A Haunting at the Gates of Hell: Part 1

The Nightmare

By: Roma Gray

Narrated by: Joe Hempel

IN THE DARK, SOMETHING EVIL WAITS.

Seven writers meet for a weekend retreat at a remote beach house. Each of the frightened men and women share the same terror: They have all prophesied their own death on July 24 and hope together they can avoid their fate.

Mirror House, a rambling mansion filled with an icy wind from subterranean tunnels, appears to be the perfect escape from a record-breaking heatwave as well as their untimely deaths. Townsfolks, however, whisper a malevolent being stalks the shadowy corridors of the grand manor, something predatorial, something that has escaped from the very pit of Hell itself.

PART 1: The Nightmare is the first novella in the serial A Haunting at the Gates of Hell by Roma Gray. There will be six novellas in the serial, one published every other month. Each part will contain elements of horror and a cliffhanger ending. The next episode will be Part 2: Halloween Party, schedule for March 2021.

©2021 Roma Gray (P)2021 Roma Gray

Lay it all out!

Part 1 seems to be laying out all the pieces and people. There was a lot of characters and I did feel slightly overwhelmed with the abundance of people and situations. I really like the premise of the story and how all the main characters met... what a horrible, seemingly plausible group meeting that must have been. Anyways, this one is just the beginning and it has set the stage for what I'm excited to a creepy and curious storyline.

The narrator, Joe Hempel is the best for creeptastic stories! Now we didn't get creepy yet but he still is just so fantastic! I love listening to him narrate. He seems to portray this confident, yet hesitant characteristics and they always fit the stories he narrates. I can't wait to see him bring this one to life!

hot haunted house

very interesting and well narrated as well. story telling was okay otherwise good. Thank you

Terrifying Story, Great Narrator

I enjoyed the ebook of A Haunting at the Gates of Hell: Part 1, The Nightmare, so much I used one of my audible credits to download the audiobook and was very pleased with Joe Hempel's narration. Roma Gray is an exceptional writer; I read the ebook first and the pages flew by way too fast. I think I'll buy all the parts as soon as they come out on audible. listen to them immediately, then binge on them on long, rainy afternoons.

Do you want to know the date of your death? I don’t. The thought terrifies me. In this first of a series of novellas, we’re first introduced to a group of writers who believe they do know the date they will die – and it’s in just a couple of days.

One of the writers volunteers his mansion on the beach as a haven where they can shelter and either ride out their death date or die. Unfortunately, the house appears to have a malevolent personality of its own. Could this be true? Can a house be evil, or is there something, or someone, in the tunnels under the house? Will the writers actually die on that date?

I enjoyed this novella; the characters were fleshed out so well I cared for several very quickly. The larger world concept was unique but based on facts that were brought in and presented so I could easily enter into the reality of the world outside Mirror House.

Recommended, especially if you’re a fan of mysteries, haunted houses, gothic horror, or Agatha Christie.

Well written and suspenseful

Part 1 sets the atmosphere for the story, giving both what is about to happen in the world at large and the backstory of the people who are congregating at the mansion. The atmosphere is very suspenseful and foreboding, the world’s situation presented, and the characters situation painted.. And an unanticipated danger is teased! Very well written and entertainingly narrated, it’s too bad we have to wait on Part 2.

Good

Good narration. Given this chilling haunting mystery, lives of each. The doom and gloom as they await for their death. Well done and looking for the next part. Given audio for my voluntary review

WTF did I just listen to?

All the other reviews were very positive so please take this with a grain of salt. I did not care for, or finish this book (as short as it is!). There wasn't anything wrong with it, it just was not to my taste

Mirror House

Would you want to know the date of your death? What if you had been having nightmares about it for your entire life? This short story about a group of people who have been dreaming about their demise on July 24th will grab you from the first page.

When this group meets up at a group therapy session on July 21st, they quickly learn that their therapists think the whole thing is a publicity stunt for a new book. As the angry dreamers begin to talk, it is decided that they will spend their last few days on earth at the beach house owned by one of them, a man named Conrad.

Upon arrival at this house, the group is stunned to see it as the sun sets. The house is dubbed The Mirror House for a reason: the reflections of the sunset are an otherworldly experience. Some of the group call it a haunted house, and maybe it is. While the world is suffering an extreme heat wave, the interior of the house is frigid. And, is there something lurking in the basement of this unusual house?

The author has a wonderful way of writing about horrific things while at the same time making the reader care about the characters. Even in this short story, I found myself wanting to know more about this group of people. I also enjoyed the tie-ins to the mysteries of the great Agatha Christie and the Easter egg reference to another of Ms. Gray's books.

I don't often reread books, especially ones that I have recently read. But, when I saw that one of my favorite narrators, Joe Hempel, had narrated this short story, I knew that I had to give it a listen. His performance is perfect and added a lot to an already wonderful book.

This story ended on a cliffhanger and I can't wait to read the next in the series. It is sure to be just as entertaining as this one!

Well, I'm hooked!

A likable group of characters band together to save their own lives, while the stakes turn out to be much greater. Great story, nicely written, and well-performed. This one will be released in parts, I understand, and I look forward to the next one!