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Every House Is Haunted

by Ian Rogers (Goodreads Author), Paul G. Tremblay (Introduction)

3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 · rating details · 49 ratings · 12 reviews

"There are haunted places in the world, all existing in reality and every bit as tangible and accessible as the house next door. Sometimes it is the house next door."

In this brilliant debut collection, Ian Rogers explores the border-places between our world and the dark reaches of the supernatural. The landscape of death becomes the new frontier for scientific exploration....more

ebook, 300 pages

Published October 15th 2012 by ChiZine

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Nov 01, 2012 Orrin Grey rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

Full disclosure, before I get into the meat of this review: Ian and I are friends, though we’ve only met in person a couple of times. I’ve known him since we were both published together in Bound for Evil back in 2008, and we both did our first ever book signing at that year’s Readercon. You can rest assured, though, that while our friendship affects how excited I am to see him have such a handsome book in print, it wouldn’t be enough to make me be as effusive in my praise as I am about to be.

Ev...more

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May 15, 2013 Tobin Elliott rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: hard-copy

Full disclosure: I am a friend of Ian Rogers and we've both been published by the same publisher (Burning Effigy). That being said, I'm still going to be completely honest and forthright in my review.

Reading any short story collection is an interesting experience for a reader. Instead of getting a single, all-encompassing insight into the author, you're treated to several different facets which, to me, put that author into a better perspective.

In Every House Is Haunted, you can't look at this as...more Full disclosure: I am a friend of Ian Rogers and we've both been published by the same publisher (Burning Effigy). That being said, I'm still going to be completely honest and forthright in my review.

Reading any short story collection is an interesting experience for a reader. Instead of getting a single, all-encompassing insight into the author, you're treated to several different facets which, to me, put that author into a better perspective.

In Every House Is Haunted, you can't look at this as though you're diving into a package of cookies. Instead, this is like attending a chili cook-off: yes, they're all chili (horror stories), but some are smooth, some are spicy, some aren't quite to your taste, and some you love. Ian Rogers, at his worst, is still a writer that entertains and challenges the reader. At his best, he's terrifying, and terrifyingly good.

In fact, at one point, I finished a story, turned to my wife and said, "I really hate Ian Rogers." When she asked why, I stated it was because he was such a great writer. His characters are real, they're believable. The dialogue is natural. The details he picks out are intriguingly perfect. But it's the man's sheer imagination that blows me away.

Reading the stories, you do get a sense that he has his certain tropes: worlds hidden behind doors, rifts, dimensions, phases. Characters that aren't quite in step with those around them. Shadowing agencies that study the weird. They all show up again and again, but in each iteration, they're new, they're different and they're fascinating.

There's some absolute standouts in this collection. Personally, I don't think he tops the first story in the collection, Aces. It simply defies expectations and kicks all kinds of ass. However, there's other gems scattered throughout Ian's House: The larger world hinted at in Cabin D, the simplicity of The Nanny, the wistful relationship in Leaves Brown, the fun of The House on Ashley Avenue, the absolute unflinching brutality of The Cat, the sparsity of Hunger, the slow build of The Inheritor.

This isn't a book to run through quickly. Take your time in each section of the house. Look at each area slowly and carefully. Rogers' writing will reward you for your time.(less)

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Oct 22, 2012 Gef rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, ghosts, horror, short-stories

I love ghost stories, so by the title alone I was instantly drawn to this book. The stories, however, are not focused solely on apparitions and spooky old houses. The book does have its fair share, though. I think Paul Tremblay puts it best in his introduction: "Ian's stories are explorations of the cosmic, social, and paranormal what-ifs, of the terrible and wonderful awe of possibility. Yeah, that's this book in a nutshell.

The book is segmented in five parts, with a few stories in each: the ve...more I love ghost stories, so by the title alone I was instantly drawn to this book. The stories, however, are not focused solely on apparitions and spooky old houses. The book does have its fair share, though. I think Paul Tremblay puts it best in his introduction: "Ian's stories are explorations of the cosmic, social, and paranormal what-ifs, of the terrible and wonderful awe of possibility. Yeah, that's this book in a nutshell.

The book is segmented in five parts, with a few stories in each: the vestibule, the library, the attic, the den, and the cellar. The stories don't use those rooms as their theme so much as reflect the exploration of Ian's imagination.

Things start off creepy as heck with "Aces," about a young man coping with his teen sister, Soelle, whose been kicked out of school. That doesn't sound so bad until you discover it's because one of her classmates died after Soelle gave her a malicious tarot reading that sent to panicking girl into the path of a bus--and it's not the first time Soelle's fascination with the paranormal has played part in someone's death or disappearance. The story carries that squabbling brother/sister tone perfectly and only amplifies it as Soelle starts to embrace the idea of being seen by everyone as a witch.

