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Annabelle
Make Believe Terror
Jessica liked to play make believe in the old abandoned stone mansion. She liked to pretend that the beautiful golden haired woman in the portrait was her mother. And that the big dollhouse she had found upstairs was hers, along with the family of dolls who lived there. Sometimes she was sure the dolls moved all by themselves. Sometimes she even heard them whisper to her. Only instead of calling her Jessica, they always called her Annabelle.
Life Like Horror
Annabelle had come back to them. The dolls had lived for so long by themselves. With no one to dust them off, play with them or love them. But now Annabelle had come back. And everything would be just like it was before. Only this time, they would never let anyone hurt Annabelle. And anyone who tried would soon discover that pretty dollies can have very ugly tempers.
Jessica liked to play make believe in the old abandoned stone mansion. She liked to pretend that the beautiful golden haired woman in the portrait was her mother. And that the big dollhouse she had found upstairs was hers, along with the family of dolls who lived there. Sometimes she was sure the dolls moved all by themselves. Sometimes she even heard them whisper to her. Only instead of calling her Jessica, they always called her Annabelle.
Life Like Horror
Annabelle had come back to them. The dolls had lived for so long by themselves. With no one to dust them off, play with them or love them. But now Annabelle had come back. And everything would be just like it was before. Only this time, they would never let anyone hurt Annabelle. And anyone who tried would soon discover that pretty dollies can have very ugly tempers.
332 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1987
About the author
Ruby Jean Jensen
38 books198 followers
Ruby Jean Jensen
Born McDonald County, Missouri, USA, March 1, 1927
Died November 16, 2010
Website http://www.rubyjeanjensen.com
Twitter RubyJeanJensen1
Facebook www.facebook.com/Rjjhorror
Ruby Jean Jensen authored 30 published and 4 not yet published novels, and over 200 short stories. Her passion for writing developed at an early age, and she worked for many years to develop her writing skills. After having many short stories published, in 1974 the novel The House that Samael Built was accepted for publication. She then quickly established herself as a professional author, with representation by a Literary Agent from New York. She subsequently sold 29 more novels to several New York publishing houses. After four Gothic Romance, three Occult and then three Horror novels, MaMa was published by Zebra books in 1983. With Zebra, Ruby Jean completed nineteen more novels in the Horror genre.
Ruby was involved with creative writing groups for many years, and she often took the time to encourage young authors and to reply to fan mail.
Ruby Jean, a supreme story-teller, quickly captures and holds your attention. Her books, written for adults, are also suitable for adolescents and young adults. She continues to have an enthusiastic following in the Horror genre.
Born McDonald County, Missouri, USA, March 1, 1927
Died November 16, 2010
Website http://www.rubyjeanjensen.com
Twitter RubyJeanJensen1
Facebook www.facebook.com/Rjjhorror
Ruby Jean Jensen authored 30 published and 4 not yet published novels, and over 200 short stories. Her passion for writing developed at an early age, and she worked for many years to develop her writing skills. After having many short stories published, in 1974 the novel The House that Samael Built was accepted for publication. She then quickly established herself as a professional author, with representation by a Literary Agent from New York. She subsequently sold 29 more novels to several New York publishing houses. After four Gothic Romance, three Occult and then three Horror novels, MaMa was published by Zebra books in 1983. With Zebra, Ruby Jean completed nineteen more novels in the Horror genre.
Ruby was involved with creative writing groups for many years, and she often took the time to encourage young authors and to reply to fan mail.
