The Girl Who Didn't Die

by Ruby Jean Jensen

Sheba is impulsive, unconstrained by convention, and fond of men. When she comes into a small amount of money, she decides on a lark that she wants to purchase an old house-sight unseen-and turn it into a hunting lodge. The house and many surrounding acres are priced very attractively. She talks two sisters and her roommate Donna-her good friends-into quitting their jobs and coming to live and work with her, but each of them wants to give one- or two-week notice. Impatient, Sheba jumps in her car and drives to the house that she purchased, arriving after nightfall. Approaching the house she first must cross a bridge-so slippery, narrow. And the fog, thick, seeming to come out of nowhere, covering the windshield, smothering, blinding. Then blackness . . . and icy water. The hunters were puzzled when they found her the next morning on the shore. How could she possibly have escaped, with the car still under water, locked? In a panic, Sheba calls her friends and convinces them to immediately fly down and join her. They all arrive and move into the huge, dark, old multi-story house and begin preparing it as a hunting lodge. Strange things begin to occur almost immediately. Over time they learn that several persons have previously drowned by running off the bridge after dark. Why did Sheba survive? There also seems to be an unexplained presence in the house, and it seems to be getting stronger with each passing day. Donna-the calm manager-finally makes a trip to the attic and is puzzled by the things that she observes.

Genres: Horror, Gothic, Fiction

236 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Ruby Jean Jensen

Born McDonald County, Missouri, USA, March 1, 1927

Died November 16, 2010

Website http://www.rubyjeanjensen.com

Twitter RubyJeanJensen1

Facebook www.facebook.com/Rjjhorror

Ruby Jean Jensen authored 30 published and 4 not yet published novels, and over 200 short stories. Her passion for writing developed at an early age, and she worked for many years to develop her writing skills. After having many short stories published, in 1974 the novel The House that Samael Built was accepted for publication. She then quickly established herself as a professional author, with representation by a Literary Agent from New York. She subsequently sold 29 more novels to several New York publishing houses. After four Gothic Romance, three Occult and then three Horror novels, MaMa was published by Zebra books in 1983. With Zebra, Ruby Jean completed nineteen more novels in the Horror genre.

Ruby was involved with creative writing groups for many years, and she often took the time to encourage young authors and to reply to fan mail.

Ruby Jean, a supreme story-teller, quickly captures and holds your attention. Her books, written for adults, are also suitable for adolescents and young adults. She continues to have an enthusiastic following in the Horror genre.

Reviews

[Ronald Foster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sheba is impulsive, unconstrained by convention, and fond of men. When she comes into a small amount of money, she decides on a lark that she wants to purchase an old house—sight unseen—and turn it into a hunting lodge. She talks two sisters and her roommate Donna—her good friends—into quitting their jobs and coming to live and work with her. Driving close to the house for the first time she has to cross a bridge, and a fog moves in. Swerving, she drops into the water. The next morning she is found alive and well at the side of the bridge. But, how could this be, when the car is still underwater with all the doors locked? As Sheba, Donna and the others start trying to build up the hunting lodge business, strange things occur, and the old house itself begins to feel ominous. This book, a Gothic Romance, was the fourth published book from Ruby Jean Jensen, and preceded her long run in the Horror genre.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

An author local to Northwest Arkansas, I wasn’t expecting much for a pulp fiction paranormal novel from the 1970s, but it was extremely readable and thrilling.