House of Bad Memories

by Michael David Wilson

From the author of The Girl in the Video comes a darkly comic thriller with an edge-of-your-seat climax.

Denny just wants to be the world’s best dad to his baby daughter, but things get messy when he starts hallucinating his estranged abusive stepfather, Frank. Then Frank winds up dead and Denny is held hostage by his junkie half-sister who demands he uncovers the cause of her father’s death.

Will Denny defeat his demons or be perpetually tortured for refusing to answer impossible questions?

House of Bad Memories is Funny Games meets This Is England with a Rosemary’s Baby under-taste.



“House of Bad Memories is a haunting and equally visceral tone poem of cruelty, betrayal, and vengeance. Michael David Wilson’s writing vibrates with the all-consuming trauma and suffering of humanity. This is a novel that I certainly won’t forget.”—Eric LaRocca, author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke

"All the many ties that bind a chaotic and increasingly dysfunctional extended family together are stretched to breaking point and beyond in House of Bad Memories. The book goes in every direction except the one you expect. It’s a wild, bloody, and expletive filled riot that’s never anything less than intense. With genre shifts worthy of a Ben Wheatley movie, it’s highly recommended.”—David Moody, author of the Autumn books and Hater

"House of Bad Memories hits so hard, you'll spit teeth out once you're done reading it."—Clay McLeod Chapman, author of Ghost Eaters

"An established master of human frailty and misdirection, Michael David Wilson's latest offering, House of Bad Memories, kept me off kilter and turning pages as reality tilted. Compelling and deeply unsettling, House offers a mystery with endless layers. Never doubt Wilson's willingness to skillfully cross lines you never knew were there. Excellent."—Laurel Hightower, author of Crossroads and Below

“If Ira Levin and Guy Ritchie had a drug-fuelled weekend binge with the Kray twins in a Kidderminster council flat, they wouldn't come close to House of Bad Memories. Darkly funny, brutally violent and strangely touching, Michael David Wilson has created something truly bonkers and I'm here for it.”—Alan Baxter, author of The Gulp and Sallow Bend

“With razor-sharp dialogue and some of the most unpredictable, WTF moments you’ll find anywhere in dark fiction, House of Bad Memories is what would have happened if Quentin Tarantino had grown up in the rancid underbelly of the English Midlands.”—Kev Harrison, author of Below and The Balance

“Beginning as a grim drama, Michael David Wilson’s House of Bad Memories quickly spins into overdrive with a highly dysfunctional family headed for destruction. Twists and turns abound with fiery dialogue that sizzles on the page, Wilson cranks up the crazy to eleven with devious characters you’ll never get out of your head.”—Bob Pastorella, author of Mojo Rising

“Packing the pitch-black humour of John Niven and the gut-punching bleakness of Dead Man's Shoes, House of Bad Memories announces Wilso

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Thriller, Audiobook, Adult, Crime

250 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 13, 2023

About the author

Michael David Wilson is the founder of the popular UK horror website, podcast, and publisher, This Is Horror. Michael is the author of the novella, The Girl in the Video, and the novel, They’re Watching, co-written with Bob Pastorella. His work has appeared in various publications including The NoSleep Podcast, Dim Shores, Dark Moon Digest, and Hawk & Cleaver’s The Other Stories. Michael lives in Gifu, Japan. You can connect with Michael on Twitter @thisishorror. For more information visit www.michaeldavidwilson.co.uk.

Reviews

[John Mauro · Rating 4 out of 5]

My complete review is posted at Grimdark Magazine.

Michael David Wilson takes family dysfunction to a terrifying new level in House of Bad Memories, a horror novel that will leave your head spinning and stomach churning.

Denny loves his infant daughter, May, and wants to be the good father that she deserves, in sharp contrast to his own abusive stepfather, Frank. But the stress of fatherhood seems to be taking a toll on Denny as he starts hallucinating about his estranged stepfather everywhere he goes. Denny even finds himself looking more and more like Frank when examining his reflection in the mirror. After Frank ends up dead, Denny is kidnapped and held hostage by his psychotic half-sister, Jade, who tortures Denny for information and suspects that he may have murdered her father.