"Cabin D" had a great Stephen King kind of vibe when a man named Henry walks into a diner and orders everything on the menu. The waitress finds him mildly amusing at first, but his odd, fatalistic mood grinds on her. The story seems to take in one long, straining breath through the first half of the story, and then it switches to Henry's point of view and it's like that breath is being forced out for some great purpose, and it all has to do with an abandoned cabin where Henry has to go. This one may have been one of my favorites from the collection.

Another stand out is "The Dark and the Young," about a translator specializing in ancient texts, fresh out of college and desperate for work. She's setup with a prime gig, albeit with modest pay and odd accommodations. She winds up in a neighborhood almost in the middle of nowhere, working in what looks like an old glove factory on the outside, but is a secret underground installation housing one very dangerous piece of literature. Think Necronomicon with a chip on its shoulder. This story worked wonderfully for me, especially as I'd recently watched The Cabin in the Woods, and the whole secret underground installation motif was played to the hilt. Loved it.

I could prattle on about some of the stories that captivated me, like "Wood" and "The Cat" and a disturbing bit of flash fiction called "Hunger," but sufficed to say that this book will rank highly on my year-end favorites list. There are but a couple stories that fell flat, due to ending so abruptly as things were getting good, but the overall collection is just a great showing of Ian's evolution as an author. And to think he's just getting warmed up. If Ian wasn't already on my "authors to watch out for" list, this book would have cemented it.(less)

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Feb 10, 2013 Jennifer Irving rated it 4 of 5 stars

I liked this book because it was a collection of short stories. With "horror" stories, there's always the risk of making it look like padding, losing the thread of the story, growing boring. Doing the book as a collection of short stories eliminates this.

Some stories should have been shorter, some I wished were longer. The stories were all different. It wasn't death, death, death. There were different horror-genres represented.

It was a pretty fast read, and an easy read because I could open it...more

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Apr 29, 2013 M Griffin rated it 5 of 5 stars

Many of the 22 short stories in Every House is Haunted, the debut collection by Ian Rogers, feel connected. As the title suggests, this is a book about hauntings, though the stories Rogers tells venture beyond the well-worn template of the haunted house tale. On top of this unifying theme, several stories also feature paranormal investigators, something like agents Mulder and Scully of the X-Files, or hint at a shadowy group overseeing such intrusions. Rogers seeks to establish a common world in...more Many of the 22 short stories in Every House is Haunted, the debut collection by Ian Rogers, feel connected. As the title suggests, this is a book about hauntings, though the stories Rogers tells venture beyond the well-worn template of the haunted house tale. On top of this unifying theme, several stories also feature paranormal investigators, something like agents Mulder and Scully of the X-Files, or hint at a shadowy group overseeing such intrusions. Rogers seeks to establish a common world in which paranormal events and entities are controlled, studied and policed by a broad and shadowy organization devoted to these functions.

Rogers starts off strong with "Aces," on its surface a routine family drama in which Toby's sister has trouble in school and exhibits weird behavior, like many adolescents. This seeming normalcy masks the extreme strangeness of what's really going on with the sister, who is obsessed with finding "aces," playing cards which she discovers in strange places, such has hovering in mid-air. Toby only comes to understand his sister's unusual nature when paranormal investigators arrive and explain.

Another strange and surreal piece early in the book, "A Night at the Library With the Gods" again displays Rogers' skill for creating a familiar, mostly normal world, then gradually increasing the strangeness until the reader recognizes they're in something more akin to nightmare. In "The Dark and the Young," linguist Wendy takes a mysterious job, translating an occult "black book." Some of the rituals described in this bizarre text make Wendy and some of her coworkers hesitant to participate.

A few less mature stories are sprinkled throughout, and in my opinion Rogers could have made a stronger debut impression by omitting these. I understand the desire to include early work, and indeed this flaw is so common in first collections I'm hesitant to mention it. At any rate, the few less-compelling pieces are more than offset by a high overall quality. The more recent stories seem generally darker, more macabre or surreal.Rogers closes the collection with a powerful series of tales, deftly and confidently told.

In "The Inheritor," Daniel Ramis unexpectedly inherits a house from his father, with whom he had a terrible relationship. He visits the childhood home, a place evoking the terrible memory of his sister's early death. Daniel always thought his father had sold the house when he moved, and can't understand why he'd held onto it. Along with the house, Daniel is also left contents of safe deposit box: a gun, and a note from his father hinting at explanation. All that remains is for Daniel to discover what responsibility comprises the most horrible aspect of his father's legacy.

