The Supernaturals

The beauty of reading horror books is this: even though you’ve probably read this same thing or read the same horror book with similar plots, cookie cutter characters, etc, what really matters at the end of the day is; does it provide you with enough chills and creep factor to get you reading?

Thankfully, this one delivers!

The plot is pretty standard; haunted house that is on the market but nobody buys it. It needs a super cleansing and a group of people are gathered and led by a Professor who’s looking out for redemption. It seems pretty much like a typical horror plot out there but it’s well written and the flow is consistent. That being said, the real action starts about the last third of the book. Think of this book as an introduction to a cast of characters, and what their ‘gifts’ are like. Their background stories are provided, and everything leading up to the night at the house is well done. It prepares to reader as to what to look forward to (with some creep factor in between)

So let’s get to the creep factor. It’s definitely there. The descriptions and events happening is enough to give the reader chills and leaves it to their imagination. There’s plenty of loud noise moments, evil laughter, and things going bump in the night to contribute to the enjoyment of reading this book.

The characters could have been better now, perhaps because it’s an introduction to the group but there’s not much substance to them (at least to some) I was a bit disappointed in George and Leonard because they had a lot to contribute but it seemed to have fizzled out when it really counts. For the most part it’s mostly John, Jenny and Gabriel in the spotlight. They’re all pretty much likable and their own storylines are good to read to provide more ‘fleshing out’ of the character.

It’s a solid horror story with a good ending. Of course it looks like there’s a second book coming out and I’m going to go and read it. I enjoyed this one immensely.

What great timing for a good spooky haunted house story, right before Halloween! That was the good start for another David Lynn Golemon story, a different genre from his adventure science fiction thrillers.

Being in a love/hate relationship with Mr. Golemon, I wondered if anything would change with his writing, given the shift in genre. In some ways, at least as far as the editing, this story, at least the hardback, is by far, one of the cleanest I’ve read of his yet. The only real issue I noted in the editing was one scene where one of the many characters looks up at the ceiling inside the house, three hundred feet up…oh yeah? I think that’s supposed to be thirty feet.

On the other hand, the other issue is his complete lack of point of view. I mean there’s none whatsoever. Though it is written in third-person, it’s not even true omniscient. He writes in third person, deep, but head-hops so much he doesn’t give any one character a solid footing. In the end, not only did I not know who the main characters were, but I didn’t care.

The head-hopping is so severe and the point of view so rudderless, it would shift from sentence to sentence, let alone go for an entire paragraph or two or three in one character’s head. Add to that a cast of thousands (figuratively speaking), there was nobody to either care about or become emotionally connected to.

In the end, I suppose Kennedy was a main character. However, along with his crew, which shifted from his original recruits to a few add-ons by the end of the story, each character got so much real-estate, whatever point of view Kennedy had was lost in the shuffle. A problem with the characterization was also that he liked to switch between first and last names so it was hard to keep track of who was who. It was like there were twice as many characters in the story as actually appeared.

As for the story, I loved it. I don’t care if the author stole parts or all of it from previous books. All I can go by is what I just read and I can say that I had a mostly good but frustrating time. Since I didn’t care about any of the characters, I just wanted to see what happened. A lot went on and there were plenty of scares, lots of mystery and a pretty decent plot to go along with it. Others have complained about him stealing his ideas, some blatantly from others. I had a great time in that respect.

Unfortunately, when I read a story, I like to care about the people in it. In this muddled mess with no point of view, it was a cast of thousands and in the end, a bunch of survivors that I’m sure will be around for the sequel. In this case, I don’t care who they are, I’m just interested in the ghosts they confront. It’s five stars for the story, but two stars for the writing. Recommended for those of you that are not so picky.

"The Supernaturals" begins with Kelly, the producer of the show "Hunters of the Paranormal," pitching a live event for the show that will take place at a haunted house she has discovered. The most recent event was the prologue of Professor Gabriel Kennedy, a leading psychologist who brought several students to the house, when one of them was eaten by the house, disappearing forever. He soon became a laughingstock as he claimed the paranormal when the police suspected, but couldn't prove, that he had murdered the student.

