The Residence: A Novel
Jane Pierce, wife of Franklin Pierce, is submerged in grief. Clever but always melancholic and unstable, Jane never wished to be First Lady; she resents her husband’s successful bid for the presidency. When her last surviving child, Bennie, is the sole casualty of a train accident on the way to take up residence in Washington, DC, the first couple’s relationship and Jane’s tenuous grip on her emotions further degrades. In a desperate bid for some kind of contact with Bennie, Jane employs the Fox sisters to conduct a séance, and their farce somehow turns into something real – a malevolent presence, lurking in the background, is now fully released into the White House. Yet this presence is not unfamiliar to Jane…
This is a deliciously creepy horror story that occasionally loses its way when it strays from its central triad. For the most part, Pyper excels in creating a Gothic atmosphere for the White House, especially in the way he manages to isolate Jane and Franklin by eliminating the effect of a house full of servants, bureaucrats, etc. His depiction of the form and relationship utilized by the malign presence to influence Jane and Franklin (namely a sinister version of their dead child) is chillingly effective. There is imagery here, conveyed through the capable prose, which will resonate and linger. Fans of horror and suspense will find much that appeals in Pyper’s take on the Franklins’ tragedy.
