In a small town in Texas, a weirdly shaped house stands. It’s called a Spite House because it was built originally to spite someone with it’s location. A wandering family is looking for a job and believe they might have found one that is up their alley. An eccentric woman is looking for someone to live in the spite house and and record the happenings in the haunted house, to see if it’s really haunted but what is the hidden reason for finding more and more caretakers for this house?

The original premise made this story sound so creepy. And to be honest it’s a multilayered story, with connections through different characters. And while the story itself was very spine tingling with gothic vibes, the ending, while wrapping it up, also gave me more questions than before. Come for the haunted house story, but be warned if you don’t like loose ends.

This was surprisingly refreshing!
Overall, this novel was giving Haunting of Hill House x The Shining vibes throughout and I was all ears!
Eric Ross and his two daughters Dess and Stacy are on the run from something they refuse to speak about when Eric comes across a job ad for a 'caretaker' needed at a residence in Degener, TX. But this isn't any ordinary house and the job description is far from that of a simple caretaker. Spite House is a narrow structure with a dark history and is home to more than one haunted resident and the Ross family aren't meant to care for the house but rather ignite its haunted source to prove the paranormal events are true. They're torn between protecting their secret and surviving the aftermath of waking the evil that is Spite House.

Gothic fiction is one of my favourite genres - I love the creepiness of an old house and all its haunts (though I'm not sure I could survive living in one personally)! I especially loved that the 'supernatural' aspects in this book were actually supernatural and not man made gimmicks (tired of this trope!) I did feel there were some open ended plot lines that were never really explained/ resolved, but I would still be very interested in reading more from this author or this world/ series.

Thank you Net Galley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge and Tor Nightfire for providing me with this advanced reader’s e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Spite House was an engaging story that kept me reading because I just had to have all my questions answered- how clever and fun, seeing as how getting answers for impossible questions was also a huge motivation for our main characters.

Compton maximises even the tiniest details to give readers a sense of his characters; and he’s good at feeding information slowly enough to keep the tension high and interest piqued, but not so slow as to frustrate readers.

Trying my best not to spoil important plot points, I still want to point out how certain aspects of the hauntings in this story gave me good old fashioned folklore and Jeff Myrtlebank from the Twilight Zone vibes. I loved that, and it would’ve been fantastic to get to explore that just a little bit more.

In the end, the biggest takeaway I got from The Spite House is the fearsome amount of power we give our most negative emotions, and how widespread the effects of said emotions can be. Compton expertly used a paranormal framework to present a very real kind of ugliness.

I really loved the character development in this book. It was well done and their was a lot of interesting insight into the youngest daughter as well.

Throughout the book you could really see and feel the way that this house was getting to Eric and Dessa and Stacy. They changed throughout the book, but also learned things about each other they might not have learned had Eric not brought them there.

I felt like this book had a great build up of suspense throughout the book. It started with wondering what was going to happen in this house, and the first night with just one thing happening to being this great story with so many turns and excitement through the story.

A father and his two daughters are on the run from something in Maryland. The father gets a job of investigating a haunted house in Texas.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC and to the publish Tor Nightfire.

Haunted house books are hit or miss for me. I love when they delve more into the history and secrets of the place, and love it less when they are about like, anthropomorphization of the house. Luckily, this one falls very heavily into the first category, and I am pleased to report that it was wonderful! Let me tell you about the stuff I liked!

►First, I love a challenge. It is even better because Eric and his daughters desperately need the house and income, but I do enjoy that it was a whole "who can outlast the house?" situation. Because that is just plain entertaining, frankly. And then, I like to wonder if I could "win". (I would win.)

►Speaking of Eric and his daughter, there's a huge focus on family. I mean really, family is the crux of this novel. Eric is clearly a devoted father who would move heaven and earth for his girls. The problem is, he has some huge secrets he's burdened with, as well as very limited resources. They're kind of in hiding, though we don't know why, and as such, he can't exactly have a legitimate job with a steady income, or other things you need a real identity for. But one thing is clear: this family loves each other deeply.

►So. Many. Secrets! I think everyone in this book is harboring at least a few secrets. The secrets in this case span literal centuries in some cases, while some are happening right as the story is told. There is just so much to unfurl here, and it made the book very exciting to read.

►I actually liked the paranormal aspect! I am so bad at this, in general, but this one... well, it made sense to my mind, and I did not have to really suspend my disbelief or anything, so I was good with it! Trust me, this is high praise.

Bottom Line: It's a haunted house story, sure, but it's also a familial love story, with some history and paranormal sprinkled in, and it simply all works.

