The nicknames are in relation to a trait, behavioural or otherwise, of each of the characters, for example, Miss Sneezy, The Duke of Vandals, Lady Baglady etc. Whittier, an old man who sets this scheme up, and a woman by the name of Mrs Clark. Everything you imagine is the complete opposite and then some, but there is a cat.Įach of the characters have nicknames except for Mr. Well, the retreat in Haunted couldn’t be more different. One can imagine a beautiful country house in the middle of pleasant surroundings, perhaps there is a cat, and everything is warm and inviting. “Leave your life for two months.” says the advert. Haunted is framed by an arcing narrative that tells the story of twenty three individuals who have answered an advert to take part in a writers retreat. Ain’t that exciting? Maybe I should even take bets for this. Well I can tell you what it's all about but, as for the latter question, I shall leave you in suspense. 'So what’s it all about, Romeo, and did you manage to keep the contents of your stomach?' I hear you cry. And, yes, I’ve read some stuff that is pretty damn gory, also seen a few films that are pretty bloody grim, but I don’t think that I have ever read anything or seen anything close to Haunted. I like to think that I’m somewhat fairly well versed in the horror genre, both with books and film. I honestly don’t think that I have ever read anything like this before.

Not even half way through the book, I had thoughts.

Guts chuck palahniuk