Shorter NORMAN REVIEW

So, a possessed doll eh?

That was my first thought when I saw the cover of this book. I admit, the first thing that came to mind was CHUCKY; the scary murderous doll introduced in the 1988 movie CHILD'S PLAY.

I'm not sure what I was expecting when reading NORMAN: THE DOLL THAT NEEDED TO BE LOCKED AWAY, but I suppose I was more than a little skeptical. I like to think I have an open mind, but I am fairly certain that just about anyone would have a hard time believing that there is a doll that actually exists that is possessed (or just plain evil, whatever). BUT, I figured the worst that could happen by reading this book would be that I got to read a great fictional story.

Now, after reading the book, and especially after seeing the included  photographs taken by author Stephen Lancaster, I admit that I am fairly certain this book is NOT fiction, but FACT.

And, that scares the heck out of me.

I refuse to ruin any potential reader's enjoyment of NORMAN, so I will not list the events outlined in the book that convinced me of Stephen's veracity.

Skeptical? I know I was, but you NEED to read this book. In fact, I would love it if you came back to my blog post after reading the book and leave a comment letting me know what you thought of it and if you believe it to be truth or fiction.

The writing is a diary style. The author kept notes while the events were occurring. This style is perfect for this story because readers get to experience the authors gut reactions to each incident. In fact, you almost feel as if you were there with him.

Stephen Lancaster has written other titles, but this was my first experience with his work. I will be adding his name to those authors who I follow on GOODREADS and I plan to read more of his work.

I rate this book as 4 out of 5 Stars. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

***Thank you to NETGALLEY for providing me with a free copy of this book.***

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Very creepy. I couldn't stop reading it. I had to know what he'd do next. Scary that things like this can happen in real life.

*thank you to Netgalley and Llewellyn Worldwide, Ltd for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*

5 stars.
First of all I need to say that I am not believing or disbelieving this to be a true story. But while reading it, I found it to be much more fun to let my mind believe it was all true. There are things written about that I found myself thinking, this sounds too real, I could believe the author was telling the truth. But there were also moments, mainly toward the second half of the book, that I simply could not accept as being the truth. They were that unbelievable that I could not literally force my mind to believing it. Maybe that was done out of fear of believing it, or because I simply believed it to be made up. One thing this book has going for it, that has added a heck of a lot of creepiness to this story, is that this book contains actual photographs taken from surveillance camera that were placed in the master bedroom. Now, from memory, I believed pretty much all of them could have been real. I like to think that when it comes to paranormal, I usually believe it all to be fake, but I keep an open mind. Plus I LOVE the thrill of thinking maybe it could be real. It's way more fun to think it's all true even if you secretly don't believe it to be so. But there was one photo I just could not believe was real. It was the one of the 5 foot dark shadow. It just looked too fake. 

One thing that also gives a tick in the 'this is real' box, is that people from outside of the authors family were involved. Such as the police answering the 911 calls and the staff at the post office. Since this has happened. People can easily ask these people to confirm if what was stated really did happen. Now I know that this isn't fool proof. Some could say, 'they were paid to say it was all true' etc etc etc. But for me, well, yeah, that can have happened but the me that wants to believe this says that it tips in favour of the author that this is actually real. (Ok, even just now saying that, the other side of me right away thought that was a joke, like seriously, this, real? Come onnn Rachel, it has to be fake.')

I LOVED the sound of this book when I first read the description so right away I requested it from Netgalley, really REALLY wanting to read it. One of my favourite topics in books is haunted-possessed dolls, made out to be fact or fiction. Most of us have heard of the famous haunted dolls. Chucky from Child's Play, Robert The Doll and of course the more recent one, Annabelle. So as soon as I was approved for an ARC of this I was SO happy and download it right away and stared reading. It was funny and perfect timing too because I'd spent the previous 15 mins trying to figure out what book to read next, then this one is handed to me. I was and am, very grateful. This book was a real page turner. It was creepy and had scenes that made me ever so thankful that it wasnt happening to me. I also liked that the author didn't always jump to saying that what was going on, was because of Norman, as soon as something bad happened. He seemed to think of other possible reasons first and it was only after awhile that he accepted it was actually Norman playing a part.

I'm interested in hearing what others think about this and I really hope that the video footage that was talked about throughout this whole book, one day does become available. Seeing is believing, and while I'm open minded, I need to see more proof. So if you believe or don't believe, this is a great book! It's interesting, fun (if you like feeling scared) and written really well. I recommend this to all people who like paranormal.

After 6 decades of immersion in horror, I sometimes think I've "seen it all." Then I find a factual account like this one, and realize there really is something new--and terrifying. I've always found dolls discomfiting, but this former Mattel production--Matty, now renamed Norman--ratchets it up several levels. Paranormal investigator Stephen Lancaster demonstrates how truth is stranger--and scarier--than fiction.