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I Found a Lost Hallway in a Dying Mall
In a forgotten mall, reality is starting to rot.
★★★★★ - "It's like the Backrooms inside a shopping mall."
Somewhere among the shuttered stores...
Lisa hears a call for help.
She finds her senile old coworker, Saswin, lost in an abandoned hallway. He's talking to a circle of mannequins, their limbs twisted and fused in unnatural ways.
When Lisa looks away, she swears the mannequins have moved...
And that this abandoned hallway has grown longer.
After Saswin disappears down the impossible hallway, Lisa goes to find him, but she’s unprepared for the horrors that await her in the mall's forgotten depths.
I Found a Lost Hallway in a Dying Mall has been compared to creepypastas like NoSleep stories or SCP entries. It's a chilling tale of identity, liminal spaces, and the horror of leaving the past behind, from Ben Farthing, "The King of Creepy" (MJ Mars, author of The Suffering).
Each book in the I Found Horror series is a STANDALONE. They can be read in any order.
★★★★★ - "It's like the Backrooms inside a shopping mall."
Somewhere among the shuttered stores...
Lisa hears a call for help.
She finds her senile old coworker, Saswin, lost in an abandoned hallway. He's talking to a circle of mannequins, their limbs twisted and fused in unnatural ways.
When Lisa looks away, she swears the mannequins have moved...
And that this abandoned hallway has grown longer.
After Saswin disappears down the impossible hallway, Lisa goes to find him, but she’s unprepared for the horrors that await her in the mall's forgotten depths.
I Found a Lost Hallway in a Dying Mall has been compared to creepypastas like NoSleep stories or SCP entries. It's a chilling tale of identity, liminal spaces, and the horror of leaving the past behind, from Ben Farthing, "The King of Creepy" (MJ Mars, author of The Suffering).
Each book in the I Found Horror series is a STANDALONE. They can be read in any order.
162 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 18, 2024
160 people are currently reading
1757 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 219 reviews
July 20, 2024
I really wanted to enjoy this book for the heartfelt horror/drama that it was intended to be, but I just couldn't get over the main characters selfishness and all the ridiculously stupid decisions she made that put her family at risk.
September 11, 2024
this is quite honestly the worst book i have ever read in my entire life
October 28, 2025
i usually love Farthing’s ‘I found’ horror novels but i really didn’t like this
December 24, 2025
TW/CW: Stroke, dementia, toxic family relationships, anxiety, dementia, depression
*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:
Lisa finds her senile old coworker, Saswin, lost in an abandoned mall hallway. He's talking to a circle of mannequins, their limbs twisted and fused in unnatural ways.When Lisa looks away, she swears the mannequins have moved, and that this abandoned hallway has grown longer.After Saswin disappears down the impossible hallway, Lisa goes to find him, but she’s unprepared for the horrors that await her in the mall's forgotten depths.
Release Date: June 18th, 2024
Genre: Horror
Pages: 164
Rating: ⭐
What I Liked:
1. Love dying malls - so creepy
What I Didn't Like:
1. Writing style is off in this story
2. Lots of spelling errors
3. Comes off repeative and boring half way through
4. Characters are stupid
5. Ending felt rushed
Overall Thoughts:
{{Disclaimer: I write my review as I read}}
Omgosh Lisa is absolutely dumb. She says she has to check on the mannequins head in Sharper Image to protect her family but instead walks down an empty abandoned section of the mall where known homeless people stay at times. Not all homeless people are dangerous but some are, so she puts herself in danger. Then she follows her old co-worker into an abandoned store having no idea what he'll do in his state of dementia. Why not just wait on the police? Why do you have to follow him? Her being stupid is annoying me.
This book is coming off oddly to me. Why is the author keep writing THE JCPenny and THE Sears? I feel like I'm talking to my mom and she needs to put the in front of stores names.
Why is Marassa going to let her father babysit if they live together? Isn't he showing signs of his own dementia? Why would he be trusted to take care of a baby alone if he is showing signs of mental decline?
Oh man, how dumb can Lisa sound when she tells the security guard that mannequins chased her away from helping her ex co-worker? If you want someone to take the situation seriously don't add in the weird unbelievable things too.
Creepy that the last time they saw Jimmy was by Sears. Also also how is no one freaking out at these mannequins? Everyone is acting like it's all normal.
Lisa freaking out that someone is playing a prank on them makes no sense. Why would pranksters have it set up in an abandoned part of the mall where no one goes? How would that be exciting? So stupid. I suppose she's rationing that because it's so scary but if it's so scary why does she keep coming back and is trying to get inside Sears?
She has had so many opportunities to call the police and figure out what happened to her old co-worker who is dealing with Dementia but she doesn't do this. She continues to go back into the hallway herself and now there are two missing people. I don't get why she isn't just calling the police and telling them what happened. She's doing everything but trying to call the police again. Why?? Honestly at this point I'm just annoyed. I feel like we're just repeating the same thing over and over again and nothing is changing. I wish the author would have wrote something more interesting other than the same actions page after page.
