It’s very clear that somebody watched Scooby Doo rather extensively.

42. The Supernatural Enhancements – Edgar Cantero

Even though the house itself and the secret society and some of the attitudes about various things are pretty turn of the century, this haunted house tale was never creeping slowly through the icy mists. It was pretty much twirling the whole time. It’s a haunted house story/mystery with lots of clues in weird places/pillar of wackiness told through snippets that didn’t drive me crazy. I’ve read some epistolary novels lately that have, but this one was readable. And it helped a lot that one of the main narrators doesn’t speak – which makes the written word her only clear method of communication, plus Niamh is great, as is her dog, Help.

It’s a bit like the 2001 version of Thirteen Ghosts (which one specific part reminded me of) – if you can go along with the ride, it’s an amusement and it’s not that big of a problem that it’s not scary or is full of reference humor. If you get stuck about what’s supposed to be in an epistolary novel or what a haunted house story is supposed to be like, or start asking why the Black Zodiac has such specific ghosts involved and how would anyone even begin to know where to look for them or who they were to use them for sorcery, which is a totally valid approach, you’ll probably have a bad time reading. The Supernatural Enhancements uses some familiar elements and a lot of layers to create a story of weird people solving other weird people’s mysteries and turns a traditional gothic on its ear.

Ozma refuses to have a bad time in a haunted house. Especially if it’s one haunted by her.