Review | Bottled by Stephanie Ellis

As a child, Tyler lived in fear of his grandfather and his strange bottles. Now Tyler is an adult, his grandfather is dead and his life is entangled with the family secrets once again. He returns to the house where it all began, accompanied only by a housekeeper who despises him, and all the horrors left within.

The cold glass made him shiver. Even from this distance, he could feel the chill of the house and his grandfather seeping into him. His mother was wrong. The glass did have a bite.

Bottled is a unique tale of horror about a man haunted by a situation he cannot escape. This is a slow-building story with plenty of atmosphere and an unnerving sense of the unknown. I was drawn into the descriptions of the haunted house, and those bottles with the miniature places inside. When Tyler enters the house, it feels as if he is transported back in time. The flashbacks with his grandfather add to the feeling of displacement. The writing reflects his claustrophobic, anxious feelings. There are no jump-scares but a mounting sense of dread and a hint that whatever’s in the house is happy to keep Tyler in its clutches.

The book focuses mainly on Tyler’s relationships with his grandfather and other family members. I found Tyler to be a passive protagonist and it was frustrating to read. While I understand the story aims to show the helplessness of his situation, I thought he followed the whims of others too easily. The bulk of the story takes place over one night and there is not a lot of action but more a dive through dreams and memories. I admit my attention drifted at times and it’s not until near the end when all hell breaks loose that my attention is fully captured. The resolution to the secrets of the bottles is satisfying. The ending is a little vague but I thought it works perfectly in the context of the story.

Bottled is an interesting take on a haunted house horror with a dose of hereditary madness, and I look forward to reading more from the author.

I received a copy from the publisher for review purposes.

About the author: Stephanie Ellis

Photo by Annie Spratt