Lisa keeps saying that when she's in need she'll show up and she's always there for her family and friends so call the police Lisa. This is beyond your control. Not only do you have an old co-worker who is lost, a missing security guard but you think there are some random people in the mall doing pranks on you too that you don't know and you're alone.
So she's choosing this dude over the health of her own husband. I am now convinced there was something more going on with him that she would act like this. There is zero co-worker I have ever worked that I would go through all of this for. This is actually so unhealthy and borders on obsessed not caring.
Sigh!!! Lisa gets a dm that Saswin is living with his daughter in Seattle. This whole time something else was calling to her. What do you think Lisa does next ;
A. Get out of there with her husband
B. Talk her way out of there as she leaves
C. STILL tries to help this person for no reason at all
Well if you guessed C the dumbest answer than you are correct. I hate her. Who is she saving if the real person isn't this??? Wtf is wrong with her? She's the kind of lady that would be asking the man stabbing her if he is okay and he needs anything from her during this stressful time for them.
Her daughter is telling her everything she needs to hear but she's still not listening. Lisa is horrible. Now she's lead her daughter into the mall. Lisa doesn't care about anyone else but herself. I want to say too I don't think the author has ever worked retail because you can't just unlock the door of the store you have to also turn off the alarm.
Ending was okay but feel like it ended so quickly for the buildup it had coming. I still hate Lisa.
Final Thoughts:
I don't like the outdated term of senile to describe a person with dementia.
I don't think I have been more frustrated at a characters actions as I was with Lisa. There is a line you can cross from caring into obsessed and Lisa had no lines. She just full went obsessed. Yeah, I get that we can blame some of it in the God controlling her actions a little bit but it's said in the books and notes that what powers Lisa is the desire to be needed but still have a life of her own, which is a confusing thing to think as a parent. How is she now annoyed that her daughter her mom when her daughter has treated her as such her whole life. She's asked her life advice and had her help her as a parent.
This book reminded me too much of the game Mannequin and the movie Don't Look Away. In the game when you look at the mannequins they stop moving.
Sadly this has been the lowest ranked book I have ever read by the author in this series and that makes me sad. I hope his next book I read is good.
IG | Blog
*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:
Lisa finds her senile old coworker, Saswin, lost in an abandoned mall hallway. He's talking to a circle of mannequins, their limbs twisted and fused in unnatural ways.When Lisa looks away, she swears the mannequins have moved, and that this abandoned hallway has grown longer.After Saswin disappears down the impossible hallway, Lisa goes to find him, but she’s unprepared for the horrors that await her in the mall's forgotten depths.
Release Date: June 18th, 2024
Genre: Horror
Pages: 164
Rating: ⭐
What I Liked:
1. Love dying malls - so creepy
What I Didn't Like:
1. Writing style is off in this story
2. Lots of spelling errors
3. Comes off repeative and boring half way through
4. Characters are stupid
5. Ending felt rushed
Overall Thoughts:
{{Disclaimer: I write my review as I read}}
Omgosh Lisa is absolutely dumb. She says she has to check on the mannequins head in Sharper Image to protect her family but instead walks down an empty abandoned section of the mall where known homeless people stay at times. Not all homeless people are dangerous but some are, so she puts herself in danger. Then she follows her old co-worker into an abandoned store having no idea what he'll do in his state of dementia. Why not just wait on the police? Why do you have to follow him? Her being stupid is annoying me.
This book is coming off oddly to me. Why is the author keep writing THE JCPenny and THE Sears? I feel like I'm talking to my mom and she needs to put the in front of stores names.
Why is Marassa going to let her father babysit if they live together? Isn't he showing signs of his own dementia? Why would he be trusted to take care of a baby alone if he is showing signs of mental decline?
Oh man, how dumb can Lisa sound when she tells the security guard that mannequins chased her away from helping her ex co-worker? If you want someone to take the situation seriously don't add in the weird unbelievable things too.
Creepy that the last time they saw Jimmy was by Sears. Also also how is no one freaking out at these mannequins? Everyone is acting like it's all normal.
Lisa freaking out that someone is playing a prank on them makes no sense. Why would pranksters have it set up in an abandoned part of the mall where no one goes? How would that be exciting? So stupid. I suppose she's rationing that because it's so scary but if it's so scary why does she keep coming back and is trying to get inside Sears?
She has had so many opportunities to call the police and figure out what happened to her old co-worker who is dealing with Dementia but she doesn't do this. She continues to go back into the hallway herself and now there are two missing people. I don't get why she isn't just calling the police and telling them what happened. She's doing everything but trying to call the police again. Why?? Honestly at this point I'm just annoyed. I feel like we're just repeating the same thing over and over again and nothing is changing. I wish the author would have wrote something more interesting other than the same actions page after page.
