Lee goes head first for the shocking scares here, but he should have focused more on the group dynamic.

As a result you never ask yourself 'Oh my God! What is that thing?!' There are all sorts of fun, supernatural goings-on, but the back story of what these monsters are is explained to the reader too early. Despite all of the horrible things that have happened in the Hildreth House's long and storied history, Ed just doesn't make the house itself particularly chilling or sinister. The problem is the promise of the strong start just isn't followed through on. Instead we are exposed to graphic sex, gore and body fluids of all types. Flesh Gothic eschews the usual, implied scares of most haunted house stories. This is Edward Lee, who has earned his reputation as a writer of ‘extreme’ horror, so there is more at Hildreth House than spooks in sheets and slamming doors. After that the wife of the mansion's deceased owner hires a group of psychic investigators to find out what happened that night. The prologue was pretty interesting, and tracking the last survivor (through a room of flesh!) of what comes to be known as Slaughter Night at the Hildreth House was pretty intense. We begin with a ritualistic slaughter at a mansion that doubles as a porn studio.

I think Edward Lee is a good writer, but haunted house stories are obviously not his forte. Though I’ve only read two of his books, I can tell that Flesh Gothic is far from Ed Lee’s best work. All in all, a very exciting and mostly spooky read that I highly recommend. And a supernatural charge within the house builds until the climatic ending. Before we know it, paranormal events are happening daily and are taken as normal. Westmore soon gets set up at the house along with two assistants and four psychics the investigations start turning up weird event after weird event. OK, sex isn't required in a haunted house story but it certainly adds to the enjoyment.Īfter a brief prologue and the introduction of all the characters, the story follows Westmore, a reporter who has been hired to determine the secrets behind some murders which occurred by her husband at a huge mansion. It had a cast of complex characters who you weren't quite sure of which ones to trust. It had the required haunted house with ghosts, demons and other entities. It's been a while since I've read a good haunted house story and this book fit the bill perfectly.

Edward lee flesh gothic