The Haunting of Blackwood House

This is a fantastic captivating ghost story. A haunted house that holds so many ghosts, all killed in this house of horrors. A fab story, scary and captivating from the start. I luv this writer. 💖

I really liked this book and it sucked me right in so much that I felt nervous as to what was going to happen next. It was eerie and chilling but not filled with unnecessary gore to make it 'scary'. I would recommend this and I'll be buying other books from this author as it was a captivating read.

I went into this book with the expectation that it was your typical haunted house thriller and i've read enough of those to know how they go but I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. The darker sense of humour that Mara and Neil shared on numerous occasions despite living the experiences of suspect ghost stuff going on around them bought a humorous light note to the story, it also made both the characters really likeable. In fact the characters as well as a really well written story kept me entertained and interested enough that I didn't spend my time searching for a plot twist so when it did come, it wasn't the most out there or new, it was a genuine surprise. As somebody who has seen too many horror movies and can easily guess a plot before the films halfway done I really appreciated this aspect. I will definitely be making a space for more of this authors books on my shelves in the future.

Hmmm! Ok so. I didn't dislike this. The characters are totally slap-worthy, Mara for being a horrible little madam and Neil for being a big girl, but that's no bad thing because to dislike them I had to believe in them. None of the characters are likeable and the two mediums were ridiculous, but something kept me reading on and it wasn't the author's skills as a wordsmith. In fact if I had read that hideous word 'crap' one more time the book would have been cut up into squares, and hung on a nail in the toilet. And to be quite honest, when being strung up by the neck by the evil spirit of a serial killer, 'crap' is quite the understatement. So, Mara's being so horrible and angry, just because she was brought up by spiritualists is a ridiculous concept. Her behaviour would be justified if she were the daughter of Satanists who'd used and abused her in their rituals, so maybe she's just an ugly soul. Mind you, she does live on marshmallows and fries, so she's clearly not the full shilling. Neil! Ha ha, Neil's hilarious. A six foot six ripped Adonis. A bear of a man who has a salad fetish, drinks chamomile tea and is constantly scared. He spends all of his time making sure Mara eats properly, rubbing her back, and hiding behind her when things go bump in the night. Ha ha! Classic. But honestly I found myself enjoying it nonetheless. Read it, by all means. Just don't take it too seriously, and if you ever find yourself in the company of somebody who is glad to hear that her great grandfather was cleaved to death by an axe, just because he was a spiritualist, you might want to give her a wide berth. Especially if she's eating marshmallows.

This is the first book I've read by Darcy Coates, I thought, on the whole, it was very good, it has all the elements of a good haunted house story, it's a creepy, sinister, page-turner. An isolated old house, with a dark history, no electricity, no phone, no transport, our heroine lives there alone, in lots of darkness, all great elements for suspense. It's light on characters, but that worked for me, if I had to make a criticism, I did find it unbelievable given everything that happens at the house that it takes so long into the story for Mara to accept the house is haunted, even given her upbringing and background, for me at least, that let the story down. 4.5.

Just finished reading the haunting of blackwood house, I thoroughly enjoyed it for the majority. Darcy Coates has a great talent of building suspense and atmosphere, besides a descriptive and engrossing writing style. I finished this book in 3 days and it drew me in very quickly. Sadly I do not read often enough, but was pleased with this offering. I noticed many reviewers commenting how they found the main character Mara to be the main gripe, unfortunately I have to agree. It's easy to see Mara has her fair share of problems, but she does become somewhat of an annoyance. Her partner Neil is the polar opposite, although does not compensate for her emotional short comings. Mara combined with certain other typical horror clichés does give the book a certain B movie, cheesy quality. This does leave a sour taste in your mouth as there are some fantastic moments within. These are mainly the excellent night time sequences, which reminded me a lot of "the haunting of hill house" by Shirley Jackson. These are just a small little niggles in an otherwise great book, If you are looking for a good ghost story then look no further.

This book kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time! It builds nicely describing Mara and Neil who are perfectly matched to each other. What I found refreshing was that their love wasn't a physical I need you right here right now, it was a emotional love, genuine feelings and that was amazing to read. Anywho, back to the ghosts.... wonderfully written and I was right there with these two hearing every sound, every creak! Love the ending and the little twist at the end. Definitely would recommend, brilliant read.

Good read couldn't put it down look forward to more of her books

Liked it

A good read for horror fans! A typical supernatural and horror storyline! The protagonist is a very interesting character - kind of with whom you will have love and hate relationship. Author did manage to built and rebuilt her character graph! I found that more interesting than the other events! But overall a good read! Im giving it four star because firstly, I loved the character, Mara, and her character graph with self acceptance in the end. Secondly, the author succeeds in creating a perfect eerie atmosphere of the house. I cut the one star because I felt it bit draggy and repetitive at times and also cliche, but hey! Cliches are somehow part of horror novels, can’t escape wholly from them!

I enjoyed reading the book and the story was quite captivating and scary but the female protagonist it's quite annoying.

First off, the cover! I love the cover. I am a sucker for old abandoned, cool looking houses so that is what first drew my attention to this book. This book was everything I was hoping it would be. I know a lot of it is cliché and has been done before but honestly that is what I was looking for so I didn't mind. Sometimes people try too hard to make it "unique" and different and it ends up just being weird and stupid. This was my first ghost story. I have watched a lot of movies in this genre but for some reason I never thought to read one, even though I am an avid reader. I don't need a lot of gore in order to be entertained. Not a big fan of slasher films. But I love a good ghost story with all the creepiness of doors opening on their own, unexplained footprints, and hearing crying in the middle of the night. I am fascinated by the back story linked to cool old houses. So if this is your style as well then you will love this book. I also appreciated that the main character was already in a relationship. I have been reading a lot of YA fiction lately and it was refreshing to read a story that didn't revolve around the love story. The characterization was good. Everyone had a distinct personality, not the cookie cutter kind you find in some books. I didn't necessarily find it scary, in the fact that I could easily sleep right after reading it even if I made it more atmospheric by reading in candle light, but at the same time I had to laugh at myself because I would be in the middle of a creepy part and one of my pets would make a noise and I would jump so the creepy tension building was definitely there. Totally enjoyable read and I can't wait to read her other two Haunted house books!!!

The books description drew me in, the writing it’s very good. It’s a slow burn, but a very good book in my opinion.