Lisa keeps saying that when she's in need she'll show up and she's always there for her family and friends so call the police Lisa. This is beyond your control. Not only do you have an old co-worker who is lost, a missing security guard but you think there are some random people in the mall doing pranks on you too that you don't know and you're alone.
So she's choosing this dude over the health of her own husband. I am now convinced there was something more going on with him that she would act like this. There is zero co-worker I have ever worked that I would go through all of this for. This is actually so unhealthy and borders on obsessed not caring.
Sigh!!! Lisa gets a dm that Saswin is living with his daughter in Seattle. This whole time something else was calling to her. What do you think Lisa does next ;
A. Get out of there with her husband
B. Talk her way out of there as she leaves
C. STILL tries to help this person for no reason at all
Well if you guessed C the dumbest answer than you are correct. I hate her. Who is she saving if the real person isn't this??? Wtf is wrong with her? She's the kind of lady that would be asking the man stabbing her if he is okay and he needs anything from her during this stressful time for them.
Her daughter is telling her everything she needs to hear but she's still not listening. Lisa is horrible. Now she's lead her daughter into the mall. Lisa doesn't care about anyone else but herself. I want to say too I don't think the author has ever worked retail because you can't just unlock the door of the store you have to also turn off the alarm.
Ending was okay but feel like it ended so quickly for the buildup it had coming. I still hate Lisa.
Final Thoughts:
I don't like the outdated term of senile to describe a person with dementia.
I don't think I have been more frustrated at a characters actions as I was with Lisa. There is a line you can cross from caring into obsessed and Lisa had no lines. She just full went obsessed. Yeah, I get that we can blame some of it in the God controlling her actions a little bit but it's said in the books and notes that what powers Lisa is the desire to be needed but still have a life of her own, which is a confusing thing to think as a parent. How is she now annoyed that her daughter her mom when her daughter has treated her as such her whole life. She's asked her life advice and had her help her as a parent.
This book reminded me too much of the game Mannequin and the movie Don't Look Away. In the game when you look at the mannequins they stop moving.
Sadly this has been the lowest ranked book I have ever read by the author in this series and that makes me sad. I hope his next book I read is good.
IG | Blog
August 17, 2024
Absolutely loved this one! Great job Ben
August 1, 2024
My brother MADE me watch The Oldest View by Kane Pixels on YouTube (We play a lot of backroom themed games) and I've been dying for a book like it since. I lurked Reddit for liminal stories but it's always Hollow Places by T.Kingfisher (I've already read and loved and I can't read it for the first time again which depresses me), House of Leaves (which was too convoluted for me to even feel a drop of fear... I might try it again), and Paranesi (TBR). Then this book came out, and I was SO excited to read it. It did not disappoint. IT IS EXACTLY WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR. Now I have another book I can't read for the first time. I'll just be here hoping in a couple years that I'll forget it and I'll get to read it all again. I've already sent this book to my brother and my husband (who also loves Kane Pixels) to read.
Seriously though, if you guys love liminal horrors like the backrooms and you have a gripping fear of being irrevocably lost, you'll love this. If you can't really picture a liminal horror, look up Kane Pixels on YouTube then read this book. I wish there was more like this.
Seriously though, if you guys love liminal horrors like the backrooms and you have a gripping fear of being irrevocably lost, you'll love this. If you can't really picture a liminal horror, look up Kane Pixels on YouTube then read this book. I wish there was more like this.
January 8, 2025
The writing is so repetitive. I get it - MC is a helper, friend feels lonely and abandoned, she doesn't want anyone left behind. There is no reason to repeat this to every degree on nearly every page.
The MC is annoying to me. Even after she finds out who her friend is, she keeps insisitng they're lonely and abandoned and need her help. Why? Once you find out who the friend is, you may keep asking why as well.
I like the cover.
I had high hopes for the story, but it fell flat for me, and I was glad to be done.
The MC is annoying to me. Even after she finds out who her friend is, she keeps insisitng they're lonely and abandoned and need her help. Why? Once you find out who the friend is, you may keep asking why as well.
I like the cover.
I had high hopes for the story, but it fell flat for me, and I was glad to be done.
June 2, 2025
i refused to finish this because i think it might quite possibly be the most boring book i’ve ever read in my whole life. i don’t even care to continue reading. the characters don’t redeem it in any way because i find me MC insufferable 😭
June 30, 2024
Huge fan of Farthington’s work and was delighted to see his latest offering that takes place in a dying American mall. While I found the main character to be an unlikeable ice queen who constantly makes illogical decisions, I nearly stopped reading at around page 97. My hatred for the character reached a peak and I found myself hoping for her demise. What pulled it around for me was the book’s notes section by the author who explains the origins of his character and how he opted for writing a different ending, which I found fascinating. I would have given it a 4+ Star rating if I didn’t hate the lead character as much as I did. Great stuff as always from this highly entertaining author
July 6, 2024
2.5. I think I’ve read a these too quickly in succession, this one started to get on my nerves.
September 7, 2024
So this book was great. It was fast-paced and had its super spooky moments. Dolls freak me out and mannequins are just a large type of doll to me. But I'm still a little confused as to what happened and what exactly was going on. But I really enjoyed this series so I will be looking into more by this author.
