I read Nightmare House in an evening and a morning. I actually put it down because it creeped me out. I also read the novella, Purity, in the same sitting. Douglas Clegg was really good about setting creepy scenes and making me a little scared to walk down the stairs without a light. But, the work lacked depth, or rather any kind of explanation.
The story is essentially this; Ethan Gravesend inherits Harrow House from his grandfather in the 1920s. He is a lonely man, having lost both his parents and his wife has left him. While at Harrow he is the master of this large estate, for two days. Or some other ridiculously brief period. He meets Maggie, a red-haired beauty with an illegitmate son and they bond, in I think two sentences. He then has to discover what he has awakened in the house and why it is terrorizing him and why did it steal Maggie? Or as her son said, "ate her."
Bascially, through a flashback that takes most of the book we find out a few of the answers, but huge chunks of information are missing. I'm very aware that most authors are normally excessive with their writing and need a good dose of the delete key, but Douglas Clegg is overexcessive with his use of that button. There is no back story, yes the book is over 300 pages, barely, but the print is so large a blind man could read it. There is no really development of any character, except Ethan, but why did his wife leave, why is he so drawn to Maggie, why does he drink so much? This book feels like a first draft that needs to be fleshed out.
Still, for Halloween chills and thrills, it has them. If you can get past all the nagging questions, the book can definitely bring that childhood fear of the dark back to you. A fun, quick read and perfect for this gloomy and spooky time of year. I wish there was more to it, but you can't have everything.
Purity was well executed, not a horror story per se, but good. I actually found it tightly written and not lacking too much.