THE LORDS OF SALEM

So I have to admit that I am one of those people who is not familiar with the works of Rob Zombie. I had heard the name, but I’m not sure I’ve ever seen one of his films or listened to his music. I am, however, a fan of the horror literature genre, so this book looked fascinating to me.

In this book, radio DJ Heidi Hawthorne, in Salem, Massachussetts, is fighting depression while also fighting to stay clean from alcohol and drugs. She can’t help a nagging feeling that there is a stranger in a nearby apartment. A rather spooky, stranger at that. Meanwhile, a CD of music comes to the station from a band named “The Lords.” The DJs play the CD, mostly as a gag, but soon they get calls from rabid listeners that they MUST keep playing the music. Elsewhere, upon hearing the music, women lose their minds and savagely rip apart their lovers. Evil is let loose, and the devil pays a visit.

It’s not a particular original idea…setting a horror story in Salem, MA and connecting it with the infamous witch trials. But still, Zombie and Evenson manage to do a good job making the connection, but not dwelling on it or beating us over the head with it.

The psychological terror that Heidi Hawthorne goes through is well developed, making the reader constantly look over the shoulder. But where Zombie and Evenson shine is in the graphic horror of the killing and the pure evil which lets loose about half way through the book.

I enjoyed my time in Salem with this wicked story, but at the end of the day, it’s not so memorable that I’m telling everyone I know it’s a must read.

Looking for a good book? If you enjoy dark horror, this will make you shivver!