September 3, 2024
The first time Lisa notices something wrong in the Sears wing of the dying mall she works at, she isn't sure how to tell her husband. Hank works at the Auntie Anne's not too far from the Dillard's where Lisa is a manager. He suffered a stroke recently and any added stress puts him at risk for another episode. However, they share everything with each other and even get to spend meal breaks walking the mall and reminiscing on its glory days before shoppers began to visit less and stores were shuttered for good.
Lately though the one topic of conversation Hank can't seem to move away from is their daughter's job offer that would relocate her and her young son. Marissa moved back in with them following her divorce and it's allowed them to be a constant in her life as well as Luke's.
Lisa isn't ready to give up her position at Dillard's or the fulfillment she gets from being the manager of one of the last survivors of the nearly empty mall.
There's something lurking in the long since unoccupied Sears that isn't ready to leave Cloverfield Mall for good either.
Lisa must make some difficult decisions in the days after first hearing an old coworkers voice coming from somewhere in the mall and the mutated mannequin head that seems to be tracking her movements.
She's at a crossroads in life that just gets increasingly more complicated as she tries to make sense of what she's experiencing at work while also trying to protect her loved ones. Lisa was such an amazing protagonist. I love seeing wives and mothers represented in horror. Especially when they're so relatable that they could be one of your own loved ones. This book was filled with terror and dread, but underneath it all was a touching story that pulled at my heart strings.
I saw a booksta buddy post about it and knew I had to read it asap as my favorite mall, the one I grew up going to, was to close its doors for good just last Saturday. I was fortunate enough to go in one last time and take some photos.
Throughout the book I was thrilled to see some references to Kane Pixels 'The Oldest View', a youtube video that I love dearly and is, in my opinion, some of the eeriest liminal space content there is.
Regardless of whether or not youre interested in liminal spaces, backrooms, or dying shopping malls I think there is something for most horror lovers in this book and I highly recommend checking it out! I'm really looking forward to reading more from this author.
Lately though the one topic of conversation Hank can't seem to move away from is their daughter's job offer that would relocate her and her young son. Marissa moved back in with them following her divorce and it's allowed them to be a constant in her life as well as Luke's.
Lisa isn't ready to give up her position at Dillard's or the fulfillment she gets from being the manager of one of the last survivors of the nearly empty mall.
There's something lurking in the long since unoccupied Sears that isn't ready to leave Cloverfield Mall for good either.
Lisa must make some difficult decisions in the days after first hearing an old coworkers voice coming from somewhere in the mall and the mutated mannequin head that seems to be tracking her movements.
She's at a crossroads in life that just gets increasingly more complicated as she tries to make sense of what she's experiencing at work while also trying to protect her loved ones. Lisa was such an amazing protagonist. I love seeing wives and mothers represented in horror. Especially when they're so relatable that they could be one of your own loved ones. This book was filled with terror and dread, but underneath it all was a touching story that pulled at my heart strings.
I saw a booksta buddy post about it and knew I had to read it asap as my favorite mall, the one I grew up going to, was to close its doors for good just last Saturday. I was fortunate enough to go in one last time and take some photos.
Throughout the book I was thrilled to see some references to Kane Pixels 'The Oldest View', a youtube video that I love dearly and is, in my opinion, some of the eeriest liminal space content there is.
Regardless of whether or not youre interested in liminal spaces, backrooms, or dying shopping malls I think there is something for most horror lovers in this book and I highly recommend checking it out! I'm really looking forward to reading more from this author.
October 30, 2024
Lisa was SO FRUSTRATING!! The first half of the book was okay, but as soon as she got that text from Saswin's daughter, she sould have left and never come back. Also, the thought that you can help a deity that clearly doesn't want to be helped and just wants to trap you was funny tbh, so the her last trip to the mall was really unnecessary.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 23, 2025
Everything declines eventually.
This was a good example of how the horror genre doesn’t have to include a single drop of blood in it in order to scare its audience. Dying malls are eerie enough on their own if you ask me, and adding in mannequins that are anything but the inanimate objects they’re supposed to be only added an additional layer of dread to the setting. The explanation for why such innocuous things could suddenly become terrifying was well done, too, and made me wish for a prequel or a sequel as there was still plenty of space to explore how this dying mall transformed into something so unlike its formerly cheerful self.
Lisa’s illogical decisions were the only thing holding me back from giving this book a higher rating. My first impression of her was of an intelligent woman who used her wisdom to try to make the world a better place if or when she had the opportunity to nudge it in that direction, so it was confusing for me later on when she began making choices that put her and those around her in danger. This didn’t seem to match the dependable Lisa I’d already met and grown to like, and there was never quite enough character development for me to reconcile these different aspects of her personality.
