S.J. Bolton's Blood Harvest is a book best read on a dark and stormy night for maximum chills and thrills. She does 'creepy' better than just about any other author I've read lately. What makes her stories so good is that they are plausible even while bordering on the unbelievable. Unbelievable in that Bolton likes to make use of legends and folklore that deal with the darker side of life that brings to mind the supernatural, yet the twists to her stories are rarely so simple or easily explained. But maybe the less said about that the better, so you can find out for yourself?
Instead let me tell you about Heptonclough, a little village in northern England surrounded by moors. Heptonclough is a strange little village, though you probably won't be surprised to hear that. It's steeped in ancient traditions that the locals adhere to quite closely. Stepping foot in Heptonclough means the real world rolls away. Lots of old buildings line twisty, cobblestone streets, and there are two churches--one very old and in ruins, and the other just old. It seems idyllic enough for the Fletcher family who bought a patch of land and built a new home practically arms' reach from the shell of the ancient tower of the ruined church, though their welcome isn't exactly a warm one. For the Fletcher children, particularly ten-year-old Tom and six-year-old Joe, an old cemetery proves an adventure-laden playground. The Fletcher home overlooks the cemetery, but adventure quickly turns to something else.
Tom begins to feel as though someone is watching him and his family. When he and Joe play in the cemetery he's sure they're not alone and begins catching glimpses of a young girl with a strange appearance, though Joe doesn't seem the least worried. Even the new vicar, Harry Laycock, who's just arrived to open up the church, which had been sitting unused for years hears strange noises coming from the nave. Heptonclough may not be as idyllic as it appears. A disproportionate number of accidents seem to have occurred in such a small village over the years. A very young girl fell to her death from the choir in the church. Another went missing never to be found. And yet another died in a house fire, though her mother, Gillian, feels certain someone took her, and for years she's walked the moors searching for her. Although all are seemingly unrelated events, Tom begins to wonder if the strange little girl is going to try and grab his little sister, Millie. He hears whisperings in the dark and his parents begin wondering if there isn't something wrong with him.
As the village prepares for the annual harvest fete, strange things happen to unnerve the Fletcher family. This is a village that takes it's harvest rites seriously. The villagers perform a mixture of pagan rites sanctioned by the church to see out the old harvest and ensure a fruitful new one. It's an odd combination between church services, a ritualistic slaughtering of animals and then a bonfire complete with "bone people". As nervous as Tom has been his mother worries that the bone people, scattered throughout the ruined church facing their home will only make him more upset, but he finds them sort of cool. Each family in the village makes one. They're stuffed with natural materials--straw, hay, corn, old vegetables, paper, anything organic--in order to get rid of the year's rubbish. All very innocuous until they seem to be moving about the ruins. And then another child goes missing.
Much of the story is narrated by the new vicar who's actually fairly young and even a little hip, while at the same time being thoughtful and caring. How many vicars do you come across wearing shorts and Crocs (or did I just imagine that part?) and liking to run and go climbing? He's sensible except in matters of the heart as he loses his to Dr. Evi Oliver, a psychiatrist who's treating both Tom and Gillian. Things become complicated when Gillian fixes her sights on Harry, and even more complicated when she catches Harry and Evi snogging. So much for professional distance?
As you can see there are several different plotlines being juggled, but they mesh nicely with Harry adding just a little light relief to the story even while searching the dark and dusty and very shadow-filled crypt below the church for missing children. But don't get me wrong, this is an atmospheric and suspenseful story through and through complete with a very dark denouement (maybe just a tad too over the top, but as long as you are willing to suspend belief just a little you won't mind--I didn't--the rest of the story was too good). S.J. Bolton seems to have cornered the market on creepy, edge of your seat stories that come with a heavy dose of the eerie. Save this one for Carl's RIP Challenge, if you dare!
As a little side note I had no idea where the word "bonfire" came from. It came from "bone fire". Apparently in the Middle Ages the bones of animals would have been burned--hence bone fire/bonfire. In this story a charnel house would have adjoined the church and every thirty years or so the graves were dug up and the bones were placed in the charnel house and burned. There's a little Halloween trivia for you a few months early.
This is S.J. Bolton's third novel. I was hooked early on when I read Sacrifice, a story completely different than Blood Harvest but with the same dark, heavy atmosphere and suspenseful pace. I've got a copy of Awakening on hand, which is set in another small English village with a snake problem. Check out the author's website here, and her blog here.