Grave’s End (Book)
Dread Central Staff
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Grave’s End: A True Ghost Story
By Elaine Mercado, R.N.
Published by Llewellyn
174 pages
A family in dire straits moves into a house and finds that they are not the only residents. Familiar setting, familiar premise, but Grave’s End won’t be found in the horror section of the local bookstore. It’s in the same section with books on spiritualism and the occult. Why? Because the familiar tale that has graced the pages of many a fiction novel is, in this case, a true story.
Elaine Mercado, her husband, and their children found the Brooklyn, New York, house in the fall of 1982. They fell in love with it immediately and moved in shortly thereafter. What followed was a thirteen-year ordeal during which the family heard voices, saw shapes and lights, and experienced terrifying physical phenomena worthy of any best seller.
Mercado tells her story in a frank, matter-of-fact style that makes the reader feel as if she’s an old friend. Her relationships with her husband and children are as much fair game as her relationships with the entities within the house, letting the readers see the effects of such events on an already deteriorating marriage as well as the victims’ state of mind.
Most compelling about Grave’s End are the vivid descriptions of the phenomena as well as the fear created by each. She tells of nights lying in her bed, unable to move or even breathe because of unseen forces that pressed her into her mattress, while invisible hands touched her legs. With every page and every incident she paints a chilling portrait of a family thrust into the world of the paranormal.
As much as it is a tale of strange happenings and terror, Grave’s End is also one of triumph on many levels. Unable to simply pack up and leave, Elaine found herself trapped in this house with forces she knew nothing about. While others in her situation might have given up and lost their relationships, or even their sanity, she found a way to fight back and reclaim the serenity of her household.
The book contains an introduction by noted parapsychologist Dr. Hans Holzer, who investigated the case. His assurances, along with Mercado’s own style of telling the facts as they happened, makes this book an enthralling read and a must for anyone who has any interest in the world of the paranormal.
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