The Birthing House

by Christopher Ransom

Book Overview

A chilling ghost story that is also a tale of exquisite psychological suspense, The Birthing House marks the debut of a writer whose first novel is a terrifying tour de force.

Conrad and Joanna Harrison, a young couple from Los Angeles, attempt to save their marriage by leaving the pressures of the city to start anew in a quiet, rural setting. They buy a Victorian mansion that once served as a haven for unwed mothers, called a birthing...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312624158
• ISBN13: 9780312624156
• Release Date: August 2010
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Sex, Violence, Really Scary Stuff and So Much More

Conrad Harrison found the last home he would ever know by driving the wrong way out of Chicago with a ghost in his car. -- And so it begins, THE BIRTHING HOUSE. Conrad, stops at a restaurant, while there he checks the classifieds and sees an ad for a restored Victorian that used to be a birthing house, a place where unwed mothers came to have their children. Why, he's not sure, but he checks out the house and buys it, hoping that if he and his wife Joanna move there that it'll ease the strain on their struggling marriage. But it doesn't. Joanna's job takes her back to California, leaving Conrad alone in the house. Well there is the pregnant neighbor girl, Nadia Grum. It's kinda creepy the way our hero lusts after her, his own wife being pregnant and all, wait, he doesn't know that. Actually this whole book is a bit creepy, but I mean that in a good way. I wasn't far into the story when I started looking around for the creepy crawlies. Do you know what's under your bed? I do, because I kept checking throughout this story. Strange things happen in the house, strange going ons. Infants crying who are not there, carpets ripping themselves up showing the bloodstains beneath, shades of that hotel Stephen King wrote about. Then there is Nadia, who is bewitched by the house and there are snakes and all sorts of horrors that will just plain scare the holy heck out of you. Sex, violence and really scary stuff abound throughout this story. Brrr, I just loved it.

creepy characterization

Ransom has a fresh talent for delivering unease and building suspense. It's refreshing to get some horror set in the Midwest. Recommended. Scott Nicholson, Author The Red Church They Hunger

Sex, Violence, Really Scary Stuff and So Much More

Conrad Harrison found the last home he would ever know by driving the wrong way out of Chicago with a ghost in his car. -- And so it begins, THE BIRTHING HOUSE. Conrad, stops at a restaurant, while there he checks the classifieds and sees an ad for a restored Victorian that used to be a birthing house, a place where unwed mothers came to have their children. Why, he's not sure, but he checks out the house and buys it, hoping that if he and his wife Joanna move there that it'll ease the strain on their struggling marriage. But it doesn't. Joanna's job takes her back to California, leaving Conrad alone in the house. Well there is the pregnant neighbor girl, Nadia Grum. It's kinda creepy the way our hero lusts after her, his own wife being pregnant and all, wait, he doesn't know that. Actually this whole book is a bit creepy, but I mean that in a good way. I wasn't far into the story when I started looking around for the creepy crawlies. Do you know what's under your bed? I do, because I kept checking throughout this story. Strange things happen in the house, strange going ons. Infants crying who are not there, carpets ripping themselves up showing the bloodstains beneath, shades of that hotel Stephen King wrote about. Then there is Nadia, who is bewitched by the house and there are snakes and all sorts of horrors that will just plain scare the holy heck out of you. Sex, violence and really scary stuff abound throughout this story. Brrr, I just loved it. Review submitted by Captain Katie Osborne

Freaky and weird!

Wow, what a book!! I definately wouldn't say this book was really scary, unless you are terrified of ghosts. It definately is a page turner, I did not want to put it down until I was finished. The ending really through me for a loop!! I was not expecting it and actually had to go back and reread it. Crazy!! The people in the book were very well done. I enjoyed how Mr. Ransom portrayed Black Earth, an area I grew up close to. Very enjoyable read.

A true "page-turner" in the psychological suspense genre

I have to start out by saying this: I can't remember the last time I stayed up all night reading a book. I did so last night, with Christopher Ransom's outstanding debut novel, "The Birthing House." Ransom's protagonist, Conrad, is dealing with marital problems. His father passes away, and Conrad sees his inheritance as a chance to get a new start far away from the big city stresses of Los Angeles. So, he purchases a rambling Victorian house in Black Earth, Wisconsin, and moves his household. The neighbors are a little peculiar, and Conrad starts to see things that don't make sense to him. He begins to believe the house is haunted, despite the illogic of the idea, by a woman who looks like his wife. Watching the psychological suspense unfold throughout the book kept me awake and entertained into the wee hours of the morning. This is a classic "page-turner" in the truest sense of the word. Fans of the horror and suspense dramas are sure to enjoy Ransom's work. (Review based on unedited advance readers' copy.)