A father on the run from a dark past with his two daughters in tow comes across an ad for a house looking for a caretaker who can provide proof of its paranormal happenings for its enigmatic owner in Johnny Compton's The Spite House. When Eric Ross finds the ad looking for a caretaker for the Masson House, reputed to be one of the most haunted spots in Texas, he thinks he may have finally found his break: not only will the large payout for finding proof of its haunting help him get his daughters a more normal life, he hopes to find answers to the problem causing them to be on the run within its dark walls. What Eric isn't aware of is the history of the caretakers before him, and what secrets the owner is keeping on her search for the paranormal...

Pros:
- Various perspectives are used to tell the story, and each one is given time to be fleshed out and grow. In particular, Eric and his daughter Dess are strong POV characters with empathetic stories.
- The haunting, when it comes, is well done and adds some nuance to the very crowded haunted house genre.

Cons:
- Various plot points are introduced and then not fully explored by the time the story ends. Some readers may feel a bit wanting with some of the mysteries.
- Connected to this, the ending feels a bit rushed. The main mystery leaves more questions than get answered, which can be frustrating for a book this length.

Three stars. It's definitely scary in parts, but I left wanting a bit more at the end.

FFO: Civil War stories, spite houses, horror heavy on the mystery.

**I was given a copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to MacMillan Tor/Forge and Netgalley*

This book started strong but by the end I still had questions and was left confused. We are promised a gothic paranormal horror and while we get a feel for that atmosphere I wish there was still more. There were deliciously creepy paranormal moments and the house sets a great scene but it lacked the ability to really make me feel like I was there and a part of the story, which is what I was expecting. The characters are flawed, but in a relatable and likeable kind of way, though, none of them really stood out to me and I wasn't necessarily rooting for anyone. The writing was done well, minus a few times when the dialogue felt a bit awkward or clunky, and I even saved a few of the quotes. The moments that I feel should/could have been shocking or at least surprising fell a little flat for me. This was a decently quick and enjoyable read overall, especially for a debut novel, and I don't discourage anyone from picking it up. I hope to see more from this author in the future. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Love a haunted house story where the house itself is a character!! And what a character it is!!

I really loved the family in this book and the way their secrets were slowly revealed. Kinda gave me The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig vibes, but the house was creepier. Truly different from a typical haunted house story in an unexpected way.

Many thanks to my partners @tornightfire @macmillan.audio @storygramtours for the #gifted copies

I’ve been craving a good haunted house story. And this one delivered. Totally creepy. So much unknown. Completely menacing.

Right away, I became deeply invested in Eric and his girls. There’s a deep love and devotion between them. The way he nurtures his daughters. The way they trust him. Yet, why they are on the run?

And that house! Built in anger. Baptized in spite. The Masson House is a character all its own. The idea that a structure can steal your very soul from your being is the stuff of nightmares. The house was a vivid depiction of danger that created a deep sense of foreboding. With each page I read I kept pondering: while indignation is a powerful emotion, could it come alive in a way that harms even after its originator is gone?

With this horror story seeded in traumas of the past, Compton’s story reminds that history has lasting effects.

With abundant POVs, the story did get a bit sidetracked at times. While I was deeply invested in the main characters, the side characters didn’t add much substance in my opinion. However, that didn’t prevent my overall enjoyment.

This Black Southern Gothic read was an impressive debut, and I’ll be watching to see what Compton does next.

🎧The audiobook is *excellently* narrated by Adam Lazard-White. His deep, gravelly voice immediately pulled me in. And his ability to shift tone creates the perfect juxtaposition been disturbing (when talking about the haunted house) and endearing (when depicting Eric and his girls).

An awesome debut novel from Johnny Compton!

Off the bat, I learned about spite houses which is one of the most petty yet fascinating things i’ve ever heard of. Building a house just to be an annoyance or eyesore to other people? Amazing.

That’s what this book focuses on. A father Eric and his two daughter, Dess and Stacy, take up a deal go stay at the possibly haunted Masson house. They are currently on the run for mysterious reasons and the woman who hired them may have ulterior motives to why she brought them in.

Overall, i think this is a solid read. I saw a few reviews say that this book isn’t southern gothic but i would have to disagree with that. There’s a lot of references to the civil war and the ghosts featured are older spirits. I think it was refreshing that this was set in modern day but had that old-school feel to it.

Similar to another book I read recently, I felt like there were two many different point of view chapters. If you’re going to do multiple POVS, each person has to be compelling and that was not the case. I feel like the author really should have just focused on the family rather than giving POVS to multiple side characters.

That being said, the family were very well written and developed characters. Also, along with spite houses, the themes of spite and revenge appear throughout the whole story. The scares and creepy moments really got me. The author built a great atmosphere within the home and I was left wondering how the story was going to end. There were a couple questions left unanswered but I’m willing to forgive that because this was such a fun read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for the digital ARC of this.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced ebook copy.

Had an enjoyable time reading this book.

I’m a sucker for a haunted house story, and with a delightfully creepy cover like that, how could I resist this book?

