The Grey Girl: The Haunting of Sterben House

by Shawn McLain

Chloe died, and that was when her real torment began…

It was 1932 when Chloe Miller went missing, and her body was never recovered. Her murderer was never identified. Her ghost is trapped in Sterben House, but she is not alone. People have come to live Sterben House, despite Chloe’s whispered warnings. They have fled in terror of the evil that dwells there. But Chloe must remain.

Now, Alex and his family are living in Sterben House. He wants to uncover the story of her tragic death. Can Chloe hope to be freed? Or will Alex, by trying to investigate, stir the demon of Sterben House, and suffer a worst fate?

The Grey Girl "The Haunting of Sterben House" Is the first book in a series that follows Chloe and Alex as they battle demons, witches, and angry ghosts. Book 2, The Van Tassel Murders finds them seperated by a witch and a Socerer who want to learn Chloe's sercret.. Book 3, The Saint Mary's Horror finds Alex and Chloe desperate to help lost souls caught in the vengence of a madman.

162 pages, ebook

Published December 12, 2017

About the author

Bedtime stories for Shawn were read by his mother. The titles included "I Robot," Greek Mythology, and "The Martian Chronicles."
Growing up Shawn always enjoyed writing. Some of his early stories were written simply to scare his friends. One of his childhood memories was sneaking a peek into his grandparent's TV room to watch the trailer for "Dawn of the Dead". This movie terrified and entranced him. His first full length novel was written to answer many of the questions he had about the Zombie Apocalypse, such as, "If Zombies eat people why aren't there just piles of bones around?" "How are there so many zombies all at once?" and of course, "Why is there always a zombie clown?"

He has started writing more supernatural thrillers with his book, "The Grey Girl."

Shawn lives in Pennsylvania with his wife and their cats. When not writing he works for a Statewide Public Affairs network.

Reviews

[Shawn McLain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chloe Miller died after being hit by a car. That is when her real troubles began. Trapped in the house of her killer she spends years hiding from the evil upstairs. After several owners a new family begins restoration on the old home. Chloe finds a friend as well as discovers she is not the only victim. Will she be able overcome her fear and save her new friends? Will the other spirits find rest?

[Tabitha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good old fashioned ghost story, which I love. In the beginning, it was a little hard to follow timeline and perspectives, but once the story got flowing, it was hard to put down!

[Justine · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.4

I think this was a great start. As you read the book you can feel the excitement from the author to get the word on paper and share the story. The story was rushed, often jumping in to an event without seeing it up. It was not a horror as intended, but more just paranormal ghosts. It will be interesting to follow this author and see how he grows in his writing and refines his skills.

This book felt more like a draft not quite ready to be shared. It needs to go an editor. Though it is short it took awhile to read because I continuously questioned the time, which characters were interacting, and what event was occurring. I like the concept of jumping between timelines and the slow reveal, but it was too much and not consistent. Structuring the chapters as timelines only would help organize the book. The other headers were cute (examples: "The Conservatory", "Put to Rest") but would be better servesd as subheadings.

The characters were thrown into the story without much introduction. The names were similar and the roles of each were confusing. More time could be spent to develop the characters and how they are related. Strange how certain characters just immediately interacted like old friends but never met before, such as Chloe and the mem whose names all begin with A(which is the actual father?) The same for setting up several events/encounters in the book. In one case, it took several paragraphs to realized the men left the mansion and were searching grandfather's items somewhere else. Was Chloe originally with them? Who knows. I didn't follow that chapter well.

Some grammar and general edit errors throughout the book. There are even points it felt like the author was sidetracked and forgot who was talking or his own characters' roles.

[Wendelin Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

While there were some editing problems, the story was still very enjoyable and a really solid ghost of an old-fashioned sort that I personally prefer. I liked the time span of the story, too, though it made it challenging to follow.

[sunnyglooms · Rating 2 out of 5]

Supernatural elements were difficult to follow and understand.

The story itself being incredibly fast paced, with newfound relationships and bonds practically popping out of nowhere as well as the three main men having too similar of names and ending up as contributing factors to my difficulty with understanding anything that was going on.

There were a few editing issues as well but I don't entirely mind it.

I enjoyed the writing style at least. :)

[Alli · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the storyline, just wish it was a little better written. Fathers name was Arthur- was often switched between Arnold & Arthur. Honest mistake. Other than that I really liked the book. It was easy & quick to read and the characters were cute