A History of Fear
Ratings10
Average rating4.2
15
Ratings10
Average rating4.2
The Devil is in Scotland.
“A disorientating, creepy, paranoia-inducing reimagining of the devil-made-me-do-it tale” (Paul Tremblay, author of The Cabin at the End of the World) following the harrowing downfall of a tortured graduate student arrested for murder.
Grayson Hale, the most infamous murderer in Scotland, is better known by a different name: the Devil’s Advocate. The twenty-five-year-old American grad student rose to instant notoriety when he confessed to the slaughter of his classmate Liam Stewart, claiming the Devil made him do it.
When Hale is found hanged in his prison cell, officers uncover a handwritten manuscript that promises to answer the question that’s haunted the nation for years: was Hale a lunatic, or had he been telling the truth all along?
Unnervingly, Hale doesn’t fit the bill of a killer. The first-person narrative that centers this novel reveals an acerbic young atheist, newly enrolled at the University of Edinburgh to carry on the legacy of his recently deceased father. In need of cash, he takes a job ghostwriting a mysterious book for a dark stranger, but has misgivings when the project begins to reawaken his satanophobia, a rare condition that causes him to live in terror that the Devil is after him. As he struggles to disentangle fact from fear, Grayson’s world is turned upside-down after events force him to confront his growing suspicion that he’s working for the one he has feared all this time—and that the book is only the beginning of their partnership.
A History of Fear is a propulsive foray into the darkness of the human psyche, marrying dread-inducing atmosphere and heart-palpitating storytelling.
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Reviews with the most likes.
saltburn + conjuring 3 +the secret history = this book
and i LOVED it
There was nothing wrong, I just couldn't get into it. I may have been to excited about my other library books or something, I don't know. Whatever my problem was, I couldn't finish it before it was due back at the library. Maybe I'll check it out again some other time.
A queer American grad student in Scotland - with Satan and nested narratives!
Top-notch psychological horror!
Cw for assault/abuse and suicide - SUPER dark read
This book sucked me in, had me flipping through pages, and then left me with so many questions. It was perfect.
After Grayson Hale's father dies he decides to explore the legacy his father left by enrolling in the University of Edinburgh. However, his time in Scotland morphs into him becoming one of the most infamous murderers in Scotland and he becomes the Devil's Advocate as the headlines name him. The reason Grayson is written about in every major Scotland news outlet is not just because he is an American who murders his classmate, but because he claimed the Devil made him do it. Grayson doesn't seem to be your typical murderer and after Grayson commits suicide while in prison people are left with even more questions.
First, the way this book is written really pulled me in. Reading the details through Grayson's eyes with anecdotes from the case and media reporter helped answer questions while also providing more questions. Grayson was an academic student and reading what was his words I very much felt that's what I was reading - an academic manuscript. While that lead me to have to look up some words, I'll never be upset to add to my vocabulary.
As a horror fan and someone that appreciates the mental health struggles that many people face, I do enjoy stories that make you question if things are “real” or apart of a mental health episode, if done well, and this book delivered on that. After finishing this book and allowing days to pass to let it sink in I still am not sure what was what. There was also an LGBTQ+ undercurrent throughout the book that came full circle by the end of the book that I really understood.
Overall, I very much enjoyed this book. There are parts that are very sad and horrific so I recommend checking TW's but if you're cool with them I highly recommend!
