Inside by D.M. Siciliano

Synopsis:

In 1600s Massachusettes, a man feeds his baby to a fireplace-dwelling flame demon, leaving his house haunted by demon and ghost alike for eternity. I’m kidding. Well…I’m kind of kidding. That more or less actually happens (although I think the house was definitively already demon-haunted before the baby went into the fire), but the real story is what takes place after the fire-baby and that whole family’s ultimate demise, which I won’t spoil for you because it’s quite well plotted out and worth learning on your own.

The real story surrounds four friends (and one friend’s tough as nails little sister) in the summer before high school. At the prompting of Reid, the bully of the group, the group is set on breaking into a local haunted house. They are basically going to trespass on this local legend in order to gain some clout to carry into their first year of high school.

Well, once inside, they learn the hard way that the house is indeed haunted, and they are now trapped with no way out. While the house is by all appearances a single room, it most definitely isn’t. Rooms are constantly shifting, and doors and windows disappear and reappear. There are plenty of hallways and staircases too. The house is impossible.

Does it burn in the dark?

Worse than the ever-shifting rooms is the shadow demon that is hunting them – this shadow demon consumes them by burning them alive from the inside out.

Edition:

Kindle e-book (Net Galley)

My Thoughts:

I enjoyed this book a lot. I like that the scope of the story covered a lot of years (1674-1991, to be exact). I always prefer my hauntings to be long-term and the stuff of legend.

I also really liked that the whole story had a Stand by Me, or other sort of coming-of-age kids on bikes adventure gone wrong sort of vibe – that always appeals to me. And the addition of Alex’s little sister Heather cemented my love for the group dynamics – she’s a tough little chick, and I like that. And I like the character development. I ended up liking some of these people a lot more than I was expecting to.

I also appreciated the demon-haunting aspect, as it’s a hair more fun than a regular ghost (but don’t worry, there’s ghosts too). Although I do wish that there had been just a hair more to the demon story – like, why was he there in the first place? Was it just a matter of opportunity? Also, for reasons I can’t fully articulate, the demon made me think of the demon from Nightmare Cinema.

I know this guy is technically a “shadow demon,” but he’s also a smoke and fire fella, and therefore, I think it works. This guy.

Anyway, he’s what I pictured every time they mentioned the demon. So yeah, he would smoke out or whatever, but when he re-solidified, totally picturing him.

I also liked the pacing of the story. Once they got inside the house, everything moved at a fairly breakneck speed, but Siciliano was able to keep up with the pace she set. Her style of writing (at least for this, her debut novel) is really accessible – I like that she was able to write like we were hearing the story through her young narrator, without sacrificing the narrative which I feel is a fine line that authors sometimes have trouble toeing – you know, ‘how do I sound like a kid without writing like a kid?’

Rating:

If you like haunted houses, demonic happenings, or kid-based adventure/horror this just might be the book for you! This is a thrilling debut from a promising new author.

Inside
D.M. Siciliano
The Parliament House
Horror, Mystery, Thriller
ISBN: 9781696577434
Published October 15, 2019
E-book format
354 pages