The Gordon Place: Isaac Thorne writes a horror classic with twist upon quirky twist
19 Mar 2019.

by Drew Rowsome -

Just outside the small southern town of Lost Hollow stands the Gordon place. Reputedly haunted, it has fallen into disrepair but constable Graham Gordon has purchased, for reasons he's unsure of, the house despite all the bad memories it contains. Walking into the house for the first time in 20 years, he is initially unaware of the horrors lurking in the basement. 

Lost Hollow's self-appointed BIA, Patsy Blankenship, has opened her bed and breakfast to a crew from Channel 6 News, in the hopes that they will help promote Halloween events in Lost Hollow. She has lots of ghost stories to tantalize reporter Afia Afton and cameraman Joe "Staff" Stafford with. Little does Patsy know that Afia was a child in Lost Hollow but was torn away by a vicious vile crime that was never solved.

All of the characters, plus a few from the past, collide amid the horror of The Gordon Place. 

To reveal more of the plot would spoil the fun as author Isaac Thorne (Road Kills) juggles several horror tropes, stuffs them with macguffins, and twists the readers' expectations mercilessly. Thorne eases into the story as if spinning a ghostly yarn, it is as comforting as sliding into a warm bloodbath and just as soothing and nerve-jangling. The suspense ratchets the first time the story zigs instead of the anticipated zag, and never lets up from there. It is good that Thorne writes smooth, seductive prose because there are two plot points that require a fair suspension of disbelief, but by that point I was hooked and took the leap of faith that The Gordon Place was going somewhere intriguing.

And that it does. Readers looking for a spooky, gory tale full of suspense will be delighted, especially as Thorne counterbalances it with flashes of wit and off-kilter descriptions that are southern evocative and atmospheric. Each character comes complete with a back story, again usually with a twist, that is relevant and revealed in teasing bites. Even the ones who are mocked - it is a small southern town and Thorne has an acid tongue - are treated with a gentleness that makes it all the more troubling when they are put in mortal danger. The sufferings, battering and terror they experience is very empathetic. And thus disturbing and of consequence.

Even the villain of The Gordon Place is given a moment of potential redemption, or at least an excuse for his hideousness. That comes quite near the end of The Gordon Place, just before the relentless final struggle, when Thorne risks stopping the action to state his dominant concerns. And it is risky, a descriptive catch phrase gets repeated a few more times than is necessary, and the entire section skates on the edge of becoming a diatribe. That is particularly notable because Thorne has subtly seeded his subtext throughout by making Afia a black woman and Staff a gay man. Not just politically correct - though I personally appreciate how empathetically and realistically Staff is written - but a viciously sweet twist on the, already twisted into a helix, concept of the final girl.

The mini-sermon is redeemed by a pithy one-liner that also dovetails in the theme of memory and forgiveness, followed by a rousing climactic battle of good and evil that is heartbreaking and heartpounding. The Gordon Place can be read as a new horror novel classic, perfect for a beach or a chilly night, but it also thrives as a commentary on contemporary mores and manners. And the general lack therof.

I admit that I approached The Gordon Place with trepidation. I am a great admirer of Thorne's short stories and their quirky comic approach to horror as an art form and as trangression. Could that be sustained over the length of a novel? Fortunately it can and hopefully this is the first of many. There are references to horror archetypes, The Wizard of Oz, Stephen King, The Incredible Hulk, etc, that mix irony with admiration and help ground The Gordon Place in a seemingly real world. Thorne even has the chutzpah to nod at his own stories "Hoppers" and "Diggum," jokes the reader will get after finishing The Gordon Place and deciding to taste what else Thorne has written for our entertainment and horror.