Crimson-Gord Rollo

Crimson
Gord Rollo
Leisure, Mar 2009, $7.99
ISBN:9780843961959

In 1967 after his father deserted him and his mother, Jonathon Page and his mom Mary moved onto a farm that her husband owned in Dunnville, Ontario. Johnny makes three friends (Tom, Peter and David). The trio knows about the tragedy that occurred a decade ago in the house currently occupied by their new buddy and his mom. They tell Johnny that in 1955 Jacob Harrison butchered his entire family and was caught when he also killed a co-worker. They fear the house, but go there anyway to play with Johnny.

During their exploration in the field, the ten year old boys find steps that lead to a bomb shelter where they meet the creature that had been stuck in the well. He removes a ring and throws it at the boys. David picks it up but then gives it to Johnny who puts it on his finger. From that moment on, the creature haunts the quartet in their dreams. One of them falls out his window after an encounter with the creature. Nine years later, the town is rocked by a series of murders and one of the surviving tweeners is one of the dead. The creature frames David who is sent to prison where he believes he is safe.

The creature has the power to send giant spiders and animate a scarecrow so the teens, who feared it as ten year olds remain even more frightened than before. He plays with the minds working on their biggest fears to break their spirit. Although the creature is left too much to the reader’s imagination, fans of Bentley Little and Brian Keene will enjoy Gord Rollo’s cutting edge, dark and scarey small Canadian town horror thriller.
Harriet Klausner