A husband in "The Candle" gives his wife a guilt trip about possibly forgetting to blow out a candle before coming to bed. Time passes, and feeling guilty, he goes downstairs and finds something weird and disquieting in the dark. Here's another story that starts off realistic, then takes a weird disconnect, making a subtle and eerie observation of the ways we open gaps in relationships through small acts of selfishness or distrust.

The last tale, "The Secret Door" makes a powerful ending to the book. Sarah and husband move into an old country house, and find a secret door bricked up on back side. She sleeps, and wakes again to find her husband's not there. Other details, such as the bed and their car, inexplicably have changed. The story veers more deeply into surrealism. Sarah envisions a boy yelling from the bottom of a well, telling her she's the one who put him there, hinting at connection to her earlier decision never to have kids. Her experience swerves between alternating realities, now alone and sick, then with her husband telling her she's not well. It depicts increasing detachment from reality, a creepy back-and-forth between the real and the surreal.

Every House is Haunted is an above-average short fiction collection, especially noteworthy as a debut. The writing is both transparent enough for mainstream readers, and artful enough for those who like their prose with an edge. At his best, Rogers is very compelling, and the growth demonstrated within these pages suggest he's one to watch. 4 1/2 stars.(less)

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Nov 19, 2012 Naomi rated it 3 of 5 stars

Synopsis: A collection of 20 short stories that explores the depths between our world and that of the supernatural.

My rating: 3 Stars

My opinion: Although, Rogers clearly demonstrates that he is a master of the short story in his development and layout, the stories left me kind of cold. I expected the stories to be much more creepier than what they truly were. They were much more psychologically creepy in nature. I was expecting stories which were much more focused on haunted houses and I didn't...more

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Jan 14, 2013 Robert rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Probably the most satisfying short story collection by a single author that I've read in over a year. Rogers goes for the dread rather than the gross-out, which is a nice change of pace from the recent batch of work from newer horror authors. Some may not like many of the stories ending on a note of ambiguity, although it never hurts to exercise one's mind every now and then. Highly recommended.

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Jan 30, 2013 Jessica rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013, borrowed-from-library

I really enjoyed Ian's collection of short stories and I'm generally not a fan of short stories. I think that it's because I am always left wanting more and feeling like I just can't get into the story. But that wasn't the case with Ian's tales. There were a few that left me wanting more, but only because I was interested in more and not because I felt that things were left unresolved - see The Nanny, Cabin D and The Inheritor. Oh, and The Cat freaked me out, since I have three of them.

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Apr 04, 2013 Laura rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: very-good

A very good collection of short stories! I was genuinely surprised, because the short story form is very difficult. There is little room to develop characters and atmosphere. I enjoyed every one of these chillers, and am looking for more from this author. He plays on your mind, without being overtly gruesome.

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Nov 03, 2012 Kyle Johnson rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is a really fantastic collection. The prose is sharp and the stories are lean and focused. Rogers does a lot of wonderful things here, and it is definitely worth your time.

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Apr 30, 2013 Brian rated it 4 of 5 stars

A strong collection of short stories spanning the individual slivers of the horror genre.

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Oct 12, 2012 April (CSI:Librarian) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Will review soon.

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May 20, 2013 Jamie rated it 4 of 5 stars

May 19, 2013 Jim Morey marked it as to-read

May 17, 2013 Anne Girouard marked it as to-read

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Shelves: short-story

May 15, 2013 Elora marked it as to-read · review of another edition

May 11, 2013 Carol marked it as to-read

Shelves: ibooks, horror

Apr 29, 2013 D. Alexander Ward marked it as looks-interesting

Apr 23, 2013 Jessica rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: short_stories, horror

Apr 16, 2013 S.M. rated it 5 of 5 stars

Apr 20, 2013 Andrea rated it 3 of 5 stars

Apr 04, 2013 Alan marked it as to-read

Apr 28, 2013 Jack Haringa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Apr 02, 2013 Laura marked it as to-read

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Mar 27, 2013 Autumn marked it as to-read

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About Ian Rogers

Ian Rogers is a writer, artist, and photographer. His short fiction has appeared in several publications, including Cemetery Dance, Supernatural Tales, and Shadows & Tall Trees. He is the author of the dark fiction collection Every House Is Haunted (ChiZine Publications) and SuperNOIRtural Tales (Burning Effigy Press), a series of stories featuring supernatural detective Felix Renn. Ian lives...more

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