** “The thinking of a thing gives it a reality. Every cruelty, every murder, every lie. Even the greatest atrocities begin with a harmless musing … Thinking a thing makes it want to be a thing.” **

Andrew Pyper’s “The Residence” dives into the White House residency of the relatively unknown President Franklin Pierce and his wife Jane, and the haunting time they experienced while living there.

Before Pierce’s inauguration, they lose their remaining child, Bennie, in a train wreck. Upon moving into the White House, both Franklin and Jane begin to experience haunting situations — all stemming from a presence that Jane “had brought out of the cellar shadows when she was a girl.” Jane determines: “If Franklin’s fate was the shouldering of power, hers was this: to be a bridge between the underworld and the living world she only half-inhabited ever since she took her father’s pendulum game from his desk drawer.”

Little did she know how much this childhood decision would affect her and her husband’s future.

Pyper attempts to spin an eerie tale filled with paranormal beings and spooky moments. I felt, however, sometimes the situations were a bit too contrived and the author couldn’t decide on what type of being to feature — a spirit, a witch, mass ghost groups, a demon. I feel he could have tightened up this aspect of the story a bit.

He also uses his proposed haunting to offer a political statement about the framework of America and its history.

“The Residence,” besides being an entertaining historical piece of fiction, does offer us some interesting themes, like be careful what you think and wish for because that situation just might develop; seeking refuge; the importance of trust; at what cost does success come; and the hold loss and grief can have on us.

Some interesting historical figures make an appearance, like author Nathaniel Hawthorne and the Spiritualist Fox sisters.

Fans of historical novels, presidential stories and paranormal tales will enjoy “The Residence.”

Three stars out of five.

Simon & Schuster provided this complimentary copy through NetGalley for my honest, unbiased review.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading "The Residence" by Andrew Pyper. I consider myself to be very well read in the genres of horror and speculative literature, but found this book to be a unique amalgam of history and supernatural thriller. While a great deal of the narrative is based on facts of the Franklin Pierce presidency and the tragedy which seemed to follow him and his family, there is more than enough paranormal elements to keep the reader engaged. A very gloomy episode of "West Wing" plus generous doses of "The Exorcist", I suppose. ;)

The writing is smooth and easy, and penned with an interesting tone and voice. Almost archaic yet perfectly appropriate for the work. Prose is lush and full and the author does an especially great job of bouncing from present day to past to explain and plant clues as to what occurred in Jane Pierce's past which could possibly lead to such mayhem in the White House.

Tragic, somber and very well-written, the novel tells a story of grief, reckoning, duty and a moral very similar to the ending of the "Monkey's Paw"

I'd definitely recommend this work to any fan of dark fiction. An appreciation for American history would be a bonus as well.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free electronic copy of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.

While this book started off great and seemed as if it was going to be terrifying, it just seemed to be a story more about devastating loss. About midway through, I discovered that the book was not going to get scarier, but I pushed forward to finish and the overall story was good (once out of the mindset it wasn't going to be scary). I did appreciate the author's connection to history and his view of what could have happened.

Without a doubt, this story is the most fascinating that I have read in YEARS! Normally male authors lose my interest, but not in this book. I couldn't peel myself away from reading.

When Franklin Pierce wins the White House bid, he and his wife Jane, and son travel by train to the capital. Unfortunately their last surviving son doesn't survive the train wreck. The tragedy his parents go through is completely horrid, and leaves both parents rather tortured individually, and later together. Jane seems to take it much worse and just cannot quiet go on without her boy. Soon the darkness within her continues, goes by the name of Sir, and she contacts the Fox sisters to bring the boys back from the dead. Jane creates a grief room in the White House, and soon her son appears in his room, as an infant. Except this baby doesn't move or interact, like a soulless baby that soon grows at a rapid rate. But Sir has spent years following Jane, deeming himself as her only friend. Due to her bringing him out she has a time being tortured by Sir, except he looks like her boy. She realizes it is not her good boy, in fact it's bad, evil, and feels no emotions.

I absolutely delved deep into this haunting story. I thoroughly loved the characters, they were extremely well rounded and understandable. I felt they were well researched and you could feel their own personal pain, grief, as if it were your own.

