The Moorstone Sickness by Bernard Taylor

Mar 09, 2014 mark monday rated it liked it

Shelves: horror-60s-70s-80s, inquiétude

Hal and Rowan flee the big city of London to settle in the beautiful, placid, and exceedingly friendly village of Moorstone; disturbing undercurrents eventually become stronger & stronger, and the almost-happy couple find that things are murky indeed beneath the town's lovely surface. there are some intriguing things going on under the surface of this novel as well: Bernard steeps his small bag of precisely-drawn yet often ambiguously sympathetic characters into the opaque waters of immortality ...more

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Jul 01, 2020 Janie C. rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Moorstone seems to be the perfect little town. However, ominous hints and disturbing occurrences ruffle the blanket of serenity. A young couple looking for a quiet life learn that all that is tranquil is not as innocent as it appears. Slyly menacing, this story will lure you to the edge of a nightmare that may alter your life interminably.

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Jun 17, 2015 Kimberly rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: valancourt

Another great book brought back into print by Valancourt! Bernard Taylor's The Moorstone Sickness is about a young couple, trying to get on with their lives after the death of their young son, by moving away from the city and into a more rural community. Conveniently, just as they are about to give up hope, a chance encounter with a doctor leads them to the quaint area of Moorstone.

Moorstone is everything--and more, that anyone could want. It's a picture perfect town, habited by only beautiful, ...more

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May 21, 2015 Nancy Oakes added it · review of another edition

3.5 stars

This book may not be the best horror novel ever, but

A) that was creepy and b) the ending, OH GOD!

One very big thing that I came to realize after having finished The Moorstone Sickness is just how very jaded modern horror readers have become. When I got to the end of the novel, I realized that here is a case where you really have to consider just what it is that constitutes your own personal idea of horror. If it's blood, guts and gore splattered everywhere you're after, forget it. Not ...more

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Sep 18, 2017 Karl marked it as to-read

Shelves: 2017-09-books-bought

His is a hardcover book from St. Martin's Press. ...more

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Nov 24, 2015 Rob Twinem rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This is my second foray into the mind and writing of Bernard Taylor, English horror/suspense author from the 1970’s onwards. Once again I lament the fact that this author’s works were virtually unknown to me until I was introduced recently to “Sweetheart Sweetheart” (1977) and have now come to love his quiet, unassuming atmospheric and yet highly charged and readable horror delights!!

If you are expecting horror that is full on, extreme, graphic or visceral then perhaps Bernard Taylor’s writing m This is my second foray into the mind and writing of Bernard Taylor, English horror/suspense author from the 1970’s onwards. Once again I lament the fact that this author’s works were virtually unknown to me until I was introduced recently to “Sweetheart Sweetheart” (1977) and have now come to love his quiet, unassuming atmospheric and yet highly charged and readable horror delights!!

If you are expecting horror that is full on, extreme, graphic or visceral then perhaps Bernard Taylor’s writing may not be to your taste. However if you enjoy a story that slowly builds with seemingly innocent but possibly disturbing characters then “The Moorstone Sickness” is a delight to be discovered.

Hal and Rowan Graham are moving to the quaint and perfect village of Moorstone (so named because of the enormous stone that overshadows it) They lost their son Adam in tragic circumstances and hope that this change of life and pace will help kindle their relationship and allow a fresh start. Ah yes the perfect village with the perfect country folk; Paul Cassen, who introduced them to “Crispin’s House”, Alison Lucas, also a newcomer to Moorstone, Tom Freeman gardener, Mrs Palfrey housekeeper, Miss Banks the headmistress, Woodson the butcher, large and jolly, Marriatt the vet, with hair at his temples like white wings.....”The smiling beautiful people of Moorstone...And they were beautiful, most of them.”

