Ravenkill - a novel in the Gothic tradition

A young woman travels to a small, coastal town in New England to take a job with a family she has never met - in a dark, foreboding mansion set high atop the cliffs overlooking the Atlantic - to a place she's never been, with people she has never seen - but who will soon fill all the days and nights of her tomorrows.  Boy, that sure sounds like the opening scene to Dan Curtis' first episode of Dark Shadows that aired on June 27, 1966.  Interestingly enough, though, that description is for a book that was published in 1965, a year prior to Dark Shadows hitting the small screen!  Coincidence, or something much darker?  Well, we are talking about gothic novels, and let's face it - there are only so many variations to the same plot that can be written!  So, while Dan Curtis had young Victoria Winters heading off to Collinsport to become the new governess at the Collins' homestead high atop Widow's Hill, author Paulette Warren gave readers a different cast of characters for that same plot.

Ravenkill is the story of Jennifer Wonderly, a 25-year old librarian from the Midwest who receives a strange invitation to go to Maine and help sort out a wealthy recluse's personal library of books in his gloomy Maine mansion known as "Ravenkill."  The man in question, John Belaman, happens to have lived briefly in Jennifer's hometown, years before she was born, and he knew Jennifer's mother.  But he never met her, and he could not have been aware that Jennifer's mother recently died.  So how did he know where to find her?  How did he know she was a librarian?  And how did he know his invitation would fill her with so much curiosity that she could not help but go to the cliffside house in Maine?  If she thought she would receive answers to any of those questions, she was sorely mistaken!  This is a gothic tale, after all, and it would not be complete without an air of mystery, a hint of supernatural, and a whole lot of suspense!

The tale takes Jennifer to a "mansion of cripples," as the author refers to it more than once in the book.  This was the 1960s, so making such a statement would not have been as offensive as it is now.  Instead, the term is used to instill a certain level of uncertainty and fear, as Jennifer must adjust to living in the same house as a misshapen small person, a regal beauty with a damaged leg, and that woman's young daughter who is mentally disabled.  To make matters worse, Gaspar (the little person) and Agatha Pate (the beautiful housekeeper) clearly do not want here there!  Then there is the fact that her host - John Belaman, the man who invited her there - remains secluded away in the mansion somewhere and will not come out to see her.  And what is up with the weird music she hears at night as she drifts off to sleep?  Belaman is a former pianist, so is he playing late at night, or is it something more sinister?  Something to do with his sister and her husband, who fell to their deaths from the cliff behind Ravenkill some years ago...

Warren does not forget to include a hero (or, at least, a character who appears to be a hero) in the form of Garth McCroy, an artist who lives in a small shack on the beach, down at the bottom of the cliffs.  He takes an instant liking to Jennifer, and she finds herself attracted to him.  But he has secrets of his own, connections to Ravenkill and the people in that house that could spell disaster for Jennifer!  Throw in a ghostly apparition in white that visits the lonely grave of Belaman's deceased brother-in-law in the dead of night, placing fresh roses on his grave.  Is it a ghost, or is someone from Ravenkill simply trying to frighten her away?  Again, so many questions, and for Jennifer, the answers may not be what she is expecting.

The name of the author, Paulette Warren, is a pseudonym, as so many for these gothic novels are.  In this instance, the real author is Paul Warren Fairman (1916 - 1977), a rather prolific writer who published stories in any number of genres - from detective stories to science fiction tales to western adventures to gothic novels.  The gothics he wrote under the female pseudonym of "Paulette Warren" (a feminization of his first name and then using his middle name for her last).  This is the first gothic I've read from this author, and I will say I found the story engaging - and I can't really say he ripped-off Dark Shadows, since this actually came out first - making one wonder if Dan Curtis read this novel, or perhaps his wife told him about it, and it inspired the "dream" he allegedly had of a girl heading off to a mysterious house that was the beginnings of his gothic soap.

Something I did find somewhat odd about the book is that the author changes the point-of-view several times throughout the story.  Chapter One is told from Jennifer's POV, and contains five lettered sub-parts; then Chapter Two is told from Gaspar's POV, with only two lettered sub-parts.  Chapter Three reverts back to Jennifer, with Chapter Four also from Jennifer's POV, while Chapter Five turns once again to Gaspar.  This reminds me of the Hardy Boys books that have been published since the early 2000s, where the first person point-of-view alternates between the two brothers with each chapter.  I had never seen that before, but clearly there is precedent, since this book was published some 40 years before the Hardy Boys, Undercover Brothers and Hardy Boys Adventures series were ever imagined.  What this does for the story, though, is give the reader insight into Gaspar and some of the inner-workings of what is really going on at Ravenkill - although, I give Warren (Fairman) credit, as he does not spoil some the surprises at the end - those twists are only somewhat hinted at, so that their revelation comes with a bit of a shock.

Definitely worth the read, and it makes me want to read more of Paulette Warren's books.

RATING:  9 cups of coffee at the kitchen table out of 10 for a creepy, twisted gothic tale that is not afraid to go beyond what some may considerable normal boundaries to tell a tragic, horrifying story!