Book Review: Charnel House by Graham Masterson

 

Goodreads Summary: Edgar Award. A demon-possessed house in San Francisco is out to devour the world in this horror tale by the acclaimed author of The Manitou. A desperate, terrified old man appears at John Hyatt's office in the San Francisco Department of Sanitation with a chilling complaint. His house, Seymour Willis insists, is breathing. Hyatt suspects a rat infestation, but the truth is worse. Much worse. An ancient demon out of darkest Native American folklore lives within the walls and floorboards of Willis’s home—an all-powerful malevolent being determined to break free and wreak havoc on the City by the Bay. Soon, a tiny cadre of believers in the impossible—including Hyatt, Willis, and a Native American shaman—hold the fate of all humanity in their hands. The monster’s hunger for blood and flesh is insatiable, and it is determined to escape its prison and become whole. And once it does, the entire world will be its feeding ground. A haunted house story like no other—a gory and terrifying tale of demonic possession—this award-winning supernatural thriller by the acclaimed author of The Manitou provides substantial chills on every page. A tale of unrelenting terror reminiscent of the works of H. P. Lovecraft, Graham Masterton’s Charnel House will haunt your dreams long after you’ve turned the final page.

Goodreads Rating: 3.64 stars with over 1,700 ratings

Genre Listing: Horror, Fiction, Supernatural, Paranormal, Fantasy, Demons, Native American

Goodreads/Storygraph challenge: 5/48 books

2026 Reading Challenge: #1 Read a book that is under 250 pages long (find the whole challenge here)

Book Review:

    Hello, Readers! I hope everyone had a safe St. Patrick's Day. It was a Tuesday, so I worked. I just finished Charnel House by Graham Masterson and wanted to post my thoughts before they slipped my mind. At 143 pages, this fits perfectly for the first prompt of the challenge. I actually didn't expect to like this story. I'm not really sure what made me purchase it or decide to read it, but I'm glad I did. It was an interesting little horror story. I will say that I don't think it will be everyone's cup of tea. It was published in the 70s, and some of the language and topics reflect that. It's pretty gruesome and gory in some scenes. As a trigger warning, it also mentions sexual assault/rape. They're not described in detail, but are mentioned. 

    The story follows John Hyatt, who gets a strange request for help from Seymour Willis to deal with his house that appears to be breathing. I was really hooked on the story when it was going through the secrets of the house, and weird things kept happening. I sort of lost interest once John and company figured out what was the cause of the events and tried to defeat the entity. It was still as interesting, but it wasn't as suspenseful. I appreciated the Native American lore involved, even though I didn't find it as suspenseful. I don't really know how much of it was accurate, but it was entertaining. 

    I actually found some of the gore and story creepy. This is a pretty big compliment for me in regard to horror. I love it deeply, but I rarely find it scary. There were a few scenes that got my heart pumping a little, however. Given that the book is under 200 pages, I find it even more impressive. I think what surprised me the most with this story is that there was some really dry and dark humor incorporated in it. 

    This story gave me bad horror movie vibes, and I'm here for it. I don't know if this has ever been turned into a movie, but I could see it being one of those horror movies that's so bad it's good. I mean that as a compliment. I highly recommend it to anyone who appreciates this vibe.