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The Bleeding Room
Some houses appear to be their ruined facades and fabled pasts lead to stories of haunts and spirits. Some houses are legitimately ghosts that refuse to leave this world behind roam their rooms and hallways trying to recapture the life that has been taken from them.
But there are some houses that go beyond these simple haunts. There are some houses that hide secrets so dark and grisly that the very essence of evil seeps from their walls. One of these houses sits tucked away in the quiet woods of the sleepy little town of Ponderbrook.
Terrence Bennet, an esteemed author, is taking his small crew to Ponderbrook to investigate the house for his next book. A skeptic at heart, he approaches the house and its history as nothing more than another spooky tale.
But he will soon learn that there is a very real evil that separates normal haunts from those that twist the mind and damn the soul. And when this evil is stirred awake, it is rarely content to stay confined to the four walls of the house in which it has grown.
"Napier paints a chilling picture of ancient, bloodthirsty evil - then brings it to life."
- David Dunwoody, author of EMPIRE'S END and UNBOUND & OTHER TALES
“Novelist. Poet. Comic book writer. This guy is a legit talent who is always thinking outside the box. It’s no surprise Barry Napier is building a following faster than a Mayan handing out 2012 prophecies.” - - Gregory Hall, host of the Funky Werepig and author of At the End of Church Street
But there are some houses that go beyond these simple haunts. There are some houses that hide secrets so dark and grisly that the very essence of evil seeps from their walls. One of these houses sits tucked away in the quiet woods of the sleepy little town of Ponderbrook.
Terrence Bennet, an esteemed author, is taking his small crew to Ponderbrook to investigate the house for his next book. A skeptic at heart, he approaches the house and its history as nothing more than another spooky tale.
But he will soon learn that there is a very real evil that separates normal haunts from those that twist the mind and damn the soul. And when this evil is stirred awake, it is rarely content to stay confined to the four walls of the house in which it has grown.
"Napier paints a chilling picture of ancient, bloodthirsty evil - then brings it to life."
- David Dunwoody, author of EMPIRE'S END and UNBOUND & OTHER TALES
“Novelist. Poet. Comic book writer. This guy is a legit talent who is always thinking outside the box. It’s no surprise Barry Napier is building a following faster than a Mayan handing out 2012 prophecies.” - - Gregory Hall, host of the Funky Werepig and author of At the End of Church Street
- GenresHorror
318 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 31, 2011
1 person is currently reading
339 people want to read
About the author
Barry Napier
105 books61 followersBarry Napier is the author of The Cooper M. Reid series, The Bleeding Room, Bound, Break Every Chain, Nests, and several other titles. His books span a wide range of genres, from paranormal thrillers to Christian adventure.
He works as a ghostwriter while working on his own titles. He enjoys coffee, ambient music, and irony.
He works as a ghostwriter while working on his own titles. He enjoys coffee, ambient music, and irony.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 20, 2016
The reason I could not finish this book was the authors skeptic about everything in it and ever few page him mentionin about how madly In love he is with his wife and how lucky he is to have the love of his son. Ok we get it. You have a happy family now get on with the story.
All through the book he just kept going on and on about his family that it took the book to the end just to find out...ugh ANNOYING!!!! 1 evil spirit of 5
All through the book he just kept going on and on about his family that it took the book to the end just to find out...ugh ANNOYING!!!! 1 evil spirit of 5
December 31, 2011
Finally done with this book! It was not a long read but being sick and real life get in the way of my reading time.
This book was about three men who write about haunted houses for a living and they are going to do an investigation on a house called Hammer House. Terrence does not really believe in ghost and the other two do so I think that made an interesting take on things.
I for some reason have been reading paranormal books more then usual lately, I love them but I usually don't read as many as I have in such a sort time spam. Anyway, this is one of the best I have read in a long time. I really enjoyed this book, at times it reminded me of Rose Red but that is one of my favorite movies so it was not an overall bad thing. From the first few pages the book kept calling to me to come see what happens next and I have been staying up late to read just a little more, always a plus in a book and rare to find sometimes it seems!
The only real complaint I have with the book was that I really would have liked a bit more descriptions for things, like the layout of the house for instance. It was sometimes hard for me to imagine because it was not really described well enough I don't think. It would have been nice to have a little better description of the characters also but that was not as big of a deal to me.
The ending was, well I am conflicted on if I like the ending or not! LOL I don't want to ruin it so I won't say more.
The book was overall well written and edited so there were very few errors. I have not found any book with none at all tho!
Read this book if you are a fan of Haunted House stories!
This book was about three men who write about haunted houses for a living and they are going to do an investigation on a house called Hammer House. Terrence does not really believe in ghost and the other two do so I think that made an interesting take on things.
