their own - 'Elsewhere' forces them to accept the individual realities that they have created for show more themselves.

Elsewhere by William Peter Blatty was really very good. In my opinion, the author builds the tension very admirably throughout the book, so it was a quick and easy read for me, filled with many satisfactory instances of thrills and chills. Elsewhere was perhaps not up to the caliber of The Exorcist, when it comes to the 'fainting in my seat, rushing back into my Church' level of horror, but Elsewhere was still very good and I give it an A! show less

Ah, this plot line never gets old: a select group of people stay at an old mansion to prove it's not haunted. I lied; this plot line has gotten old. Listen, select group of people: THE MANSION IS HAUNTED. It is ALWAYS haunted, or you wouldn't be in a book.

I was shocked at how bad this was, given William Peter Blatty's pedigree. The Denver Rocky Mountain News called it "the first truly original haunted house story in decades." Yes, it is strikingly original, assuming you haven't gone to the movies in the past 15 years, otherwise the main plot twist will feel mighty familiar. I enjoyed in and was fooled by it in that movie, but not in this book.

It can be relaxing to read a book that's familiar enough to deliver just what you expect, but show more here, the writing itself gets in the way. The characters are the mere sketches at best. Most jarring is Blatty's persistent habit of referring to the characters by their occupation instead of their names: "The realtor's eyes were glazed over." "The psychic mutely demurred." "The author shrugged." I suppose Blatty was trying to avoid repetion of proper names, but gawd, it was irritating. show less