I stayed up late just to find out what happened and it was amazing, the story never let me down in anyway. This is the type of book that will linger in my mind for the rest of my days. I highly recommend this story!

Having just finished The Painted Girls, I was looking forward to another take inspired by real people. When combined with horror and tragedy, The Residence was projected to be a book that I couldn't put down.

I found Jane annoying and struggled to feel sympathetic towards her grief, something that is terrible considering the death of her son. Franklin's love for Jane was admirable, despite his cowardice, and Abby's realization how much had been stripped from Jane during her time in politics was interesting.

Honestly, I jumped around when reading this book. Opting to skip entire chapters and still being able to understand what was happening. Call me greedy, but I wanted/expected more from this story.

A horror novel about the White House and it’s ghosts? Sure! Why not?! I loved the setting.. Definitely a creepy read and definitely recommend!

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Although I received this book for free, all thoughts and feedback are my own.

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52962320-the-residence" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="The Residence" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1594908395l/52962320._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52962320-the-residence">The Residence</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/33116.Andrew_Pyper">Andrew Pyper</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3647011554">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
I received a copy from NetGalley for an honest review. I really liked this tale of the haunting of the White House during Franklin Pierce's tenure. The evil spirit, called "Sir" often scared me, even tho I don't scare easily. I felt the First Lady, Mrs. Pierce brought a lot of their troubles on. Not taking the time to actually be the First Lady as she was too busy trying to raise her child, Benny, from the dead. <br />All in all this is a great scary story to put on your list for late night reading!
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/5483119-sherry">View all my reviews</a>

Election Day was yesterday and I thought what better way to celebrate our right to vote by reading this horror novel about the White House and it’s ghosts.

Regardless of who you voted for or if you are happy or sad about the outcome, this book is going to give you all the thrills and chills that politics are kind of known for and the best part is you don’t have to turn on the TV to get the thrills and chills…..open this book instead. It’s just as scary as modern politics.

I was really drawn into this one because of the premise. I loved the setting and thought the White House brought a completely different vibe to the novel. If you love ghosts stories with a little different flavor, then this is the novel for you!

Summary
In this terrifying ghost story based on true events, the President’s late son haunts the White House, threatening all who live in it—and the divided America beyond its walls. From the bestselling author of The Homecoming.

The year is 1853. President-elect Franklin Pierce is traveling with his family to Washington, DC, when tragedy strikes. In an instant, their train runs off the rails, violently flinging passengers about the cabin. When the great iron machine finally comes to rest, the only casualty is the Pierces’ son, Bennie. The loss sends First Lady Jane Pierce into mourning, and casts Franklin’s presidency under a pall of sorrow and grief.

As the Pierces move into the White House, they are soon plagued by events both bizarre and disturbing. Strange sounds seem to come from the walls and ceiling, ghostly voices echo out of time itself, and visions of spirits crushed under the weight of American history pass through empty hallways. But when Jane orchestrates a séance with the infamous Fox Sisters—the most noted Spiritualists of the day—the barrier between this world and the next is torn asunder. Something horrific comes through and takes up residence alongside Franklin and Jane in the very walls of the mansion itself.

Only by overcoming their grief and confronting their darkest secrets can Jane and Franklin hope to rid themselves—and America—of the entity that seeks to make the White House its permanent home. (summary from Goodreads)

Review
I haven’t read anything by this author before, but I can see why he has such a large following of readers and fans. This book had a lot to recommend itself—-but for me it was the atmosphere that made it such a great read. It is based on a true story and while that’s terrifying in of itself, the mood and setting of this book made it even more spine tingling.

I read this one during the month of October and it was a great spooky read and as I said, loved the atmosphere, but what sealed the deal for me with this one was the characters. I loved how well developed the characters were in this one. Sometimes in horror novels the focus is on the supernatural rather than the characters but in this one I thought the author did a great job with both the characters and the supernatural elements.

While this novel might not be ‘full of horror’ in the way that long time horror fans are expecting, but for me it had atmosphere and the creepy factor as well as a lot of historically interesting facts. I consider myself a horror enthusiast, but I like my horror more mild and for me this one struck the perfect balance between historical fiction and horror.