House of Bad Memories is completely unhinged. If you are a reader who checks trigger warnings, then this novel is not for you. I’ve never seen so many sadists gathered together in one book, all more than happy to torture or humiliate the perpetually confused and increasingly delirious Denny. When I thought Denny’s situation couldn’t get any worse, Michael David Wilson ratchets up the gore to retch-inducing levels.

Somehow this works because all the violence in House of Bad Memories is balanced by a wicked sense of humor that reminded me a bit of The Handyman Method by Nick Cutter and Andrew F. Sullivan. This is a difficult balance to achieve, and Michael David Wilson pulls it off brilliantly.

In between all the torture and morbid humor, House of Bad Memories addresses a number of interesting themes, including the emotional extremes that people can reach in their personal relationships. House of Bad Memories magnifies these emotions to unsettling levels, taking our human imperfections to irrational levels.

Michael David Wilson also strikes a perfect balance between physical and psychological elements of horror. The reader experiences the same disorientation as Denny, uncertain of who is dead and who is living. Wilson builds the suspense until the very last brutal sentence.

Overall, House of Bad Memories explodes with physical and emotional wreckage and is not for the faint of heart. But readers looking for an unflinching familial horror with plenty of wry wit should definitely check this out.

[Laurel · Rating 5 out of 5]

An established master of human frailty and misdirection, Michael David Wilson's latest offering, HOUSE OF BAD MEMORIES, kept me off kilter and turning pages as reality tilted. Compelling and deeply unsettling, HOUSE offers a mystery with endless layers. Never doubt Wilson's willingness to skillfully cross lines you never knew were there. Excellent.

[Jamedi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review originally on JamReads

House of Bad Memories is a frankly dark and deranged horror thriller, which takes you by unexpected turns from an apparently simple premise, written by Michael David Wilson and published by Cemetery Gates Media. We will be following Denny, a character whose only purpose in the life is becoming a good father, partly because his stepfather Frank was a horrible paternal figure for him.

After he starts seeing Frank in weird places, he soon discovers that Frank has recently died; but for some reason, he's even having conversations with this Frank figure (maybe is he insane?). Trust me when I say this is the least weird part of the book, as when he travels to attend Frank's funeral, he ends being kidnapped by his sister. Apparently, she wants to discover the cause of Frank's sudden death.

What starts with this premise soon becomes a delirious descent that will bring out the worst aspects that were inside Denny; nobody is what it seems to be, and discovering that behind his back, there were multiple layers of lies.
I can't seriously stress how weird this story is, but for some reason, it works well; the pacing might be a bit off for my taste, but if you like a book that touches at some points the extremes of gore, you are going to love it.

House of Bad Memories is a great story about how things can be deranged to the extreme, a book that will keep you glued to the page; you will need stomach to deal with parts of this novel, but it's part of its charm.

[Daniel Willcocks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sharp, witty, and wild. Dear God, remember to strap in before reading.

[Rachel M · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved everything about this one! The humour, the story, the brutality, the heartbreak! You think you know where this story is going and that you have it all sussed out, but then about half way through the book takes a drastic turn, throws in all sorts of jaw dropping moment I actually learnt a new form of torture, I won’t mention what it is as not to spoil the book, but all my horror loving depraved friends will love it! 😂 I of course went straight to Google to research all about it! 😂 I had a hard time putting this one down, it’s the kinda book you say oh just one more chapter!

[Paul Preston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haunted by his past, Denny is hoping to live a normal life now that his abusive stepfather, Frank, has died; to be the kind of father that he never had. Yeah, not a chance.
Without giving anything away, lets just say that family can be torture. After Frank's death, Denny gets himself into quite a bind, dredging up memories from his past while trying to deal with a very uncertain future.
You can feel the intimidation, the betrayal, and the disgust with each flip of the page in this meat grinder of a horrific thriller. Yet you will find yourself laughing at the audacity of some of the scenes, covering your mouth and muttering "what is wrong with me, that is not supposed to be funny!" Michael David Wilson may have penned the most disturbing scene of the year in this story and you will want to read it before it gets spoiled for you.
House of Bad Memories was a compulsive read with lots of questions to be answered. What is real? What is hallucination? Who do you believe? and who will survive?

[Syn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A deranged and dark read filled with delusion, disturbia, and disgusting things. This book follows the character Denny who just wants to be a good father. This stems from the fact that his upbringing was not so stellar and his stepfather Frank used to beat the crap out of him and his stepsister Jade.

