This was a spooky book featuring a haunted farm with a scarecrow, possessed goats, and a creepy shadow preacher!

Katy Logan and her daughter, Jett move out of the city and into the backwoods of the Appalachian mountains of Solom to live with Katy's new husband, Gordon. They move to a farm that has been in Gordon's family for decades. Everything seems peaceful at first and they all settle into the daily life on the farm.

As time goes on, things start happening in the house and shadows are seen moving about the farm including a scarecrow that seems to move from the cornfield to the barn. At first, Katy and her daughter think they are just imagining things. Katy starts hearing whispers of her name in the house and she will sometimes go into a catatonic state of mind as she does things around the house. Jett is fascinated with the barn and likes to go out there to explore, but then she comes into contact with a scarecrow that is hanging on the wall of the barn that looks like the one that is out in the cornfield. There are goats in the barn that seem to track every move she makes as she explores the farm.

Eventually the haunting in the house becomes more active as Katy thinks Gordon's dead wife Rebecca is the one haunting the house. Jett thinks the scarecrow in the barn literally walks from the cornfield to the barn every night. Also Jett sees a black shadow moving around the farm and doesn't know what to make of it.

Gordon weaves ghost stories about the scarecrow coming to life and that it is out for blood. He also tells them stories of his great grandfather who was a horseback preacher in that area. As Katy becomes more strange in the house, Jett becomes worried so she calls her father, Mark to let him know what has been going on. When her father gets involved, then the book escalates with haunting of the house and barn.

About the middle of the book forward the haunting of the farm ratchets up and I had a hard time putting the book down. I read this book with a couple of buddies and I literally had to put the book down as I would become so engrossed in the book that hours would pass before I realized that I needed to slow down so my buddies could catch up. This book was a supernatural thriller and kept me guessing almost all the way through the book. There was a twist at the end of the book that I wasn't expecting and it gave me a shock.

There are two more books in this series and I have put both of them on my radar for future reading. Giving this book four "spooky" stars!
( )

Excellent, creepy, supernatural horror set in the NC Mountains. For those who enjoy rural southern horror, Scott Nicholson is the best. ( )

Really this is 3.5 starts. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't great. There really weren't a whole lot of answers, I am hoping book 2 remedies this problem. I like the author and have read other books he has written and enjoyed them so I am willing to give this series some more time and see if the next one keeps my interest. ( )

There is more, much more, to this place than even the legends can tell. Something is very, very wrong with the farm. Something wicked has been growing there - and awaiting its master. And with his arrival a bloody harvest will begin. ( )

I was excited to read this as it was recommended to me from one of my friends. The cover was horror inspiring and I couldn't wait to dive in. Then came the goats. I have no problems with goats, however when they are used as a blood thirsty, slayer of humans I quickly lose interest. I loved Jett and how her character is developed in the book. The additional haunting of the ex-wife was a bonus. I just can't move past the goats and scarecrow as the creatures of the night. Did I mention there was a ton of goats? ( )