The house is really idyllic and looks like a beautiful vacation spot. However, due to its dubious past, it sits empty. The Johanssons maintain it to pristine conditions year-round every year, as they have been doing for generations, despite the lack of use. Kelly and her team go to the house and begin to experience some odd, paranormal things. One of the hosts and a technician disappear and the Johanssons' boy is paralyzed by fear and his hair turned white. Add to that, the police on the scene are skeptical and doubt it all- just as they did for Kennedy. Things are only going to get worse.

Overall, it was a pretty slow build and took a long while to get anywhere with detailed descriptions and such a large cast of characters/names that I had to keep going back to figure out who was who (e.g. network execs, all the people working on the show of which many were named, the students and people in the house from the past, the owner of the house and caretakers, etc.). It would have helped to have a list of the names to keep flipping to, or to list some of the minor roles by profession or something else. I didn't find it particularly scary although I expected to which such an intense ghost story premise. The prologue was amazing and then the rest of book was much slower.

That being said, it was still intriguing and was much stronger at the end- it seems like it is going to be a series, so that would be interesting! The writing seemed to hit its stride later in the book, so I would be curious to see more. Please note that I received this book through a goodreads giveaway. All opinions are my own.

This book leverages all of the classic tropes and sets it all against a reality TV/ghost hunters style backdrop. The cast of characters is nuanced, likable, and well balanced resulting in people you're solidly rooting for or against. Beneath the entire tale is a mystery teased out over the course of hundreds of pages (or hours if you listen to the audiobook). It's time well spent and handsomely rewarded with the reveal at the end.

My only regret is not having read the book sooner.

The Supernaturals by David L. Golemon was so good and so creepy! What first attracted me was this fantastic cover! I listened to the audiobook narrated by Jeffrey Kafer and I think he had the perfect voice to tell this scary tale. I love a good haunted house story so this was a perfect choice for me. I will admit to listening to it one night though and not having the best sleep ever so after that I resorted to finishing it up during the day. It starts out with a bang that drags you right in and the thrills and chills keep on coming right up to the end of the book. It was great!

Gabriel Kennedy, a psychology professor, takes a group of his students to investigate an alleged haunted house called Summer Place. Things get out of hand and by the time all is said and done one of his students has gone missing. Of course Gabriel blames himself and his career ends up in a shambles. A few years later though he has a chance to go back to Summer Place and participate in a reality TV show that will be investigating the supposed ghostly hauntings. He really wants nothing to do with this and thinks it will end in nothing good but eventually agrees to participate.

Kelly is the producer of this highly popular ghost hunting TV series and she thinks that Summer Place will be the highlight of her career as she’s planning this event to broadcast live on Halloween night. For this to attract the audience she’s looking for though she needs Gabriel and is relieved to have him finally agree to come. She will do anything to make this show a success even to the point of setting things up but even she realizes quickly that Summer Place needs no help in the haunting department.

With everyone at Summer Place it isn’t long before the house comes alive once again feeding on people’s fears and this time it’s bent on destroying anything and everything. Gabriel along with his team The Supernaturals sets out, this time around, to find and destroy the evil that is Summer Place. The evil lurking in Summer Place is strong though and it knows that Gabriel’s team is a danger to it and will do anything to stop them.

This isn’t the type of book where you become attached to any characters or even relate to them. The whole appeal of the book is in the atmosphere of fear that it creates and this one excels at that. I love anything scary and this book freaked me out many times and I loved it. I do think the audio version really added to that because you get the ghostly voices and other such noises that go a long way in getting your heart beating a little faster. I really enjoyed this book and if you like to read or listen to creepy books you probably will to!

I really liked this book! From the first page, to the last, I was captivated. A huge fan of house haunting books, this one did not disappoint. Reading the Author's Note sparked an even greater interest to read this book. David L. Golemon explains how, despite his disbelief in the supernatural, he visited a house he only spent two minutes in, and that the realtor wouldn't even step inside of, so heavy was the presence of the house felt. Attempting to describe how he felt in this house by bringing it into his story was his goal. Knowing this, made me focus a little more on the personality of the house.
Dabbling in film production myself, I really enjoyed the dynamics set up between the executives versus the supernatural group, as well as the character relationships within these groups. At first, realizing the entire story wouldn't take place directly inside of the house had me disappointed, but I had nothing to fear. David L. Golemon did a wonderful job bringing the house to life outside of its domain.

