The Legacy

The Legacy is a neat little horror novel that's not overly ambitious and knows better than to drag on for five hundred pages. It doesn't try to knock you out of your seat; it merely tries to tell a decent story in clear, direct language, and succeeds in doing so. And yes, it's a significant improvement on the film, which didn't make much sense. (Disappointing, because I thoroughly enjoyed the Hammer horror flicks scripted by Jimmy Sangster earlier in his career). John Coyne's novelization became a bestseller while the movie quickly dropped from sight.

An odd assortment of people have gathered at an English country estate, summoned by the master of the house for reasons which aren't entirely apparent. One of them, a young female show more architect who has flown all the way from California (accompanied by her boyfriend), finds her new surroundings eerily familiar. She soon learns why, and Coyne does a nice job of building the suspense--and the scares--as the story of Ravenshurst Manor unfolds. show less

Obviously, I need a WEIRD bookshelf, as this and Shirley Jackson clearly fall into that category. This book was made into a movie in the 70s, and they followed the book carefully. The story is spooky without being out-and-out scary. Can't say quite why, but this is one of my all-time favorites. Is it the nurse who transforms into a cat? Is it the grotesque way that the victims die in accordance with their transgressions? Or the innocent woman who finds her destiny is not at all what she thought it was going to be, and what will she do with it? And yes, it IS in part because of the movie scene with Roger Daltrey's fabulous death, choking on chicken (spoiler alert!!!) ... but he ate ham!

Apparently I saw the movie that this book is based on but I don't remember a thing about it! Typical 1970s pulp horror. As long as you can deal with the sexism it's a fast paced supernatural locked room mystery, but the room is a weird English country house and the surrounding area/village.