The Elementals

De: Michael McDowell

Narrado por: R. C. Bray

After a bizarre and disturbing incident at the funeral of matriarch Marian Savage, the McCray and Savage families look forward to a restful and relaxing summer at Beldame, on Alabama's Gulf Coast, where three Victorian houses loom over the shimmering beach. Two of the houses are habitable, while the third is slowly and mysteriously being buried beneath an enormous dune of blindingly white sand. But though long uninhabited, the third house is not empty. Inside, something deadly lies in wait. Something that has terrified Dauphin Savage and Luker McCray since they were boys, and which still haunts their nightmares. Something horrific that may be responsible for several terrible and unexplained deaths years earlier–and is now ready to kill again....

A haunted house story unlike any other, Michael McDowell's The Elementals (1981) was one of the finest novels to come out of the horror publishing explosion of the 1970s and '80s. Though best known for his screenplays for Tim Burton's Beetlejuice and The Nightmare Before Christmas, McDowell is now being rediscovered as one of the best modern horror writers and a master of Southern Gothic literature.

©1981, 2016 Estate of Michael McDowell (P)2016 Valancourt Books LLC

summer southern gothic

this recording is missing the prologue but the reader is great and this southern gothic is scary and well written.

scarrey

Really scarey with out being gorey.Nice haunted house subject inter
esting family characters with good interacting

The absolute BEST!!!

This is one of the best books I’ve ever heard. I think I listened to the whole thing within two days i could not stop listening. This is definitely my favorite author.

Creepy and so good!

Get this one! It’s creepy, but not gross. Scary but not in the slasher way. There was just the right amount of supernatural to make it interesting. You won’t be disappointed!

The growing suspense is addictive

The plot twists are really riveting. I did get a little confused about Odessa's role. Early in the book she sounds articulate and "normal" where later on she seems more simple/juvenile

Absolutely amazing

One of my favorite books. Characters are excellent and Bray absolutely slays the accents.

Wish it was longer. I love the idea of the summer homes. I could really imagine what it all looked like.

Genuinely scary southern Gothic family drama

I live a couple blocks way from beach in Southern Califormia and thanks to this dang book, I can add sand to the list of things that can kill me.

things I loved--realistic family dynamics. really scary big bad. cool, loving and supportive dad. a believably terrifying situatiom. things that are problematic--there some artifacts from the 70s that wouldn't fly in 2024 like a magical black character, an extremely closeted gay person, and a dad who shares quaaludes with his sassy 7th grade daughter, but it's all done with love so don't through the baby out with the bathwater.

wow

there is nothing like a scary story set in the south! I stayed up most of the night listening!

very unique southern Gothic ghost story

I liked the story, especially the way they described the elementals... the book had some pacing issues but other than that it was an enjoyable read.

Stephen King of the South

I found out about this book on Reddit and I am not disappointed! I grew up in the south and know this setting very well. It was awesome to have a story told that is set on the gulf coast just before it got covered in condos and tourists. If you’re a fan of southern literature and stories that are a little spooky this’ll scratch that itch!