I’m always skeptical when an author claims that a haunting is entirely true and unfabricated. Perhaps the story that was told was an authentic recreation of the tale or maybe that’s simply what we wish to believe. This short read titled The Amherst Haunting by Kendall Roy gives us a glimpse into the paranormal disturbances that occurred. It’s up to the reader to discern what’s indeed fact from fiction. Here’s my two cents.
Amherst was painted as a quiet farm town where everyone knows everyone. Of course, the tale of this haunting is set at a quiet farmhouse where a seemingly ordinary family lives. The home is owned by Daniel Reed who is accompanied by his wife and two children. His wife’s two sisters and brother also reside in the home along with Dan’s brother. The real star of this story is Esther Cox, the youngest sister of Olive, Dan’s wife.
Esther is infatuated with a lowly man named Bob much to the dismay of her sisters who think he’s beneath their status in the town. One night, Esther goes for a drive with Bob where he acts erratically and frightens Esther before taking her back home, never to be heard from again. After this incident, unexplainable occurrences begin to happen in the home and to Esther.
This book reminds me of another story of demonic activity that’s equally famous: The Bell Witch Haunting. This haunting was so famous that a movie was made out of it called An American Haunting. A young girl goes through a traumatic experience and later paranormal activity transpires. I’ve heard of instances where poltergeist activity can be generated by these experiences and usually occur more frequently around teenage girls. It’s hard to know if that’s what happened in Amherst, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility given the kind of haunting that’s portrayed in the story.
I won’t give away too much that happened in the farmhouse, but let’s just say that things got dangerous. So much so, that poor Esther had to leave her home. The story itself wasn’t particularly scary, but I don’t think that was the intent behind it anyway. I would say the story was written down to provide “facts” with how detailed the scenes and characters were. Do I personally believe the story is true? Well…why don’t you tell me?
If you want to read a short story about an alleged true haunting, then this may be something you want to put on your “to be read” list this Halloween. Don’t forget to check out the movie I mentioned in my review as well! Happy reading!
Author Lauren Eason 