The Dead House

Scare Scale- 7

Creep Factor- Climbing ended at 9/10

The Dead House

Author: Dawn Kurtagich

Genre: YA/ Psychological Thriller

Grade: A

 Years ago there was an incident at Elmbridge High School after which troubled student Carly Johnson seemingly disappeared. Recently a journal has been discovered whose author is Kaitlyn Johnson, Carly’s twin sister. Only Carly didn’t have a twin.

 Honestly, I’m one of those people that find the break down of the mind one of the scariest things imaginable. This story is told through the found journal, through police records, and psychological interviews and notes. Kaitlyn was Carly’s “other.” An identity that Doctor’s believe was formed through trauma. She is a highly unreliable narrator and the journal going deeper and deeper into her mind, into her psychosis really, is quite creepy in the fact that it could be so real.

 The story and the events in the story start off rather slow but escalates in direct terms with Kaitlyn/Carly’s mind disintegrating. I really enjoyed this one. It’s definitely hard to put down once it gets going and I don’t want to give too many spoilers away. Kaitlyn’s friends are an interesting bunch as well. I actually liked how she wrote it. What happens when an incredibly sick girl meets a slightly less troubled girl who believes that it’s all magic or a haunting and she can cure you better than any Doctor?

 That was an interesting element of the story because it does serve to introduce the idea of a supernatural element without ever losing the strength of painful truth of the psychological.

 Was it real?

 Was it all in her head?

 Considering the extent of what was in her head and the damage caused does it even matter if it was real?

 So yeah, entertaining, scary and made me think and question reality. Plus excellent job with the creepy cover art.

 Recommend: Yes.