Maggie Holt returns to Baneberry Hall, a house her family fled in terror when she was five years old. Her father wrote a bestselling memoir about their haunting experience, but Maggie has no memories of it and believes it to be lies. After inheriting the house upon her father's death, she decides to uncover the truth behind the horrors of the house, alternating between present-day experiences and excerpts from her father's book. The book weaves a thrilling horror story filled with suspense, false clues, and red herrings, keeping readers engaged from beginning to end.
Genres:
Tropes/Plot Devices:
Topics:
Notes:
Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings include discussions of violence, death, murder, references to suicide, and the presence of the occult.
From The Publisher:
THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
One of USA Today's Best Books of 2020
"A haunted house story-with a twist….[Sager] does not hold back"(Rolling Stone) in this chilling thriller from the author of Final Girls and Survive the Night.
Every house has a story to tell and a secret to share.
Twenty-five years ago, Maggie Holt and her parents moved into Baneberry Hall, a rambling Victorian estate in the Vermont woods. Three weeks later they fled in the dead of night, an ordeal her father recounted in a memoir called House of Horrors. His story of supernatural happenings and malevolent spirits became a worldwide phenomenon, rivaling The Amityville Horror in popularity-and skepticism.
Maggie was too young to remember any of the horrific events that supposedly took place, and as an adult she doesn't believe a word of her father's claims. Ghosts, after all, don't exist. When she inherits Baneberry Hall after his death and returns to renovate the place and sell it, her homecoming is anything but warm. The locals aren't thrilled that their small town has been made infamous, and human characters with starring roles in House of Horrors are waiting in the shadows.
Even more unnerving is Baneberry Hall itself-a place where unsettling whispers of the past lurk around every corner. And as Maggie starts to experience strange occurrences ripped from the pages of her father's book, the truth she uncovers about the house's dark history will challenge everything she believes.
Ratings (103)
Incredible (14) | |
Loved It (41) | |
Liked It (30) | |
It Was OK (10) | |
Did Not Like (6) | |
Hated It (2) |
Reader Stats (216):
Read It (110) | |
Currently Reading (2) | |
Want To Read (89) | |
Did Not Finish (1) | |
Not Interested (14) |
5 comment(s)
"Home Before Dark" is an interesting novel in that it a combination ghost story, mystery, journey of self discovery, and a search for the truth for main character Maggie Holt. Twenty-five years ago, Maggie and her parents, Ewan and Jess, moved into Baneberry Hall which is a rambling Victorian estate in Vermont. The family stayed in the house for three weeks before fleeing the house in the middle of the night and leaving all of their possessions. Ewan writes a book about the family's ordeal called "House of Horrors: A Ture Story" which becomes a worldwide phenomenon and causes Maggie to be treated like an outcast from the time she is five to adulthood.
After Ewan dies, Maggie is surprised to learn that she has inherited Baneberry Hall and since she is an interior designer, she decides to renovate the house and sell it. Since Maggie doesn't remember any of the ghostly encounters mentioned in her father's book, she's a skeptic. As Maggie begins to work on restoring the house, strange occurrences begin to happen which make her believe there may be some true to her father's book.
Although I don't usually read mysteries, I enjoyed this book because of the way in which the author alternated between Ewan's books and Maggie's present day life. I also liked how the author created a storyline that had me wondering if the house was really haunted or if there was something more sinister at play. By the end of the book, Maggie discovers the truth regarding the house, her family, and herself.
I enjoyed this ghost (+ghoul
This was really slow going for the first half but it’s WORTH IT to stick with it!!! Awesome ghost story to go into fall with!
Awesome author!
Very, very, very slow build up to an absurd ending. Totally ridiculous. I do not recommend.
What can you read after
Home Before Dark?
About the Author:
Riley Sager is the pen name of a former journalist from Princeton, New Jersey. His first novel, Final Girls, was a national and international bestseller that has been published in more than two dozen countries and won the ITW Thriller Award for Best…
When you click the Amazon link and make a purchase, we may receive a small commision, at no cost to you.
