The Silent Companions is a damn good ghost story. Except, it’s not a ghost story.
The house in which the main characters live is most decidedly haunted, but not by ghosts, per se. The things that go bump in the night are far less sinister at first glance, which makes their effect upon the story that much creepier. However, calling this a “bewitched wooden figurine story” just doesn’t carry quite the same weight.
In my opinion, it’s not very hard to make scary things scary. Vampires, zombies, ghosts, werewolves, etc. – they’re all creatures I’d prefer never to meet (especially zombies), but I don’t need much of a nudge to be creeped out by them. Myths, legends, and classic scary stories have pretty much run these monsters into the ground.
What I really love is when someone creates a sense of deep, penetrating fear around something you normally wouldn’t look twice at. And, this is exactly what author Laura Purcell does with The Silent Companions.
You learn early on that main character Elsie is afraid of the wooden desk in her room. And, of wood in general. Which is really, really strange. Not to mention, intriguing as hell. Who’s scared of wood? I mean, this woman looks suspiciously at a pencil, for crying out loud. WTF?
Of course, I was immediately hooked by the weirdness of it all. I just had to find out why Elsie shrank in terror from dead trees.
And, oh, did I find out. Let me tell you: There are definitely times I now get up in the middle of the night and look askance at the wooden furniture in my room, too.
The premise of The Silent Companions, at first glance, seems a little weak: Elsie moves into her new manor home and finds a life-size, human-looking, wooden figurine stored in the attic. She also discovers a diary written by the previous owner of the house, Annie, who apparently went a little spend-happy when the local curiosity fair rolled through town.
Is this wooden figurine a little odd? Yes, I’ll give you that. But, it’s not necessarily scary. One easily reasons that if you don’t want to look at the figurine – or, the “Silent Companion,” as Annie called it — you can just lock it up in the attic again and walk away. Out of sight, out of mind.
If only the Silent Companion would stay in the attic. Of course, it starts to move. First just the eyes, but then it soon starts popping up in different rooms of the house. Another figurine appears, and then another, and soon the figurines are multiplying like Tribbles throughout the entire house until you can’t get away from them. Sawdust constantly covers the floor, no matter how much the maids sweep, and each night Elsie hears the low, scraping sounds of their inanimate wooden feet moving across the floor. On their own. That’s when the shit really starts to hit the fan.
The sinister events are relayed through both Elsie’s experiences with the Silent Companions, and well as through Annie’s diary entries, which reveal her spooky experiences with the figurines over a hundred years earlier. Purcell has a real gift for weaving suspense through every chapter as she reveals the house’s history and the fate that will befall everyone in Elsie’s household. There are plenty of times I gasped aloud while reading The Silent Companions, and, more often than not, I ended most chapters by yelling out, “Holy crap! That’s so creepy!”
The Silent Companions had the same effect on me as The Bird Eater did. It makes you glance nervously over your shoulder to make sure you’re not being followed. If you wake up at night, your eyes automatically sweep the darkened room, searching for what may be hiding in the corners. And, given that pieces of wood are what’s raising hell in this haunted house, you find yourself wondering if that creak in the floorboard is just your house settling…or, if it’s something else you really don’t want to turn around and see.
If you’re looking for an excellent scare, I highly recommend The Silent Companions. It’s an insidiously creepy Victorian Gothic tale, as well as great historical fiction. If you’re into stories about witchcraft, you’ll also appreciate this one. It’s got a little bit of everything, for everyone. This novel has officially made it onto my list of recommended scaryAF stories.
Now that it’s October, what scary stories are you reading?? I hope you’ll add The Silent Companions to your TBR list this month. Because it NEEDS to be there.
And, be sure to check back in for my book-inspired recipe: Lemon Herb Chicken.
This book sounds incredible! Scary stories are such a guilty pleasure, as you know you shouldn’t read them, not if you want an easy night’s sleep! This is definitely going on my TBR list 😁
This one will DEFINITELY cause some sleepless nights! It’s so creepy. I loved it! Hahaha.