"Still you keep reading, half-believing that dark forces are stirring, the way you might feel a planchette sliding across a Ouija board. Is it really happening? Or are you convincing yourself there's more going on here than there really is? Either way, you enjoy the creepy thrill."--
New York Times Book Review "A solid addition to the treasury of campfire ghost stories. . . . The past in The Dead House is 'thick as tar, ' as one character puts it, and its evils are content to bide their time, waiting for unwary visitors."--Wall Street Journal
"A contemporary ghost story that will chill you to your bones."--Bustle
"Chilling, beautifully written . . . Fans of psychological thrillers with a ghostly undercurrent will be richly rewarded."--Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Billy O'Callaghan's The Dead House is a perfectly constructed ghost story, an authentically disquieting tale about the old, old cruelty that lives in the land and never dies. It really did scare me."--Owen King, author of Double Feature: A Novel and coauthor of Sleeping Beauties
"Atmospheric and unsettling, The Dead House takes the traditions of classic ghost stories and builds on them with a contemporary twist. A terrific read."--John Boyne, award-winning and New York Times-bestselling author
"A subdued chiller . . . There will be more than a few goosebumps raised before the reader finishes this one."--New York Journal of Books
"I know of no other writer on either side of the Atlantic who is better at exploring the human spirit under assault than Billy O'Callaghan."--Robert Olen Butler, winner of the Pulitzer Prize
"A moving work that builds to an elegiac climax and is a welcome voice to the pantheon of new Irish writing."--Edna O'Brien
"Billy O'Callaghan's work is at once subtle and direct, warm and clear-eyed, and never less than beautifully written. He has a moving ability to express the hopes and fears of 'ordinary' people, and he knows intimately the ways of the world. This writer is the real thing." --John Banville
"A tale of evil, of desperation, of things older than time . . . all the qualities of the very best ghost stories."--Fictionophile
"A superb debut novel . . . O'Callaghan slowly unsettles the reader, line by line, as reality is questioned . . . skilfully conjures up a sense of dread, while at the same time creating a psychological internal terror for his characters."--Evening Echo
"The all-nighter read . . . From the very first chapter, there's an eerily beautiful stillness to Billy O'Callaghan's debut. . . An engrossing, striking debut."--Image Magazine
"A skilfull, entertaining piece of work: a traditional ghost story in the best possible sense . . . The Dead House fulfils its formal obligations with subtlety and grace. . . . In particular, Michael's voice . . . affords considerable readerly pleasure. . . . O'Callaghan's descriptive prose reaches impressive heights."--Sunday Business Post
"The burdens of memory and the effects of isolation certainly run through O'Callaghan's work to date and The Dead House gives them a space in which the haunting of the past finds its most literal expression: the ghost."--Irish Examiner
"A great tale, well-told . . . O'Callaghan conjures such believable characters that when you close your eyes it's impossible to believe that they've never actually drawn a breath. He delivers a perfect ending to this ghost story ensuring the reader is left haunted, just enough, to have them looking over their shoulder as they climb the stairs to bed."--Susan Condon, writing.ie
"[A] striking debut. . . Billy O'Callaghan casts a fearful gaze into the world of supernatural occurrences."--RTE
"The Dead House, with a shiver-inducing final few pages, is a wonderfully mesmerising read, and I loved it."--Liz Robinson, www.lovereading.com
"Fills you with a psychological dread that is hard to shake. . . . Impressive."--writerfulbooks.com
"In a first-person voice unlike any other I've come across, O'Callaghan gifts us with a story that unfolds in just the way you'd want to hear it by the fireside . . best not read at night. And yet I'd be hard-pressed to label The Dead House a ghost story; though it is that, it is more. . . . All praise The Dead House. Do yourself a favor and get ahold of this book."--thewildgeese.irish
"Imaginative . . . O'Callaghan's descriptive prose brings the Irish countryside vibrantly to life."-- Book Reviews and More by Kathy
"Fans of gothic, psychological thrillers will definitely like this one."-- Jeanea's Book Obsession