The author’s style means that the story is slow to build and we follow Hal and Rowan on a daily basis as they become acquainted with village life and are gradually integrated into the social scenes and routines of the villagers. I have to admit I began to find myself a little distracted with events as they unfolded, indeed so slow was the pace at certain points that I thought I might have been in danger of falling asleep before those beautiful residents.....but I need not have feared! This is all part of the charm and elegant writing style of Bernard Taylor, casually leading the reader along in a very nonchalant fashion but ever so expertly pointing him towards an astounding conclusion. The pace and rhythm of the story is akin to an orchestra concerto building to a shattering crescendo and the final pages had me holding my breath as Hal and Rowan were faced with a totally unexpected horror and something that would change the rest of their lives forever.

To say more about the story or to delve deeper into the plot would spoil the wonderful gifts that Bernard Taylor’s writing has to offer to the intelligent horror reader. Once again I find myself awarding this essentially English author a 5 star review and wonder why his writing never received the commercial success it so richly deserved.
...more

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Jun 29, 2015 Matthew Bielawa rated it it was amazing

There's just something so strong, so powerful, about Bernard Taylor's writing. This is my second book by the author and I just loved it!

Taylor's voice just hits me right. He's my kind of horror. There's plenty of sinister atmosphere, a good story, and a depth to the characters. In "The Moorstone Sickness", I was pulled in right from the first page: a stressed out couple leaves hectic London for a quaint village on the moors, to a place recommended to them by a casual encounter with a gentleman a

...more

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Sep 09, 2019 Sheila rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2019, the-old-ways, vintage-horror

5 stars. I really like Taylor's horror novels, and this one, with creepy English villagers, a standing stone, and an unexpected ending, is probably my favorite. It's a quick read that I highly recommend to horror fans. ...more

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Sep 11, 2016 Horace Derwent added it

i think maybe this is one of the domain of contemporary english hardcore horrors

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Nov 20, 2015 Rob Twinem rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

This is my second foray into the mind and writing of Bernard Taylor, English horror/suspense author from the 1970’s onwards. Once again I lament the fact that this author’s works were virtually unknown to me until I was introduced recently to “Sweetheart Sweetheart” (1977) and have now come to love his quiet, unassuming atmospheric and yet highly charged and readable horror delights!!

If you are expecting horror that is full on, extreme, graphic or visceral then perhaps Bernard Taylor’s writing m This is my second foray into the mind and writing of Bernard Taylor, English horror/suspense author from the 1970’s onwards. Once again I lament the fact that this author’s works were virtually unknown to me until I was introduced recently to “Sweetheart Sweetheart” (1977) and have now come to love his quiet, unassuming atmospheric and yet highly charged and readable horror delights!!

If you are expecting horror that is full on, extreme, graphic or visceral then perhaps Bernard Taylor’s writing may not be to your taste. However if you enjoy a story that slowly builds with seemingly innocent but possibly disturbing characters then “The Moorstone Sickness” is a delight to be discovered.

Hal and Rowan Graham are moving to the quaint and perfect village of Moorstone (so named because of the enormous stone that overshadows it) They lost their son Adam in tragic circumstances and hope that this change of life and pace will help kindle their relationship and allow a fresh start. Ah yes the perfect village with the perfect country folk; Paul Cassen, who introduced them to “Crispin’s House”, Alison Lucas, also a newcomer to Moorstone, Tom Freeman gardener, Mrs Palfrey housekeeper, Miss Banks the headmistress, Woodson the butcher, large and jolly, Marriatt the vet, with hair at his temples like white wings.....”The smiling beautiful people of Moorstone...And they were beautiful, most of them.”

The author’s style means that the story is slow to build and we follow Hal and Rowan on a daily basis as they become acquainted with village life and are gradually integrated into the social scenes and routines of the villagers. I have to admit I began to find myself a little distracted with events as they unfolded, indeed so slow was the pace at certain points that I thought I might have been in danger of falling asleep before those beautiful residents.....but I need not have feared! This is all part of the charm and elegant writing style of Bernard Taylor, casually leading the reader along in a very nonchalant fashion but ever so expertly pointing him towards an astounding conclusion. The pace and rhythm of the story is akin to an orchestra concerto building to a shattering crescendo and the final pages had me holding my breath as Hal and Rowan were faced with a totally unexpected horror and something that would change the rest of their lives forever.

