Somewhere Quiet, Full of Light by Henry Corrigan
Slashic Horror Press, 2025
ISBN: 9781763725607
Available: Paperback, Kindle edition
Buy: Bookshop.org | Amazon.com
Somewhere Quiet, Full of Light will probably get categorized as just another haunted house tale, but it is a good deal more. The reader watches a strong family unit disintegrate, due to the influence of a house with its own abilities and desires. It’s a smartly written tale that shows that Corrigan is an author to watch. He creates real tension throughout, while using very simple elements. Corrigan realizes that real scares often come not from fear of the supernatural, but from what people fear in each other– and themselves. This is a story that will stick with you long after the final page is turned.
The plot itself is simple enough: Mike and Joe Tillman want to move their two young kids away from the city, but have limited funds. They buy a fixer-upper in a remote location, planning to turn it into their dream home, but the house has other ideas.
Corrigan is very adept at building tension without going over the top. No shrieking banshees or flying body parts with buckets of blood are needed: he keeps it straightforward. That’s very difficult to do, and it works beautifully. Just an occasional shadowy figure, a creak in the house here, a movement there…small stuff, but due to Corrigan’s writing style, very effective and unsettling. The story isn’t about creating big scares (although the ending is a real banger) but instead creates a constant feeling of dread that lingers throughout the pages.
Right when the family first arrives at the house, you’ll feel that something is distinctly off with the whole situation, but it won’t be shown to you in any obvious way. Throughout the entire book, the suspense level increases like a tightly-wound string, that finally snaps in the last few pages. Writing suspense and keeping it constant is not an easy task, but Corrigan does it with ease.
The house itself plays a large role in the story, and that gives the book a decidedly different flavor. It’s like a living, breathing entity, and a number of chapters are written from the perspective of the house itself. You’ll feel its pain as it goes through renovations, and its joy at seeing parts of itself repaired. When the house has to move something by itself, be it a floorboard or panel, it feels like an immersive experience. It’s another of the reasons the book is a cut above the rest.
Bottom line: just read this one: you won’t be disappointed. Hopefully, the author will write a full length novel at some point. As good as this story was, at just 150 pages I wanted more. Definitely a case of a great story that most readers would have wanted to continue longer. Most certainly recommended!
Reviewed by Murray Samuelson
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