A Family Affair: A Novel of Horror

by Lynn Benedict (Pseudonym), V.J. Banis

In the distance Kelsey House stood framed against the sky, its windows gleaming brightly. There was an eerie glow to the scene, that seemed to come not so much from the moon, now rising, but from things themselves, as if she were seeing the very essence of them. But there was more to the scene than the house alone. Between where she stood and where the house stood, a group of ghostly figures danced what might have been a child’s game, or even a primitive rite of some sort. They twirled about in a circle, breaking free to spin wildly one at a time. There was the same eerie glow to the white, gauze-like gowns that they all it made them look ghost-like. But the most shocking thing of all, to Jennifer’s way of thinking, was the robes they were all wearing. For all practical purposes, the women--for this they clearly were--were naked...! Another thrilling supernatural horror novel by a modern master.

Genres: Gothic, Fiction, Horror

206 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Pseudonym for Victor J. Banis. Also wrote under the name Jan Alexander.

Reviews

[Jeffrey Canino]

A gothic minus the romance and plus the grueling, inescapable horror of being forced to live with your family forever and ever and ever. An excellent entry in Avon's coveted Satanic Gothic line, A FAMILY AFFAIR is a quick but difficult read, as Benedict really puts the heroine through the physical wringer. After an arrival that promises the dark arts (ever stumble upon your assembled aunts cavorting naked on the front lawn under the moonlight?), the novel pivots, finding its most sinister scenes within the most mundane of family activities. Benignly domestic events repeat as if on a loop, the novel's seeming villains never smirking with menace at Jennifer but rather gazing at her with concern and bringing her flowers and empty platters of food to cheer her up. Has she lost her mind or is her family conspiring to drive her mad? Has Benedict trapped Jennifer in this maddening repetition to hint at darker purposes or merely to fill out the contracted word count? Can't both be true? The novel ends in sublime fashion, perhaps not with any surprises but certainly with a subtler touch than you might expect (think THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE written at pulp rates).

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasantly shivery and predictable ghost story. Although the reader can guess at the outset what is happening to the main character, it is still quite enjoyable to follow her progress to its ultimate conclusion.

[Vasilis St. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book reminds me the film "Voices" from 1973, the same year that this book has been released. This film is somehow the inspiration for other similar films like "The Others" and "Sixth Sense". Coming to the present book I think there are some crucial mistakes in the unfolding of the plot. We can accept that the heroine is without food for days but without water? Near the end of the book she discovers a half cup of tea and she does not try to drink even if she thinks it is in her imagination. At this point she must be somehow alive because she has the meeting with the hunters in the woods or she is already dead when she hits the stream with her car near the beggining of the book? And the letter, who sent it?