Review written on Culturess

Andrew Pyper’s The Residence is an incredible novel that includes stunning historical truth mixed with gripping horror fiction. It’s a must-read for 2020.

With every novel Skybound Books releases, the bar for quality is raised. In his latest novel, Andrew Pyper manages to jump to the top of the historical fiction genre with a story about a demon in the White House. The Residence is a novel that explores the lives of Franklin and Jane Pierce after the passing of their youngest son, Bennie.


Franklin Pierce was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. Pierce himself is a very unremarkable president. In fact, if readers were to Google this president, the results might include lists of the most-forgettable presidents.

Luckily, nothing about this novel comes across as unremarkable or forgettable. If anything, Pyper paints a picture of an extraordinary story based on the truth. It’s intriguing to learn that seances and a haunting of epic proportions took place in the White House.


As readers begin the book, they will first be hit by an overwhelming feeling of grief. Jane and Franklin lost so much before ever setting foot in the White House. They had three sons, all of whom died. Their first son died only three days after he was born, their second died of typhus, and their youngest son, Bennie, died just weeks before Franklin was sworn into the presidency in a very bizarre train accident. Parents in particular might have a rough time reading through what happened to this couple.

What makes this novel stand out from the rest is that it hits readers in different ways and leaves with even more questions. Of course, when reading a horror novel, readers want to be scared and left with a presence that makes them continuously look over their shoulder; that’s just the fun of the genre. The Residence will certainly do that.

This book, however, also brings a very human element to horror. Since the story of the Pierce couple at the core is true, it’s hard to just simply shrug the story away. They did lose three children, Jane did try and contact her deceased son, they did have a hard marriage and they didn’t support each other in a way that left them feeling loved during this portion of their lives.

In a total fiction horror work, it’s easy to laugh away jump scares, and hope for certain characters to get comeuppance and simply move on to the next story. The Residence, while it does have those classic horror elements, will leave you self-reflecting. Was Jane or Franklin crazy, or were their reactions on base with everything they had been through? Would readers have reacted any differently after losing all their children?

Andrew Pyper did an incredible job of bringing demons and chaos into the White House, as well as showing the very human story of a couple in mental turmoil. This book is released on September 1, just weeks away from the presidential election in the U.S., and as Halloween season is starting to begin. It’s the perfect season for the book, so make sure you pick up this incredible work!

The Residence
by Andrew Pyper
The fear is palpable. Reading through the story you are frightened by your own desires. The need of grief to bring back a love one, no mater the circumstances is universal. And the idea that that wish could be granted is a temptation for all. During this pandemic you wonder if maybe the evil that drew on the Pierce grief has come back to the white house, you can almost believe that a malevolent evil has more power in the progress of the country then ever. The detriment of the country after this period shows that maybe the ghost story has reality. Making you question your knowledge of history and want to find out more. Andrew Pyper knows hows enthrall the reader, and his dark vision has such a potential ring. A great thriller, and a down right scary book.

In this latest novel, The Residence, we are transported to the White House during 1852 and into the life of the newly-elected President Franklin Pierce has he struggles with the recent loss of his 11-year-old son, a wife deep in sadness, a nation fractured and heading towards war, and one special room where grief is in abundance and terror seems to like to come and play.

Wow. This book is essentially a ghost story and atmospheric mystery. It pulls from such material such as the Yellow Wallpaper and Turn of the Screw. I really enjoyed the slow reveal of the story and would highly recommend this.

Spooky, creepy, and deeply unsettling. Thrilling in the best, most horrible way. This appealed to me specifically because of the spine-tingleness without the gore. I knew nothing about Pierce, his family, or his presidency before reading this novel. I appreciate the conclusion that true evil can never be defeated because it lives within us—It can only buried until a later time.

Very different style book and enjoyed it a lot. The white house to be haunted by the mistress is rare and super good. So spooky and couldn't imagine how they stayed there. Try this one out and turn the lights down, Recommend this one!

It was painful to see Jane and Franklin lose their child again. And all these heartache and trauma have impacted both of them badly. I was very intrigued and creeped out with all the haunting, but I can tell that this is a well-researched story as it covers down much historical information. The characters are all tied up together, and the writing style is superb. I recommend this book!

Andrew Pyper came on my radar last year at the consistent and strong recommendation of reviewer Steve Stred. I read The Homecoming, which was a well written masterpiece of a thriller, and added Pyper to my list of trusted authors - the ones I know I'm going to enjoy whatever they put out.

The Residence has an intriguing premise of historical horror, based on true events, and delivers on the promise of chilling and disturbing ghosts. I'd heard over the years that the White House was haunted, but it all sounded rather disappointingly innocuous. Until Andrew Pyper got hold of it.

Well researched, with a feel of instant authenticity, there were scenes in The Residence that creeped me out to the core. Innocent, everyday objects are imbued with a deep and unsetttling horror, and the supernatural experiences are as unexpected as they are terrifying. This was an excellent read, highly recommended to get you in the Halloween spirit!

Is there a ghost in the White House? It's long been the subject of discussion and now Pyper has set forth a fictional answer - that it's Bennie, the son of Franklin Pierce and his wife Jane. Bennie was killed in a horrible train accident shortly after his father was elected. Franklin mourns him but Jane- Jane decompensated. She brings in the occult and a variety of charlatans to try to reach him. In the mean time, things are going wonky in both the country and the residence. It's an interesting merger of historical fiction and horror. I learned a bit about the period, as well as about Pierce (in part because I did some additional googling). It's well written and binge worthy. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Historical fiction fans looking for something different should give it a try.

