Nazareth Hill [Mass Market Paperback]

Ramsey Campbell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1998

"A rebellious teenager's tense relationship with her father liberates fearsome monsters of English history. Amy Priestly has always dreaded 'the spider house, ' as she privately calls the abandoned Nazareth Hill monastery. When she and her father, Oswald, move into an apartment in the newly gentrified 'Nazarill, ' her fears are reinforced by the building's gloom--crawly things seem to crouch in its shadowy hallways. Worse, her father is becoming increasingly tyrannical".--"Publishers Weekly".

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"Must survive until they take me from this place." Scribbled in the margins of an ancient, moldy Bible, found wedged between the roots of a tree, is the truth about what Nazarill (now a luxury apartment building) was centuries ago. Sixteen-year-old Amy struggles to decipher the messages as her father becomes increasingly dictatorial, fanatical, and monstrous. This perfectly constructed, richly terrifying novel will satisfy even those readers who've been reluctant about Ramsey Campbell. As S.T. Joshi, award-winning scholar of weird fiction, writes in Necrofile, "Nazareth Hill will not be long in taking rank as one of the finest haunted house novels in literature, rivaling even Shirley Jackson's masterful The Haunting of Hill House.... With this novel [Campbell] has unified the many themes of his earlier work--pure supernaturalism; exploration of social and domestic trauma; chilling portrayal of psychosis--in a seamless fusion."

Note: The House on Nazareth Hill is the title of the Headline Press U.K. edition of this book. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Nazareth Hill is an English apartment house with a varied history, rumored to have served in previous incarnations as a monastery, a mental hospital, an office complex, and, most iniquitously, a prison and torture chamber for the victims of witch hunts. Frightened by the house, where she lives with her father, teenager Amy Priestly uncovers its abominable past and soon finds herself and her father locked into a virtual reenactment of the hideous scenarios that occurred there years earlier. Campbell (The One Safe Place, LJ 7/96) has developed an astonishing reputation for subtle, psychological horror, and he succeeds with this latest work. An original, well-written, and often demanding novel; recommended for all libraries.?John Noel, Tennessee Technological Univ. Lib., Lebanon
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Tom Doherty Assoc Llc (May 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812539303
• ISBN-13: 978-0812539301
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,269,902 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A truly terrifying book., May 9, 2000

By 

Chadwick H. Saxelid "Bookworm" (Concord, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nazareth Hill (Mass Market Paperback)

Ramsey Campbell, one of THE greatest horror writers of all time (at that is not just hyberbole folks), has penned one of the most disturbing "haunted" house thrillers I have ever read, and I have read a lot. This story builds to its shocking ending with such slow methodicalness that it almost does not take you by surprise, it seems so inevitable. Be advised that fingernails should be allowed to grow long, the reader will need something to gnaw on.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Campbell frightens and enlightens., March 23, 1998

By 

Henry W. Wagner (Rockaway, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nazareth Hill (Hardcover)

Walking home from church, six year old Amy Priestly grips her parents' hands tightly as they approach Nazareth Hill, an ancient, burnt out structure that looms over the city of Partington. Despite her parent's presence, Amy is uneasy, certain the house is interested in her. Wanting her to confront her fear, her father swings her onto his shoulders and forces her to look through a shattered window. Inside, Amy sees a ghastly creature reaching for her--shocked, she nearly topples from her perch. Knowing they won't understand, she never tells her parents about what she witnessed.

Ten years later, that incident long forgotten, Amy and her widowed father move into Nazareth Hill, now a luxury apartment building. Accustomed to being at odds with her dad because of her bizarre appearance and attitudes, she at first dismisses his increasingly erratic behavior. When he becomes more dictatorial, and adopts the speech patterns of a bygone era, she wonders if their new home is causing the problem. Curious, Amy looks into the building's past , discovering its disquieting history. Built on a site sacred to witches, the building formerly housed an insane asylum, where inmates were brutalized.

Amy comes to realize that past events have imprinted themselves on the house, and that its current occupants are replaying the obscene dramas that took place within its walls. By the time her father's discipline becomes persecution, it's too late. Overcome by madness, Mr. Priestly imprisons Amy in her room. Cut off from the rest of the world, Amy fights to stay sane and alive.

This novel, squarely in the tradition of The Haunting of Hill House and The Shining, reworks traditional subject matter while addressing timeless issues. Campbell focuses on the persecution of the outsider, demonstrating that those who are different will always be subject to scorn, derision and abuse. In the 1700s it was witches; in the 1800s it was the mentally ill. In our century, it is people like Amy, who has chosen to adopt a punk/goth lifestyle. Her attitudes and strange appearance make her an easy target for the citizens of Partington, and gives the evil in Nazareth Hill something to exploit.

The book is especially noteworthy due to Campbell's talents as a stylist. In a time where many authors choose to write down to their audience, Campbell's prose is a breath of fresh air. Campbell's writing demands (and earns) a reader's attention--each word is carefully chosen for maximum impact. He creates an atmosphere of fear word by word, building towards the novel's tragic conclusion.

Of course, there's plenty of gruesome stuff going on too--cats are hung, tongues are amputated, and specters stalk the living--but Campbell doesn't rely solely on shock to create fear. A craftsman, he builds to these shocks, wringing the maximum emotional impact from each scene. By the time readers turn the last page, they'll be worn out, but may have gained some insight into the nature of prejudice. Nazareth Hill represents Ramsey Campbell at the very top of his form, and as such is not to be missed.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant work by a brilliant man, August 12, 1999

By 

Me in 2008 "Message For You" (Jupiter, Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nazareth Hill (Hardcover)

I'll keep this short...if you like atmospheric, truly disturbing horror, read this novel. As always, Campbell's use of language is both beautiful and frightening, and he succeeds in making the reader look over his shoulder. The horror works on two levels; a believable father/daughter conflict which gradually escalates into true terror, and a fascinating--and scary--haunted house story. The style is vintage Campbell, off-kilter but somehow more descriptive for being so. Stephen King once wrote that Campbell's style is so unique that it may as well be copyrighted, and I couldn't agree more. It's a good place to go to be frightened. I also strongly recommend Campbell's other work, especially Midnight Sun, The Parasite, Alone with the Horrors, Waking Nightmares, and Ancient Images. His entire catalog is truly worth exploring.