I read this years ago and it stuck with me. I like horror stories that involve old buildings, rich families, secrets, mansions, ghosts, spooky kids, etc. It does not disappoint. I never got into Stephen King books as much as John Saul. This is where you start if you want to dive into horror.

Hellfire follows tracy and beth.
There is an old abandoned wind mill.
They both hook up with phillip.
There going to go to the wind mill.
It's a spooky wind mill.
Then the girls try to kill each other.
The old haunted wind mill.
I'll kill my best friend about u bit.
Still thoughts of that tin windmill toy.
With the grommet demon.
The hell fire lighter.
Is hell transindent.
A new plane of exsistancs.
Left in the ashes of hell.
The haunted wind mill.
Theres a dam in town.
That once had a wind mill.
I hate traci and Xavier.

Sooooo Philip and Carolyn were cousins??? Feel like that was kind of glossed over. Tracy was a despicable villain.

Just finished this one. Could've had a sequel, but I guess chose not to write one. Quick read.

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"Hellfire" is a haunted house (or haunted mill) story with a compelling premise and a subpar execution. The "table setting," as I heard someone once describe the first act of the story, is handled deftly enough. The second act makes promises though that the third act can't keep.

Beth Rogers is a young girl from a working class family who, after her parents' divorce, finds herself living in one of those "blended" families that is not really blending. Her stepsister, Tracy, is scioness to a fortune that her clan, the Sturgess family, amassed under conditions that would make a Dickensian urchin's face blush (assuming you could see his skin beneath the layers of coal).

To reveal much more would be to give up the game. Stuff happens at the mill (how's that for being vague in the spirit of avoiding spoilers?). Stuff also happens at the big house where the stodgy Sturgess family have lived for generations, looking down their noses at their servants and now holding those same noses as love puts the "white trash" Beth and her mother Carolyn in the master's suite.

Some of the scenes work as little horror vignettes, but the vague eeriness never really becomes something more, and one-too-many turns of the screw involving underdeveloped characters leaves one shrugging as opposed to shivering. Not enough Diabolus from this Machina, and considering the 80s produced a superabundance of great mass market paperback horror titles, anyone with access to a used bookstore need not be a beggar when it only costs a couple bucks to be choosy. John Saul is not bad, but frankly Stephen King could write better than this even blackout drunk and under deadline.

Excellent book by a great horror book author. I have enjoyed all of John Saul's books so far and plan on reading many more. Looking forward to another great scary story.

On times the book lasts forever to get to good parts, it's not the best book i ever read but I love the end, creepines is level 10+ :D

I read this book about 16 years ago and after rereading it again recently it still holds the same thrills as it did before. Wish there would have been a sequel.

I don't review favorite authors.
3.5 stars. Slower than the average Saul horror, but still a good ghost story.

Another ghost story is cleverly and skillfully delivered to us by John Saul. While the book starts out a little slow, it soon turns into a fast-paced page turner. Saul is amazing at including imagery that makes us feel as if we are part of the story and he has a great talent for developing characters that we find ourselves feeling strongly about. We know immediately who to root for and who we want to fail.
This story is a little “creepier” than The Unwanted and Nathaniel. While Nathaniel was definitely eerie, Hell Fire contains more violence and frightening imagery. However, that’s part of what adds to the greatness of the story. The plot is filled with mystery, violence, history, and revenge.
Another great thing about Hell Fire is that it touches on so many issues that are relevant in the world today. The story is not only a ghost story, but it also deals with class and the resentment that one side of a town has for the other. The story also touches on the hatred that one sibling can have for another and how jealousy can turn a person into something someone else may have never thought imaginable. If you’re looking for a book that has many facets and is scary at the same time as relevant, Hell Fire is definitely for you!

This was really a Rollercoaster. So many things happened, and so many emotions overcame me. I 100% reccomend this book if you like ghosts and haunted buildings!