Ruby Jean, a supreme story-teller, quickly captures and holds your attention. Her books, written for adults, are also suitable for adolescents and young adults. She continues to have an enthusiastic following in the Horror genre.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
May 13, 2021
After five-year-old Jessica’s mother runs out on her and her father (who live in a small Louisiana country town) for life in the big city (New Orleans) Jessica starts playing in an old, abandoned, and decrepit house (Blahough mansion) next door. She thinks it looks like a castle. It is said to be haunted, but Jessica likes it. She loves exploring in it. She pretends a lady in a large, dusty picture she finds in the mansion, holding a baby, is now her mother. And Jessica loves playing with the dolls she finds in a large dollhouse in one of the bedrooms. But strange things are happening. Rocking chairs move on their own, the dolls are lifelike and walk around. Sometimes Jessica feels as though they are talking to her, and they call her Annabelle. But why? Who was/is Annabelle? Soon, people are disappearing, accidents and deaths are occurring. The family is concerned about Jessica because she is having nightmares and has become withdrawn…
This sure was a spooky and very captivating read! I really had a hard time putting this book down. It had a lot of eerie atmosphere, with the dark, creepy mansion, and those chilling, sinister dolls! Jessica was either pretty brave or stupid to go into that house alone. There were some unlikable characters and some likable characters. I felt bad when some of them were killed. The book had a lot of drama, excitement, and scares towards the end of the story.
Another entertaining read by Ruby Jean Jensen.
This sure was a spooky and very captivating read! I really had a hard time putting this book down. It had a lot of eerie atmosphere, with the dark, creepy mansion, and those chilling, sinister dolls! Jessica was either pretty brave or stupid to go into that house alone. There were some unlikable characters and some likable characters. I felt bad when some of them were killed. The book had a lot of drama, excitement, and scares towards the end of the story.
Another entertaining read by Ruby Jean Jensen.
November 21, 2020
Five year old Jessica is magically drawn to a mysterious old mansion, the Blahough Mansion, near their home. Why are the dolls calling her Annabelle and what about the ghost like character of the blonde woman? What happens to the old housekeeper, her real mother and her brother? This is an extremely creepy horror novel about possessed dolls and some evil going ons in a family that lived in the decrepit old mansion a long time ago. The characters are convincing, the dolls absolutely sinister. This is one of the scariest novels I read for a long time. When you enter the old mansion the setting couldn't be spookier. I'm very enthusiastic about the book. A real 80s classic, slowly building up tension, great final, tight Gothic atmosphere. After this novel you will see dolls in a new and different light. Highly recommended!
June 20, 2020
ANNABELLE, by Ruby Jean Jensen is NOT based on the real Annabelle doll that resides in the Warren's museum. I point that out only because with the popularity of the ANNABELLE movies, many assume this is. This is the Zebra paperback, published in 1987. The attitudes, roles, and even appliances (think land-line phones) are accurate for the time that this book was written in. While part of me bristled with some of the "beliefs" on a woman's duties, I have to admit that this was a part of that generation.
Jessica, a young girl--neglected by her own mother--finds a derelict mansion near their own home. Although falling apart, she is drawn inside to a little girl's room that contains some very life-like, very protective dolls that seem to think Jessica is their former owner, Annabelle.
From there on, the horror shifts from the dolls, to the picture of a beautiful woman (that Jessica believes is her REAL mother). I really enjoyed the fact that we were not privy to the exact details of the first family--completely--right from the start. The air of mystery was much more effective in this tale.
I do have to say that I never felt a connection to any of Jessica's family--other than the child, herself. The family of Annabelle, seemed much more "real" in comparison. The ending was action-packed, but perhaps a little too sudden with some revelations. Overall, a good read, but not one I would consider a "classic" in the sense that so many books from that time period seemed to revolve around the same themes.
Jessica, a young girl--neglected by her own mother--finds a derelict mansion near their own home. Although falling apart, she is drawn inside to a little girl's room that contains some very life-like, very protective dolls that seem to think Jessica is their former owner, Annabelle.
From there on, the horror shifts from the dolls, to the picture of a beautiful woman (that Jessica believes is her REAL mother). I really enjoyed the fact that we were not privy to the exact details of the first family--completely--right from the start. The air of mystery was much more effective in this tale.
I do have to say that I never felt a connection to any of Jessica's family--other than the child, herself. The family of Annabelle, seemed much more "real" in comparison. The ending was action-packed, but perhaps a little too sudden with some revelations. Overall, a good read, but not one I would consider a "classic" in the sense that so many books from that time period seemed to revolve around the same themes.
April 23, 2024
4.5 stars
"When you cross the threshold of that house you can feel it – its evilness. Things are different in that house. Those dolls came out of the house.”