I for some reason have been reading paranormal books more then usual lately, I love them but I usually don't read as many as I have in such a sort time spam. Anyway, this is one of the best I have read in a long time. I really enjoyed this book, at times it reminded me of Rose Red but that is one of my favorite movies so it was not an overall bad thing. From the first few pages the book kept calling to me to come see what happens next and I have been staying up late to read just a little more, always a plus in a book and rare to find sometimes it seems!
The only real complaint I have with the book was that I really would have liked a bit more descriptions for things, like the layout of the house for instance. It was sometimes hard for me to imagine because it was not really described well enough I don't think. It would have been nice to have a little better description of the characters also but that was not as big of a deal to me.
The ending was, well I am conflicted on if I like the ending or not! LOL I don't want to ruin it so I won't say more.
The book was overall well written and edited so there were very few errors. I have not found any book with none at all tho!
Read this book if you are a fan of Haunted House stories!
October 10, 2019
The odds of reading two haunted house novels in less than three months and have them both be solid additions to the genre are astronomical. Luckily, that's exactly what happened to me. After enjoying Gina Ranalli's
House of Fallen Trees
, I started reading Barry Napier's The Bleeding Room. Napier's novel puts an entertaining and disturbing spin on haunted house stories by allowing technology to play a crucial role in the narrative and having most of the action take place outside the dwelling.
You can read Gabino's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.
You can read Gabino's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.
October 5, 2011
Ok! Book is now listed.....another editing project is now a published book! Lovers of ghosts and haunted houses will really enjoy this!
You can get a copy at http://gravesidebooks.com.
(And thanks, Eva for your help!)
You can get a copy at http://gravesidebooks.com.
(And thanks, Eva for your help!)
December 28, 2013
Started out pretty creepy but lost some steam by the end.
January 24, 2012
Some houses appear to be haunted: their ruined facades and fabled pasts lead to stories of haunts and spirits. Some houses are legitimately haunted: ghosts that refuse to leave this world behind roam their rooms and hallways trying to recapture the life that has been taken from them. But there are some houses that go beyond these simple haunts. There are some houses that hide secrets so dark and grisly that the very essence of evil seeps from their walls. One of these houses sits tucked away in the quiet woods of southern Virginia in the sleepy little town of Ponderbrook.
Terrence Bennett, an esteemed author, is taking his small crew to Ponderbrook to investigate the house for his next book. A skeptic at heart, he approaches the house and its history as nothing more than another spooky tale. But he will soon learn that there is a very real evil that separates normal haunts from those that twist the mind and damn the soul. And when this evil is stirred awake, it is rarely content to stay confined to the four walls of the house in which it has grown.
I’ve always been intrigued by the idea that buildings retain traces of violent events that have occurred in their history. I’m not saying I would go so far as saying I believe in ghosts but I am open to the possibility that there are things that exist in the world that are beyond our current level of understanding. A book that focuses on this premise certainly appeals.
Jack, Terrence & Hank are three paranormal investigators who visit Hammer House in an attempt to unravel its long and bloody history. Each of the trio has their own feelings about the work that they do and these viewpoints are explored as the plot unfolds. Jack is the believer of the group, ever hopeful that their search will bear fruit and he’ll be there to witness it. Hank is unsure what to believe, he has experienced things in the past that he can’t explain and this uncertainty fills him with doubt. Finally there is Terrence, the group’s leader and confirmed skeptic.
The initial investigation of the house doesn’t appear, at first glance, to be terribly successful. As time passes, however, it becomes evident that the team’s most recent trip has left far more of a mark on them than they had realized. Hank and Jack have difficulty sleeping and can’t shake the oppressive feelings that the house created in them. Meanwhile Terrence steadily becomes more and more obsessed about writing his book. The secrets of Hammer House refuse to remain hidden any longer. Unable to step away from his latest project Terrence’s home life starts to breakdown as his compulsion to work escalates. There is a nice nod to another obsessed writer that had to deal with a haunted building at this point that feels entirely apt.
What really sold The Bleeding Room to me was the author’s attention to every detail, this creates some of the novels many highlights. The backstory of Hammer House itself is fully fleshed out and well observed. Finding out, for example, how the building got its name is a particularly gruesome treat.
There is something special about a haunted house story executed well. If the writer has pushed all the right emotional buttons, then the plot will slowly draw a reader in and they’ll become engrossed without even realising that they are doing it. The Bleeding Room manages this unenviable task quite well. It’s easy to become caught up in the detail of Terrence’s life, Hank’s fears and Jack’s hopes.