This book is terrifying. The darkness and depth of grief overtakes this family, this presidency and the effect on the White House.

Pyper knows how to create a story - partially based on true events - and magnified to an extreme. I'll admit that I knew very little about President Pierce. As a history fan, it's rather embarrassing to admit that. That said, this book added a new element of interest in my delving into his life and administration. How long until this becomes the next hit Broadway musical? ;)

This book is horror, historical fiction and...just excellent.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

So, one thing I had read about was the hauntings. I loved the story! The despair and hopelessness was portrayed very well! I liked the history aspect, the truth mixed with the story is really great! From the beginning of the story it’s like a nightmare for both Jane and Franklin, the derailment of the train killing the last of their children. Then it’s as if Janes nightmare keeps going after her in a sense and started playing on her grief. I liked that this was a slow burn type of horror, like a slow building. I would like to point out that the way Andrew Pyper writes he writes so well that the stories I have read are a slow burn but they are sooo good that they make you think and in this particular instance I googled a lot about the Pierce family and their children’s deaths. The research and the story were phenomenal, if you like good fashioned slow burning hauntings then this is for you!

Normally Andrew Pyper scares the crap out of me - and I find it a page turner that I just cannot put down. This book was just....weird. So it starts out normal - a presidential marriage heading into their new and unknown life together. But then they lose a son, and move into a haunted White House that terrorizes them day in and day out. And no one can save them, because how to do you really save the President from ghosts that you cannot yourself see? I found most of the story laughable and not scary, and was really disappointed. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

"You think you hold sole ownership over pain. Perhaps you believe you invented it... I have my arrogance. But this Jeannie-this is yours."

I've always felt horror is divided into two distinct parties: the gory, jump scare variety and the horror that plays upon grief and a person's worst nightmare coming true. I've always subscribed to the latter, as my worst fear is losing one or both of my children, and then having to survive that grief for the remainder of my "unnaturally" long life. Andrew Pyper has once again crafted a unique tale, and this one is grounded in factual history, while giving it a supernatural spin that, honestly, had me questioning whether the White House is in fact haunted.

"Where does it go now?" she whispered.
"Where does what go, my dear?"
"Our love for him."

For those who aren't familiar, Franklin Pierce (the 14th president of the United States) boarded a train with his wife and young son after winning the presidential election, and said train derailed and killed the couple's only remaining son (they had lost the previous two tragically due to sickness). History writes that Mrs. Pierce was never the same again, and the strained single term that her husband was in office felt the birth pangs of the nearing Civil War. Where the story departs from history (or does it?) is when Bennie, the deceased son, begins to haunt the White House, alongside many other specters. What follows is a tale steeped in themes of karma, and how evil breeds greater evil, especially in regards to slavery, misogyny, and other forms of social injustice.

I've always wondered about the stories that have been told for hundreds of years about the various hauntings reported in the White House, and the author addresses these in a post note, but perhaps the reason why this book worked so well for me is due to the fact that Pyper found a way to make the logical side of my brain which screams "Absurd!" become dominated by the creative side, likely due to how well researched the tale is and how the delicate insertions of paranormal entities make it seem so realistic. If you're the type of horror reader who prefers the bloody, stabby, graphic type of scare, this one probably won't be for you. However, if you enjoy a more subtle novel that plays on the fears that humans have surrounding loss and grief, you'll be hard pressed to find a better, albeit extremely sad, read in the genre.

3 for neutral, I have tried and tried to finish this book, but just cannot seem to get myself to complete the task. I will update if able to, as the premise is so intriguing, but it’s almost depressing reading it, but I’m a very moody reader.

My thanks to Gallery/Skybound, Andrew Pyper and Netgalley.
So, just about the 60% mark I realized that I was done with this. I was majorly depressed. This was not scary. Mostly just awful sad and soon depressing. Those poor children. As a wife? I too would have been unforgiving. Not haunted, but...
I couldn't abide this story. I think that I've come to realize that Pyper is not for me! His scary is not mine.

The Residence is a haunted house story taken to the next level. The story is set in the White House during Franklin Pierce’s presidency.

PROS:
I don’t particularly gravitate toward historical fiction, but the 1853 setting is well researched and populated with events and people of the day. I found the history material rather interesting, and I got sucked into the era.

Elements of feminism, slavery, American Indians, politics, and the psyche of grief find their way into the book, enriching the plot. It’s more than a simple haunted house story.

Pyper’s prose hides in the background, doing its job without calling attention to itself. I never got the sense that the author tries too hard to be either poetic or highbrow. And yet when I stopped to examine a passage, I discovered fresh word choices and clever metaphors.

Usually the third person omniscient point-of-view is my least favorite because it gets confusing. But in The Residence, Pyper makes the point of view easy to follow so you don’t lose track of which person is thinking/acting/speaking.

You know how characters always make those stupid decisions in horror stories? Pyper takes care of that, so it makes sense why the characters proceed as they do.

The scary parts don’t just include things the characters see. There are smells and especially sounds that make everything creepier. Glad I read the book with the lights on!

CONS:
Places in the book read as slow-burn and character-driven, which I enjoy, so I didn’t take any stars off, but readers who like a more action-packed book may get restless during those passages.

OVERALL:
Overall, I loved this sophisticated, historical, haunted house story. Five stars.