In the House in the Dark of the Woods

Laird Hunt

Oct 2018 · Hachette Audio

About this audiobook

The eerie, disturbing story of one of our perennial fascinations -- witchcraft in colonial America -- wrapped up in a lyrical novel of psychological suspense.

"Once upon a time there was and there wasn't a woman who went to the woods." In this horror story set in colonial New England, a law-abiding Puritan woman goes missing. Or perhaps she has fled or abandoned her family. Or perhaps she's been kidnapped, and set loose to wander in the dense woods of the north. Alone and possibly lost, she meets another woman in the forest. Then everything changes.

On a journey that will take her through dark woods full of almost-human wolves, through a deep well wet with the screams of men, and on a living ship made of human bones, our heroine may find that the evil she flees has been inside her all along.

In the House in the Dark of the Woods is a novel of psychological horror and suspense told in Laird Hunt's characteristically lyrical prose style. It is the story of a bewitching, a betrayal, a master huntress and her quarry. It is a story of anger, of evil, of hatred and of redemption. It is the story of a haunting, a story that makes up the bedrock of American mythology, told in a vivid way you will never forget.

Ratings and reviews

AudioBook Review: Stars: Overall: 4 Narration: 3 Story: 4 So – I grabbed this (despite the horror tags) mostly because of the ties to Colonial New England and the lore that is central to much of American history and belief systems found there. Much more than a story about witches and witchcraft, and far less horror and more psychological thriller, the story uses a wonderful sense of atmosphere, particularly from deep forest ventures, to include threats in the shadows with that undefined sense of unfamiliarity and half-seen ‘things’ that prey on the mind as tales and experience meet. What Hunt has done so well here is bring his style of this reimagined fairy tale (think Grimm not Disney) and the symbolism that is often found there – as parents for generations have used old folk and fairy tales to ‘contain’ their children with threats of witches, ghosts, monsters and ghouls – all to be found on the way to danger. Here, those same elements are brought into play as the story progresses, from one woman who seeks to find the missing and the lost, and is brought to face both the present and the possible, at first glance the evils are clear and present, and then descending into ambiguous shades of grey, forcing readers to pay attention and revisit each moment in time with a sense of ‘why”, unpacking symbolism and intentions along the way – all influenced with he sense that something just isn’t ‘right’ and that unease will ebb and flow, although never quite leaving throughout the story. Vanessa Johansson narrated this tale, mostly told in the perspective of Goody, who isn’t quite the first-glance doting and engaged woman one expects, and is the voice who is solidly leading us through the tale. Each introduction of character is clear and precise, the words are left to create their own ‘menace’ as the story progresses, and the moments that require an adjustment in tone or emotion are clear without over performing or overly influencing or foreshadowing a moment. It took me a few breaks to get through the five plus hours of story, with plenty of images and goosebumps to go around. If you like different and a more thoughtful thrill – grab this one. I received an AudioBook copy of the title from Hachette Audio for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

About the author

Laird Hunt is the author of eight novels, a collection of stories, and two book-length translations from the French. A 2024 recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship for Fiction, he is also the winner of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Fiction, the Grand Prix de Littérature Américaine, the Bridge Prize and a finalist for the National Book Award, the Pen/Faulkner and the Prix Femina Étranger. Hunt’s reviews and essays have been published in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and many others. He teaches in the Department of Literary Arts at Brown University and lives in Providence.