Tag Archives: Curses

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The Curse of the House on Cypress Lane #0

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The Curse of The House on Cypress Lane: Book 0- The Beginning by James Hunt

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The book didn’t grab me right out of the gate but it got more and more interesting as I got to know the characters and their situation better. While the buildup is slow, it is not exactly subtle. You can pretty much all the connections immediately. This particular book is a novella that purports to be the beginning of things but that is inaccurate because what has been going on obviously began much further in the past than this. But it would have been nice to get some of that background about the house and the people who set things in motion. I have never read this author before and maybe just need to see what his process is for developing stories since everyone’s is slightly different.

The house at the end of Cypress Lane is large and with a history that is entwined with the town of Ocoee, Louisiana. The Cooley family becomes entangled in that history and must fight to stay alive in a situation, not of their making. Owen Cooley has been out of work for the past 6 months with no opportunities in sight. When he is offered a job after a phone interview which would mean a drastic relocation of his family he jumps at the chance without even trying to get any information about the place he is going. This is one of those times when if it’s too good to be true, then you should look behind the curtain. He should have looked for his family’s sake.

This did intrigue me enough to make me want to continue reading about this house and its inhabitants. It did not scare me but it does have an atmosphere of darkness that worked for me. I would recommend it to those who want a horror read with potential.



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If you ever wanted to know what fear and desperation looked like, Owen would tell you to go down to the local unemployment center and look in the eyes of the men and women waiting in line to speak with a clerk. Beyond the bouncing legs, fidgeting fingers, and long exhales riddled with anxiety, you’ll find the worst combination of fear, anger, and hate swirling around their souls. Anger for failing, fear for failing again, and a hate for everything that put them in their situation.

The Curse of the House on Cypress Lane By: James Hunt
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Billy: A Tale of Terror

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The first thing I need to say is that I was drawn to the story by the blurb which promised something that it did not fully deliver on. I was expecting some real horror here but got luke warm horror and a bit character study, not to say that I did not enjoy any of it. The characters are never fully realized and they play out as shadows that you have to fill in the blanks for in order to understand them. None have a fully formed personality which makes it hard to really care about them one way or the other. The backstories for the majority of the characters are vague and do not give enough information to know their motivations. To top everything off things seem to jump around in a way that makes it all very unsettling.

A curse is brought to the home of the St. Pierre family for the transgressions of the patriarch. His daughter has a baby that is less human and more animal than anyone could have expected. The baby is unwanted and unwelcome especially when it takes a beloved member of the family. As Billy grows he is tormented by his siblings and father as they attempt to get rid of him. While they do their worse to him, they are sure that he will one day come for them if they do nothing. Billy becomes a legend in the deep Bayou country.

I basically enjoyed the story even though it was not as linear as I would have liked it to be. It did jump around a great deal leaving you somewhat confused about time. Still, it was worth a read and kept me going if for no other reason than that I wanted to know how things were going to end. Sorry to say the ending was not really very satisfying at all. I would still recommend it with the caveat not to expect any terror.

My rating: 3 of 5 stars