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Hare House

A Gothic, Atmospheric Modern-day Tale of Witchcraft

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Hare House

By: Sally Hinchcliffe
Narrated by: Kirsty Strain
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About this listen

'Deliciously chilly' Guardian
'Humming with suppressed hysteria and madness' The Times
'Wonderfully evocative' Heat

Hare House is not its real name, of course. I have, if you will forgive me, kept names to a minimum here, for reasons that will become understandable . . .

In the first brisk days of autumn, a woman arrives in Scotland having left her job at an all-girls school in London in mysterious circumstances. Moving into a cottage on the remote estate of Hare House, she begins to explore her new home – a patchwork of hills, moorland and forest. But among the tiny roads, dykes and scattered houses, something more sinister lurks: local tales of witchcraft, clay figures and young men sent mad.

Striking up a friendship with her landlord, Grant, and his younger sister, Cass, she begins to suspect that all might not be quite as it seems at Hare House. And as autumn turns to winter, and a heavy snowfall traps the inhabitants of the estate within its walls, tensions rise to fever pitch.

Sally Hinchcliffe’s Hare House is a modern-day witch story, perfect for fans of Pine and The Loney.

'A beautiful, slow burn of a novel, eerie and shimmering in equal measure' - Mary Paulson-Ellis

 Genre Fiction Ghosts Gothic Horror Magical Realism Suspense Thriller & Suspense Haunted Scary Paranormal Witchcraft Magic

Critic reviews

A beautiful, slow burn of a novel, eerie and shimmering in equal measure. The bewitching prose brilliantly evokes the bleak glories of a remote Scottish landscape, while the subtle shifts of plot and perspective lure the reader towards an unsettling denouement where nothing is quite what it seems. A dark uncanny read and all the more satisfying for that (Mary Paulson-Ellis, author of The Other Mrs Walker and Emily Noble's Disgrace)

Eerie and subtle . . . This deliciously chilly tale dodges the expected outcome and maintains a delicate balance between psychology and witchcraft right to its disturbing end
A tale humming with suppressed hysteria and madness
The atmosphere of sickly oddness creeps up with wonderful control. Hinchcliffe has a superb sense for the slightly off detail . . . Hinchcliffe has crafted an exquisitely, horribly unreliable narrator. But if the character is not to be trusted, the author very much is: Hare House is a marvellously nasty piece of distinctly Scottish gothic
Dark and absorbing . . . A compelling chiller redolent of Zoe Heller's Notes on a Scandal, Hare House treads the treacherous line between the real and the supernatural with dexterity. It is also a beautiful, if sinister, evocation of the Dumfries and Galloway landscape (Fiona Rintoul)
Wonderfully evocative
A deeply unsettling modern-day tale of witchcraft
Hinchcliffe writes atmospherically . . . Fans of the supernatural will find much to enjoy in this eerie tale

Slightly gothic, it is a quietly eerie novel, beautifully written, one that keeps a reader alert
All stars
Most relevant
Gothic isn’t the right word for this curious and intriguing book as it is so understated yet completely atmospheric and gripping. The underlying witch element is handled with a lightness of touch contrasted against the unfolding of the story of the central protagonist’s experience of a strange incident from her past when she was a teacher in a girl’s’ school. I loved the evocative language which transported me to this remote part of Scotland and the beautiful narration. I heartily recommend it.

Intriguing and atmospheric

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I enjoyed this, the atmosphere created by the author was very good. There were a few slow moments and many walks were had which felt a bit repetitive.

Immediately after finishing it I felt very let down by the ending. I was expecting something more, or certainly more concrete. After a few days and more thought I came round to some extent, the reader is certainly left to come to their own conclusions which isn’t always a bad thing, but I think more of a resolution would have been welcome.

Atmospheric but let down by the ending

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Good story tied in to fainting phenomena and folklore. Enjoyable for the most part. The tension built up and pacing was excellent. The telling left me wanting to know more about what went before for a few of the key characters.

Original mystery

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I enjoyed the book but I am left a bit unsure about what the actual story was about, witches possibly but it didn’t seem to come to a proper conclusion

Not sure about the end

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I really enjoyed this book, in fact I’m going to listen to it again now. There are layers and depth to the characters and story that I want to appreciate more.
It’s well read and a gripping listen from beginning to end.

Intriguing story

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