The Home

by Scott Nicholson

Book Overview

From the acclaimed author of The Harvest and The Red Church comes the terrifying tale of a secret society wreaking havoc on the minds of children and probing the threshold between life and death. Original.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786017112
• ISBN13: 9780786017119
• Release Date: January 2005
• Publisher: Pinnacle Books
• Length: 349 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 4.3" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

Read With Lights On

If you are a horror fan you will love this one. The author takes you on a wild ride!

Nicholson is our next Stephen King...

I couldn't put this book down. It was so well-written and so suspenseful. The plot's very unique and well-presented and the characters all bring something entertaining to the table. I look forward to reading more from this author, who, judging from this selection, could very well be on his way to claiming Stephen King's title as the literary world's "scare master."

Ghosts galore in this home!

What I really liked about this book was how fluid and clear it was. I really enjoy writers who have that special way with words where reading the story doesn't end up being a chore, but a true pleasure. This was my first Scott Nicholson book but certainly not my last as I have since gotten two more of his books. The story is about a young boy, Freeman Mills who enters Wendover Home for juvenile kids, and while he has been going from home to home, this one is simply another stop for him before he can figure a way out. What he doesn't know is that this is not a regular old house. The institution itself treated mental patients very long time ago and some of them still haunt the rooms where other juvenile kids live. In this story what you get is a couple of creepy FBI type people who meddle in business that makes people disappear while cover-ups are made in case kids die while receiving their "therapy" sessions, doctor Kracowski who thinks he's second to God and who treats his young patients in very questionable ways, Mr. Bondurant who does everything in the name of the Lord, but who is a closet predator; basically a self proclaimed preacher who is a huge hypocrite. There's also Starlene, one of the counselors who purely and genuinely cares for the welfare of the kids along with a bunch of very interesting young kids such as Freeman himself, Vicky, Dipes, Isaac and Deke who's a dyslexic bully, while they are disturbed you can see that they are not bad deep down and the relationships they form have real meaning. The story itself is pretty far fetched, it merges the world of the living with the world of the dead, and the writer does such a great job of showing how its done, that I almost believed it myself to be possible. I really liked the ESP woven through, when Kracowskis treatments were giving certain people the ability to read minds, and not only the minds of the living but also of the souls of those who died in the house a very long time ago while it was an insane asylum. I'd say reading about ghosts is scary enough but insane ghosts are really something quite interesting to submerge in. As the house itself becames more haunted with the continuous experiments involving electromagnetic fields, Freeman himself starts going into other peoples minds and pieces together a truth that is more terrifying than he could have imagined. I really enjoyed this story as it reminded me of Shawshank Redemption, since the house was a mental institution where the kids were treated as test subjects and prisoners as only their minds remained free. The ending was also really good. Many unexpected people popped in and made it very interesting and while I don't want to spoil anything, the writer does a very good job of merging all the story lines together to form a solid tale.

A+ Spook Story

The Wendover Home for troubled youths is a place of human and otherworldly misery. The wards are subjected to paranormal experiments and unexplained sightings plague the staff. To say much more would spoil the twists and turns in this supernatural thriller. Nicholson explores ground previously trod by such horror heavyweights as John Farris (The Fury) and John Saul (Shadows), but he brings his unique humor and humanity to the mix. I highly recommend this novel to fans of Bentley Little and John Saul.

He Keeps Getting Better!

Scott put out an amazing story and his work keeps getting better all the time. Set in a creepy home for wayward kids, he creates an atmosphere that does the story justice. The characters are well developed and he uses them in a way that fits the story perfectly. He also provides a nice twist at the end. Others have gone into details about the story so I won't do that here. But what I will do is say that the story kept me engaged and wanting to turn the next page. His dialogue and narrative do not overbear, unlike a few books I've read recently, so it was not a chore to read it. It was fun to read and it instilled the creepy atmosphere one would expect from a horror novel. He is not Bentley Little, he is not Stephen King, he is not Dean Koontz. He is Scott Nicholson and he is a unique voice that is on a par with all of them. He is his own man and if you want good and engaging horror, you can't go wrong with his stories! Highly recommended.

Fear this author!

Freeman Mills is diagnosed with rapid-cycle manic depression (bipolar) with suicidal tendencies, kleptomania, antisocial behavior, cyclothymia, and mid schizophrenia. As long as Freeman can remember, his dad had used him as a guinea pig for experiments. Dr. Kenneth Mills (a.k.a. "Dad") was once an esteemed clinical psychologist. Then Freeman's mom was killed and Dad was locked in an insane institution. However, the damages to Freeman were already done and ran deep. But that was years ago. That is all in the past. Now Freeman is twelve-years-old and has just been transferred to yet another group home. Wendover Home is located in the Southern Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina. The Wendover Home, itself, has a long and dark history. During the Second World War it had been a state mental hospital where inhumane experiments were conducted on mentally unstable patients. Many people died within cells located in the Home's basement. Though the Home is now used as a group home for children, the basement cells remain. Some items have also been added within the basement. There are glowing generators, metal cylinders, Liquid Nitrogen, advanced superconductors, and so much more. All of it is hooked directly to Room Thirteen above. Dr. Richard Kracowski treats the children in Wendover Home. Room Thirteen is where Dr. Kracowski gets to play God. The doctor calls the electroshock treatments "Synaptic Synergy Therapy". He kills his patients to help their brains align harmonically. When the children come back to life they find themselves altered. For a temporary time the kids have telepathy, clairvoyance, and/or precognition abilities. After each treatment, the abilities last longer. Freeman finds an unlikely ally in another child named Vicky Barnwell. Other than Freeman, Vicky's powers are the greatest. As the two warily learn about each other, they begin noticing new oddities around Wendover. The experiments in Room Thirteen have awaken those in the basement from their eternal rests. Being covered up long ago and forgotten are returning. ***** Author Scott Nicholson has become my favorite writer of the Horror genre. No one else can quite resurrect horrors that will haunt your dreams for years to come. Scott Nicholson is simply unforgettable. Don't believe me? Pick up a copy of this novel. I dare you! You'll never think of your basement again without wondering if anything in its past may come back to play with you. Highly recommended! ***** Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.