The Bleeding Room feels like proper old school horror. The novel has a slow build up which works nicely, adding an air of creepy tension that should send the odd shiver up any reader’s spine. The final showdown between Terrence, Jack and Hank and the denizens of Hammer House picks up the pace and provides an extremely satisfying conclusion. Add to that a great little coda that rounds the story off perfectly and you’re on to a winner.
The Bleeding Room is published by Graveside Books and is available now.
Terrence Bennett, an esteemed author, is taking his small crew to Ponderbrook to investigate the house for his next book. A skeptic at heart, he approaches the house and its history as nothing more than another spooky tale. But he will soon learn that there is a very real evil that separates normal haunts from those that twist the mind and damn the soul. And when this evil is stirred awake, it is rarely content to stay confined to the four walls of the house in which it has grown.
I’ve always been intrigued by the idea that buildings retain traces of violent events that have occurred in their history. I’m not saying I would go so far as saying I believe in ghosts but I am open to the possibility that there are things that exist in the world that are beyond our current level of understanding. A book that focuses on this premise certainly appeals.
Jack, Terrence & Hank are three paranormal investigators who visit Hammer House in an attempt to unravel its long and bloody history. Each of the trio has their own feelings about the work that they do and these viewpoints are explored as the plot unfolds. Jack is the believer of the group, ever hopeful that their search will bear fruit and he’ll be there to witness it. Hank is unsure what to believe, he has experienced things in the past that he can’t explain and this uncertainty fills him with doubt. Finally there is Terrence, the group’s leader and confirmed skeptic.
The initial investigation of the house doesn’t appear, at first glance, to be terribly successful. As time passes, however, it becomes evident that the team’s most recent trip has left far more of a mark on them than they had realized. Hank and Jack have difficulty sleeping and can’t shake the oppressive feelings that the house created in them. Meanwhile Terrence steadily becomes more and more obsessed about writing his book. The secrets of Hammer House refuse to remain hidden any longer. Unable to step away from his latest project Terrence’s home life starts to breakdown as his compulsion to work escalates. There is a nice nod to another obsessed writer that had to deal with a haunted building at this point that feels entirely apt.
What really sold The Bleeding Room to me was the author’s attention to every detail, this creates some of the novels many highlights. The backstory of Hammer House itself is fully fleshed out and well observed. Finding out, for example, how the building got its name is a particularly gruesome treat.
There is something special about a haunted house story executed well. If the writer has pushed all the right emotional buttons, then the plot will slowly draw a reader in and they’ll become engrossed without even realising that they are doing it. The Bleeding Room manages this unenviable task quite well. It’s easy to become caught up in the detail of Terrence’s life, Hank’s fears and Jack’s hopes.
The Bleeding Room feels like proper old school horror. The novel has a slow build up which works nicely, adding an air of creepy tension that should send the odd shiver up any reader’s spine. The final showdown between Terrence, Jack and Hank and the denizens of Hammer House picks up the pace and provides an extremely satisfying conclusion. Add to that a great little coda that rounds the story off perfectly and you’re on to a winner.
The Bleeding Room is published by Graveside Books and is available now.
February 7, 2012
I am almost always in the mood for a haunted house tale. I don't believe in ghosts or the supernatural, so you might think that's weird, but I just really enjoy a good ghost story. And after reading a glut of urban fantasy, I was especially ready to sit back with a good ol' fashioned horror novel like this one from Barry.
Terrence Bennett is an author and paranormal investigator--a skeptical one at that. He and Jack and Hank, his two-man crew, head into the woods of southern Virginia to spend the weekend inside the subject of his latest book: Hammer House. While Jack and Hank are believers in the supernatural after a particularly eventful experience in a purportedly haunted site, Terrence holds a more skeptical and disdainful attitude towards ghosts and the like. Hammer House will take care of that, though.
Have you ever been out in the woods and found an old, abandoned house? Just the sight of it is unsettling. It's a bit like seeing an old shipwreck on dry land. Well, Hammer House has that going for it and a whole lot more. The place is notorious among the residents of Ponderbrook for its multiple incidents of murder and death. Cozy.
Terrence, Jack, and Hank set up shop inside the house and try to see if they can capture any evidence of the paranormal. The place instantly gives off a bad vibe, even with Terrence, but aside from weird experiences while there, their time there is relatively uneventful. Oh, some crazy stuff goes on, but their after evidence, not anecdotes. Terrence becomes obsessed with his book once he is back home with his wife and young son, and as days pass a subliminal grip seems to take him, with violent images overtaking him and a compulsive urge to both finish the book and act out some really grotesque fantasies intruding on his imagination. Meanwhile, Jack and Hank are unable to shake the eery things they felt while in Hammer House too, but it's when they scrutinize the film footage they recorded that they realize something really did happen out there in the woods, and they need to warn Terrence.
