Burnt Offerings by Robert Marasco

 

(pb; 1973)

From the back cover

“Marian Rolfe, her husband Ben and their 12-year-old son David find a neglected mansion that can be theirs for the summer. It all seems absolutely perfect, but there is one hitch. . .”

 

Review

Marasco’s slow-build, low-key horror tale about a malevolent house slowly tearing a family apart is good, its relatable characters, descriptions of the house falling somewhere between a then-modern (early Seventies) feel with a touch of late nineteenth-century/early twentieth century nostalgia and atmosphere—this latter element is subtle but  effective in giving Burnt an especially classic spookhouse feel, much like novels like James Herbert’s David Ash series (Haunted; The Ghosts of Sleath; and Ash) and especially Richard Matheson’s Hell House, 1971). The ending is open-ended (and possibly disappointing for some readers), with an equally low-key and notably-different-than-the-1976-film finish, but the film ending (more striking and effective) lacks the sense of blissful revelation that one of key characters experiences in those moments. Highly recommended read for those who appreciate quiet character-explorations, an emphasis on atmosphere, and sometimes-subtle-shift thrills.

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The film version, true to the book's atmosphere and characters, was released stateside on October 18, 1976. It was directed by Dan Curtis, who co-wrote the screenplay with William F. Nolan.

Karen Black played Marian Rolf (an alteration of the book-version surname Rolfe). Oliver Reed played Ben Rolf. Lee Montgomery, billed as Lee H. Montgomery, played David Rolf. Bette Davis, who found Reed “loathsome” in real life, played Aunt Elizabeth.

Eileen Heckart played Roz Allardyce. Burgess Meredith played Arnold “Brother” Allardyce. Dub Taylor played Walker, the Allardyces’ surly handyman. Anthony James played the creepy Chauffeur.