Description

The Weirdness swirls around Harold Schreiber and his family like snakes made of black mist. Where it comes from is unknown, but what it is doing is clear-it's eating away at the woodwork of this man's life. During his childhood, Harold's mother is more concerned with her garden club than with raising her two sons. His father is a silent lump of rage. His brother Derek is damaged to the edge of psychosis, and possibly beyond. Decades later, the neighborhood is going to hell. A visit to an abandoned mansion reveals two impossible men whose response to being discovered is not kind. Harold's sons are filled with inexplicable fury-and Halloween candy. A giant sea beast strikes at people on the beach where the Schreiber family is trying to vacation, and his wife is accused of murder. A steroid-addled colleague turns violent in health clubs and on the road. An old man is hit by an SUV on the big boulevard running through town and turns into an otherworldly being that may or may not be attacking drivers. Any other man might try to crawl into a hole and hide. His wife suggests he call the police when trouble comes. Harold is having none of it. He's got problems. His family, his neighborhood, and his bowling alley are under attack. He doesn't think much about what to do, he just wades into fights with his fists held high and takes whoever happens to be around into battle against the demons lurking in the streets. Voices are calling out to Harold to join the chaos of the neighborhood, to take part in the pure wanton joy of destruction. He can't do it. Somebody has to fight back, to put some order into things. Somewhere in the core of his being, he believes that he is the man to do it, even if his name is Schreiber. Horror House Detective, a novel in stories by Michael Gold, is the tale of a hard working family man besieged on all sides by The Weirdness-and he's sure as hell not going to run away from the fight.