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Butterfly House
reviewed by
The ghost and haunted house story may well be the oldest and most venerable horror convention, counting Shakespeare, Dickens and Henry James among the faithful. There is no end to the list of ghostly occurrences one can tally, and no end to the list of motives ghosts might have.
In T.K. Sheils's "Butterfly House," two strangers come together to purchase a "guaranteed haunted" house - one hoping to meet a ghost, and one hoping to soak up atmosphere for writing commercial ghost stories. Each has secrets and secret wounds, for it is a staple of such tales that the ghosts have something to latch onto as they inflict their damage.
Jackson Rutledge hopes to exorcise guilt over his wife's death, plus turn his stalled journalism career around with the fiction he really wants to write. Sabrina Osterling - a beauty who hides her looks from the world - wishes an exorcism, too, though she doesn't know it. But she knows she wants desperately, obsessively, to learn about the future.
The old Hanley place is striking enough - a main structure with identical fieldstone east and west wings topped by a protruding off-center tower. Plus, there's the disappearance of Luther Hanley and his hateful daughters, Amanda and Clarisse, and tales of odd goings-on. Since the isolated Canadian house is reputedly haunted by one or more of the Hanleys, it's a perfect place for both Jackson and Sabrina, who unite to purchase the property despite their instant mutual dislike. Getting along is only the beginning of their ordeal.
Lots of juicy, ghostly stuff happens in this pulpy adventure. The characters are a bit thin, but go through the paces - and the sex - with gusto, as the author throws some expected and unexpected frights in their path, not the least of which is the fabled ruminations of a seventh-century renegade monk who claimed mastery over past, present and future.
Despite proving that e-book designers still have a lot to learn (book titles appear as underlined text - a manuscript convention - instead of proper italics, for instance), "Butterfly House" is solid entertainment, fun even if somewhat predictable, and ultimately satisfying even with its abrupt ending. T.K. Sheils is an author worth watching.
Note: A version of this review was previously published at BookPage.com. This version appears here by permission of ProMotion, Inc.