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A review by the_coycaterpillar_reads
Berkley Street by Ron Ripley
3.0
Berkley Street is a haunted house horror novel. Now, it is known that I love all sub-genres of horror, ranging from slasher to suspense but I did struggle to categorize this into one sub-category. It really is genre-bending fiction. Be prepared to open the first page and get bludgeoned with the brutality of the characters and the intestinal fortitude of our protagonist, Shane Ryan. The house has a mind of its own – it simply takes care of itself. If you haven’t been invited, then be prepared to meet a grizzly end!
Each ghost has a story to tell none of it pleasant but all of it gruesome.
I often found myself scratching my head in confusion. Let me clarify. It is a ghost story so already the realms of the possible are blurred. That isn’t really an issue to me, it’s not why I read haunted house stories. The issue that caused me the most confusion was how the ghosts would kill people in relation to their behaviour to Shane. His interactions with the ghosts were mostly positive and quite often friendly. The two just didn’t add up for me. Oh and another point – why the hell would you fight for a house that quite clearly scares the crap out of you!
The house on Berkley Streets back story is interesting. I particularly enjoyed reliving Shane’s childhood experiences with the house and its occupants. Shane befriends most of the ghosts apart from the dark ones in the basement and the little girl that lives in the lake. The little girl has everyone trapped in a reign of horror. She is responsible for most of the deaths. Shane begs his parents to believe him about their house guests. They are hesitant until an incident changes their minds. Okay, so for the killer blow – they never move out?! Oh, and the double-barrelled shot is that on occasion they are happy to leave their child alone in 125 Berkley Street.
Berkley Street is a horror novella that is told in dual timelines, Shanes childhood and the present day. Shane is back home after spending around twenty years in the US Marines. His aunt and uncle pursued having his parents declared dead too early and wanted the family home. A lengthy court battle has resulted in Shane regaining his home, if only to find out what happened to his parents. It’s a decent story and I will read more in time.
Each ghost has a story to tell none of it pleasant but all of it gruesome.
I often found myself scratching my head in confusion. Let me clarify. It is a ghost story so already the realms of the possible are blurred. That isn’t really an issue to me, it’s not why I read haunted house stories. The issue that caused me the most confusion was how the ghosts would kill people in relation to their behaviour to Shane. His interactions with the ghosts were mostly positive and quite often friendly. The two just didn’t add up for me. Oh and another point – why the hell would you fight for a house that quite clearly scares the crap out of you!
The house on Berkley Streets back story is interesting. I particularly enjoyed reliving Shane’s childhood experiences with the house and its occupants. Shane befriends most of the ghosts apart from the dark ones in the basement and the little girl that lives in the lake. The little girl has everyone trapped in a reign of horror. She is responsible for most of the deaths. Shane begs his parents to believe him about their house guests. They are hesitant until an incident changes their minds. Okay, so for the killer blow – they never move out?! Oh, and the double-barrelled shot is that on occasion they are happy to leave their child alone in 125 Berkley Street.
Berkley Street is a horror novella that is told in dual timelines, Shanes childhood and the present day. Shane is back home after spending around twenty years in the US Marines. His aunt and uncle pursued having his parents declared dead too early and wanted the family home. A lengthy court battle has resulted in Shane regaining his home, if only to find out what happened to his parents. It’s a decent story and I will read more in time.