Stehle's Door [Paperback]

William M. O'Brien (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2002

Alex Zunker knows from the beginning that her younger brother?

Product Details

• Paperback: 396 pages
• Publisher: Authorhouse (July 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0759680906
• ISBN-13: 978-0759680906
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,585,212 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

William M. O'Brien, Jr. lives in San Antonio, Texas. He is a early retired teacher who has been writing for over twenty years. His works are mainly horror, fantasy, and sci-fi as well as, as he says, the truly strange and puzzling. Books that I have written are "Stehle's Door," (available at Amazon and other places), "I, Alexandra" (just finished final edit and now looking for a publisher), and a collection of short stories called "Tales Written in Hell" (in the process of writing and collecting these). Subject matter of the "Tales..." range from the supernatural to the bizarre. Both of the novels deal with the paranormal and are very intense. Also, I am currently sharing short stories on my site www.williammobrien.com. On this site now is "Jack and Jill to the Death" (a struggle to the death) and soon "Nancy and the Dancing Cat" (a ghost story with a weird twist). Read these and others coming soon on my site.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Angry grotesque manifestations, August 21, 2002

By 

Mariann Steldt (Hollywood Park, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stehle's Door (Paperback)

Not the typical haunted house story with lingering ghosts of past residents, the ghosts in Stehle's Door can relocate causing bad dreams, having grotesque manifestations, and worse. A chilling, compelling story of two adolescents who fight the unpredictable with risk and determination. The movement to another realm appealed to me as in The Sixth Sense and I liked the confiding between kids which was reminiscent of the book The Other.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bowker Review, September 12, 2005

By 

Folio (Indiana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stehle's Door (Paperback)

The book begins with the death of an old man, Stehle, by drowning. However this drowning takes place in the first floor of a house, and the reader realizes immediately that he is onto something horrifying. He is right: Everything is not as it seems in the novel. And the feeling escalates as horror upon horror is perpetuated throughout the novel.

The story deals with a packet of letters that the siblings of old man, Stehle, Alex and Pauli, buy at a flea market. These letters were purportedly written during the Civil War and should be of more interest to historians than to the supernatural-minded. However the letters are not ordinary letters but actually portals to a world of ghosts and evil spirits. It does not take the siblings long to realize this, and they set out to stop the evil coming out. To do this they decide to burn the letters; however, the packet has disappeared by that time. Realizing that similar portals are present elsewhere in the world, they set off to destroy them. But this adventure is a lot more dangerous than what they bargained for. So do they succeed in their mission?

William M. O'Brien Jr., for a first time novelist, succeeds in creating an atmosphere of foreboding and horror. With the characterization of two teenagers as protagonists, the story reminds one of horror cult classic films like "The Blair Witch Project" and "Jeepers Creepers". A must read for not only horror fiction fans, but also for those interested in thrillers.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good for history buffs that enjoy ghost stories, June 2, 2003

By 

"martymusic" (Boerne, Texas USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stehle's Door (Hardcover)

Stehle's Door begins with the demise of old man Stehle--and then proceeds to tell you how and why it happened.

This novel combines authentic Civil War history with a present-day setting in Galveston, Texas, with loads of real-life landmarks, helping to give the fictional story a true-to-life feel.

The main characters are teenagers, so this book might appeal to that age group, as well as to adults. Mr. O'Brien has a very readable style of writing, which enables the reader to move at a steady pace through the novel without bogging down.

The climax has an interesting twist--not all is as it seems to be. Enjoy.