After reading this one, I am eager to read more by this author. I really enjoyed this one and felt that it was a great read for fall and of course if you aren’t too sick of politics by now this one might be just what you are looking for. I loved it and I think it’s going to be a fun creepy read for horror and historical fiction fans alike!

Book Info and Rating
Paperback, 343 pages

Published September 1st 2020 by Simon Schuster

ISBN1982147369 (ISBN13: 9781982147365)

Free review copy provided by publisher, Simon and Schuster, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and in no way influenced.

Rating: 4 stars

Genre: horror, historical fiction, paranormal

Dark and ominous story with evil in the White House. As the story progressed I found it hard to like Jane and lost interest in what happened.

Thank you Netgalley for this book!

This book is described as “gripping and terrifying” so I gave it a chance via Netgalley. I saw it was about a haunting at the White House, but really didn’t skim past that. It wasn’t until I started reading that I realized it was historical fiction, about the real death of Franklin and Jane Pierce’s son, Bennie. Now, how much else of the book is real is up to you. Some events, like Jane writing letters to her dead son, are documented, but I’m guessing that most of the story is fiction.

Sadly, I was neither gripped not terrified while reading. Even though the characters were real people, I felt like they weren’t developed enough. As a mother, I can only imagine the loss Jane felt, and her sadness was noted at length, but Franklin seemed cold to the event.

As a child, Jane saw an entity in her home she named “Sir.” He would visit and guide her from time to time. After Bennie’s death, Sir visited Jane again, and through a series of events, Bennie was resurrected, of sorts. His ghost was corporeal, solid, with a scent, and the ability to move things. As creepy as this sounds, I was never really scared. The events just moved too quickly. I think the scare factor could have been ramped up a lot with some character and plot development. It felt like every event just happened so fast that there wasn’t enough suspense to be truly horrifying. If people like low burn horror, I guess this is a good one, but it just didn’t work for me.

A fictional, historical account of a haunted White House. What started out as a simple broken-hearted mother wishing to contact her deceased son, turns into a full blown possession. At first, the couple are drifting apart as grief overwhelms them. Then as things become more dangerous and creepy, the two begin to work together on a solution. When they try to exorcise the entity, things go very wrong. The final solution seems like it may work. Even though this is a fictional story, it would be interesting to visit the White House to find out if it is haunted.

The Residence was a solid, spooky read. A little rough for me to read so close to the election (White House overload for me) but I enjoyed the historical aspect on top of the spookiness. The Spiritualist movement really intrigues me and that's what caught my eye the most about this one!
Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC ebook!

This is a good historical horror story. Franklin Pierce has just become the 14th president and is on his way to take up residence at The White House. He is travelling by train with his wife and young son when there is an accident resulting in the death of the boy. The events that follow are due to the grief and torment of both parents, particularly Jane Pierce who has always been a little “different”. Jane hates The White House and feels that the atmosphere there is wrong, another contributing factor to the story. The horrors that unfold are very well written and do cause the imagination to run riot! Although the basis of the story is based on fact, the addition of the supernatural element is exciting and full of suspense. The story was a little too long and wandered at times, but the book lived up to its promises. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read.

This was the first book of Andrew Pyper's that I have read, and boy have I been missing out. Great historical characters, great pacing, super story. A horror story, in the White House, with real characters. Will need to find other books by Mr. Pyper.

The Residence defies genre. It's a ghost story that takes place in the White House during the Pierce administration, the most forgettable presidency in US history. The President and First Lady have lost two of their children and their third son, Bennie, dies in a train accident right before the family was scheduled to move into the White House. What follows is the story of his mother's depression and father's difficulty adjusting to public life in the wake of his family's tragedies. Add in a demonic possession, throw in some abolitionism, and you have the makings of an interesting story. However, I enjoyed the concept of the story more than the story itself. The last 1/3 dragged and I had to force myself to finish. I had thought it would be a fun, spooky story to read around Halloween, but it didn't hold my attention.

