The Curse of Wetherley House
The Curse of Wetherley House
By Amy Cross
The Sexton’s musings (spoilers are likely):
I always like to start off with a little bit about the style and set up of the book. Amy Cross is definitely one author that changes things up. I actually really like this about her writing. Keeps things interesting. This one is done in parts. There are not numbered chapters. Just the name of the person that is telling the story at the start of each section, within the parts. Each part specifies a time period. There is some definite gore and some really tough abusive situations that are not for the sensitive.
Rosie
This is our present day skeptic. These folks always seem to learn the hard way that they are wrong. She is having a rough day though. I will give her that. In the end her appearance here is not a coincidence. She ends up being the child that Hannah saved that horrible night. I feel like that if she knew her background that she would never have returned to that house, or perhaps she would have been even more attracted to it. I really thought that she was just there for the ride. Turns out that the horrible day that she has been having was orchestrated by Elizabeth to get her back to that house. I was not expecting this at all. I thought maybe Toby was the one connected to the family. I wasn't sure how but that was my suspicion. I was so wrong.
Toby
I think this dude is a genuinely a good dude. At least he seems to be. Perhaps a little too wrapped up in his desire to solve the mystery of Evil Mary but I don't think he expected to have any serious trouble. I don't think he would have taken Rosie there if he knew he'd be putting her in danger. Okay so if you have a problem with maggots then the way this poor guys dies is going to give you the creepy crawlies. He legit gets eaten by maggots from the inside out. It's horrible! The shitty thing is that he almost makes it. He was so close.
Mary Carmichael (Evil Mary)
There is a legitimate reason that she became so pissed off after she died. We learn right from the first quarter of the book that her life was a lie thanks to her “mother”. A woman who, every time she looked at Mary she saw the face of the woman she stole her from. This made Eve angry and resentful. Made her mistreat Mary. We are not just talking about verbal, emotional or physical abuse (although those happened first). We are talking unlawful confinement in a dark basement committing cannibalism. It's absolutely insane. It's no wonder the poor young woman’s spirit would be one to stick around in that house. After what happened to her there it's almost expected. This said, it turns out that it's not her. She has actually moved on which is a beautiful thing. She has so many reasons to stay but because at her core she was her mothers daughter that she was able to. It's just so sad to think about what her life could have been like.
Marguerite Carmichael (Wife to Robert, True Mother of Mary)
A sweet caring loving young woman who loves her husband Robert most desperately and is excited to start their family together. She loves her little one as well. You can tell with the way she fights for her. I want the people who took her child from her to be punished in the most creative way possible. We're talking “Hostel” times a million. Hell would be a cakewalk. She also dies in such a horrific way. She is stripped naked, wheeled out to a grave in the middle of winter, thrown in the grave and buried alive. All while hearing her baby scream. I think the child knew that there was something wrong with the situation. Knew that Eve was not her mother. It's tragic in ways that you just want to wake up form the nightmare in hopes that this is not the reality for the character.
Robert Carmichael (Husband to Marguerite, Brother to Eve, Father to Mary)
This man seems like a wonderful husband. I felt in my heart that once he mentioned how wretched his family was that something was going to happen to him. Then once the fight broke out with Eve I knew that she was going to take her revenge on him. Not just for what he said but because she believed that his child and him belonged to her and that he had broken a pact they had made as children. A disgusting, incestuous pact that only naive children would make. There is a momentary “Flowers in the Attic” vibe going on here. Glad he grew out of it. Unfortunately she did not, sick fuck.
Eve Carmichael (Sister to Robert, sick fucking bitch)
Fuck this bitch with everything! I'm talking everything. Gardening equipment, kitchen electrics, if I thought a station wagon could be driven up there I would take my chances. I mean this bitch is fucked! Eve is Roberts sister. She apparently had some kind of sick fantasy that she and Robert would be “keeping it in the family” but Robert had other ideas as an adult man and married Marguerite. Apparently she never grew out of it and was jealous of their relationship. In addition to this she is also a murderer and a child abductor. A type of character that you really want to get what's coming to them. Real real bad! She stole Mary from her mother after killing her father (Brother Robert) and hiring a doctor to butcher Marguerite. Remember this is the late 1800's, C-sections were not a thing then but apparently this doctor thought it was, no anesthetic or pain relief, just cut into her and remover her child so that Eve could pretend that she was giving birth to her. What happens is sick. Really fucking sick. You can blame a curse all you want but this bitch was whack waaaaay before that stupid wretch cursed the family. There was also a reason she was not able to carry to term herself...she was never meant to be a parent. Her skills in that department lead something to be desired. If there was such a thing as CPS she would have lost Mary years before Mary was corrupted by her abuse.
Hannah
As horribly as her brother Johnny speaks about her she is one brave young lady. She saves her niece. It is a bit frustrating that she plays the skeptic for a good clip. Even when she has seen things with her own eyes. Katie is the older of the two sisters and unfortunately she is the one that gets possessed and kills most of the family that she has left. It does not take long for her body to start breaking down and Elizabeth is not able to do anything to the living without a vessel. It's tragic that she loses her whole family and that it happens right in front of her eyes. But like I said she is way tougher than she looks and acts.
Johnny
This is the brother of Hannah and Katie. He's essentially a douche. He's making demands regarding their fathers estate without being involved with any of the work it takes to get it in order. Interestingly enough this man who is too busy with work to help his sisters is soon going to be a father. His wife, Louise is ready to pop. This man continually blames what his wife is experiencing on hormones. He's a real dick when it comes to how he views women. He obviously sees them as inferior to men...or at least to himself. For the most part he acts like a petulant child. I really can't stand him but I do feel badly for his wife and what happens to her. She dies horribly. I think he gets off easy.
Elizabeth (a witch and curse hander outer)
This woman was punished in the late 1800s for being a witch. She was cast out of her community and left to die in a ditch on the side of the road. This is where Marguerite and Robert met her. Marguerite being who she is was getting ready to climb into the ditch to help her but Robert stopped her. Elizabeth did indeed look like she was diseased and she was close to death but because they did not help her she placed a curse on the family. She states the every first born child will be given to her. She comes close to nabbing Mary but she actually gets taken by Eve before she can get her hands on her. Then the next child in the family to be born and drawn to the house is the child of Johnny and Louise. Hannah is the one that spoils this plan. She ends up getting the baby out of the house and away from the grounds. This child ends up being Rosie.
Closing thoughts:
Over all a great story. As I have said there are some really difficult situations here. I became so pissed off with Eve that I could not wait for that bitch to die. Unfortunately we are not that lucky. She gets off easy and just has to deal with the gallows and not the spirit in the house. She is so much worse than dangling at the end of a noose. Definitely the least satisfying part of the tale.
That was the worst of my angry moments but I have to say that this one was in general an anger inducing read for me. A good story though. Nothing wrong there or in the writing itself. I recommend the read.
