The Haunting of Lannister Hall
The Haunting of Lannister Hall
By Amy Cross
The Sexton’s musings (spoilers are likely):
This book is set up like many of the other ones that I have read from Amy Cross. It is set up in parts. Each part told in first person point of view of the main characters. In this case there are two who are existing in different time periods yet within the same setting. I think this is my favorite setup of her books. Or at least each chapter being told in the voice of one of the characters. We start back in the late 1800's.
Katie Sinclair
A hard working student that just wants to make her mark in the field of paranormal activity. Currently she is working to help someone else do this. Someone who has not been totally honest about his objectives. They have all been going by the findings of Dr. Alice Reynolds who made up rules for something that we definitely still don't and never will understand. Her rules state that ghosts can't hurt us. This is a dangerous statement to set in stone. There is no way she can make this be a definitive fact. Ten years of research is not enough time to determine something like that as fact. She is putting other paranormal scientist in danger, and potentially loss of life. Up until this visit Katie bought into her “rules”. What she doesn't know is that they are there to prove Reynolds wrong. She finds this out when she's asked to approach the ghost of Catherine, by Carter. She learns much on this little expedition, unfortunately it's not enough.
Catherine Lannister
It has taken me a while to get through the parts with Cathy. She is so self-doubting that it's difficult to get through. She needs to stop worrying about being disobedient to her husband and listen to herself for a second because we all know that the monster in the house is not her. I debate on if it is her husband but that's just because I think he's a POS! She needs to stop worrying about her shithead husband and continue to protect her daughter. We all know that this is going to end badly because of the modern day parts of this book but I can still pass judgment. The bad is the fault of Jonathan not Catherine. Jonathan is the evil in the house. I will always think that evil only comes from the hearts of human beings and nowhere else. This guy is a monster. We find out later that she has good reason to have stuck around. Turns out that she is not as weak as her husband thinks. She really stands up and shows Jonathan what happens to men like him. He was more worried about his family name than his own child. I can only imagine the look of surprise and terror when he realizes what is happening.
As a spirit Catherine is doing the exact same thing she did in life. Protecting her daughter. It seems that her strong emotion and conviction are what keeps her here. It is sad that she continues to wait for Millie to come to her. Millie has moved on as she should have and I wish Catherine would as well.
Doctor Carter
This guy presents as a complete and total asshole at first. And I'm pretty sure that he probably is to some degree; he is an academic after all, but this said he seems to change his arrogant tune when he realizes that Katie is not just some dumb student. She truly is interested in finding truth and he seems to actually respect that. He is however willing to put Katie in danger to get his truth. So perhaps the arrogance is not the worst part of his personality. Then we find out his true motive and trust me when I say this dude is fucked. For someone who has studied the paranormal for a good clip he ends up being soft in the head when confronted with the fact that it's real. Bloody weak!
Jonathan Lannister
I'm just gonna say it. This dude is a douche nozzle. It's obvious that his wife is in need of help and what does he inevitably do? He boards her up in an unused part of the house they share. Like legit nails the doors shut. He eventually ends up seeing things yet still blames Catherine, making her swear on the bible of her father that she had not gotten out of the side of the house he has imprisoned her in. Duh asshole! You nailed the door shut! How the fuck could she have gotten out? As it turns out all of it is a farce. This piece of shit actually hired a desperate man from London to drive Catherine insane. When that does not work he forces the man to kill both Catherine and Mellie. Yes he wants this man to kill his daughter. The reason you ask? He finds them to be an embarrassment to the Lannister name. He makes the statement that he needs to have a proper wife and children. What kind of sociopath do you have to be to actually do something like this, to think like this, to be like this? This dude takes the cake as far a sociopathic personalities go. Damn. I think he's taken it into a whole new category of assholishness. Sociopath does not cover what he is. In the end though he gets what he deserves. Fucking dick!
Closing thoughts:
It was a good story. The direction that the older time took was a great parallel to the present day. It explains a whole lot that may have otherwise not made sense. It sets the emotion and consideration of what her ghosts actions are all about. Now lets talk about the very end. I hated it. There is no pretending here. Unlike many of Cross's stories this one did not have a big reveal it is exactly how one would think things would go with one huge, glaring, disappointing exception. One it's horrible and two it's abrupt. Way too abrupt. Then you ask yourself how the hell the story is even being told... which leaves you a little empty.