Reminded of stories such as Stephen King's Rose Red and Mark Z. Danielewski's House of Leaves didn't take away from it. I was actually thrown off when the author refers to The Haunting of Hill House in the book. I actually hadn't really been thinking of the other stories until then. In the book, the house, along with many stories of disappearances and untimely deaths, is explained as the one this famous story was based on of. Because of the enjoyment I had reading the Supernaturals, I plan to go back and re-read (or maybe watch) these others. I forgot how much I love a good haunting story!

I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes a good ghost story. Beyond the ghost telling, it was still a great story. Anyone who enjoys a well written story would like this book.

The Supernaturals is a rollicking good tale of ghost hunting and reality TV. The plot occasionally provokes a few "ya gotta be kiddin' me" moments, but that's just because the action is really non-stop. There are a few issues with the storyline. First off, the supernatural activity that occurs is so incredible that several of the character's stubborn denial of any paranormal activity is just not believable. And there are odd moments where something traumatic happens, but then is quickly forgotten. And there were a couple of distracting, boring and entirely predictable swipes at Fox News. These moments of political bigotry have absolutely nothing to do with the storyline and actually detract from it. But overall, the tempo is fast paced and Jeffery Kafer's performance is incredible. Thanks to his vocal talents there are no moments when your left wondering, "who's that talking?" If you're a fan of haunted house fiction, this deserves to be on your audio book shelf.

Make sure you can handle being scared witless before you download this book....I seriously got nauseous and it wasnt from blood and gore like all the new scary stuff.....This book is easy to read and keeps you turning pages while your knuckles turn white! I will be in the theater if this ever becomes a movie because this is what nightmares are made of!! Can hardly wait for a sequel to this baby!

Not only is the book racist (with its portrayal and commentary on "Indians" and the young black "gangster" character) and sexist (how many references to Kelly's ass?), it's poorly edited. The character Jenny gets called "Julie" (another character) for several paragraphs in one chapter.

The story was interesting and the writing not bad, but the poorly designed, transphobic ending was just terrible. Those sorts of cheap plots at the expense of trans folks haven't been shocking since "Sleepaway Camp."

This audiobook really is the perfect Halloween listen! Though clocking in at over 16 hours, the story is perhaps a bit overly long - but the special effects in the recording really add to the fun. The first appearance of the demonic voice in the prologue nearly made me drive off the road! It certainly adds to the spooky atmosphere! Literal goosebumps sprang up each time that scary voice came out of the speakers! The narration and even the overly detailed backstories amongst its large cast of characters really made me want to keep listening each time I arrived at my destination.

The only detracting factor from the book lies with its length - it really is too long. A lot of the tension and eeriness dissipates as Golemon revels in the excessive details of the characters, their histories and their own conflicts unrelated to the spooky house. The eight-hour television special defies logic too - but a haunted house manor calls for a certain suspension of disbelief anyways. I think that this is perhaps more evident in the paper version - the terrific performance of the narrator in the audio version keeps it from dragging too much. And though the final resolution may offend some, it is a fun read overall and contains some genuinely frightening scenes. The book concludes with a set up for a sequel - I hope that it comes out in time for Halloween next year!

I should have listened to the people who said this book was overlong, carelessly edited and just plain wasn't scarey. I did not. I was lured in by a special price from Audible and an early references to Shirley Jackson and The Haunting Of Hill House. If you are a fan of Shirley Jackson's classic haunted house story just stop right here. Jackson gets a couple more mentions and a character carries her last name but that's it. The book itself has no connection with Jackson's subtle horror or even Richard Matheson's more broad reprise in Hell House.

The premise of the book is that the creator of a spook chaser reality show, Hunters of the Paranormal, wants to investigate a haunted house in rural Pennsylvania in a live 8 hour special airing on Halloween night. The premise is to bring back a "Harvard educated Professor" who had in 2003 led a group of his students in a disastrous investigation of the haunting. In the end one student disappeared-- pulled into a plaster wall by a mysterious force according to witnesses. The Professor is suspected of either murder or fraud depending on whose view of the student's disappearance is accepted, his career is ruined by the law enforcement investigation into the student's disappearance and attendant news coverage and he ends up teaching psychology at some small college in Texas.

