Reviewed by Kate
Acceptance
Reviewed by Kate Acceptance
Acceptance is the story of a teenager's experience in an unusual haunted house. Aaron's friends challenge him to enter the ordinary-looking house, go upstairs, and open a window. What he finds inside is most definitely not typical suburban fare.
The author of this story has a good feel for the pacing of a horror story. Most of the tension is psychological, Aaron's imaginings as he goes through the house are well described. The house is detailed well, too, and the ordinariness of the surroundings is a good contrast to Aaron's fear. There are one or two awkward constructions, like "his head swivelled on his neck so that he was looking over his left shoulder", sentences where Aaron's body seems detached somehow from his control.
The idea that what Aaron sees upstairs is only visible in the mirror is intriguing, and I think it could be expanded on, Aaron ignoring the apparitions and just leaving the room left me feeling a bit cheated, after such an effective build-up. I wanted to know more, even just a bit more, about the entities. (And who was smoking the cigarette?)
Despite this minor problem with the ending, the story was a nice twist on the classic haunted-house-dare story. Some of the best horror stories take place in apparently normal settings, and I think the author is on the right track.
Reviewed by � Kate
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