A short and eerily effective update on the suburban Gothic genre. Mr. Munson seeds the otherwise ordinary setting with ominously recurring symbols and side characters ... But the story sustains its atmosphere of disquiet by refusing to give away its secrets until the final sentences.
Surreal, grimly humorous, and intense ... For fans of horror that uses a mundane object to frame a story to hold readers’ nervous systems hostage, keep their eyes glued to the page, and thwart the instinct to look away.
There’s just not enough here to hang a story on. The younger son is so superfluous he’s not even named, while the wife is a judgmental placeholder at best. There’s something to be said for a good descent into madness, but this house isn’t haunted enough to leave an impression, let alone a scar. An unkempt, scare-free portrait of a guy losing his mind in his couch cushions.