With that being said, I loved the exploration of disability and aging in this piece. Lisa and Hank had reached a point in life where their physical health was beginning to slow them down in ways they could no longer explain away as a bad day. Adjusting to that wasn’t easy for them, especially when they began to face the small moments in life that would have been effortless a few years ago but not required some planning and energy management in order to accomplish.
I Found a Lost Hallway in a Dying Mall was thought provoking and makes me hope that Mr. Farthing will release some more stories soon.
This was a good example of how the horror genre doesn’t have to include a single drop of blood in it in order to scare its audience. Dying malls are eerie enough on their own if you ask me, and adding in mannequins that are anything but the inanimate objects they’re supposed to be only added an additional layer of dread to the setting. The explanation for why such innocuous things could suddenly become terrifying was well done, too, and made me wish for a prequel or a sequel as there was still plenty of space to explore how this dying mall transformed into something so unlike its formerly cheerful self.
Lisa’s illogical decisions were the only thing holding me back from giving this book a higher rating. My first impression of her was of an intelligent woman who used her wisdom to try to make the world a better place if or when she had the opportunity to nudge it in that direction, so it was confusing for me later on when she began making choices that put her and those around her in danger. This didn’t seem to match the dependable Lisa I’d already met and grown to like, and there was never quite enough character development for me to reconcile these different aspects of her personality.
With that being said, I loved the exploration of disability and aging in this piece. Lisa and Hank had reached a point in life where their physical health was beginning to slow them down in ways they could no longer explain away as a bad day. Adjusting to that wasn’t easy for them, especially when they began to face the small moments in life that would have been effortless a few years ago but not required some planning and energy management in order to accomplish.
I Found a Lost Hallway in a Dying Mall was thought provoking and makes me hope that Mr. Farthing will release some more stories soon.
October 5, 2024
I had a booth at an author event a couple weeks ago, and a woman who was checking out my books asked if I was into "weird horror." Obviously, the answer was yes, and she told me I HAD to check out Ben Farthing's work. I am so glad she did!
Farthing writes my particular brand of horror, and he does it extremely well. The eeriness really came through. I resonated a lot with Lisa. This wasn't just "weird horror." There was so much depth to this book it was almost overwhelming. Fear of aging, abandonment, no longer being needed, searching for purpose...this book covers it all. And that's what makes horror like this so effective. I do wish there was a bit more of a concrete ending, but that's a minor gripe based on my personal preferences only. Farthing has a new fan in me. I can't wait to read more (all) of his work.
Farthing writes my particular brand of horror, and he does it extremely well. The eeriness really came through. I resonated a lot with Lisa. This wasn't just "weird horror." There was so much depth to this book it was almost overwhelming. Fear of aging, abandonment, no longer being needed, searching for purpose...this book covers it all. And that's what makes horror like this so effective. I do wish there was a bit more of a concrete ending, but that's a minor gripe based on my personal preferences only. Farthing has a new fan in me. I can't wait to read more (all) of his work.
July 14, 2024
"I saw a mannequin’s head dragging itself across the dusty floor of a shuttered Sharper Image."
As I was reading this a song kept playing on repeat in my head. ‘Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now’ by Starship was constant. It was a never ending tune that just wouldn’t quit. Why in the hell was that song stuck? Then it came to me… this is the song that was playing in the movie ‘Mannequin’ and now I’m terrified.
Mannequins have always creeped me out and now I’m leery to even go near one after reading this.
RTC
As I was reading this a song kept playing on repeat in my head. ‘Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now’ by Starship was constant. It was a never ending tune that just wouldn’t quit. Why in the hell was that song stuck? Then it came to me… this is the song that was playing in the movie ‘Mannequin’ and now I’m terrified.
Mannequins have always creeped me out and now I’m leery to even go near one after reading this.
RTC
April 22, 2025
Abandoned mall, creepy mannequins, and a family facing major life changes, yup, recipe for great horror!
I really enjoyed this story. The setting is absolutely perfect, with some great time spent dwelling on the slow abandonment of this once busy mall.
There are some great scenes early on as our protagonist is getting swept into the supernatural stuff happening, which are quite creepy.
I think our characters are fine, but not amazing. Their family dynamic has some interesting traits, but I also think Lisa feels so painfully unaware of the similarities between what she is experiencing and her own internal monologue, while also mentioning that she does see the similarities. I think Farthing wants this frustrating contrast as a way to explore this shifting family dynamic, but it didn't quite land for me.
Overall, I enjoyed this story and was quite glad I gave it a chance. I will definitely be reading more of his books.
I really enjoyed this story. The setting is absolutely perfect, with some great time spent dwelling on the slow abandonment of this once busy mall.
There are some great scenes early on as our protagonist is getting swept into the supernatural stuff happening, which are quite creepy.
