The Dead House - FREE PREVIEW EDITION (The First 17 Chapters) by Dawn Kurtagich
(Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads)Also by this author: The Dead House
Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers on August 11th 2015
Genres: Depression & Mental Illness, Europe, Horror & Ghost Stories, People & Places, Social Issues, Young Adult
Pages: 432
Format: ARC

Welcome to The Dead House.Read the first 17 chapters in this new chilling psychological horror!Book Description:Two decades have passed since an inferno swept through Elmbridge High, claiming the lives of three teenagers and causing one student, Carly Johnson, to disappear. The main suspect: Kaitlyn, "the girl of nowhere."Kaitlyn's diary, discovered in the ruins of Elmbridge High, reveals the thoughts of a disturbed mind. Its charred pages tell a sinister version of events that took place that tragic night, and the girl of nowhere is caught in the center of it all. But many claim Kaitlyn doesn't exist, and in a way, she doesn't - because she is the alter ego of Carly Johnson.Carly gets the day. Kaitlyn has the night. It's during the night that a mystery surrounding the Dead House unravels and a dark, twisted magic ruins the lives of each student that dares touch it. Debut author Dawn Kurtagich masterfully weaves together a thrilling and terrifying story using psychiatric reports, witness testimonials, video footage, and the discovered diary - and as the mystery grows, the horrifying truth about what happened that night unfolds.

Spookiest Place You’ve Ever Been

KAITLYN

Message Book Entry,

Undated

Do you remember when Mum and Dad took us to the Hellfire Caves in West Wycombe? We were eleven or so, and you and Mum went out during the day, and dad slept in late, promising to take me out in the evening and spend the whole night with me?

I don’t know if you ever realized what those caves were. They were hand-dug in the 1700s by the hellfire club. I mean, they used to be chalk mines originally, or something, but the Hellfire Club bit is way more interesting. Did Mum tell you any of this? I remember you writing to me later that you didn’t want to go inside, so you and Mum had a girlie day instead.

Dad had this special arrangement so we could go in after dark. I remember stepping into this winding tunnel and thinking, if we get lost we are totally going to die in here. And then I imagined them finding our bones decades or centuries later, and studying us to death (HA!) to determine how we died. Starvation? Thirst? Cannibalism..?

Anyway this place, though. The Hellfire Club completely took over. Basically, Sir Frances Dashwood was getting pretty tired of the Catholic Church and wanted somewhere to gather with friends in luxury and seclusion. I guess he wanted his own space, his own rules. I understand that. Apparently they used to have fake rituals and religious ceremonies to mock Catholicism. If that wasn’t creepy enough, you should have seen the inside. This huge dining table surrounded by rock walls, all lit by candles and nothing else. A strong breeze and we’d have been stuck forever.

But the caves were scary; Honestly, the creepiest place I have ever been. Sometimes I remember the smell of them, randomly, but since you never went in, I can’t ask you if you do. It was one prominent moment I had with Dad that I remember most vividly.

I took a couple of shots, but Dad got a great one with his flash.

Wish you’d been there, Carly-bean.

Xoxoxo

P.S What is the spookiest place you’ve ever been, C?

Go check out this post told from Carly’s point of view on Serendipity Reviews!!