Eric is on the run with his daughters Dess and Stacy. Moving from town to town, accepting jobs that pay in cash, Eric’s looking for somewhere safe to take his kids. When he sees a posting for a job promising a large amount of money for staying in a supposedly haunted house? Well, it almost seems too good to be true. But the rich, eccentric old lady who owns it seems serious enough and that money – just for keeping notes on his experiences! – would set his family up for quite some time. But from the moment they step foot in the Masson house – the spite house – things start going wrong and Eric begins to question whether they should ever have come to this town – or if they’ll ever leave.

“And he’d kept Dess and Stacy safe so far, hadn’t he? Kept them protected from real-world threats. He could do the same when it came to otherworldly ones, especially considering he had recent reason to believe that the dead meant no harm, irrespective of his doubts about that.”


From the beginning, we know that Eric and his family are hiding something. Eric is the picture of a loving father even if he does make desperate choices in order to keep his daughters safe. Stacy is a sweet child who loves crafts and coloring. Dess, her eighteen-year-old sister, was my favorite though. She veered between being frustrated by their situation and protective of Stacy. The question of why the three were on the run added a good amount of tension to the first half of the story, the feeling that something was very wrong but being unable to put a finger on exactly what. The spite house itself is an excellent character as well. Tall and spindly, with weirdly broken up rooms and a strange corridor addition, the house is eerie even without being haunted.

“And even a lie can reveal a truth if you find out why someone is telling it.”


The beginning was excellent, and the suspense of what exactly would make a man so desperate to move his daughters into a purportedly haunted house kept me on the edge of my seat. But towards the halfway point, as more is explained about the house, the plot began losing momentum. Part of it was that there were too many characters and POVs. There’s Eric and his family, of course, plus Eunice (the house’s owner), her employees Dana and Lafonda, and Millie, another townsperson. I’m not entirely sure all of them were necessary. My main interest was on Des and the rest of her family and I think the pacing would have felt tighter if it focused more on them. In particular, there’s some interesting parallels between Eric’s history and that of the house’s original owner that I would’ve liked to have seen explored more. The book picks up speed again as it nears the end, and I thought the ending was fantastic, but I wished it had maintained that same pacing throughout.

“It’s okay, Stacy. I’m here. Now you get up, you come right over to me, and do not look behind you.”


Overall, I’d give this 3.5 stars. While I found the plot and pacing uneven, there’s enough promise that I’ll definitely be checking out this author’s next work.

I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

**3.5-stars rounded up**

The Spite House follows dedicated father, Eric, who is on the run with his two daughters, Dess and Stacy. Starting in Maryland, the family has made it to Texas without major incident, but will that luck hold? The road isn't an easy place, with Eric only taking unreliable jobs paying cash where he can. It's unclear exactly what they're running from, but it is clear that it's imperative they don't get caught.

They're living in hotels, barely getting by, when Eric discovers an ad for a live-in position at the Masson House, in Degener, Texas. The pay is six-figures, the hazards...it's haunted. Reputedly, the most haunted house in Texas. Haunted or not, Eric and his girls don't have a lot of choices. Eric is intrigued. All they have to do is live at the property and report to the owner any paranormal happenings they might observe.

The exciting pay rate is one thing, but Eric has his own additional reasons for wanting to explore the potentially supernatural nature of the house.

This story follows the perspectives of Eric, Dess and Stacy, in the days leading up to and including their time at the Masson House. There's a few other perspectives as well. There's Eunice, the lady who hires them, Lafonda, Eunice's employee, Millie, Max, the children; there's actually a lot of different perspectives helping to build out this story. While I understand why the author chose to tell it this way, it was actually the story's biggest downfall for me personally.

It felt a little crowded. I'll admit to finding it hard to track in certain places. Never Eric, Dess or Stacy. They were clear and distinct throughout. I even really enjoyed having Eunice and Lafonda's insights, but for me personally, it could have ended there as far as perspectives were concerned.

The story itself was delightful in its sense of place. I loved the Southern vibe carried throughout, including the fantastic narration of the audiobook by Adam Lazarre-White.

Additionally, the themes and topics explored were unique and well-presented. The nature of the hauntings allowed Compton to build a sense of dread that really never let up. This was one of my favorite parts of this. It was eerie start-to-finish.

This includes Eric, Dess and Stacy's situation. You know something is going on there, but at first, it's not clear what it is. I liked how Compton chose to reveal that side of the story and it definitely helped to amplify the situation at Masson House. I also found the history of the Masson House, and the property it sits on, fascinating. I love when land holds on to these sorts of generational traumas and carries it through to a modern-day perspective, or situation.

There's something unsettling about that. I think we've all been to places that hold a certain feeling and I love watching that play out in fiction. Considering what could be behind those vibes. It's so interesting to me. Overall, I felt this was a unique and engaging story with a fabulously narrated audiobook. The Spite House should be on every Horror Lovers immediate TBR. You do not want to miss out on this one.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Tor Nightfire and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. I am so excited to read more from Johnny Compton in the future. If this book is any indication, he has a long and successful career ahead of him!

