Ratings2
Average rating4.5
Never, ever look directly into the eyes of a ghost. Because once you see it, once you see her, once you acknowledge her impossible existence, you can never un-see it. And that's how she gets you.
When Sophia Galich was twelve, she starred in her older sister Layla’s amateur horror movie Vermillion, which recorded raw footage of her very real reactions to scenes her sister concocted in their old Californian house on the coast – Cashore House.
In the years after the film’s release, Sophia’s memories of the now-infamous house fueled her nightmares. Vermillion amassed an army of fanatical fans who speculated about the film’s hidden messages, and it was rumored that Layla made a pact with the devil – her soul in exchange for fame and arcane knowledge. Sophia dismissed this as gossip . . . until Layla disappeared.
Now, Sophia must study the trail of clues Layla has left behind, returning to the very place where it all began. As she gets closer and closer to Cashore House’s haunted heart, she must once again confront the ghosts of her childhood. But the house won’t reveal its secrets without a fight.
When Ghosts Call Us Home is a spine-tingling chiller from horror writer Katya De Becerra.
Reviews with the most likes.
I basically immediately loved it. It was like it was written for me, honestly. I've said this a lot all over my blog but I really like good sibling relationships and I liked this one in here. Even though it did feel at times like they weren't so close – because their interactions were told to us in flashbacks – but it was still done really well. I didn't feel like they weren't good sisters just because they didn't see each other.
I liked Sophia and Arthur's relationship – I liked seeing that progress and I thought they worked well together. I can see them staying together for a while. But also I felt like the story/plot, even Sophia (as a character – her development), would've stayed the same without the romantic subplot.
The plot worked well. I liked the flashbacks paired with the present. It reminded me of a favourite movie of mine (Oculus). Some books or writers aren't able to successfully shift between the past and the present. But de Becerra did it well. There wasn't too much of the past and they tied in well to the present scenes.
I loved the spookiness. Something I always like in books is the feeling of something's wrong/off and then seeing things happen in your environment. I love haunted houses in media because it gives that to me – weird things start to happen and then piles up until really bad things happen.
I liked the little bit of mixed media that we got – a forum relating to the film – of course I would've liked to see even more but that's because I love mixed media. I thought the angle of Sophia going back to the house to film a follow-up sort of project interesting. It reminded me of another movie called The Veil. I would've liked some more behind the scenes showing of the film – maybe “this is how we would do this” but I understand they wanted to keep Sophia in the dark.