A sickening clench of the stomach, an outbreak of cold sweat on the brow, a sudden intake of breath: these are all sensations accompanying Chris Bohjalian’s “The Night Strangers.” Readers beware, this ghostly novel will grab hold of your throat and refuse to let go.
Bohjalian has penned a chilling tale with an intricate plot. Father and ex-pilot Chip Linton is recovering from a tragic plane crash that killed 39 of his 48 passengers.
Although geese were truly at fault, Chip blames himself for the failed emergency landing of flight 1611 in Lake Champlain. He suffers from severe PTSD and depression, and he has frequent nightmares about the passengers he couldn’t save as his plane capsized and split in two, killing some instantly and drowning others.
His wife Emily, wanting to give the family a fresh start somewhere isolated, uproots her traumatized husband and twin 10-year-olds Hallie and Garnet. The family moves to a lonely house in the White Mountain Village area of New Hampshire, a house with a (to use the local euphemism) ‘history.’
Its uncanny history is haltingly unearthed as Chip’s grip on reality slackens. The house feels evil to him, an emotion concentrated in the small door hidden behind a pile of coal in the ancient basement. The door is sealed shut with 39 6-inch carriage bolts, the number that perfectly matches flight 1611’s body count. Coincidence? Of course not.
Meanwhile, Emily and her daughters are embraced by a group of local women and self-proclaimed herbalists. Although the group is welcoming, it’s in an eerily possessive way. It isn’t long before the women take an active interest in Hallie and Garnet, and their reasons are anything but benign.
The novel ping-pongs between Chip’s hauntings and the local cult, unraveling the mysteries of each until the two plots unite and are expertly intertwined.
It’s a lot to keep up with, but Bohjalian’s changing viewpoints are as easy to follow as they are enlightening. With each character’s unique point of view come new discoveries that could never have been made otherwise, even the family cat has something to add.
The fright factor is more gradual than jump-out-of-your-pants-worthy, but the eeriness creeps up on the unsuspecting reader in just the right dosage.
Altogether, “The Night Strangers” is a wonderfully chilling novel. Halloween is just around the corner, and if you’re the sort of person who enjoys a good fright, this is a book you won’t be able to put down.
