Book Review: The West Grand Haunting

The West Grand Haunting was written by Michael Oka and published by Madhouse Books in 2024. You can purchase it on Amazon/Kindle and you can visit the author on Amazon.

A ghost story turns the pages, but what tugged at my heart? The difficult and rewarding relationship between a father and a son.

Author Michael Oka recounts his experiences as a child growing up in California. This autobiographical work focuses on the memories of just being a kid, being bullied at school, as well as dealing with his family life, in which his parents eventually divorce, but the main crux of the story tells about living in a haunted house. He explains that in the root cellar, "in the belly of the house, it comes awake." He and his younger sister have a few encounters that are not revealed for many years later, when they are adults, and their parents also eventually open up about what happened to them on West Grand. This coming of age saga is a mix of paranormal happenings, along with an honest and courageous emotional ride through a man's life, where he lays it all out, showing both the good, bad and the horror of a life lived.

As a paranormal investigator with over ten years' experience, I was immediately drawn to pick up this novella and give it a read. As a skeptic, but one with an open mind, I took in the experiences offered by the author and found them interesting and absorbing, as he remembers them from the point of view of a child. The question that played over and over in my head was, "What is in that root cellar?". A good ghost story turns the pages, but there is more here that tugged at my heart. The difficult and rewarding relationship between a father and a son took this haunted spiritual story to its highest heights. It's as if the author let loose on the page and lets "all of it" come out. It's a remarkable thing when a writer can do that, and often, it's a very courageous endeavor. I read this remarkable story in one sitting and literally could not put it down. This is a must read!

I give The West Grand Haunting 5 out of 5 stars.