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The Inheritance
She was the heiress to a chilling legacy--a time of terror, torment, and death.
When Mary Ellen and her six relatives chose to live in the bleak New England mansion they inherited, a series of bizarre and baffling events occurred. Soon, one by one, her relatives were mysteriously killed. And slowly, Mary Ellen began to feel that she had inherited something she never guessed--something creeping up on her out of a maelstrom of fear and trembling!
When Mary Ellen and her six relatives chose to live in the bleak New England mansion they inherited, a series of bizarre and baffling events occurred. Soon, one by one, her relatives were mysteriously killed. And slowly, Mary Ellen began to feel that she had inherited something she never guessed--something creeping up on her out of a maelstrom of fear and trembling!
- GenresGothic
176 pages
First published January 1, 1972
23 people want to read
About the author
Daoma Winston
82 books14 followersDaoma Winston was a prolific writer of Gothic romance and horror/thriller novels. All of her novels have a strong occult theme and usually feature ghosts, witches, demons or magic.
(Not "Golden Tramp.")
(Not "Golden Tramp.")
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
July 24, 2015
Finally a Daoma Winston book that was not overly irksome, of course she managed to get in that Mary Ellen was little, and as usual she took one line from the story and repeated it, but it wasn't so bad I wanted to scream.
I read most of the book under the covers in an air conditioned room with a flashlight, so it was pretty creepy for the most part. (I always read with a flashlight at night because I find I go to sleep easier if the overhead light hasn't been beaming in my eyes.)
Mary Ellen usually works as a paid companion to the elderly, but after she lost her last job, she had been living in a rooming house of sorts run by an old woman named Mrs. George. One day Mary Ellen got a letter from a lawyer saying she had come into an inheritance, but Mary Ellen was an orphan and did not know who could have left her anything.
Mary Ellen goes to the meeting with the lawyer and was surprised to see 6 other people waiting for her so the meeting could begin. She noted how abandoned the office building looked and yet how new the furniture inside appeared.
The lawyer announced that Mary Ellen and the other 6, who are all listed as her unknown cousins, would be splitting a trust fund seven ways and that all of them would have a share in a raggedy house left in a will. Even though poor Mary Ellen is grateful for the inheritance, something feels very off to her.
Some amongst the group decide that since the house needs repair, they all should move in and get it fixed up and then continue living together as a family. Mary Ellen finds herself being subtly goaded into agreeing with her new cousins, who all seem to have something they want to get away from, and the small town where the house is located sounds like just the place to get away to.
Mary Ellen is anxious to find out more about the person who left the inheritance, but the others only care about their check and their share in the house. Mary Ellen does some digging, but comes up empty.
As you can expect, things start to go sour, especially after another stranger appears on the scene. None of the cousins wanted to leave, they wanted to keep collecting the checks and retain their share in the house. Mary Ellen felt less and less like she made the right choice by taking the inheritance, but she didn't want to leave so she could catch the baddie.
I was hoping that the reveal would be something other than what it was, it was pretty lame and I had guessed at it early on due to a comment in the dialogue. It was lame, but the results still left a foul taste in my mouth.
I read most of the book under the covers in an air conditioned room with a flashlight, so it was pretty creepy for the most part. (I always read with a flashlight at night because I find I go to sleep easier if the overhead light hasn't been beaming in my eyes.)
Mary Ellen usually works as a paid companion to the elderly, but after she lost her last job, she had been living in a rooming house of sorts run by an old woman named Mrs. George. One day Mary Ellen got a letter from a lawyer saying she had come into an inheritance, but Mary Ellen was an orphan and did not know who could have left her anything.
Mary Ellen goes to the meeting with the lawyer and was surprised to see 6 other people waiting for her so the meeting could begin. She noted how abandoned the office building looked and yet how new the furniture inside appeared.
The lawyer announced that Mary Ellen and the other 6, who are all listed as her unknown cousins, would be splitting a trust fund seven ways and that all of them would have a share in a raggedy house left in a will. Even though poor Mary Ellen is grateful for the inheritance, something feels very off to her.
Some amongst the group decide that since the house needs repair, they all should move in and get it fixed up and then continue living together as a family. Mary Ellen finds herself being subtly goaded into agreeing with her new cousins, who all seem to have something they want to get away from, and the small town where the house is located sounds like just the place to get away to.
Mary Ellen is anxious to find out more about the person who left the inheritance, but the others only care about their check and their share in the house. Mary Ellen does some digging, but comes up empty.
As you can expect, things start to go sour, especially after another stranger appears on the scene. None of the cousins wanted to leave, they wanted to keep collecting the checks and retain their share in the house. Mary Ellen felt less and less like she made the right choice by taking the inheritance, but she didn't want to leave so she could catch the baddie.
I was hoping that the reveal would be something other than what it was, it was pretty lame and I had guessed at it early on due to a comment in the dialogue. It was lame, but the results still left a foul taste in my mouth.
Displaying 1 of 1 review