Franklin Pierce wins the US election for president. He, his wife, and 11 year-old-son Bennie leave for Washington D.C by train. However the train ends up off the rails and Bennie is the sole fatality. The Pierces struggle with their grief over losing their son while Franklin steps into the role of president and his wife is manipulated by a dark entity that has haunted her since she was a child.

While this is a horror book, it's also a story about grief and the pain of losing a loved one. I enjoyed how the horror elements entwined with real history. At times I found myself looking up the real history out of pure curiosity. The story of the Pierce's grief and struggling marriage was as absorbing as the spooky elements. The story is also pacey and doesn't drag, but at times it did feel a touch too fast.

I was up all night, sleeping with lights didn’t work! The most disturbing thing about this book is not haunted, supernatural entities’ existence lurking inside the rooms of the White House or the thin line between reality and insanity! The sadness, bleakness of parents who lost their child and who are struggling to move on, slowly losing their realities and they let themselves be dragged to the other world with its entities part: that’s what kept me awake, bending my nerves, freezing my blood!

I haven’t read so bleak, dark, sad, heart wrenching story for a long time. The characters seem like lost their battles from the beginning! Can you imagine leader of the new world and his First Lady already resigned, lost their hopes for their own future? How can you expect them to lead a country for brighter future when they have no idea how to live in the present time?

After winning the election, 14th president of the US, Franklin Pierce accompanied by his wife Jane and 11 years old son Bennie boards on train to travel to Washington D. C. But unexpected tragedy strikes and train runs off the rails. Only casualty of the accident is their beloved son Bennie.

After this accident we witness how Jane and Franklin falls apart. As Franklin pushes him hard to take the demanding responsibilities to govern, Jane withdraws , locking herself in her room, writing letters to his death son, slowly drifts away from reality.

As we read her back story we understand she was always troubled woman who are more connected with the spirits than the real people and an entity she called as “sir” has been appearing to her since she was a young girl. Now that entity gets more powerful and request her approval to bring her son back! But when he comes back, it’s not gonna bring the closure his parents needed! Or let’s ask: is the spirit appear in their son’s image their real son?

In the real life: there are articles prove both Jane Pierce and Mary Lincoln held seances in White House to connect their death sons’ spirits. And there are so many articles about ghost stories witnessed by President Truman, Queen Wilhelmina. Reading those articles and some real facts about Pierce family’s story increase the tension during your reading and make you question yourself to draw the line between the truth and fiction.

But in my opinion the scariest part of the book was: the part that the dark entity-Devil- Sir’s manipulation to the Pierces for changes about slavery, social injustice in the country! Now my mind filled with more conspiracy theories! My head hurts!

Overall: this is creepy, extremely disturbing grief, unbearable sadness of parents who lose their child story! Especially the characters’ sorrow soaking your soul! It’s more disturbing than ghost stories you read because of the heavy pessimistic atmosphere’s blending with true life stories! The writing is riveting, balance paced! It affected me more than I expected! This is one of the stories it could haunt you forever!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books/ Skybound Books for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

What if the White House contains an evil spirit that the President cannot get rid of?

On the way to Washington DC, newly elected President Franklin Pierce is involved in a terrible train accident. While he and his wife Jane survive, their son Bennie does not. They move into the White House and Pierce starts his Presidency, but both are shattered. Jane is full of fear and sorry and invites the infamous Fox sisters to the White House to perform a séance. During this séance she realizes that she may have invited more to the White House than she would like. How will the Pierces battle this evil and move on?

I love presidential history, but I do not remember ever learning this true story about the tragic death of young Bennie Pierce on the way to Washington D.C. I was fascinated. I also liked the look into the Pierce’s marriage and how this tragedy affected it. I know that seances and the look for spirits was very popular during this time period and I thought that was interesting. I’ll admit though that this book got too scary and strange to me. I don’t want to say more to ruin the story – but it is really creepy!

Overall, The Residence is an incredibly creepy look into the haunting of President Pierce and his wife Jane after the death of their son. It’s the perfect book to scare you this time of year.

Book Source: Review Copy from Simon & Schuster. Thank-you!

I wanted to love this so much more than I did. The description almost gave TOO much away. I enjoyed going and looking up some of these characters - I was curious about whether Pierce's son really did die in a tragic train accident, for example - but it just didn't capture me. A good spooky season read, though!

