Notes from the Shelf

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Widow’s Point: The Complete Haunting by Richard and W. H. Chizmar – Isolation & Terror
Genre: Horror
Pages: 336
Rating:  ★★★★☆
Buy: Bookshop.org

This post contains spoilers.

Book Blurb

“This is a bad place. I don’t think people are meant to live here.”

Longtime residents of Harper’s Cove believe that something is wrong with the Widow’s Point Lighthouse. Some say it’s cursed. Others claim it’s haunted.

Originally built in 1838, three workers were killed during the lighthouse’s construction, including one who mysteriously plunged to his death from the catwalk. That tragic accident was never explained, and it was just the beginning of the terror. In the decades that followed, nearly two dozen additional deaths occurred in or around the lighthouse including cold-blooded murder, suicide, unexplained accidents and disappearances, the slaughter of an entire family, and the inexplicable death of a Hollywood starlet who was filming a movie on the grounds.

The lighthouse was finally shuttered tight in 1988 and a security fence was erected around the property. No one has been inside since. Until now.

Told across two harrowing incidents from 2017 and 2025, those who enter the Widow’s Point Lighthouse searching for supernatural proof and the next big thing find themselves cut off from the outside world. And although no one has recently stepped foot inside the structure, they are not alone.

In this remarkable collaboration, father and son writing team, Richard and W.H. Chizmar combine forces to tell a terrifying ghost story that will make you think twice about what’s waiting for you in the dark.

My Thoughts

Widow’s Point: The Complete Haunting immediately hooked me with its found footage format. I’m always drawn to unconventional storytelling structures, but this one stood out as especially effective. Experiencing the narrative through camera feeds, timestamps, and fragmented video angles made the whole book feel unsettlingly real. Once the mannequins started moving, the tension skyrocketed. It’s genuinely one of the scariest books I’ve read in a long time.

The segmented camera-view structure also made the book incredibly easy to binge. Since the story is broken into visual “chunks” instead of standard chapters, I found myself reading far more in one sitting than I expected. The downside, at least for me, was that it made stopping points harder to determine. Without clear chapter breaks, I kept thinking “just one more segment,” and suddenly I was fifty pages deeper. It wasn’t bad, just different, and it challenged my usual reading rhythm.

One thing the authors absolutely nailed was the sensory detail. The static buzzing across the screens, the glitchy visuals, the claustrophobic feeling of observing everything from fixed camera angles; it all translated so vividly in my mind. I felt like I was watching the footage myself, waiting for something to flicker into view.

Emotionally, the story hit harder than I expected. I kept hoping at least one character would make it out alive, and the ending left me with this lingering sadness. The hopelessness in those final moments really stuck with me.

If I had one main criticism, it would be that I wanted more answers. The creature haunting the lighthouse is terrifying, but I was dying to know what exactly it was. Was it a demon? A spirit tied to the lighthouse’s tragedies? Something interdimensional? A physical creature living in the caves? And had it always been there, or did the initial disaster somehow awaken or summon it? I loved the mystery, but a touch more explanation could have made the resolution stronger.

I also wish we’d gotten more background on Professor Durand. Her involvement felt important, but her motivations and her history with Harper’s Cove were still fuzzy by the end. Why did she leave, and what compelled her to return? Those unanswered threads left me wanting just a little more depth.

One of the coolest things I learned afterward is that Widow’s Point originally began as a short story. Knowing that the authors expanded it for the novel actually makes me appreciate its structure even more. And honestly, I’d love to see it explored further. The world they set up—the lighthouse, the mysteries, the creature, the tragedies—feels rich enough for more stories.

Overall, Widow’s Point: The Complete Haunting is a chilling, creative horror experience that feels fresh in the found-footage subgenre. It creeped me out in all the right ways and left me hoping the Chizmars might return to Harper’s Cove someday.

Final Thoughts

Widow’s Point: The Complete Haunting delivers exactly what I want from a horror story: atmosphere, tension, and a narrative format that feels inventive without being gimmicky. The found-footage structure amplifies every eerie detail, the scares are memorable, and the emotional weight gives the story staying power. Even though I was left with a few lingering questions about the creature and certain character motivations, the overall experience was gripping and genuinely unsettling. If you’re looking for a horror novel that plays with format and keeps you on edge, this one is absolutely worth picking up.

If you want to check out ‘Widow’s Point: The Complete Haunting’, consider purchasing it through Bookshop.org. Supporting this link helps sustain independent bookstores and keeps this blog thriving.

Read Other Horror Reviews:
We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer
The Possession of Alba Diaz by Isabel Cañas
Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle

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