The House Next Door [Paperback]

Anne Rivers Siddons (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 3, 2007

An unparalleled picture of that vibrant but dark intersection where the Old and the New South collide.

Thirtysomething Colquitt and Walter Kennedy live in a charming, peaceful suburb of newly bustling Atlanta, Georgia. Life is made up of enjoyable work, long, lazy weekends, and the company of good neighbors. Then, to their shock, construction starts on the vacant lot next door, a wooded hillside they'd believed would always remain undeveloped. Disappointed by their diminished privacy, Colquitt and Walter soon realize something more is wrong with the house next door. Surely the house can't be "haunted," yet it seems to destroy the goodness of every person who comes to live in it, until the entire heart of this friendly neighborhood threatens to be torn apart.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Anne Rivers Siddons is a writer of literary fiction whose one foray into the horror genre is this remarkable 1978 novel, The House Next Door. The setting is a wealthy suburb in Atlanta where an ambitious young architect is building a dramatically contemporary house. The novel uses a frame device to put three short stories under a single cover: as each of three families moves into the house in succession, we watch the bad things that happen to them and eventually force them to leave. But the frame itself--the observations of an urbane and sophisticated couple who live next door and become close friends with the architect--is the most deeply involving story in the book.

Stephen King was so impressed by The House Next Door that when he wrote Danse Macabre, his personal tour of the horror genre, he sought out Siddons for an interview. She told him, "The haunted house has always spoken specially and directly to me as the emblem of particular horror. Maybe it's because, to a woman, her house is so much more than that: it is kingdom, responsibility, comfort, total world to her.... It is an extension of ourselves; it tolls in answer to one of the most basic chords mankind will ever hear.... So basic is it that the desecration of it, the corruption, as it were, by something alien takes on a peculiar and bone-deep horror and disgust."

Siddons was also fascinated by how the supernatural has the power to disturb the complacent rich and their comfortable little world: "What has the unspeakable and the unbelievable got to do with second homes and tax shelters and private schools for the kids and a pâté in every terrine and a BMW in every garage? Primitive man might howl before his returning dead and point; his neighbor would see, and howl along with him.... The resident of Fox Run Chase who meets a ghoulie out by the hot tub is going to be frozen dead in his or her Nikes on the tennis courts the next day if he or she persists in gabbling about it. And there he is, alone with the horror and ostracized on all sides. It's a double turn of the screw."

One caveat: some people find the ending a false note that mars the effect. Even so, The House Next Door is an exquisite horror novel. --Fiona Webster --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Anne Rivers Siddons was born in a small railroad town just south of Atlanta, where her family has lived for six generations. She attended Auburn University and later joined the staff of Atlanta magazine. Her first novel, Heartbreak Hotel, a story of her college days at Auburn, was later made into a movie called Heart of Dixie, starring Ally Sheedy. Since then she has written fifteen more novels, many of which have been bestsellers. Recently, a movie version of her later novel The House Next Door was aired on LifeTime Network. Ms. Siddons now divides her time between Atlanta and Brooklin, Maine.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 356 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Books; First edition (July 3, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416553444
• ISBN-13: 978-1416553441
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (98 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #132,604 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Out-of-the-blue winner, October 11, 2000

By 

mellion108 (Michigan, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The House Next Door (Mass Market Paperback)

I have to be honest...I never even imagined myself reading an Anne Rivers Siddons book. Never. And that's not to say that I don't think she's a great writer; I just tend to stick with horror or at least with stories that have a darker side. I picked this one up on the recommendation of several fellow horror fans with this thought: "yeah, right, this will be a waste of my time." I suppose if I were truly capable of eating my words, I'd be reaching for a fork.
This novel introduces us to quite a different time in America. It's the 70's, and it's the South, AND the story is set in an upper-class neighborhood where everyone follows an unwritten code of social conduct. Colquitt and Walter Kennedy (never in my life have I met someone named Colquitt) live a quiet, genteel life. Purposefully childless, they enjoy life's luxuries and spend their time hob-nobbing with their equally successful neighbors. Again, this is the 70's--these characters smoke a lot, eat a lot and drink even more; even the most minor of social get togethers is accompanied by a pitcher of martinis, and everyone seems to have the time (and money) to battle hangovers and to throw lavish parties. The Kennedys love their home overlooking a lovely, peaceful empty lot. But then the lot is sold, and a young, spoiled couple build their dream home utilizing the talents of the brilliant up-and-coming architect, Kim Dougherty. The Kennedys befriend Kim and then watch as terror after terror occurs in the beautiful new home. Tenants come and go, and the Kennedys have to choose between their social standing and their perceived duty to stop the suffering by speaking out about the horrible house.
The writing here is wonderful. I could close my eyes and picture every scene. The horror is so subtle that I was surprised to find myself looking over my shoulder throughout this reading. I enjoyed this book, and I've gone on to recommend it to several people. Contrary to some, I liked the ending (and I'll say no more about it). This is one of the best haunted house novels I've ever read, and I plan on holding on to my tattered paperback copy. I never thought I would add a Siddons novel to my horror collection, and I am so happy that I was 100% wrong!

30 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars House Gone Bad, June 5, 2003

By 

Elaine S. Reitz (Coralville, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The House Next Door (Mass Market Paperback)

This a wonderful "house gone bad," haunted house story. Takes place in the south, as many of Anne Rivers Siddons' books do, in an affluent neighborhood in an unnamed city. The story centers around a wealthy, thirty-something couple, who live next door to an empty lot. The lot soon sells, and a newlywed couple hire an architect to build a house for them. The house is modern, amazing, and captures the imagination of the entire neighborhood. What no one knows, however, is just what the house has in store for this neighborhood. Not a story to read before bedtime, it will send you down twists and turns, never quite revealing exactly what is happening, and who is really under the house's spell.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Intense and Original Take On the Haunted House, November 24, 1999

By 

Ryan Costantino (Nowhere, Special) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The House Next Door (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is so different from the usual haunted house fare. There really isn't much that serves as a tangible reason for the house being so evil, it just apparently is. And it's a vicious house for certain, preying on psychological fear rather than manifesting itself as a poltergiest or apparition. Things just "happen" in or around the house, disturbing things. Lives are ruined and that is the only motiff that emerges. It's not a singular entity with just murder in mind. It wants to cause pain to its victims on an inner level and that is extremely frightening in concept. The novel is like a constant mind rape of the characters involved and it is so very delicious in its malice. One of the top 10 horror novels I have ever read and way more intense than Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House or Richard Matheson's Hell House. A must read for any fan of the horror genre or any new home owner.