The Ghost of Channing House

The Ghost of Channing House by Genevieve St. John

published by Lancer Books
Copyright 1967

OF HOPE
AND HORROR (quite a promising start)

The Channing Mansion was a bizarre pile of
stone stucco ... and misguided hopes. Anita
Collins could remember it only as she had first
seen it: barren, dripping with cobwebs, nearly
ghostly in its state of neglect. Its new owner
had spent thousands of dollars to rebuild it,
furnish it elegantly, and restore it to pulsing,
exciting life. But Anita was right ... for death
hovered over the house, striking unpredictably
and apparently without reason. Death
interrupted the first opulent dinner party; death
lurked in every shadowy corner and cranny ...

Anita was merely a guest, but she felt strangely
responsible. Perhaps, she thought, she might
cast rational light on the seemingly supernatural
menace when others could see only looming
terror. But then it began to appear that only
Anita's own death would lift the sinister curse -
and she learned what real fear was!

Firstly, Anita needs to let go of the past. How disappointing it is to spend thousands of dollars on cleaning up a place only to have your mopey house guest dwell on past cobwebs. Now, the whole death around ever corner thing is a whole other story. But still, she is no life of the party.

The book as a whole is only added to by the wonderful addition of a 4 page foldout advertisement for TRUE® Cigarettes. I don't know about you, I haven't really read a gothic romance novel that warranted a smoke afterwards.

I can't find a credit on the cover art but I think this illustration is pretty sharp. I mean, I can easily image the overwhelming need to flee a newly remodeled, cobweb free house that was so powerful that I would leave without my shoes.