". . . Still you keep reading, half-believing that dark forces are stirring, the way you might feel a planchette sliding across a Ouija board. Is it really happening? Or are you convincing yourself there's more going on here than there really is? Either way, you enjoy the creepy thrill."--
New York Times Book Review A solid addition to the treasury of campfire ghost stories. . . . The past in The Dead House is 'thick as tar, ' as one character puts it, and its evils are content to bide their time, waiting for unwary visitors.--Wall Street Journal
Bustle
"Chilling, beautifully written . . . Fans of psychological thrillers with a ghostly undercurrent will be richly rewarded."--Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Billy O'Callaghan's The Dead House is a perfectly constructed ghost story, an authentically disquieting tale about the old, old cruelty that lives in the land and never dies. It really did scare me."--Owen King, author of Double Feature: A Novel and coauthor of Sleeping Beauties
"Atmospheric and unsettling, The Dead House takes the traditions of classic ghost stories and builds on them with a contemporary twist. A terrific read."--John Boyne, award-winning and New York Times-bestselling author
A subdued chiller . . . There will be more than a few goosebumps raised before the reader finishes this one.--New York Journal of Books
I know of no other writer on either side of the Atlantic who is better at exploring the human spirit under assault than Billy O'Callaghan.--Robert Olen Butler, winner of the Pulitzer Prize
A moving work that builds to an elegiac climax and is a welcome voice to the pantheon of new Irish writing.--Edna O'Brien
Billy O'Callaghan's work is at once subtle and direct, warm and clear-eyed, and never less than beautifully written. He has a moving ability to express the hopes and fears of 'ordinary' people, and he knows intimately the ways of the world. This writer is the real thing. --John Banville
"A tale of evil, of desperation, of things older than time . . . all the qualities of the very best ghost stories."--Fictionophile
A superb debut novel . . . O'Callaghan slowly unsettles the reader, line by line, as reality is questioned . . . skilfully conjures up a sense of dread, while at the same time creating a psychological internal terror for his characters.--Evening Echo
The all-nighter read . . . From the very first chapter, there's an eerily beautiful stillness to Billy O'Callaghan's debut. . . An engrossing, striking debut.--Image Magazine
A skilfull, entertaining piece of work: a traditional ghost story in the best possible sense . . . The Dead House fulfils its formal obligations with subtlety and grace. . . . In particular, Michael's voice . . . affords considerable readerly pleasure. . . . O'Callaghan's descriptive prose reaches impressive heights.--Sunday Business Post
: The burdens of memory and the effects of isolation certainly run through O'Callaghan's work to date and The Dead House gives them a space in which the haunting of the past finds its most literal expression: the ghost.--Irish Examiner
A great tale, well-told . . . O'Callaghan conjures such believable characters that when you close your eyes it's impossible to believe that they've never actually drawn a breath. He delivers a perfect ending to this ghost story ensuring the reader is left haunted, just enough, to have them looking over their shoulder as they climb the stairs to bed.--Susan Condon, writing.ie
[A] striking debut. . . Billy O'Callaghan casts a fearful gaze into the world of supernatural occurrences.--RTE
The Dead House, with a shiver-inducing final few pages, is a wonderfully mesmerising read, and I loved it.--Liz Robinson, www.lovereading.com
Fills you with a psychological dread that is hard to shake. . . . Impressive--writerfulbooks.com
In a first-person voice unlike any other I've come across, O'Callaghan gifts us with a story that unfolds in just the way you'd want to hear it by the fireside . . best not read at night. And yet I'd be hard-pressed to label The Dead House a ghost story; though it is that, it is more. . . . All praise 'The Dead House. Do yourself a favor and get ahold of this book.--thewildgeese.irish
Imaginative . . . O'Callaghan's descriptive prose brings the Irish countryside vibrantly to life."-- Book Reviews and More by Kathy
"Fans of gothic, psychological thrillers will definitely like this one."-- Jeanea's Book Obsession