Denny starts seeing Frank (his stepfather) in weird places and then he finds out that Frank has died. This is where stuff gets weird because he keeps on seeing Frank. In fact they end up having some conversations, but Frank is dead, isn't he? Is Denny going insane? Then you have some of Frank's pals Butcher and Slaughter who think Denny is responsible for the death of Frank even though Frank had a heart attack. His stepsister Jade has some suspicions too.

Denny will not be leaving town after the funeral because it seems he has some questions to answer to the three above. On a side note Jade is absolutely insane and I love her, she was my favorite character and absolutely made this book.

An addictive story that is violent and disturbing in so many ways. This book is a strange trip of being haunted, dealing with dangerous and crazy people, and just trying to survive the insanity of everything that happens.

[thevampireslibrary · Rating 5 out of 5]

House of Bad Memories was a tightly written exhilarating ride that kept me completely off kilter throughout, reading this felt like I was in a high speed car chase whilst making U turns without slowing down, expect whiplash, this did not go the way I expected, at any turn, I felt I was lulled into a false sense of security for the first few chapters and then I have no other way to articulate this, shit gets insane, the suspense is ramped up and we're thrown into a pulpy thriller with gore, violence and dark humour aplenty but also quite introspective as themes of family/trauma are explored, I really enjoyed this and if you're a fan of Tarantino you will too, Michael has an addictive storytelling voice and can't wait to check out his other work!

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Most of my miserable childhood, I’d been the one to pay. Had the scars and cigarette burns to prove it, faded reminders. Stronger were the memories, the occasional flashbacks. I could still feel each punch and hear his venomous sermon of hate so loud I thought my eardrums would explode.”
📚
House of Bad Memories opens on a seemingly idyllic Saturday morning with married couple Denny and Kat Carlton caring for their baby over breakfast. Things aren’t as blissful as they appear, however, as Denny begins hallucinating his abusive step-father Frank, after which he learns that Frank has died. And when he begrudgingly returns home for the funeral, mundanity quickly devolves into crass, cruel, extreme, and intense chaos that redefines “dysfunctional family.”

This book is an outright bonkers ride that rockets into its own dimension of horrific brutality, utter devastation, gag-inducing nastiness, and bizarre twists balanced by laugh-out-loud banter and hilarious moments. To say that the reader feels whiplashed is a huge understatement, yet it all works. And works incredibly well. Think Tarantino film in British horror/thriller novel format infused with a dark hilarity that goes to nasty, horrifying, crazy, brutal places. If there is a proverbial line, this book obliterates it, or, shall we say, draws an entirely new one.

House of Bad Memories is a dual haunting, and by that, I mean that it begins as a “quiet haunting” — a man working toward an ideal but held back and literally haunted by childhood demons — and ends with an indelible bang, a “loud haunting,” if you will, this time of the reader (trust me; you’ll see!). The characters and plot line are compelling, layered, disorienting, and, at times, oddly touching, ricocheting to unpredictable and unimaginable places. All of these elements combine to form a strange, funny, horrific, jaw-dropping, and utterly brilliant work that leaves the reader exhausted, as though they’ve run a literary marathon and need a rest! Or perhaps a good cup of tea to calm things down.

A huge thank you to Cemetery Gates Media for providing a physical ARC of this tremendous forthcoming release. It was an incredible ride, and I can only imagine what Michael David Wilson will create next!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I started this book I wasn't expecting to be held hostage by it. From the very first chapter I was absolutely hooked and could not wait to see where this was going.

Denny is just trying to be the best dad he can be and raise his daughter with all the love that he never had as a child living with his mother and extremely abusive step-father, Frank. When Frank dies, Denny returns home to his hometown to attend the funeral, things do not go as planned. Like, at all. His sister, Jade, holds him hostage, demanding answers as to what really happened to Frank. From there the story grabs you by the shoulders and shakes you around. It was such a mind-fuck and I mean that in the best way. Hearing the back story of Denny's relationship with Frank and the awful abuse he endured as a kid was so heart-wrenching. There's a bit of an unreliable narrator thing going on too that I loved in this.

