#Spooktober ‘The Haunting Of Ashburn House’ by Darcy Coates

About the book…

There’s something wrong with Ashburn House…
The ancient building has been the subject of rumours for close to a century. Its owner, Edith, refused to let guests inside and rarely visited the nearby town.

Following Edith’s death, her sole surviving relative, Adrienne, inherits the property. Adrienne’s only possessions are a suitcase of luggage, twenty dollars, and her pet cat. Ashburn House is a lifeline she can’t afford to refuse.

Adrienne doesn’t believe in ghosts, but it’s hard to ignore the unease that grows as she explores her new home. Strange messages have been etched into the wallpaper, an old grave is hidden in the forest behind the house, and eerie portraits in the upstairs hall seem to watch her every movement.

As she uncovers more of the house’s secrets, Adrienne begins to believe the whispered rumours about Ashburn may hold more truth than she ever suspected. The building has a bleak and grisly past, and as she chases the threads of a decades-old mystery, Adrienne realises she’s become the prey to something deeply unnatural and intensely resentful.

Only one thing is certain: Ashburn’s dead are not at rest.

Another Kindle Unlimited Title which I have devoured this week, ‘The Haunting Of Ashburn House’ by Darcy Coates has been my gateway to the works of an author who I see raved about by horror fans on Instagram.

A lot of her novels are available in this format, and I am so stoked to work my way through her back catalogue-if Ashburn House is any indicator, I have found a new favourite!

A vague memory of running away from the house, in the arms of her mother, is all that Adrienne has as a reference point for the family homestead. That, and the taste of blood. And when she inherits it, it seems like her prayers have been answered-leaving nothing behind, she packs her bags and her fabulous cat, Wolfgang,and takes off for Ashburn, hoping for a start on her writing career.

Realistically describing a young woman with literally pennies in her pocket and nothing to lose is fantastic, there is no ‘slide to reveal’ for Ashburn, from the moment Ady arrives, she can see that a) she will be in a small town and b)although she is baggage free, the house, and family name, is not.

Longing for a couple of friendly faces, her wishes are granted by a coterie of residents who are keen to see inside the infamous site of murders, disappearances, and ghostly occurrences. These young women turn up with food, local gossip and a keen need to fill in the gaps of Ady’s memories.

The house is in a worse state that she could have imagined, there are the strange messages scrawled into the walls, the tables, the very plaster of the building. And the family portraits which seem to move .And the impossible grave in the back yard. And her suddenly anxious cat. Then the strange things really begin…

Having burnt her bridges and keen to make a good impression and good start in new surroundings, Ady pieces together some of the murders which have happened there, the blood soaked floorboards have paid witness to horrors that the keenest town gossip could not have envisaged.

Before long, Ady is no longer dismissing the messages that Edith has left as the ramblings of a ancient relative with dementia. She realises they are the difference between her surviving until dawn…

I loved how creepy this book was from the get go, with Ady and her mum running from horror, , it sets the scene as Ashburn house being something most people run from not to. Ady and Wolfgang are a great double act, you want so badly for her to make it, to fight her legacy and stake a claim to her inheritance, just not the murderous bit. It is atmospheric, scary and the ghosts genuinely made my skin crawl. And I am always there for goosebumps and shudders down the backbone!

About the author…

Darcy is the USA Today Bestselling author of Hunted, The Haunting of Ashburn House, Craven Manor, and more than a dozen horror and suspense titles.

She lives on the Central Coast of Australia with her family, cats, and a garden full of herbs and vegetables.

Darcy loves forests, especially old-growth forests where the trees dwarf anyone who steps between them. Wherever she lives, she tries to have a mountain range close by.

Links-http://www.darcycoates.com/

http://blackowlbooks.com/

Twitter @darcyauthor