The Silent Companions

When I first read the back of this book I thought, "How frightening can wooden, life-sized figures tucked away in a remote mansion be?" Answer: A lot.

When the book opens, Elsie Bainbridge’s husband has died (mysteriously). When she discovers the strange totems the servants are terrified of locked away in the attic, something is definitely…not right. Once the figures’ eyes appear to move and Elsie finds them in different places in the house as if they move of their own accord, her piece of mine starts to unravel. And so did mine.

Laura Purcell writes classic Victorian, historical Gothic horror novels updated for modern sensibilities. My two favorites of hers are The Silent Companions and The Poison Thread. Both are creepy as hell and unrelentingly grim, but The Silent Companions checks all the Gothic boxes from the isolated country estate with a mysterious locked door to its sinister doll-like carved companions, with a descent into madness to boot. Eerie and psychologically complex, it would make du Maurier proud. A great Halloween read, or perfect for any dark and stormy night.

I may be recommending gothics for a cold winter’s night, but I highly suggest not reading this at night. Unless you want to jump out of your skin at every creak and scraping sound in your house. Laura Purcell is the master of classic Gothic, and this book, with its twisting storylines – an asylum-bound woman slowly remembering why she has been committed, the incredibly creepy run-down mansion she comes to call home, the even stranger stories of occupants of that house from hundreds of years past, and the silent companions themselves – painted wood cutouts of previous members of… show more.