The nitty-gritty: Spooky and unsettling, The Residence is full of subtle, chilling moments that sneak up on you.

Do you enjoy atmospheric ghost stories with a literary bent to them? Then you will not want to miss The Residence, Andrew Pyper’s latest. I have only read one of Pyper’s books—The Damned—but I loved it as well. The Residence is actually historical fiction, a fact I didn’t realize when I picked it up, and I thought the setting gave it a wonderful, Gothic sensibility. This story is not only creepy and terrifying in places, but it’s also quite sad. I loved this combination of terror and emotion, and when you add in Pyper’s lyrical writing, it adds up to an excellent reading experience.

The story takes place in 1853 and follows the 14th President of the United States, Franklin Pierce and his wife Jane, and their terrifying experiences in the residence of the White House. The story opens with a personal tragedy. Right before the inauguration, Franklin, Jane and their eleven-year-old son Bennie are traveling by train when the train goes off the rails and Bennie is instantly killed. Jane is utterly destroyed, having already lost two other sons to disease and complications with childbirth, and she refuses to participate in her duties as First Lady. Instead, she urges Franklin to secure a “substitute,” a woman who will fill in at official dinners and Presidential events. Bennie’s death drives a wedge between Jane and Franklin, and Jane retreats to the room across the hall, which she dubs “the Grief Room,” spending hours each day writing letters to her dead son.

Distraught, Jane decides to invite a pair of famous mediums, the Fox sisters, to the residence in order to communicate with Bennie’s spirit. But she gets much more than she bargained for when she opens the door to a demon who is hellbent on destruction—the same demon who has been haunting her since childhood.

This is a creepy story. I usually read at night, but I honestly had to put the book down a couple of times because I kept jumping at shadows. Just to give you an example, the demon who is haunting them is able to control inanimate objects, so if you’re afraid of stories where toys come to life and attack people, then this book will scare the pants off you! I mentioned before that there are Gothic elements as well. When Franklin and Jane move into the residence, it hasn’t been remodeled in years and is falling apart—peeling wallpaper, loose floorboards, etc. The furniture is old and some wings are under construction. I also loved the way Pyper used sounds to convey a sense of terror, like knocks on the walls or dragging footsteps. 

The Residence is full of ghosts, which is one reason I loved it so much. There are the obvious ghosts, like Bennie, but Pyper goes deeper than the obvious by including ghosts of the past. Both Jane and Franklin see their fathers’ ghosts at different points in the story. Jane feels responsible for her father’s death because of her relationship with the demon she calls Sir, and he’s also the one who opened up the door to the occult for her, setting her life on such a strange and sad path. Franklin still feels terrible guilt over a decision he made that resulted in the death of his young son Franky, so it isn’t surprising when Franky’s ghost appears to him. There are even ghosts already haunting the White House when the couple arrives, crowding the boiler room so the household staff can’t light the furnace. This results in the house always being cold, which added to the chilling atmosphere.

Although I would call this historical fiction, the story doesn’t focus on Pierce’s presidency, except for several scenes that talk about his Democratic leanings and the country’s debate over slavery. Instead, this is a personal story about relationships, many of which are heartbreaking. Jane and Franklin struggle with their marriage in the beginning, due to the pall of Bennie’s death and the fact that Jane seems to be going crazy. I really felt for Franklin, because as President he has to run the country and put on a brave face, even though his heart is breaking. There is a pervading sadness that hangs over this story, but luckily Pyper balances it out with nail-biting suspense and terror.

For such a short book, the author packs a lot into his story. He touches on themes such as slavery, politics, marriage and infidelity, and the nature of evil and how it shapes us. He also jumps back in time and explains Jane’s relationship with her father and how he unknowingly introduced her to the world of the occult. We get to see the beginnings of Franklin’s and Jane’s courtship and how Jane was against Franklin running for President in the first place. But even with so many layers, Pyper’s story is a real page turner, and I thought all these elements meshed together perfectly.

Bottom line, if you’re in the mood for a well written, creepy ghost story, I highly recommend this book.

Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.