To say more about the story or to delve deeper into the plot would spoil the wonderful gifts that Bernard Taylor’s writing has to offer to the intelligent horror reader. Once again I find myself awarding this essentially English author a 5 star review and wonder why his writing never received the commercial success it so richly deserved.
...more

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Dec 06, 2016 Helen rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: horror-fiction

2.5 stars

This is going to be one of those times when I see all the glowing reviews by the majority of other Goodreaders and wonder if we were all reading the same thing!

So, yes - the desperate, bleak awfulness of what becomes of Rowan and Hal at the conclusion of the book is pretty darn powerful, but the lead-up at times left me .. well, kind of bored at times. And there were a few seemingly pointless bits like at one point I thought the villagers were trying to encourage Hal and Rowan to get pr ...more

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Oct 26, 2019 Alex (The Bookubus) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: horror-faves

Hal and Rowan decide to get away from the bad memories of their London flat and move to the countryside. At first the village of Moorstone offers them the peace and quiet and fresh start they have been looking for. But it soon becomes apparent that there is something sinister going on behind the villagers' friendliness.

Although there will be elements of this story that you have probably read or watched elsewhere, Taylor manages to create something unique with them. Interestingly, the sinister el ...more

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Jun 02, 2015 Brucifer rated it really liked it · review of another edition

The Moorstone Sickness is another example of an excellent "lost" book deservedly resurrected by the guys at my favorite reissue publisher, Valancourt Books. Until recently, I had not read a whole lot of horror fiction from the late 70s/80s era of genre paperbacks--there was just too much out there at the time, and judging by the tacky cover art, most of it looked awful. But as I've learned (thanks mainly to Valancourt), there were actually quite a few genre diamonds in the rough published at the The Moorstone Sickness is another example of an excellent "lost" book deservedly resurrected by the guys at my favorite reissue publisher, Valancourt Books. Until recently, I had not read a whole lot of horror fiction from the late 70s/80s era of genre paperbacks--there was just too much out there at the time, and judging by the tacky cover art, most of it looked awful. But as I've learned (thanks mainly to Valancourt), there were actually quite a few genre diamonds in the rough published at the time, among them the novels of Michael McDowell, Basil Copper, Michael Talbot...and Bernard Taylor. Based on reading this novel, I can say that Taylor is the most subtle of the bunch. Although published at a time when cheap shocks and gory effects were first emerging as standard elements in horror novels and films, The Moorstone Sickness doesn't rely on or even include a single instance of either. Although clearly a horror novel in that we know events will probably turn out to have a supernatural explanation, the emphasis here is on Hitchcockian suspense. As is typical of that director's style, we pretty much know from the get go what's going on, while the main characters--a newly arrived young couple, Rowan and Hal--don't. We learn early on that young people move to a town that seems much too slow and quaint for them, that their personalities change over time and they never want to leave Moorstone, that the town can somehow support its own well-populated mental institution, and that a Stonehenge-style pagan altar looks out over the town from the top of a hill. But the fun of the novel is its ability to keep us guessing how the threads will all tie together. It's not really a spoiler to say that the plot of this novel isn't anything new if you've seen The Wicker Man or read/seen The Dark Secret of Harvest Home, but Taylor writes in such a naturalistic and understated style, does such a nice job concentrating on character over caricature, and evokes such a believably ominous small English village atmosphere, that it all feels fresh. Given Taylor's subtlety here, I'm very much looking forward to reading his haunted house novel, Sweetheart Sweetheart, and his malevolent child novel, The Godsend, both also published by Valancourt. These again sound like retreads of horror themes already done more than once (some might say, to death) elsewhere, but I'm certain that Taylor has done something special with them. ...more

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Jun 26, 2015 Robert rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: supernatural-weird-fiction, valancourt

Good ol' fashioned slow burn horror story, originally published in 1981, by the author of The Godsend and Sweetheart Sweetheart. This has a touch of The Stepford Wives and The Wicker Man but with a nasty kick all its own. Recommended for fans of the old school. Valancourt Books has been resurrecting classic genre fiction and out-of-print gay titles in attractive new editions for several years now, showing great taste and discernment—they've also already reprinted several Michael McDowell books a ...more

