2023 Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a First Novel (nominee)
ABest Horror Book of the Year (Esquire)! • A Bram Stoker Award Nominee! • A 2024 Legacy Awards Nominee!• A Finalist for the Reading the West Book Awards!
A terrifying Gothic thriller about grief and death and the depths of a father's love, Johnny Compton's The Spite House is a stunning debut by a horror master in the making—The Babadook meets A Head Full of Ghosts in Texas Hill Country.
Eric Ross is on the run from a mysterious past with his two daughters in tow. When he comes across an ad for a caretaker for the Masson House, Eric hopes they have finally caught a lucky break. The owner of the “most haunted place in Texas” is looking for proof of paranormal activity. All they need to do is stay in the house and keep a detailed record of everything that happens there—provided the house’s horrors don’t drive them all mad, like the caretakers before them.
The job calls to Eric, not just because of the huge payout, but because he needs access to the secrets of the spite house. If it is indeed haunted, maybe it will help him understand the uncanny power that clings to his family, driving them from town to town, too afraid to stop running…
Also by Johnny Compton:
Devils Kill Devils
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Genre: Horror
A terrifying Gothic thriller about grief and death and the depths of a father's love, Johnny Compton's The Spite House is a stunning debut by a horror master in the making—The Babadook meets A Head Full of Ghosts in Texas Hill Country.
Eric Ross is on the run from a mysterious past with his two daughters in tow. When he comes across an ad for a caretaker for the Masson House, Eric hopes they have finally caught a lucky break. The owner of the “most haunted place in Texas” is looking for proof of paranormal activity. All they need to do is stay in the house and keep a detailed record of everything that happens there—provided the house’s horrors don’t drive them all mad, like the caretakers before them.
The job calls to Eric, not just because of the huge payout, but because he needs access to the secrets of the spite house. If it is indeed haunted, maybe it will help him understand the uncanny power that clings to his family, driving them from town to town, too afraid to stop running…
Also by Johnny Compton:
Devils Kill Devils
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Genre: Horror
Praise for this book
"Ever since I devoured Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House as a boy, I've loved a good ghost story, and The Spite House gave me those same chills. Johnny Compton has built a haunted house that is creepy as hell, the bricks and mortar oozing not just spite, but evil. Here's a supernatural thriller that will have you watching the windows and doors as you read." - Chris Bohjalian
"The Spite House commences with an enigma that quickly morphs into a mystery, which ultimately leaves us with a riddle that's perplexed humanity since the dawn of time--all the while rubbing our nerves raw with dread. Johnny Compton propels us through this creepy maze with the assurance of one who has likely stared into the abyss himself." - John Harrison
"In The Spite House, Johnny Compton introduces us to a family with secrets and a house as mean and hungry as any in horror. The book is a work of great imagination and humanity, showing both love and terror in a world as real as the dust in the attic of a terrible old house." - Richard Kadrey
"Johnny Compton's The Spite House is the modern Gothic story full of dread we've all been waiting for. This strange house, perched on a hill and full of terrifying sounds and shadows that come out at night, will steal a part of you and never give it back." - Cynthia Pelayo
"The Spite House commences with an enigma that quickly morphs into a mystery, which ultimately leaves us with a riddle that's perplexed humanity since the dawn of time--all the while rubbing our nerves raw with dread. Johnny Compton propels us through this creepy maze with the assurance of one who has likely stared into the abyss himself." - John Harrison
"In The Spite House, Johnny Compton introduces us to a family with secrets and a house as mean and hungry as any in horror. The book is a work of great imagination and humanity, showing both love and terror in a world as real as the dust in the attic of a terrible old house." - Richard Kadrey
"Johnny Compton's The Spite House is the modern Gothic story full of dread we've all been waiting for. This strange house, perched on a hill and full of terrifying sounds and shadows that come out at night, will steal a part of you and never give it back." - Cynthia Pelayo
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