This was an interesting read that grew deeper as more of the plot was revealed. I was hoping for some "answers", but maybe some of the plot being left unexplained is what has made the story haunt me.

How far would you go to spite someone? Would you build an entire house simply out of spite?

In this debut novel by Johnny Compton, Eric and his two daughters are on the run. But, they need money to keep going. So, when Eric is promised a huge payout to stay in a supposedly haunted house and record what happens, he accepts. After all, they are tough, they've been through some stuff, and if it gets too bad, they can just leave, right?

From the very first few pages, I was hooked, and my curiosity was peaked! What made them run away??? I had to know. The book turned into a slow burn, and it took quite awhile to get some answers. However, I was definitely not expecting it when it finally hit.

It wasn't exactly scary, but all the best elements of a haunted house story were there and done in an original way. I loved the multiple POVs and the family dynamics.

I have loved plenty of books that didn't end with everything wrapped up and a happily ever after, but I wasn't happy with the way this one ended. It was clever, but I wanted more. I need to know what happens next! I'm rounding my rating up to four stars, because of how much I cared about the characters.

Thank you Tor Publishing Group for the copy of this book to read and review.

Is there anything better than a haunted house story? Not in my opinion! And I absolutely LOVED The Spite House! The Masson House was creepy from the beginning, just from the description of the shape and the fact that it resides on top of a hill overlooking the town. But then there are the strange things happening, the weird sounds, and that bizarre third-floor hallway. Eric and his two daughters are on the run. When he finds the ad in the paper about staying in the Spite House for pay in the six figures, he has to check it out. But Eric and his girls have their own secrets and their own experiences with the dead. This book was so creepy, but had such an emotional aspect that I was not expecting. And what the Spite House was up to? Brilliant twist! I cannot wait to read more from Johnny Compton!!

I absolutely love a good haunted house story and I also love when a book honors other great classics that have come before. Compton’s Spite House checks both boxes. I also love seeing Black authors and protagonists being represented in the horror genre🙌

The Spite House has all the elements of a gothic thriller: family secrets, unresolved pasts, ghosts out for revenge, wonky architecture. It also has some great characters who I grew to love. Eric and his two daughters are very compelling and I cared about each one. The descriptions of the house itself made me feel claustrophobic, but weren’t particularly creepy, but more unsettling.

This one moved kind of slow and there were moments were I felt a little lost in all the different plot points and point of views, but overall I appreciated and enjoyed the experience! Don’t expect the ending to be wrapped up in a neat, little bow. Questions remain, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

I look forward to Compton’s next book!

This book has so many layers. There's the family Eric Ross and his daughters Dess and Stacey, and there is the ex wife and mother they left behind (along with family and friends). The reader learns these 3 members of the Ross family are on the run, trying to escape something from their past and avoiding most people and police.

Another layer is Eric's past and his experiences with the supernatural that greatly affected him.

Next, there is Eunice, an older woman and the last of her family to survive. Eunice is looking for people that have more to offer than amateur ghost hunters to live at the Spite House and keep a journal of any supernatural happenings for a hefty sum of money. Eric, looking to take care of his family, applies for this position. Eunice sees something in Eric and his girls and gives him the job.

Another layer is the history of the land and the atrocities that took place there, the history of the house (including who owned it and why it was built) and the history of Eunice's family and the curse she believes plagued them.

As I said, many layers. The chapters change between character POVs and past and present times that all eventually come together to complete an expansive timeline (and a very complex story). Most questions are answered and loose ends tied, except for one large one surrounding one of the daughters. But, perhaps some questions are best left for the reader's to answer based on their own beliefs.

This book kept me interested, wanting to know more and see what happens next. I read this in hopes of getting a good haunted house story and I got that and much more.
I give this 4.25⭐️.

I want to thank Netgalley and the publisher and author for giving me the chance to read an early copy of this book.

Happy Pub Day to The Spite House, one of my new favorite horror novels!

It takes a lot for a book to actually creep me out, but this southern gothic haunted house story quickly had me feeling unsettled the moment the family moved into this strange, haunted house. I enjoyed the multiple point of views from the family, and how easy Compton made it to slide into each of their headspace's. The MC's paranoia rubbed easily off on me, questioning noises from the depths of my own apartment. And that twist! That twist I most certainly did not see coming and had to reread a couple of times to process it but I loved that supernatural element that it added.

Though I found the house and history of the family behind a little hard to follow at times and I still have some unanswered questions, this might very well be one of my favorite haunted house novels. The Haunting of Hill House (show/season one) vibes were strong with this one and I loved it.

Thanks so much to Tor publishing for the arc!