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Jul 21, 2015 Eric rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2015

Thanks again to Valancourt Books for continuing to reprint these classic 80s horror tales. This was a brisk and breezy 'city folk head to the country and discover something sinister beneath the seemingly perfect facade' kind of tale. Very well told with a lean yet occasionally poetic and thoughtful writing style. Saw the ending from miles away, but that was obviously never the point of this; it's all about the atmosphere. Well done, Bernard! ...more

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Jul 29, 2020 solitaryfossil rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: uk-literature, horror, novella

An altogether satisfying and entertaining novella. A slow, slow burn, with an interesting ending. I enjoyed it.

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Apr 10, 2016 Bibliophile rated it really liked it

Shelves: horror

Another young couple leave their stressful city life for a too-good-to-be-true country house, only to find themselves in the middle of an 80's horror novel. I never grow tired of this trope. If the male protagonist is an author, which is often the case, so much the better. A generic academic works too, as long as the wife is sad and/or melancholic. Throw in some creepy villagers and I'm in.

This 1982 story, another great Valancourt pick, is particularly satisfying . There is hardly any violence, ...more

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Nov 23, 2015 Alexa "Naps" Snow rated it liked it

I really like Taylors books but this one just made me old-people-phobic which is a strange after taste for a book. I can't quit Bernard Taylor ...more

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Dec 12, 2018 Jordi rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Nice surprise!!
My first of this author, after reading all the good hype among the readers who have rediscovered him recently I was already eager to read it. I really enjoyed it! Very recommendable.
It starts a little slow, but quite fast takes a good pace, increasing intrigue, well constructed characters for a book so short, sense of place, ...It's like watching a movie from the late seventies, early eighties, it beams also the quietness of that time (no internet, less stress,...). Overall is a c ...more

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Sep 08, 2019 Emily Crow rated it liked it

Shelves: england, inter-library-loan, read-in-2019, horror

Well written but predictable.

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May 04, 2020 Signor Mambrino rated it liked it

Pretty good.

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Sep 10, 2020 Daniel Stainback rated it really liked it

Shelves: horror

Wow! Even though I had a good feeling of what was going to happen, it was still a nice shock at the end.

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Mar 19, 2017 Kylie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: my-library, horror-and-paranormal, ha-2017-tbr-challenge

I guessed what was going on fairly early into the book, but it's well-written enough to stay engaging until the end. ...more

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Jul 27, 2015 Alice-Anne rated it really liked it

A terrific read right up to the end. I kept comparing with John Wyndham's novels, but the hectic unveiling and conclusion felt clumsy and lacked Wyndham's finesse. I felt like the author got fed up with the book and decided to write off the ending. 3.5 stars and I'm keen to read more of Bernard Taylor's work to see if he ends all his books like this one. ...more

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Nov 29, 2008 Brian rated it really liked it

Not quite as good as The Godsend or The Reaping , but still an excellent, subtle work of horror. ...more

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Oct 27, 2017 Hester rated it liked it

Shelves: kindle-time, can-i-freshen-your-drink-guvnor, deja-vu, you-in-danger-gurrl, read-in-2017, bad-neighbors

I saw this in a movie once, but it took place in the NOLA bayou.

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Jun 01, 2017 Thomas rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2017, e-book, horror, valancourt

Several months back, Valancourt Books had a sale on some of their ebooks. I've sort of become a Valancourt fanboy, so of course I bought them all, though it's taken me some time to get around to them (story of my life). The Moorstone Sickness was one of those books, and when I was prioritizing my ebook to-read list, I bumped this one up, since I had enjoyed Taylor's Sweetheart, Sweetheart so much.

This book is part of the "Small Town with a Hidden Secret" genre, which is a personal favorite. It's Several months back, Valancourt Books had a sale on some of their ebooks. I've sort of become a Valancourt fanboy, so of course I bought them all, though it's taken me some time to get around to them (story of my life). The Moorstone Sickness was one of those books, and when I was prioritizing my ebook to-read list, I bumped this one up, since I had enjoyed Taylor's Sweetheart, Sweetheart so much.

