The Haunting of Hangman Manor
The Haunting of Hangman Manor
By Vincent Valentean
The Sexton’s musings (spoilers are likely):
Vincent Valentean is an author of whom I have read several books of prior to starting this forum. The books are part of a series called A Riveting Haunted House Mystery Series that you can find on Amazon. Several authors are part of this series. Out of the involved authors I have read stories by Marie Wilkens, Mason Dean, Clay Wise, Roger Hayden, Abigail Rose, Baldwin Rogers, James Hunt, Hazel Holms and Alexandria Clarke and for the most part I really enjoyed the stories. Many of them are similar in nature and the bare bone basics are in the same vein but the writing styles and the characters are completely different. Of Valentean’s available works I have read The Haunting of Mockingbird Inn, The Haunting of Overlook Manor, The Haunting of Jonas Estate, The Haunting of Jonas Cabin and Lies From Beyond. There are a couple of characters that he comes back to. One of them is celebrity psychic, Jacob Shepherd, who is mentioned in many of the books when characters from those stories are reading the book that he wrote. This said, his story is told in The Haunting of Jonas Estate where Shepherd is the main character. The other character is Michael Merlyn, who is an absolutely amazing character that I can’t get enough of. He is part of The Haunting of Jonas Cabin and Lie From Beyond. I highly recommend these books. I have a feeling that you’ll get hooked on Merlyn just as many of those that have read these books have. Now, the blurb states the Merlyn is part of this story as well (which is what prompted me to purchase it). I am 53% of the way through and he has not yet been mentioned. Funny enough, Shepherd has been mentioned. When Edward, one of the main characters, is given Shepherd’s book as a gift. I’m excited to see how Merlyn is introduced because, once again, we have characters that are doubting the existence of the supernatural even though it is being thrown in their faces. Additionally, while I believe this couple loves and wants to be with one another, which is refreshing (all too often we read about couples that are moving into a haunted house to make a “fresh start” because they have been having problems) I really think that they need to be honest with one another. They are both holding back, ironically enough, the same information to protect one another. That’s sweet but honesty is always the best policy in these situations. Holding back always bolsters the “evil” surrounding the situation where all too often divide and conquer is the goal.
The denial only continued for a couple more chapters and then Edward started to come around. I’m not sure Lydia ever really realized what was happening to her until after the spirit vacated her body. This was not a case of complete possession but the spirit did almost convince her to hang herself. It’s interesting that over the course of this spirit’s communication with Edward, it was trying to lead him to what was needed to help it. It’s like the spirit couldn’t decide if it wanted to be angry, or if it wanted help moving on. Either way, the story surrounding this young man is very tragic. Paranoia and negative emotional effects on Lydia are there, but not a strong focus. It is a blessing, because it’s really annoying. I mean the influence is such that Lydia thinks that Edward is cheating on her and going to leave. Which is completely insane considering the man is practically a hermit and very socially awkward. Everything that he is doing is to try and help her. It’s taking a herculean effort for him to just be out and about. The dude gets on a plane in hopes of being able to help Lydia, so that’s love. The lie that he tells is minimal since telling her the truth was not the best of ideas considering her partial possession. I mean, both of them are guilty of keeping the truth from each other. Really for me, there is no way Lydia can hold his lie over him.
Edward’s introduction to Michael is hilarious. Merlyn just has a way about him that, even when first introductions are less than perfect, he somehow manages to endear himself to you. He has a way where he doesn’t mince words, managing to say exactly what he wants and means but without it being overly offensive. It’s a skill that more people in the world of the over sensitive really need! Badly! There are so many heartfelt moments in this story. It’s lovely, and tragic with story characters that, in a very short amount of time, you’re rooting for. Hell, even the spirit is a sympathetic one. Michael even feels sympathy when they meet near the end. One of the interesting things that we learn is that this book is actually a prequel to the two previous books that Merlyn is part of. From Harmon, Merlyn travels to Jonas where The Haunting of Jonas Cabin takes place. Now I know the reason why Merlyn was hanging around Jonas when the main characters, a married couple, runs into him by the lake! It’s so very awesome! Vincent Valentean has created a really good character in Michael Merlyn. I thoroughly enjoy everything about him. The conclusion to this one is devastatingly lovely and while some readers (reviews on Amazon) were surprised by the twist that this one took, I am not. It makes perfect sense. It’s always fun when your perception of a character does a 180° turn, when you finally have light shown upon the truth. I love a beautiful, and happy ending. Especially for characters that are absolutely deserving of that ending. Guess what else this one has…an epilogue that is worth an epilogue! No dreaded epilogue here!