I think our characters are fine, but not amazing. Their family dynamic has some interesting traits, but I also think Lisa feels so painfully unaware of the similarities between what she is experiencing and her own internal monologue, while also mentioning that she does see the similarities. I think Farthing wants this frustrating contrast as a way to explore this shifting family dynamic, but it didn't quite land for me.
Overall, I enjoyed this story and was quite glad I gave it a chance. I will definitely be reading more of his books.
August 24, 2024
These books are always so fun, making the most bizarre but engaging reads. Malls are dying and so this one felt even creepier. I will always read these, so please keep writing more!
January 13, 2026
This one wasn't a favorite, but I didn't hate it. I was left with questions, but I read the author's explanation at the end, so I know what he was doing. I just don't like when the ending leaves me wondering.
September 24, 2024
yet another great installment in the series. not my top favorite but a really fun one and I just want 100 more of these I found books.
September 6, 2025
Good lord, he just keeps repeating himself. Getttt oooonnn with iiiiit. Terrible plot and ending, too lol
June 19, 2024
Ben Farthing knows how to make readers uncomfortable through depicting the mundane as creepy and horrific. "I Found a Lost Hallway in a Dying Mall" was a rollercoaster of emotions as we follow our kind hearted protagonist through an unearthly abandoned Mall, where she must fight off evil mannequins!
I loved this novel so much. If Doctor Who and Stephen King had a love child, it is this unnerving story of sentient inanimate objects, expansive worlds and internal chaos and conflict.
This story had everything any horror fan could want. It made your skin crawl in the best possible way. Ben's writing style is wonderfully descriptive, allowing the reader to fully immerse themselves in this world, as well as allowing us to truly understanding how our characters are feeling as if we were struggling through the scenarios ourselves.
Ben really brought his characters to life through the pages of his story. As creepy and unsettling as this story was, it provided inspiration and hope for readers with wholesome undertones. There is well and truly something for everyone in this novel in my opinion, once you look past the morphing mannequins and evil entity..
There was never a dull moment in this story as it was fast paced and always had you on the edge of your seat. It will have you hooked from the get go, never able to look at a mannequin the same way again.
I genuinely loved this story so much and I was actually surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Not once did I guess where it was taking me, but the journey was pleasantly horrifying to say the least! Any fans of horror, especially those who grew up binging Goosebumps, go check out "I Found a Hallway in a Dying Mall", you won't regret it!
Thank you so much to Ben Farthing for an ARC in exchange for a completely honest review. I cannot wait to check out your other work!
I loved this novel so much. If Doctor Who and Stephen King had a love child, it is this unnerving story of sentient inanimate objects, expansive worlds and internal chaos and conflict.
This story had everything any horror fan could want. It made your skin crawl in the best possible way. Ben's writing style is wonderfully descriptive, allowing the reader to fully immerse themselves in this world, as well as allowing us to truly understanding how our characters are feeling as if we were struggling through the scenarios ourselves.
Ben really brought his characters to life through the pages of his story. As creepy and unsettling as this story was, it provided inspiration and hope for readers with wholesome undertones. There is well and truly something for everyone in this novel in my opinion, once you look past the morphing mannequins and evil entity..
There was never a dull moment in this story as it was fast paced and always had you on the edge of your seat. It will have you hooked from the get go, never able to look at a mannequin the same way again.
I genuinely loved this story so much and I was actually surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Not once did I guess where it was taking me, but the journey was pleasantly horrifying to say the least! Any fans of horror, especially those who grew up binging Goosebumps, go check out "I Found a Hallway in a Dying Mall", you won't regret it!
Thank you so much to Ben Farthing for an ARC in exchange for a completely honest review. I cannot wait to check out your other work!
August 15, 2024
There were a lot of things I liked about this book. I LOVE dead malls, urbex etcetera so the setting was top tier. Loved the mannequins (so creepy). I loved the fact that our heroes were like a couple in their 60s. However.....I did not care for the main character. Her decision making seemed so off and she endangered her family members multiple times. Her husband was in the middle of a medical episode and she just kept going? Strange.
3.4/5
3.4/5
July 28, 2024
There is a lot going on in this short novel and most of it works fairly well when deconstructed from the whole. There are elements of liminal spaces, nostalgia, fears of growing old, fears of separation, anxiety about losing yourself, and also (I'd say) a broad middle-aged push back against AI imagery. This last one takes some explanation, perhaps, and I will get to it.
However, while no single page is truly a problem and most of the pages are quite good there is a sense as a whole that these themes repeat and echo and get tangled up until they become kind of a chore. Which is surprising. A book that taps not only (1) the Gen X + Millennial nostalgia for the loss of the mall as a sort of cultural watershed, (2) the Millennial + Gen Z exploration of liminal space as a form of horror, (3) Boomer + Gen X handling of growing older and the change of the family dynamic, but also (4) how creepy mannequins can be FEELS like the sort of book that would have too much going on to have any time to proper loop back and linger. Except linger it does. Even when the latter portions of book introduces something else, something (5) *other*, those threads keep snapping taut into the same notes that started the book.