The insane ride Michael David Wilson takes you on is hard to wrap your head around. I could not at any point while reading this predict how this was going to end and when reading that last paragraph my jaw was on the floor.

This is a bloody and brutal masterpiece.

[Curtis · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Boo hoo, my dad was a Republican, how do I go on after so much abuse??"
No offense dude, but dads are supposed to be a little bit racist and sexist, it gives you something to rebel against. If your dad was super nice all the time, you'd be rebelling against that instead. Let dads be assholes again.

[Thomas Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

What begins as a setup for a supernatural story about a man being haunted by his recently deceased stepfather turns into something much more visceral and extreme. Every time I thought I knew where the story was headed, Wilson would gleefully appear, proclaim, "NOPE!", and pull the rug from under my feet. There are a lot of instances of the characters - especially main character, Denny - struggling to understand what is going on and, just as we think we understand "it", "it" changes! At times it did feel as though the story would not reach a satisfactory ending, but it did. A strange, unexpected ending, but definitely an ending. The violence is brutal throughout, and no topic is out of bounds. Exciting as hell and fast-paced, too.

[Brian Bowyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic!

I had a blast with this one! A fast, dynamic, and beautifully written novel, HOUSE OF BAD MEMORIES is filled with propulsive dialogue that will keep you flying through its pages. I'm looking forward to reading more from Wilson. Highly recommended!

[Brandon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tightly-written thriller all the way through! Not for the faint of heart.

[Alex Grist · Rating 5 out of 5]

Guy Ritchie on Crack

This was so much better than it deserved to be. Heart wrenching, funny and brutal, tied up with a neat ribbon. Equal parts Guy Ritchie and Edgar Wright if they were to produce a grindhouse flick. Loved every second.

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

You know fucking what? This book is actually good and it's took me until 70-80% to realise it.

I did not know what I was getting into when I started listening (to the audiobook), and the turns the book had took me by surprised every time, with the 'drinking' scene iykyk, the plot twist, and the second plot twist, and even the whole supernatural aspect at the end.

I got to admit I was getting annoyed with all the characters, especially the sister (with the exception of Denny), and tbh my annoyance never went away even after finishing the book.

But it was a really good take on generational trauma and familiar greed and selfishness. Plus the fact that it made me laugh out loud some of the morbid jokes is a bonus.

I felt bad about Denny across the entire journey, but the ending was cool af so who cares what happens after heh

[Brennan LaFaro · Rating 5 out of 5]

No one does set up quite like Michael David Wilson. House of Bad Memories engages the reader with a hefty helping of 'things are not as they seem' before devolving full tilt into a spiraling swirl of madness. Wilson explores familial relationships from every conceivable angle, combining mystery with dark humor to delve into those places where most dare not tread. A thrilling, fast-paced crime horror story that will keep readers frantically flipping pages until the last word.

[Amanda (spooky.octopus.reads) Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

🪓 𝙃𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝘽𝙖𝙙 𝙈𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨⁣
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This was a dark one…perfect for my darkness craving heart. I am always looking for those books that just take me on a dark and unsettling ride, and Wilson certainly did that with 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘢𝘥 𝘔𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴.⁣
⁣
So, as the story goes….⁣
Denny just wants to be a good dad, one that outshines the disaster that was his stepfather, Frank (which isn’t hard to do since Frank was such a horrible parent). Deep down, I feel Denny is a good guy with a good heart and good intentions. ⁣
Alright, I’ll do my best to explain this next part…Denny starts to “see” his stepfather show up everywhere, and he speaks to him as if he were there. But, then he finds out that Frank has actually recently died. Then, his (slightly unstable) sister kidnaps him in hopes of finding out the true manner of Frank’s death. And don’t forget that Frank’s friends, Butcher and Slaughter, also have their suspicions about Denny’s involvement in Frank’s death. ⁣
⁣
I’m not sure I can really explain more than that without giving away a bunch, but goodness is this one a wild ride. There is a bit of playing around with the idea of sanity and there are certainly a good bit of disturbing elements (but in a good way) in these pages. ⁣
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I think another reviewer mentioned that this book reminded them of something from the mind of Tarantino. After reading, yup, I totally agree. Not only was it fast paced and twisty, but it had that element of weird and wow that I absolutely live for. ⁣
⁣
Having read 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘝𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘰, also by Wilson, I knew I was in for something awesome (and some really great writing). This did not disappoint. ⁣
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🖤🖤🖤🖤💕/5⁣
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[Chandra Claypool (WhereTheReaderGrows) · Rating 4 out of 5]

House of Bad Memories
by Michael David Wilson
Cemetery Gates Media
4 skulls

"House of Bad Memories is Funny Games meets This is England with a Rosemary's Baby under-taste." How can you say no to this description? I certainly couldn't. After reading this author's novella, The Girl in the Video, I knew I needed to dig right into Wilson's latest.