This book is part of the "Small Town with a Hidden Secret" genre, which is a personal favorite. It's hard to talk much about plots with these kinds of books. The broad overview of the story is familiar -- a young couple is accepted into a small town where the townspeople don't take that kindly to outsiders -- but the story is about discovering that secret.

The story takes a while to get going, which is odd, since I was able to peg the secret by chapter eight (of thirty-two). In that sense, it was frustrating, since I was able to recognize the clues that the main characters couldn't see. It winds up making them look foolish, and affects how sympathetic they are. I may have been inclined to recognize the clues, knowing I was reading a horror novel, but they seemed to be too obvious.

In addition, the characterization feels a little thin, even though Taylor focuses his attention on Hal and Rowan, the couple. By the end of the story, I felt the connection to them to respond appropriately, but up until then, it felt like they were defined just enough to create a conflict to feed the main plot. The good news is that the mystery -- the us vs. them mentality of the main struggle -- was compelling enough to keep me engaged in the story.

Tought the story begins slowly, the final events move quickly, taking us through the bulk of the secret within just a few chapters. It worked well enough -- I had already figured out what the secret was, so it was just a matter of learning the how -- but for such a leisurely beginning, the ending was more like a sprint. I would have liked to have known more about the how, but it wasn't necessary. I'm learning that this gentle kind of horror that Taylor and Charles Grant did so well rarely explains the heart of their horror.

The story was written in the early 1980s, so it's stuck in that time period, which could be a problem for modern readers. A large part of the story relies on the characters not being able to reach one another on the phone, and I wonder if readers who have never been without a cell phone would even understand that part. Sure, we get dropped signals, but our constant connections are so much a part of our culture now that I wonder if they would truly get the limitations of a house phone.

I read this in its ebook edition, and I had issues with the way it was formatted. There were breaks within the chapters, some that indicated a shift in scene, others that were just there. About halfway through, I cracked the code -- if the next paragraph was indented, it wasn't a scene break -- but it was a little frustrating until then. I kept expecting the scene to jump, but it kept on going like nothing had happened.

Overall, I liked this story, even if it wasn't as effective as Sweetheart, Sweetheart. Granted, that is considered to be Taylor's best novel, and it's the one I read first, so I should expect that the rest won't be quite as good. Regardless, his narrative style and methodical pacing works well, and the ending took me by surprise. It's a good read, and a good introduction to the author's works. ...more

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Jan 01, 2021 Elle added it · review of another edition

This was...a ride

The description sounds folk horror-esque but there's not tones of folk horror here; I mean there's some but it's fairly subtle.

The writing is really good! You come to care about what happens to the characters! It is frightening in that uneasy, Aickman-esque way!

But oh my GOD the horror elements of the book are telegraphed so clearly that by like 10% in you know exactly what's going on and you only kind of wonder how it is done (although don't expect too much on that front; the a ...more

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Apr 16, 2018 Tom rated it really liked it · review of another edition

The intro by Mark Morris summarizes the novel well. Morris is the writer of the official movie tie-in to Darren Aronofsky's "Noah," a novella entitled, "It Sustains," and the winner of the 2013 Shirley Jackson award.

"…And then, of course, we have Bernard Taylor. A former illustrator, teacher, and successful actor…being a sucker for British horror stories featuring Paganism and Ancient Magic connected with standing stones, I then snapped up "The Moorstone Sickness" on the basis of Steve Crisp's c ...more

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Nov 24, 2020 Elusive rated it really liked it

Shelves: review

In 'The Moorstone Sickness', after the death of their two-year-old son, Hal and Rowan move to the quaint village of Moorstone in the hope of a fresh start. Everything is perfect from the tranquility to the friendly residents. So why does Hal suffer from sleepless nights? And why is there an asylum?

A disturbing incident in the beginning catalyzed the underlying current of unease that ran throughout. The village was well-drawn - idyllic with no disputes, no noise and everybody bending over backwar ...more

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