Badly-written story that feels like a novelization of a '60s schlocky drive-in flick starring a knock-off Vincent Price imitator. No suspense, female protagonist becomes conveniently weak-willed when it becomes necessary to build tension and puts herself into a situation that was easily avoidable.Sometimes there's good writing and an eye-rolling pun and the book is quick to read through, but it's not fun. It's just a time-waster.

Coming on the heels of reading Devil in the White City (and I had no idea this book was about H. H. Holmes until I had read a couple pages!), this book falls a little flat. I think I would have had a different experience with it if I had read it first, but as it is, I could identify all the inaccuracies, and was not surprised by the reveals that were accurate.

3.5Smooth, quick read that kept my attention. Classic Gothic horror--just enough info to let you know what sins and scandals were happening without the gory/sexual details. I didn't know anything about who this was inspired by or the serial killings around the 1893 world's fair, so it was new-to-me subject matter.

Really good story. Kept me interested with all the twists and turns. I would recommend this book.

Great book!

The end was fine. The first 220 or so pages were a snooze, except when they said hornswoggled twice.

Robert Bloch's fictionalized account of the notorious serial killer, H. H. Holmes. Holmes was also the subject of Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America which I thought was a great nonfictional account of Holmes and the murders he committed during the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. Holmes may have killed as many as 200 people, mostly young unsuspecting women. What motivated Holmes is a mystery, but he is considered one of America...

uuhhhgggggthis could have been great, but robert bloch spent a lot of time making sure it wasn't.

In terms of style, Bloch is very workmanlike here, and there’s nothing much to admire about his writing other than the fact that it gets the job done. The focus is on the storytelling, and this is a fiction that has as its basis the true story of H. H. Holmes, perhaps the most incredible serial killer of all time. Really, how is this guy is less notorious than Jack the Ripper? He not only committed a lot more murders but he built a massive hotel designed specifically to cater for his evil hobby....

I try not to give 5 stars, but I was impressed. I liked the use of a strong willed heroine, which was rare in Bloch's time of writing. But not uncommon for Bloch (Lila Crane, Elinor Harris, Lori Holmes, and possibly Diana Rideaux and Daisy.)

Fictionalized account of the story of HH Holmes, which is more completely told in The Devil in the White City Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson. Bloch turns the story into somewhat less of an adventure than the truth, by adding a plucky, inquisitive, young, female journalist, quite in tune with the mid-1970s in which the book was published, but out of place in the 1890s in which the book is set, turning the villain into a more Blackbeard-ish character. A

Terrific, short novel. I read the first page and couldn't put it down. It's based on the same case as The Devil in the White City. America's first serial killer, H.H. Holmes.

wtf where did that hypnotism scene come from haha i know bloch based the character on h.h. holmes but wtf lol

Read in 1975. Horror novel about serial killer H. H. Holmes which coincidentally was the same topic for Erik Larsen's The Devil In The White City. Interesting.

I try to collect Bloch books when I can. If you don't already know, he's best known for writing the bestselling novel, Psycho, later turned into the unforgettable movie by Hitchcock. A lot of his work is very good, as his writing style is simple to read but strangely creative at the same time.American Gothic is nowhere as fortunate in the talent department as Psycho was, or actually as decent as his other works. Based on the H.H. Holmes murders in the turn of the century Chicago, the novel stays...

Boring. Extreme lack of detail and description and the all-time lamest ways for a maniac serial killer to kill.

A fast, fun read! Like Ray Russell, Robert Bloch is so readable, the pages just fly. Some people call this book predictable, but I didn't think so. Just an enjoyable Gothic Mystery loosely based on the H.H.Holmes murders and the Colombian Expedition Fair. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

I had no idea. I recently finished the non-fiction book The Devil in the White City, which is about the Columbian Exposition of 1893 set against the doings of serial killer H. H. Holmes, and, at the time, I thought that was the end of it. But I was looking for a book to read yesterday and my hand went to American Gothic. I didn't bother to read the blurb, just started reading. Within four pages: "The castle," "Chicago," "G. Gordon Gregg" -- well, I was hooked.Bloch, of course, takes a number of

This was a great read to start the summer. I especially liked that it was written as if it was from the Victorian era. Nothing gruesome is spelled out in great detail. T he author allows the reader to use their imagination to fill in the blanks. That's a refreshing change from today's horribly precise novels. Yes, it's a bit predictable, but I didn't mind. There were enough twists to keep it interesting, and some archaic words I had to look up to add to my vocabulary. Looking forward to reading

It’s so sad that G. Gordon Gregg’s wife died when she drunkenly set their house on fire. And just when things were looking up for the couple. Gregg has just completed creating a new transient apartment building with a castle-like facade and a thriving pharmacy on the ground floor. Between his private medical practice and a tourist boom because of the World’s Fair filling up the rental units, Dr. Gregg is sitting pretty. But when her fiance Jim delivers the insurance check to Gregg, reporter Crys...