Little five year-old Jessica is having a rough summer. Her mother has decided she’s tired of rural living and being a mother, and leaves both her daughter and her much older husband behind as she takes off for New Orleans. Jessica’s teenage half-brother can’t be bothered with keeping his little sister entertained, and her adult half-sister lives in California. Father Paul, a successful businessman with attitudes about women and child rearing that are dated even by the standards of the 1980’s, is emotionally unavailable at best and keeps himself away from the home and all aspects of childcare. So when Jessica spies an abandoned castle-like house across the meadow and hears voices from inside calling for her to come and play, how can she resist?
Annabelle by Ruby Jean Jensen is a creepy doll horror tale that actually delivers creepy dolls. These aren’t lifeless toys that just add atmosphere or possibly hint at a crumbling grip on reality for the characters, these are walking, talking, murderous dolls who are willing to get their tiny porcelain hands bloody to protect Annabelle, the owner they lost and who they now believe has finally returned to reclaim them and live with them again in their dollhouse.
She felt a struggling movement in her hands, something deep within the straw working in a terrible effort. Jessica pulled her hands away, swiftly, and pushed back against the wall of the doll house. She stared open-mouthed at the doll as it struggled to rise.
Jessica is soon spending all of her playtime at the old Blahough estate, White Oaks, and has captured the attention of not only the dolls, but a decidedly sinister specter who stalks the hallways in high heeled shoes and an all-consuming rage.
This is my second book by Jensen after Mama and I think I can safely say that the author deserves more attention. The writing is really engrossing and the story gets surprisingly dark. There are some horrific scenes of child abuse, and no character is safe or off limits.
Annabelle and Jensen aren’t messing around, and this is a wonderful Southern Gothic gem from the 80’s. I’ve gone ahead and ordered my next two reads by Jensen in their glorious vintage paperback form, because I’m pretty sure that she’s not going to let me down.
I did round down my rating to four stars because the ending left a little to be desired, but I thought this was a much better than average example of vintage doll and haunted house horror.
"When you cross the threshold of that house you can feel it – its evilness. Things are different in that house. Those dolls came out of the house.”
Little five year-old Jessica is having a rough summer. Her mother has decided she’s tired of rural living and being a mother, and leaves both her daughter and her much older husband behind as she takes off for New Orleans. Jessica’s teenage half-brother can’t be bothered with keeping his little sister entertained, and her adult half-sister lives in California. Father Paul, a successful businessman with attitudes about women and child rearing that are dated even by the standards of the 1980’s, is emotionally unavailable at best and keeps himself away from the home and all aspects of childcare. So when Jessica spies an abandoned castle-like house across the meadow and hears voices from inside calling for her to come and play, how can she resist?
Annabelle by Ruby Jean Jensen is a creepy doll horror tale that actually delivers creepy dolls. These aren’t lifeless toys that just add atmosphere or possibly hint at a crumbling grip on reality for the characters, these are walking, talking, murderous dolls who are willing to get their tiny porcelain hands bloody to protect Annabelle, the owner they lost and who they now believe has finally returned to reclaim them and live with them again in their dollhouse.
She felt a struggling movement in her hands, something deep within the straw working in a terrible effort. Jessica pulled her hands away, swiftly, and pushed back against the wall of the doll house. She stared open-mouthed at the doll as it struggled to rise.
Jessica is soon spending all of her playtime at the old Blahough estate, White Oaks, and has captured the attention of not only the dolls, but a decidedly sinister specter who stalks the hallways in high heeled shoes and an all-consuming rage.
This is my second book by Jensen after Mama and I think I can safely say that the author deserves more attention. The writing is really engrossing and the story gets surprisingly dark. There are some horrific scenes of child abuse, and no character is safe or off limits.
Annabelle and Jensen aren’t messing around, and this is a wonderful Southern Gothic gem from the 80’s. I’ve gone ahead and ordered my next two reads by Jensen in their glorious vintage paperback form, because I’m pretty sure that she’s not going to let me down.
I did round down my rating to four stars because the ending left a little to be desired, but I thought this was a much better than average example of vintage doll and haunted house horror.
