Fear Not the Dead
Brad Ricks
Unveiling Nightmares Ltd, 2024
Ebook, 427 ppg.
ISBN-13: 979-8325595080
Kathryn and Ann are two women who share a traumatic past event from when they were children: Witnessing murders at a Bed & Breakfast called Cardinal Crest Estate. In Ann’s case, her mother was among the people killed. Somehow, she managed to block it out, but as an adult, she is constantly experiencing panic attacks and nightmares related to the past trauma. Unable to heal unless she makes peace with her past along with remembering what happened so that she can come to terms with it, she has been seeing a therapist. Kathryn knows the same therapist, and this therapist soon posits an idea to the two of them: Spend the weekend at Cardinal Crest to help them face what happened in the past. It’s an extreme form of exposure therapy, and the two women struggle with the decision on whether or not they should go. The thing about Cardinal Crest? It’s haunted, and not just by the ghosts of the murder victims!
I really enjoyed reading this book. I especially liked how it was written. We get to experience the POV of both Ann and Kathryn, thereby finding out what they know about their pasts, their suspicions about their so-called “therapist” and what they experience at Cardinal Crest. We also get to see what kind of strange phenomena their kids experience while the families are there, and how it affects the women’s progress in trying to come to terms with their past.
The hauntings in this story are not overdone and the ghosts which appear are very real. That’s another thing I liked about this book. The hauntings and paranormal activity in the story are all real, making the story all the more scarier. I also appreciated getting some of the characters’ backstory in this novel, so I could understand and witness for myself this terrible trauma that they were both a part of.
Two main ghosts pop up in the story a lot – the one of a little girl who drowned at a nearby pond and another of a caretaker who also died on the property. The thing about the little girl ghost is somehow, she doesn’t seem to realize she is dead or a ghost. She is forever remaining a little girl, enjoying little girl things like twirling around in her pretty dress, playing with other kids and swimming in the same pond that she drowned in. (Yeah, I know. I found that odd too! But, hey, at least her ghost does not associate the pond with the trauma of her death.)
This story is a study in trauma, and not just a spooky ghost story. As I read it, I kept thinking about how one of the two traumatized individuals managed to move past what she experienced at the B&B, while the other still experiences panic and anxiety from memories she can’t understand or grasp. She blocked out the worst part, and those memories are gone from her for good. But she believes she can try to get those memories back somehow, and feels like she needs to in order to heal.
I think our brains block things out for a reason. My oldest blocked out the memory of our lives together when I was divorced from his dad (it was too traumatic for him). Would I want him to get those memories back? No. I do not want him to remember those times that we struggled. They were very traumatic. Part of the reason why I changed things for us. But, I mean, there are reasons why we block things out. Is it better to pull them up again? To remember them? Does it really help us to heal? Or do we experience that trauma all over again, like it’s brand new?
That’s just one of the things I was thinking about as I read this novel. I also noticed that there was an event that triggered Ann’s spiral into madness. Her husband, Jim, is loyal, loving and understanding, but baffled about why this is happening. I’m glad he at least stays with her and helps her through this nightmare, whatever it is. She knows it’s connected to her stay at Cardinal Crest. I guess in a way, going back would make sense, if she is trying to understand what exactly happened that traumatized her so much. (Trauma is a funny thing. Not “ha-ha” funny, but weird funny. Trauma can last for a long time without us realizing that we still have it.)
There is another thing about this story that I noticed, something that rings true of all haunted house cases: Anytime there is trauma, anger, negativity, weaknesses and nefarious murder plots brewing in a location that is haunted, it can sort of “trigger” the haunting. It can also make the paranormal activity worse! This is because ghosts feed on things like anger and fear. These emotions sort of empower them and make their presence all the more realistic. With everything that happens while the families are there, it’s no surprise that the ghosts haunting this place are riled up and become more active.
Reading both the backstory and the present-day story really helped me to enjoy the full scope of the whole story. Brad Ricks writes the backstory really well, where it doesn’t interfere with the reading experience. These chapters are just as detailed and well-written as the others. (If you’re curious, Brad wrote a guest post for the SPARREW Newsletter on tips for writing backstory here.) Also, the author makes it easy for us to tell if it’s a past story or a present story because in the past, Ann was Annabelle and Kathryn was Kat. So when those latter names are used, we know it’s past events. This especially helped with the chapters where one woman was in the room while the other was being hypnotized. Likewise, the imposter therapist is revealed by name when we read the chapters in which she goes back to being who she really is. And when I found out who she really is, it was a huge surprise!
My favorite part of the whole story is when Ann wakes up one night to discover that a ghost is in the room she shared with her husband. This scene is written so well. The tension and fear are so thick and hang heavily. "As if in answer to her thoughts, the figure moved its head. Each movement accompanied by that horrible clicking noise. The head slowly turned to look at her. She had thought it had eyes, but as the face turned to her, she realized she was wrong. Empty eye sockets glared at her. They stared at her as if a dark nothingness stared into her soul, burning a hole directly through her." (Page 230) Instead of the rational part of Ann’s brain making her say, “Ghosts aren’t real, bruh. So GTFO!” She instead accepts that there is a sinister presence in her room with them. She does, of course, worry about her husband’s safety until she realizes that this malevolent spirit is fixated on her.
At one point in the story, when the four kids that belong to the two set of adults are together, trying to find their parents, the teenaged Lauren says, "I'm going to say the dumbest thing possible in a haunted house with a revenge-oriented therapist around. We need to split up." I could just hear Scooby Doo exclaim, "Ruh-roh!" Some bad things happen after they split up but that’s when the story takes a very surprising turn.
And as for this novel’s title? Why should we NOT fear the dead? I mean, there’s plenty to fear from the ghosts in this story. But as I got closer to the end of the story and more pieces of the puzzle fell into place, I then understood why that title was chosen for this particular story. And it made absolute sense!
Fear Not the Dead is a creepy, terrifying ghost story of how the past can catch up to you no matter what you do to get rid of it or even try to forget it. This story is also a good reminder of how our lost loved ones are not really gone. Our lost loved ones are always watching over us and they can help us and also stop us from making a terrible mistake. This novel was such a good story to read. There were definitely times I felt scared or anxious while reading it! It's a story full of deadly schemes, trauma, anxiety, terror and lots of ghosts! It's a scary story, but it also has bits of humor sprinkled throughout. It is definitely a story that left me hanging on every page, wanting to read more. I was especially hooked on the last part of the story, filled with so many surprises and plot twists. I kept reading chapter after chapter, wanting to know what happened next. The ending is brilliant and perfect for a ghost story.
Five stars
Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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