Whisper Down the Lane by Clay Chapman (inspiring books for teens txt) 📕

PRAISE FOR CLAY MCLEOD CHAPMAN THE REMAKING

A 2019 Goodreads Choice Awards Semifinalist, Horror

“An ambitious mosaic novel exploring the power of urban myth and superstition.”—Guardian

“Horror in fiction is a little trickier, but occasionally you get something special like Mark Z. Danielewski’s puzzle box, House of Leaves (2000), John Ajvide Lindqvist’s Let the Right One In (2007), or, more recently, Josh Malerman’s runaway hit Bird Box (2014). Chapman’s (Nothing Untoward, 2017, etc.) spooky story solidly fits the mold of nothing you’ve ever read before…something like Stephen King’s imperfect masterpiece The Shining.”—Kirkus Reviews

“This disorienting and immersive story anchors itself in history but stretches its terrifying tentacles into the present, producing intense chills.”—Library Journal

“Jumps out the gate and takes the reader on [a] wild and unnerving ride.”—Horror DNA, 4 out of 5 stars

“A streamlined page-turner of clearly cut supernatural encounters that moonlights as a frighteningly lucid story of injustice. Be it a specter or a painful recollection, Chapman teaches an absolutely chilling lesson on just how long the past will wait to bite you.”—Fangoria

“A ripping good yarn. The Remaking first takes you into its confidence and then makes you wonder if you are also cursed with and by this story. Because, incidentally, you are.”—Richmond magazine

“Chapman tells a well-paced, spare story with original twists and some definite shocks.”—Star News

“If there’s any justice, The Remaking will introduce Chapman to a wider audience of readers anxious for the kind of horror tale that claims a little piece of your brain as its own.”—BookTrib

“Chapman has crafted a fascinating horror novel that is both excellent within itself and a sharp commentary on an element of the genre.”—SFFWorld

“As both a novel of psychological terror and a traditional ghost story, this short, chilling read is recommended for all collections.”—Booklist

“An obvious valentine to the horror genre.”—The Big Thrill

“Chapman has expertly crafted an ouroboros of a horror story. The Remaking is a fast-paced and haunting examination of how misogyny poisons our culture, generation after generation. It’s absolutely chilling. You won’t be able to put it down or stop thinking about it after the lights go out.”—Mallory O’Meara, author of The Lady from the Black Lagoon MISS CORPUS

“Buckle your seatbelt and lock the car doors; Clay Chapman’s about to take you for a hair-raising ride.”—New Yorker

“In a slow, simmering style that melds Southern folklore with a gothic sensibility, Chapman concocts a powerful tale that is suspenseful and moving…. Chapman’s knack for storytelling and his vigorous prose establish a dramatic momentum, moving the tale to a violent, tragic crescendo. Suffused with a compassion, the novel transcends its bizarre premise and suggests that the magic of literature can make sense of life.”—Publishers Weekly

“Chapman’s powerful, intense gifts are not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach.”—Booklist

ALSO BY

Clay McLeod Chapman FICTION:

rest area

miss corpus

commencement

The Tribe trilogy

Nothing Untoward: Stories from The Pumpkin Pie Show

The Remaking: A Novel GRAPHIC NOVELS:

Self Storage

Lazaretto

Iron Fist: Phantom Limb

Typhoid Fever

Scream: Curse of Carnage Vol. 1

This is a work of fiction. All names, places, and characters are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to real people, places, or events is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2021 by Clay McLeod Chapman

All rights reserved. Except as authorized under U.S. copyright law, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Chapman, Clay McLeod, 1977- author.

Whisper down the lane / Clay McLeod Chapman.

Summary: “Two narratives—Richard in present day, settling into a quiet but pleasant life as a newly married art teacher; Sean in 1980s Virginia, when cult leaders, serial killers, and stranger danger are on the rise—converge around a few small lies that spiraled into a terrible tragedy. Thirty years later, it seems someone is out for revenge.”—Provided by publisher.

LCC PS3603.H36 W55 2021

DDC 813/.6—dc23     2020047601

ISBN 9781683692157

Ebook ISBN 9781683692164

Book designed by Ryan Hayes, adapted for ebook

Cover photo by Oksana Shufrych/Shutterstock

Production management by John J. McGurk

Quirk Books

215 Church Street

Philadelphia, PA 19106

quirkbooks.com

a_prh_5.6.1_c0_r0

FOR MOM

Contents

Cover

Also by Clay McLeod Chapman

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Epigraph

Damned If You Don’t - Richard: 2013

Circle Time

Damned If You Do - Sean: 1982

Damned If You Don’t - Richard: 2013

Damned If You Do - Sean: 1982

Damned If You Don’t - Richard: 2013

Damned If You Do - Sean: 1982

Damned If You Don’t - Richard: 2013

Damned If You Do - Sean: 1982

Damned If You Don’t - Richard: 2013

Damned If You Do - Sean: 1983

Damned If You Don’t - Richard: 2013

Damned If You Don’t - Richard: 2013

Damned If You Don’t - Richard: 2013

Damned If You Do - Sean: 1983

Damned If You Don’t - Richard: 2013

Damned If You Do - Sean: 1983

Damned If You Don’t - Richard: 2013

Damned If You Don’t - Richard: 2013

Damned If You Do - Sean: 1983

Damned If You Don’t - Richard: 2013

Damned If You Do - Sean: 1983

Damned If You Don’t - Richard: 2013

Damned If You Don’t - Richard: 2013

Damned If You Do - Sean: 1983

Damned If You Don’t - Richard: 2013

Damned If You Don’t - Richard: 2013

Damned If You Don’t - Richard: 2013

Damned If You Do - Sean: 1983

Damned If You Don’t - Richard: 2013

Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don’t

Acknowledgments

Reading Group Guide

Don’t Panic!

“Estimates are that there are over one million Satanists in this country. The majority of them are linked in a highly organized, very secretive network. From small towns to large cities, they have attracted police and FBI attention to their Satanic ritual child abuse, child pornography, and grizzly Satanic murders. The odds are that this is happening in your town.”

—Geraldo Rivera in Devil Worship: Exposing Satan’s Underground

“The stubborn fact remains,” one read, “that whether or not we believe, they most assuredly do.”

—Rosemary’s Baby

DAMNED IF YOU DON’T

 RICHARD: 2013

They found Professor Howdy spread across the soccer field. What was left of him, anyway.

His chest cavity had been carefully cracked open, his rib cage fanning back as if it were the