The notes sing and dance but the scent lingers. Muddies. The "being sent away from the world" portion would have likely hit harder if not tied by the neck to mannequins. I would love a novel about people having to survive in a giant "mall world" and all of its nightmare logic. The weird unexplored sections of the mall with *things* inside would possibly have been enough that a much longer novel could have grown from that instead of being backseated by that point by everything else. The elderly main characters seeing their own identity so long tied into the mall that is now dying could have been a full novel, horror or otherwise. The weird fiction elements towards the end could have swung so hard had they been more the point from earlier on, perhaps, instead of an added plot 80% into a novel that takes up 80 pages. Much like the mall-in-miniature menagerie imagery towards the end of this book: things are too compressed and the visuals are too cluttered to make sense.
As for my AI jab, there is a bit towards the end (but also before that) where the mall inside the mall is described as things being fused together and store brands become nonspecific nonsense that feels exactly like an image you might see if you went to Dall-E and typed "A typical American mall scene" and just let it roll. I actually tried it out myself and got an image with store names like "SamoGocok" and "Sbarlo" and people are sort of compressed together and the store merchandise is nonsense on the verge of making sense: a scene I have never seen but also have, a badly remembered memory.
Back to the book at hand, I Found a Lost Hallway in a Dying Mall [a title so close to a Chuck Tingle title that I feel almost compelled to add "...and Fell In Love with a Gay Perfume Kiosk"], my overall review is that is maybe two great short stories with a couple of interestingly odd vignettes occupying a space where none can quite function fully as they were. Which is perhaps a metaphor. A fairly early 2000s style of bizarro writing meeting a fairly 1990s style of suburban horror crammed too tightly together like that last heyday of the mall ecosystem itself.
Cutting any two elements and expanding more on the remaining would no doubt have made it flow much more strongly. Maybe just lose the mannequins. It is like clowns in the recent decade of horror or the Necronomicon. Too pat. Too self-contained. Too much weight on their own to not substitute elements that are actually more novel (pun!). I appreciate that horror novels about nostalgia and liminal spaces can very quickly get too maudlin and too technical (or too empty) without having some monster to haunt your labyrinth but all the same very nearly everything I loved about this novel was hidden away in between the moments where the obvious scary thing was trying to snag my attention.
All said, I like what Farthing is getting at here and will definitely read more. 3.5 stars, rounded down.
However, while no single page is truly a problem and most of the pages are quite good there is a sense as a whole that these themes repeat and echo and get tangled up until they become kind of a chore. Which is surprising. A book that taps not only (1) the Gen X + Millennial nostalgia for the loss of the mall as a sort of cultural watershed, (2) the Millennial + Gen Z exploration of liminal space as a form of horror, (3) Boomer + Gen X handling of growing older and the change of the family dynamic, but also (4) how creepy mannequins can be FEELS like the sort of book that would have too much going on to have any time to proper loop back and linger. Except linger it does. Even when the latter portions of book introduces something else, something (5) *other*, those threads keep snapping taut into the same notes that started the book.
The notes sing and dance but the scent lingers. Muddies. The "being sent away from the world" portion would have likely hit harder if not tied by the neck to mannequins. I would love a novel about people having to survive in a giant "mall world" and all of its nightmare logic. The weird unexplored sections of the mall with *things* inside would possibly have been enough that a much longer novel could have grown from that instead of being backseated by that point by everything else. The elderly main characters seeing their own identity so long tied into the mall that is now dying could have been a full novel, horror or otherwise. The weird fiction elements towards the end could have swung so hard had they been more the point from earlier on, perhaps, instead of an added plot 80% into a novel that takes up 80 pages. Much like the mall-in-miniature menagerie imagery towards the end of this book: things are too compressed and the visuals are too cluttered to make sense.
As for my AI jab, there is a bit towards the end (but also before that) where the mall inside the mall is described as things being fused together and store brands become nonspecific nonsense that feels exactly like an image you might see if you went to Dall-E and typed "A typical American mall scene" and just let it roll. I actually tried it out myself and got an image with store names like "SamoGocok" and "Sbarlo" and people are sort of compressed together and the store merchandise is nonsense on the verge of making sense: a scene I have never seen but also have, a badly remembered memory.
Back to the book at hand, I Found a Lost Hallway in a Dying Mall [a title so close to a Chuck Tingle title that I feel almost compelled to add "...and Fell In Love with a Gay Perfume Kiosk"], my overall review is that is maybe two great short stories with a couple of interestingly odd vignettes occupying a space where none can quite function fully as they were. Which is perhaps a metaphor. A fairly early 2000s style of bizarro writing meeting a fairly 1990s style of suburban horror crammed too tightly together like that last heyday of the mall ecosystem itself.
