When sisters Silla and Nori escape London and their abusive father, Aunt Cath's country house feels like a safe haven. But slowly, ever so slowly, things begin to unravel. Aunt Cath locks herself in the attic and spends day and night pacing. Every day the forbidden surrounding forest inches slowly towards the house. A mysterious boy appears, offering friendship. And Nori claims that a man watches them from the dark forest - a man with no eyes, who creeps ever closer. . .
Last year I read
THE DEAD HOUSE and really enjoyed it, so I thought this book would be a great way to start my Spooky Halloween Reading Month. :)
Silla and Nori are sisters trying to escape their abusive home in London. The youngest, Nori, bears the physical scars of their abusive childhood, so all Silla wants is to offer her sister a better life. That's why she gets on a train and takes them to the countryside, to stay with their estranged aunt. Cath is more than happy to offer them a new home, and the three fall into a nice, quiet existence. For a while.
When Aunt Cath locks herself in the attic and spends all day and night pacing, everything else seems to fall apart. The nearby town is abandoned. Nori starts seeing the Creeper Man who hides in the woods and watches from the shadows. A mysterious boy appears one day. And Silla struggles to supply enough food for their survival. With the trees slowly creeping closer, it seems like the end of the world is near...
Wow. Yep. This is how you tell a creepy story.
I loved the way this book was written. Most of the narrative is in the POV of Silla, as she takes us through the super freaky story of what happened when her sister and her came to stay at their aunt's manor. A huge place that might have once been a lovely, bright house but slowly becomes a hellish cage made out of tall trees and a scary man who watches from afar. It also includes handwritten notes, the brief POV of Cath and Nori, plus a slow descend into madness. There are even secret messages hidden within some of the passages, which is really cool!
Is Silla's ordeal real or imagined? Is she so crazy that she can't tell if she's hallucinating or not? Or maybe something much more sinister is going on... Maybe an old family curse is at the core of what's going on and why the Creeper Man is here for them.
To find that out, you'll just have to read this book. And I highly recommend that you do.
This story has so much depth. It's a touching account of sisterly love. It's about old family secrets. It's a half-remembered love story. But ultimately, it's a disturbing horror tale.
The Creeper Man is a surreal, atmospheric nightmare in the form of a book. It's dark and creepy and captivated me from the very first word. From that point on, all I wanted to do was read more because I just HAD TO KNOW WHERE IT WAS GOING! And the ending didn't disappoint.
This book is such a creepy delight. It's also an awesome way to start Spooky October. :)
Creak!
The Creeper Man, September 2016, ISBN 9781510101685, Orion Children's Books