Of course he is persuaded to cooperate and demands a special hand picked team of assistants. This is about five hours in on the audio version and the team to go into the haunted house to face the menace is being gathered. So far the characters in the team involve an ex-gang member computer geek, a vagrant mind reader and an American Indian police officer/shaman. I can't help thinking that if they only had a construction worker and a cowboy they could form a Village People tribute band.

The pace is uneven, the characterization is broad and stereotypical and there was no effort to catch continuity errors. My notes made while reading contain the following:

A character who is a paleontologist and then later described an anthropologist. Neither career had anything to do with the fact that she was possessed by the ghost of a singer/song writer who---

Was first murdered in 1959 and then later we get a detailed description of his murder in 1963.

A throat is cut so deeply that the spine can be seen, but there's no arterial spray

Later the wrong character is said to have committed suicide.

In the epilogue the number of bodies said found is 31 but if you add them up as they are listed the number should be 38.

There really was only one section I found engaging when the live show started and the author did a decent job of building suspense.

The basis of the haunting is so irrational (and stereotypical) that I want to complain about it too, but I'm not going to spoil it. Just be warned, it's pretty darn groan worthy.

And considering the number of splintered doors described they should have enlisted a construction worker for the group.

See the review from Steve Keely, he pretty much summed it up. I guess my idea of scary vastly differs from the majority of the reviews.

There were moments of eerie, atmospheric spookiness, but this was not a goosebump inducing read for me. It sounded interesting because of the nod to Hill House, but it failed in delivering.

Yes, it's a page turner. But too many scenes are played over and over by the most irritating group of ghost hunters since Shaggy and Scooby Doo. You don't root for anyone in this book. The antagonism between the key players was overboard. Tedious to read.

Truly one of the worst endings ever! The origin of the entity was beyond laughable to me. Just so...odd. I can't even describe what I felt. It's easier for me to believe in ghosts than it is that origin story.

See the review from Steve Keely, he pretty much summed it up. I guess my idea of scary vastly differs from the majority of the reviews.

There were moments of eerie, atmospheric spookiness, but this was not a goosebump inducing read for me. It sounded interesting because of the nod to Hill House, but it failed in delivering.

Yes, it's a page turner. But too many scenes are played over and over by the most irritating group of ghost hunters since Shaggy and Scooby Doo. You don't root for anyone in this book. The antagonism between the key players was overboard. Tedious to read.

Truly one of the worst endings ever! The origin of the entity was beyond laughable to me. Just so...odd. I can't even describe what I felt. It's easier for me to believe in ghosts than it is that origin story.

I listened to this book through Audible and I loved it! It is a very entertaining and thrilling haunted house story. I desperately want a sequel to this story! The characters are very likable and engaging and the story is a genuine creeper. The production on the audiobook is similarly excellent. Very creepy sound effects that are not over the top.

Pros: Interesting concept and author keeps you engaged so its a "page turner."

Cons: Where do I start.. Lots of spelling and grammatical errors in the digital version. I would hope the print version is better, but its doubtful. Did anyone edit this book? Lots of major goofs in continuity (Who put the opera singer's dress back in the closet? Why can the entity get around everywhere, but can't open some locked doors?). Some of the character's motivations and behaviors are ludicrous. Other characters are "set up" to be interesting, but then given very little to do.

Well, I kept going and finished the book, because I did want to see how it all ends. While this book doesn't have the most ridiculous ending I've every read, its in the top five. It would have made more sense if the Devil had popped out and sumo wrestled the main character.

If you are a literary editor in training or an English professor and enjoy red "lining" goofs and looking for gaping plot holes, go for it. Otherwise, take a pass.

I read this book mostly because I love David Golemon's Event Group series. Man! I didn't know what to expect, and it was a great surprise. Dark and creepy without being cheesy or over the top like so many "scary" stories. This one makes you jump at shadows for a couple of days after reading it. Give us more David!