Cutting any two elements and expanding more on the remaining would no doubt have made it flow much more strongly. Maybe just lose the mannequins. It is like clowns in the recent decade of horror or the Necronomicon. Too pat. Too self-contained. Too much weight on their own to not substitute elements that are actually more novel (pun!). I appreciate that horror novels about nostalgia and liminal spaces can very quickly get too maudlin and too technical (or too empty) without having some monster to haunt your labyrinth but all the same very nearly everything I loved about this novel was hidden away in between the moments where the obvious scary thing was trying to snag my attention.
All said, I like what Farthing is getting at here and will definitely read more. 3.5 stars, rounded down.
June 18, 2024
'Dying Mall' was one of the creepier books I've read! It was also inordinately sad. I live somewhat close to a dying mall, and this book made me wonder if that mall could talk, what would it say? Would it be upset and manic that people weren't coming to the mall anymore? Would it take that mania and loneliness a step too far?
That being said, I'm a little confused about the motivations of certain characters. Instead of drawing many people to the lost hallway to try and re-populate the mall, only Lisa feels the pull. I'm not overly certain what the expectation was for what Lisa could do to assuage the loneliness as opposed to luring in loads of people.
Lisa was also probably one of my least favourite characters. She kept making some extremely questionable decisions that I just couldn't get behind. Even after she started figuring things out, she still made decisions that put her and her loved ones in a lot of danger. It seemed like she couldn't decide whether to protect her family or help other people, and most times, her family lost out in that indecision. For someone who based her life and decisions around what was best for her family, some of her choices just didn't make sense. She made the comment a few times that maybe she was being enchanted, which would've helped to explain away her behaviour, but then she completely discounted that and explained it as that's just how she was.
The mannequins, though, were the star of this book. I've had a very healthy suspicion of mannequins since the Autons, then you give them Weeping Angel mechanics, and I hate them even more! Thinking about their extra abilities and being stuck in that scenario (poor Jeremy) would be absolutely horrible! Time to give every mannequin I see the side eye with extreme prejudice!
That being said, I'm a little confused about the motivations of certain characters. Instead of drawing many people to the lost hallway to try and re-populate the mall, only Lisa feels the pull. I'm not overly certain what the expectation was for what Lisa could do to assuage the loneliness as opposed to luring in loads of people.
Lisa was also probably one of my least favourite characters. She kept making some extremely questionable decisions that I just couldn't get behind. Even after she started figuring things out, she still made decisions that put her and her loved ones in a lot of danger. It seemed like she couldn't decide whether to protect her family or help other people, and most times, her family lost out in that indecision. For someone who based her life and decisions around what was best for her family, some of her choices just didn't make sense. She made the comment a few times that maybe she was being enchanted, which would've helped to explain away her behaviour, but then she completely discounted that and explained it as that's just how she was.
The mannequins, though, were the star of this book. I've had a very healthy suspicion of mannequins since the Autons, then you give them Weeping Angel mechanics, and I hate them even more! Thinking about their extra abilities and being stuck in that scenario (poor Jeremy) would be absolutely horrible! Time to give every mannequin I see the side eye with extreme prejudice!
October 18, 2024
3.5 stars
I don't know how I feel about this book.
I do not like mannequins now. Not sure if I liked them before reading this.
I read this thinking it was about helping a friend with the loss of their memory but now i think it's about dealing with our own personal inadequacy. Or maybe it's both. Or maybe it's simply about scary arse mannequins.....
I don't know how I feel about this book.
I do not like mannequins now. Not sure if I liked them before reading this.
I read this thinking it was about helping a friend with the loss of their memory but now i think it's about dealing with our own personal inadequacy. Or maybe it's both. Or maybe it's simply about scary arse mannequins.....
March 15, 2025
This was surprisingly poignant. While not as creepy as circus tent or puppets, I found the exploration of being an older woman intriguing. As my kids are getting older (my youngest is 13), I’m staring down that shift in life, from care-giver to empty-nester to needing to be cared for. And that change in life, that trying to accept a new life, is so scary.
July 26, 2025
I really don’t know what to tell you about this book. It was just Okay. It wasn’t anything spectacular. I didn’t find it scary. It was completely different to what I was picturing. I feel like the title should have been something like “I found Mannequins that move down a hall in a mall” because this story was more about the mannequins then the hall itself if you can even call it a hallway it was a wing of the mall. I still don’t even know what I read. I was very close to dnf-ing but I persisted. The book is okay it wasn’t anything great but I’m just glad I got through it. Also the audiobook narrator for this on audible was horrible would not recommend at all.
December 23, 2025
I really wanted to like this book but unfortunately I just didn't. It was repetitive and I personally think it could have been 50 pages less. I saw what the author intended to do with the main character's emotional journey but her hero complex (to oversimplify) annoyed me too much. Would check out other books by the author though.
June 21, 2024
Another fun I Found read by Ben Farthing. As a person who worked in a mall in the 90’s this one gave me the creepy vibes. There is something weird about being in a big mall at night when no one is there.
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