Johnny Compton’s The Spite House is a novel about loss, death, small town and family history. It is dark and keeps its secrets hidden well. Eric and his two daughters Dess (short for Odessa, 18) and Stacy (7) are on the run from something in Maryland. It isn’t revealed, initially, what that thing is, but they try stay low and hidden as they try to live week-to-week on the odd jobs Eric can pick up that don’t require background checks, identity paperwork, things like that. When he finds an add to spend time in a spite house, it is an offer he must seek out.
Eric Ross is on the run from a mysterious past with his two daughters in tow. Having left his wife, his house, his whole life behind in Maryland, he’s desperate for money—it’s not easy to find steady, safe work when you can’t provide references, you can’t stay in one place for long, and you’re paranoid that your past is creeping back up on you.
When he comes across the strange ad for the Masson House in Degener, Texas, Eric thinks they may have finally caught a lucky break. The Masson property, notorious for being one of the most haunted places in Texas, needs a caretaker of sorts. The owner is looking for proof of paranormal activity. All they need to do is stay in the house and keep a detailed record of everything that happens there. Provided the house’s horrors don’t drive them all mad, like the caretakers before them.
The job calls to Eric, not just because there’s a huge payout if they can make it through, but because he wants to explore the secrets of the spite house. If it is indeed haunted, maybe it’ll help him understand the uncanny power that clings to his family, driving them from town to town, making them afraid to stop running.
What the heck is a spite house? It is pretty much what you’d guess, a house or building constructed on a site to spite the neighbors of the building. The Spite House at the center of this novel is the Masson House in Degener, Texas, that has a very disjointed architectural style adjacent to an orphanage. In addition to its odd look, it is believed to be the most haunted house in the State. Eunice Houghton, the most prominent citizen in Degener, wants to have the haunted nature of the Spite House confirmed. She’s worked with “ghost hunters” and “paranormal experts” who haven’t worked out for her, but something about Eric and his own ghost story resonates with her, so she hires him.
Eric soon realizes the Masson House is more than he thought, there’s a dark history intertwined with slavery and war that gives the House it’s particular character and flavor. Eric’s youngest daughter has When Eric begins hearing things and having strange dreams, he encourages his daughters to stay at Eunice’s house, as she previously offered. Eric realizes some parallels between him and his family with the Masson family.
Of course, there’s a reason Eric and his daughters are on the run as many Haunted House stories are as much about the haunted places as the characters who are haunted and have ghosts in their past. Compton does a nice job teasing this out throughout the novel and handles the reveal particularly well. It was enough to keep my interest piqued and never skirted over that line of being annoying in terms of withholding information. Compton built up great empathy for Eric and his daughters, made them likeable, and compelling, grounding their story before that aforementioned reveal.
The Spite House is not your typical haunted house novel/story. It tackles race in a compelling way and Compton breaks up his story through multiple viewpoints, from Eric as well as elder daughter Dess and Stacy. Experiencing the story from multiple characters gave a true authenticity to the novel, especially the supernatural and haunted elements.
The ending was a little unexpected and didn’t quite match what came before, but upon reflection, was quite fitting.
Compton has published short stories in several places, but this is his first published novel. Damn, is what I have to say. This is an impressive first novel, I was glued to the pages and felt a compulsion to keep on and find out what happened next.
Recommended
© 2023 Rob H. Bedford
Tor Nightfire | February 2024
Hardcover | 272 pages
Excerpt: https://www.tor.com/2022/10/26/excerpts-the-spite-house-by-johnny-compton/
Author Web site: http://johnnycompton.com/
Review copy courtesy of the publisher
