I received an email the other day from someone who'd discovered Too Much Horror Fiction while trying to find a horror novel they'd read years ago, but could not recall the title of at all. In the email they described the book to see if I knew it, but I must confess, the description leaves me at a loss! So I offered to put up the description here to see if any of you horror fiction fans can help. Does any of this sound familiar?It's about a husband and wife who murder a little girl in order to get inheritance money. The little girl is a sister of either the husband or wife, but I can't remember which. The couple bury the girl after they murder her, but she comes back and haunts them as revenge.
The little girl (maybe around age 8-12) is really evil when she comes back, and she makes the couple do crazy and disturbing things. For example, the husband (I think his name was Jeff) is found ripping apart the family dog and eating it.
I think the cover of the book has a picture of a creepy little girl covered in dirt (since she was buried after she was murdered).
They date the book to about 20 or 25 years ago, so it's from the classic horror paperback era. And I have to say it does sound pretty cool, but one thing I've learned while writing this blog is how much horror I have not read. Any ideas, readers? Thanks!
Update 8/14/10:
The book is Nightmare Child by Daniel Ransom (St Martin's Press 1990). Thanks to reader Garry!
6 comments:
I have no idea, but I'm with you. I want to read this too. :)
Cursed Be the Child by Mort Castle
"Loving her new home and its big basement, five-year-old Missy is unaware that her imaginary playmate, Lisette, is the tortured soul of a murdered child determined to get revenge on a cruel world for her destroyed life."
That was the only title I could think of.
Sounds like Nightmare Child by Daniel Ransom, which is a pseudonym for Ed Gorman, published in 1990. http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/r/daniel-ransom/nightmare-child.htm
Garry,
I am the person who was looking for the book, and you are absolutely right! I'm so excited! I swear, I have been trying to find this book for months via insatiable Googling. I am going to order it today...I hope it's as good as it was when I read it as a child! Thank you so much! And of course, thanks to Will for posting my description. Yay! :)
~Kim
Yes, Garry, thanks so much. Kim's wasn't the first email I've gotten asking me for help identifying a long-forgotten title, so if anybody's looking for something, feel free to ask!
Update: I received the book from Amazon and finished reading it in a matter of hours. I understand why it haunted me after all these years! Its quite creepy and disturbing, especially for a 10 year old (the age I was when I read it the first time). I was a little disappointed in it, actually - maybe because I've been building it up in my head for so long! However, it was a page-turner, and I would recommend it as an easy and casual read. Thanks again to Garry and Will for helping me find it! :)
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