A run-down summer cottage in the middle of nowhere in the Finnish countryside. Peeling paint in the ceiling, suspicious rustles in the corners, giant mushroom circles outside. I thought it would be the perfect place to crack open a horror novel. I stayed up well past midnight, all the curtains were open, and I ended up being... Disappointed. Not scared, just disappointed.

That being said, Burnt Offerings isn't bad by any means. I appreciate how it isn't your usual haunted house novel. No straightforward ghosts, creaky floors, sounds of footsteps (although there's nothing wrong with those). The feeling of dread stems from the fact that the house seems to be seeping under its inhabitants' skin, changing their personalities, desires, motives, and perceptions of their environs. This re-enforces the idea that it's people that are the scary ones, not moving chairs, and it's where the connection to The Shining is most visible (apparently King was inspired by Marasco's novel). And the

Spoiler

violence towards your own family

is of course another thing.

To me, however, this was one of those "great as a concept, not so much when executed". Maybe the story's past life as a screenplay was the reason why it felt too long and drawn-out for what it was? Not to mention that the characters were pretty thin (especially the boy). The movie is decent, but it's such a paint-by-numbers adaptation that it left me feeling the same as the novel did (although I can't really complain about having more Oliver Reed and Bette Davis in my life). There are one or two scenes that are genuinely creepy and a few aspects that will still make me defend the book as a worthy horror classic, but as a whole it could have been more impressive.