When I first started reading this book and realized the main characters were ghost hunters, I became a bit skeptical about how much I would enjoy this book. That's because I am almost no interest in those ghost hunting shows that pollute cable TV. Have you seen them? You must have seen at least one. They're ridiculous, especially one I saw recently involving three guys who lock themselves in haunted houses, called Ghost Adventures. Fortunately, Barry's three guys are infinitely more likable, and the story is infinitely more engaging than anything I've seen from those real ghost hunters.
It is damned difficult to approach the haunted house story with something fresh. Like vampires, it's a well-worn genre, but one that I love. And Barry took really good care of it by creating a house that harkens to some of those classic ones like the Overlook from The Shining and that house in Amityville, yet still creates its own identity, especially when the fifth window appears. I won't go into any more detail than that, just trust me that the house is like a sleeping dragon and that window is like the beast opening one eye. That's the impression I got, anyway.
The book has its slow points, and there were a few times where the exposition got long-winded. And while I didn't have any trouble with the viewpoint changes among the main characters, there were points where the viewpoint switched to the spirit in the house, and that's something I've never been keen on. One of my peeves with ghost stories. Aside from some fat that could have been trimmed from the book, I really enjoyed it. If you have an affinity for haunted houses, or at least stories about them, you ought to consider this one.
Terrence Bennett is an author and paranormal investigator--a skeptical one at that. He and Jack and Hank, his two-man crew, head into the woods of southern Virginia to spend the weekend inside the subject of his latest book: Hammer House. While Jack and Hank are believers in the supernatural after a particularly eventful experience in a purportedly haunted site, Terrence holds a more skeptical and disdainful attitude towards ghosts and the like. Hammer House will take care of that, though.
Have you ever been out in the woods and found an old, abandoned house? Just the sight of it is unsettling. It's a bit like seeing an old shipwreck on dry land. Well, Hammer House has that going for it and a whole lot more. The place is notorious among the residents of Ponderbrook for its multiple incidents of murder and death. Cozy.
Terrence, Jack, and Hank set up shop inside the house and try to see if they can capture any evidence of the paranormal. The place instantly gives off a bad vibe, even with Terrence, but aside from weird experiences while there, their time there is relatively uneventful. Oh, some crazy stuff goes on, but their after evidence, not anecdotes. Terrence becomes obsessed with his book once he is back home with his wife and young son, and as days pass a subliminal grip seems to take him, with violent images overtaking him and a compulsive urge to both finish the book and act out some really grotesque fantasies intruding on his imagination. Meanwhile, Jack and Hank are unable to shake the eery things they felt while in Hammer House too, but it's when they scrutinize the film footage they recorded that they realize something really did happen out there in the woods, and they need to warn Terrence.
When I first started reading this book and realized the main characters were ghost hunters, I became a bit skeptical about how much I would enjoy this book. That's because I am almost no interest in those ghost hunting shows that pollute cable TV. Have you seen them? You must have seen at least one. They're ridiculous, especially one I saw recently involving three guys who lock themselves in haunted houses, called Ghost Adventures. Fortunately, Barry's three guys are infinitely more likable, and the story is infinitely more engaging than anything I've seen from those real ghost hunters.
It is damned difficult to approach the haunted house story with something fresh. Like vampires, it's a well-worn genre, but one that I love. And Barry took really good care of it by creating a house that harkens to some of those classic ones like the Overlook from The Shining and that house in Amityville, yet still creates its own identity, especially when the fifth window appears. I won't go into any more detail than that, just trust me that the house is like a sleeping dragon and that window is like the beast opening one eye. That's the impression I got, anyway.
The book has its slow points, and there were a few times where the exposition got long-winded. And while I didn't have any trouble with the viewpoint changes among the main characters, there were points where the viewpoint switched to the spirit in the house, and that's something I've never been keen on. One of my peeves with ghost stories. Aside from some fat that could have been trimmed from the book, I really enjoyed it. If you have an affinity for haunted houses, or at least stories about them, you ought to consider this one.
February 27, 2017
Good one, was scary
November 20, 2014
I haven't read a really good scary book in a long time. This one was awesome. it was an easy read with great flow. I had trouble putting it down!
January 11, 2015
The bleeding room
This book was awesome. Just when you think you figured it out, nope there is a twist with a new surprise. A absolute read. Carmalita
This book was awesome. Just when you think you figured it out, nope there is a twist with a new surprise. A absolute read. Carmalita
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews