Houses of Horror

When I was a kid, on the third of each month I would spend long days at the grocery store and pharmacy. This was the day my grandmother, aunt, and uncle received their Social Security checks, an event celebrated by my mother driving the three of them "into town" to spend Uncle Sam's dough. My part in this parade, besides being squished into the car, was a dollar's worth of quarters for the arcade machines in the grocery store. At .25 cent a game, the money bought about eight minutes of enjoyment. The rest of the time I would camp out in the magazine aisle, which had some books, and read until the shopping finished. The grocery store at the time preyed on the lower-income, Bible-belt consumers that would believe anything. The stocked books were on UFOs, alien abductions, the Bermuda Triangle, ghosts, and of course, thick books that analyzed and dissected all of the facts about Elvis to determine he was still alive and living on a tropical island off the coast of Africa. 

I would imagine, based on popularity, that I read or thumbed through a book by shock-writer Richard Winer (1925-2016). He edited or authored a handful of spooky non-fiction books about "real" supernatural events. His books, published by Bantam, included three works on the Bermuda Triangle (The Devil's Triangle 1 & 2, From the Devil's Triangle to the Devil's Jaw) and three books on haunted houses and happenings, Haunted Houses, More Haunted Houses, and today's subject for review, Houses of Horror. It was published in 1983 with cover art by David Passalacqua Jr. (Black Christmas). 

As you can see in the photo, Houses of Horror consists of 20 short articles or tales concerning a supposed ghost, haunted house, or supernatural event. I chose three of these to cover in this review:

"The Ghosts of the Wolf House"

The ghost of Jack London? News to me. But, apparently this was a common myth in California's Sonoma Valley. In this tale, Winer outlines bestselling author Jack London's Wolf House. London, who authored the beloved Call of the Wild, The Sea Wolf, and White Fang, designed the house to have 23 rooms and a dining room large enough to seat fifty guests. The plan was to move into the house in September, 1913, but the month before the nearly-complete house burned up. London had planned to rebuild the house but died three years later. The ruins of Wolf House was acquired by Jack London State Park and visitors at the ruins claimed to hear voices and see apparitions. London's widow claimed her brother Jack refused to live in the ranch house that was on the same property. He claimed London's ghost walked the halls and watched visitors. The article also documents some of the spiritual readings that supposedly caught London's voice after his death. Spooky, and creative, stuff. 

"Wisconsin's House of Curses"

The haunted house here is the Hille Farm in Waukesha, Wisconsin, a two-hundred-acre spread that was built in 1848 by German-American John Hille. Hille died around 1900, but his two sons and daughter took over the farm. In 1916, one of the sons was killed by a bull in the barn. In 1917, a stranger came to the house and convinced the Hilles to hire him as a farmhand. After a few weeks he advised the Hilles he was really a United States Secret Service agent that was investigating reports that the Hilles were German sympathizers. This was all a ruse to extort the Hilles out of money. A confrontation occurred and all of the Hilles died. The man was later arrested for extortion. In 1927 a couple bought the farm and after a few years went bankrupt. A couple then moved in to rent the place and they experiened the death of their two children. In 1932 a man named Pratt bought the place and then accidentally blew himself up blasting trees and rocks. A Chicago couple moved into the farm house in 1948 and restored it. However, the couple's son drowned in the nearby lake and a few years later the couple separated and moved away. In 1972 the next owner's young son fell from the barn's hayloft and was impaled on an auger. Coincidental events? I think not. Something is seriously wrong with that place. This was disturbing.

"Just Like One of the Family"

May, 1968. Mac Goldfinch and his family move into a house in Conway, South Carolina. Mac was an undertaker and didn't believe in ghosts. His business is the dead and he had never experienced anything unusual. Until now. A little girl with brown hair is seen moving around the house. From outside, visitors claim to have seen her moving in front of the window. Also, loud noises of banging and crashing was often heard, but nothing to source the sounds. The television would flip channels by itself, cries of "Help Me!" were heard multiple times, and the little girl's hand could be seen holding doors. Eventually, after discovering the child meant no harm, they accepted her as just one of the family. 

The book also includes eight pages of black and white photos of various haunted places examined in the book's chapters. As a harmless, enjoyable look at the supernatural, I found it a delightful read. If you treat it as horror-fiction, and not buy into the "real" idea, then there is plenty to like here. Recommended!

Note

According to The Washington Post, Winer campaigned to have Fort Lauderdale cleared of drugs and prostitutes. On July 19, 1980, an unidentified person rigged a bomb to Winer's truck ignition. Winer tragically lost his right leg in the fiery explosion.