Denny is our protagonist. While he wants to be the best daddy that he can be... he gets distracted as he hallucinates his stepfather, Frank, who is no longer a part of this corporeal world. But wait! There's more! His half-sister decides to kidnap him so he can find out what happened to Frank. Bring on the torture!

This story starts off innocently enough and readers are lulled into a somewhat safe space for the first few chapters. However, we know the horror is coming. We're just not prepared for how insane this ends up being. Dark humor and grotesque, torturous scenes are riddled with some pieces of heart that are unexpected but well received.

If you love Tarantino, this is the read for you. You'll enjoy the ramp up of suspense and the beautiful torment within. I don't know much about small British towns but now I know to steer clear... or maybe visit because I'm as demented as this author. Be prepared for the ride of a lifetime and strap yourself in as the directions this author brings us on will give us whiplash. Enjoy the pain, readers.

[JD · Rating 2 out of 5]

It seems im a minority! Perhaps listening to this book as an audio book ruined my experience, I am definitely a reader by preferred choice of consuming thrilling stories. But I found this quite frustrating and non sensical... maybe it was just me? A lot of other readers appear to have enjoyed the storyline, but I found it quite frustrating. I was frustrated by the hostage scenario, and assumptions about the characters involvement in his step dads death. I was frustrated by the amount of time it took to get answers for the story to make sense and found it anticlimactic. It may be they I didn't particularly like the protagonist so much, or the labels of butcher and slaughter, or the way Cat spoke to her husband in the beginning of the novel. It all felt over dramatised for me. After speaking with fans of this author I am planning to read another, but will avoid audio book versions in future I think!

[Kev Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars rounded up to 5.
I read an early copy of this book and thoroughly enjoyed it. What seems to begin as a fairly straightforward (if f*cked up) story of an estranged, bereaved stepson takes innumerable twists and turns, via the English midlands equivalent of Tarantino-esque dialogue and violence. Some of the set pieces in this novel are as well constructed as they are revolting. The portrayal of the underbelly of British society as hilarious as it is depressingly accurate.
If when you think of British society and culture, you envisage Notting Hill or Downton Abbey, prepare to have your perceptions altered.

[Dedham Pond · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I liked about this book, I liked quite a bit. The narrative voice is good, representing a character who maintains a strong sense of humor despite the tremendous hardship he endures. The characters are well-developed and interesting, the plot compelling.

However, I confess I finished this novel largely because I want to support the author, Michael David Wilson, whose THIS IS HORROR podcast is my favorite. If not for that, the truth is that I would have stopped when the bucket of feces and funnel were introduced. It's not a long novel, but I stepped away from it for more than a week before deciding to return and give myself a pass for skipping what disturbed me.

[Dan Howarth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given an advanced copy of this to read and blurb.

“Packing pitch-black humour and gut-punching bleakness, House of Bad Memories announces Wilson as a British Palahniuk.”

This book has sick humour, violence, and sly comments on small-town Britain. It is definitely not for the faint hearted! Get yourself a copy today!

[Eamonn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Drenched with the blackest of humor - an excellent, messed up rollercoaster of a story.

Really great writing and addictive storytelling from Michael David Wilson here. A definite book of the year for me. A pulpy Thriller with weird screwed up twists, and a great laugh at times. Don’t sleep on this one. Highly recommended book.

[Jeff Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

This comes across as a mafia type story for a long time, then things get a little supernatural. Some of the characters are a bit like charicatures (Jade, some of the baddies), but they also provide some twists and turns as things go along. In the end, it all works out alright, or does it?

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

MDW give a SAW like experience in this brutal horror/thriller.

[Christoph Weber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny but weird. Mysterious but what's really going on?

Not sure why I picked this book up anyway