Darkhouse (Experiment in Terror #1)

“We need you to be scared.”
“Why do I have to be? How come you aren’t afraid?”
“Because I find life to be scarier than death,” he replied matter-of-factly."

“We need you to be scared.”
“Why do I have to be? How come you aren’t afraid?”
“Because I find life to be scarier than death,” he replied matter-of-factly."

“Somehow, by dealing with the dead, I had never felt so alive.”

“Why? Because you called me up and was all like ‘Oh, hello there, little girl, do you like scary movies?’” I imitated his growly voice and talked into my hand. “‘I was hoping we could make a scary movie together; maybe then I could make some money off of ya. Hope you like to read history books at gunpoint.’”

“Because sometimes I lie, Perry. We all lie, even you, but not everyone is brave enough to admit it.”

Here is what I found about Dex Foray:
Activities: Music, filmmaking, video games, making up stuff on Wikipedia, booze, more stuff
Favorite Music: Metal, rock, alternative, and everything that’s missing from pop culture
TV Shows: BBC
Movies: Stuff YOU probably don’t like
Books: Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Catch-22...all the stereotypes
He didn’t have a college listed under his education but he did have his high school: Bainbridge High School ‘96
Quick calculations in my head placed him at thirty-two, ten years older than I.

“I hate bullshitters; you can never bullshit them.”

“OK?”
“That’s the spirit! Now we are cooking with gas!”
“You’re not drunk right now, are you?”

“You’re not having anything?” He pointed at me with the fork.
“I don’t like pie,” I said feebly. That wasn’t true, but I don’t know why I lied.
“You don’t like pie? What kind of person doesn’t like pie?” He laughed. He reached forward and actually poked me in the arm with the fork. Lightly, but still. “You can’t be trusted.”
I instinctively batted the fork away from me. “You’re the one with the fork.”
He opened up my hand and placed the fork in it. “Now you have the fork.”
He sat back in his chair, looked down at his writing and thoughtfully scratched his sideburns. And just like that, it was—
“I just want you to enjoy the pies in life, Perry,” he shot in. “That’s all.”
“I enjoy...pies,” I managed to say. I wasn’t about to charm him with my wit, that’s for sure.
“Pies are a metaphor,” he said quickly. He exhaled.

“We should probably have a safety word too,” he said.
“A safety word? Like in S&M?”
His eyes flashed, animated and bright. “The safety word is ‘Jell-O’.”
God help me if I ever had to say “Jell-O” for any reason.

“You’d think,” he joked, “but she just nags me to go to the gym. Have you ever been to a gym? It’s the gayest shit ever. I went for the first six months of us dating until I got tired of paying someone to torture me.”

(view spoiler)[ *After doc sees bruises on her neck*
I had to think quickly. “Sexual asphyxiation. You ever tried it? You should.”
Though my head my tilted back and I couldn’t see Jesse’s face, I know he was shocked. In fact, I could tell he looked over at Dex for an explanation. I hoped Dex would throw the attendant off this trail.
“It’s a little game we play,” Dex said, his voice laced with subtle sarcasm. I wanted to high-five him for his answer. “You know how it is.” (hide spoiler)]

I enjoyed this book, i really did. I loved the characters, loved the setting and i would definitely recommend it to horror lovers. This may be right thing for ya :D



This review can be found on my blog: infinity-of-time.blogspot.com also known as...

"Dark, brooding and mysterious? Handle with care."

"Dark, brooding and mysterious? Handle with care."

"He had such a lovely smile when he was using it for good and not evil."

If there was a moment that determined the course of my future, I'm pretty sure this was it. I had two somewhat simple choices. I could make a run for it and go back to Uncle Al's. Back to the bonfire where my cousins and dear sister would be drinking and revel in the normalcy of a Saturday night and forget I ever went to this horrid place and ran into this weirdo. Or I could go with said weirdo up the stairs in this decrepit old lighthouse, which was most likely condemned and unsafe, towards some unknown person (or thing) that was walking around, potentially waiting to murder us in horrific ways.

It didn't seem like a very hard decision to make. In fact, I think 99.7% of people in the right frame of mind would have picked from column A and gone on with their merry lives. But for some freaking crazy reason, I thought that maybe, just maybe I should go with this stranger up those kelp-ridden stairs and toward the lair of unimaginable horror. You know, because it was the more interesting alternative.

“I think you are chickenshit. You’re happy to call this whole thing off just because you are too scared to go back there because you actually think I am telling the truth. And the truth scares you.”
He leaned in closer across the table and this time grabbed my forearm.
“You scare me, Perry,” he growled and gave my arm a sharp squeeze. “You.”
I eyed his grip. He met my eyes and then very slowly, hesitantly, released me.
“This is going to be a really awkward car ride back home, isn’t it?” I asked, a trace of amusement in my voice. The whole situation was ridiculous.
He sighed and leaned back, pushing his plate away from him.
“I hope I’m driving you as crazy as you’ve been driving me,” I said bluntly.

Well, shit, son. If there was a moment that determined the course of my future, I'm pretty sure this was it.

Well, shit, son. If there was a moment that determined the course of my future, I'm pretty sure this was it.

"The truth scares you."
He leaned in closer across the table and this time grabbed my forearm.
"You scare me, Perry," he growled. "You."