One problem is that the cast of characters remain somewhat vague Wells could've filled in some more detailed specifics about each one, some apt note of behavior or thought or motivation that differentiated them. Seance(s) and the climax(es) shame nobody got on that. Themselves well to a sleazy '70s or '80s horror flick, especially the Horror, here, for me, it just seemed to work. What difference is there between Freddie Loftus and Father Conant?Īnd while satanic/occult horror is one of my least favorite styles of But the Church also has its faultlines ripe for exploitation. Once corrupted by time and age and carnal pleasures and the lure of society at large, opened up a place for evil

Manson, no? Maybe the author was saying something about how those lofty ideals, Stance seemed fairly judgment-free to me. Iĭid not get a sense of 'You kids get off my lawn!' from the author's How the '70s came on and slowly laid waste to those ideals. The novel's setup, and Wells does a nice background sketch of the era, The death and degradation of the '60s revolutionary spirit is part of Me?' or rolled my eyes at a clunky descriptive phrase, anĪmateur analogy, or a wooden exclamation like one too often finds in horror paperbacks-Wells, whoever he is, is a serviceable writer. I never once went 'Oh come on!' or 'Are you kidding

Me with some solid hours of reading enjoyment, probably because I wasĮxpecting so little. While it's not a great horror novel by any means, Effigies provided Also: little Leslie Bannister, the girl on the cover, whose invisible playmates bode unwell for her and well everyone babysitter Susan Dixon, who straddles the line between dutiful daughter and drug and sex experimenter up in the woods Ken Brady, maybe her boyfriend, maybe not, he hangs around too much with that creep Freddie Loftus. Lots of characters, get ready: Nicole's husband Jonathan, a commercial artist working in the (dangerous) city his colleague Henry Dixon, a bitter drunk whose tipple is Boodles gin (crime readers may note this was Travis McGee's drink as well) Dixon's wife Estelle, who feels intellectually inferior in this environments of creatives, has been digging pseudoscience as of late and has discovered the Ouija board Father Daniel Conant, a darkly handsome yet friendly, thoughtful young priest who wishes to help Nicole deal with her shock Maria Braithwaite, a worldly European sophisticate who eyes Americans as shallow and impulsive Judge Oliver Marquith, expansive and greedy, eager to purchase the plot of land called Job's Camp and more.

Effigies by William K. Wells