November 29, 2008
This is one of those books that I bought at a garage sale, it's never won any awards, no one even knows about it but it's CREEPY. If you're like me and think that lifesized porcelain dolls in haunted mansions with a terrifying past are scary as hell, you'll love this book! I would wait and read it around Halloween time to make it that much scarier.
It's an easy read, not challenging at all, just a really eerie book about a young girl who finds an old abandoned mansion and makes it her place to play. She finds a dollhouse that must have belonged to a little girl who lived there a long time ago, complete with a lifesized porcelain doll family. The dolls begin to take on lives of their own and believe that the young girl is their owner, come back to play with them after so many years. When the little girl's family finds out she's been playing in an abandoned house, she is forbidden to set foot in it again. The dolls do not like that their owner has been taken away from them again.....
It's an easy read, not challenging at all, just a really eerie book about a young girl who finds an old abandoned mansion and makes it her place to play. She finds a dollhouse that must have belonged to a little girl who lived there a long time ago, complete with a lifesized porcelain doll family. The dolls begin to take on lives of their own and believe that the young girl is their owner, come back to play with them after so many years. When the little girl's family finds out she's been playing in an abandoned house, she is forbidden to set foot in it again. The dolls do not like that their owner has been taken away from them again.....
April 5, 2020
Annabelle is another excellent 'creepy doll' story from Ruby Jean Jensen. Little Jessica begins to explore a nearby abandoned mansion and returns regularly to play with the dolls she found there. At home she starts to have nightmares and her family get involved to try to help her...but the dolls have other plans.
Jensen's writing it really easy to get into and this is a good page-turner. I liked the cast of characters of different ages: five-year old Jessica, teenager Robert, twenty-something Brenda, and father and businessman Paul, to mention the main ones. I enjoyed the way that the story was told from these different perspectives. There are some good creepy moments to the story as well as some well-written action scenes (and unfortunate demises!).
To compare Annabelle to Mama I would say Mama is a slower-paced story with a good emotional element to it while Annabelle is a bit faster-paced with more characters and more craziness!
(I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review).
Jensen's writing it really easy to get into and this is a good page-turner. I liked the cast of characters of different ages: five-year old Jessica, teenager Robert, twenty-something Brenda, and father and businessman Paul, to mention the main ones. I enjoyed the way that the story was told from these different perspectives. There are some good creepy moments to the story as well as some well-written action scenes (and unfortunate demises!).
To compare Annabelle to Mama I would say Mama is a slower-paced story with a good emotional element to it while Annabelle is a bit faster-paced with more characters and more craziness!
(I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review).
Read
June 29, 2021Finished reading this one last week in its recent print-on-demand form, so I was as pleased as punch (and judy) to find a near mint copy of the Zebra original for cheap. It's a fun one, full of frequent, occasionally gruesome doll-assisted carnage and one mean ghost mama. RJJ's prose stands towering (life-size doll's height) over most of the Zebra regulars and (blessedly) she doesn't overstay her welcome. Good, solid, family-in-peril fun.
July 13, 2014
Ruby Jean Jensen, truly one of the forgotten horror authors of the 80s and early 90s. She published books like crazy under the Zebra imprint in the 80s, and really became the queen of evil doll stories. Annabelle is no exception. It is the story of a young five year old girl named Jessica who escapes the confines of her family's Louisiana home to visit her "castle" next door. The "castle" is a old run down mansion long abandoned after a terrible crime in the late 1800s. There she discovers a doll house and befriends some very unique dolls. The dolls call her Annabelle. This is the start of Jensen's roller coaster ride of terror.
I like Jensen I do but sometimes I struggle to finish her novels other times they fly by and I'm disappointed to see them end. I really struggled with the first two thirds of this novel. It's not that there isn't an interesting story filled with tension. Mostly my struggles were the result of her overly long descriptive style of action. There is not a lot of dialog and pages and pages of description of the girls thoughts as she explores the mansion and a lot of redundant detail. For example by the third time she described the girl avoiding a hole in the staircase I literally wanted to just throw the book across the room and call it quits. I get it, there is a hole she has to avoid but we don't need two pages describing the hole more than once. Seriously!
So why ultimately did I end up giving the book three stars? Well Jensen recovered nicely for the last 100 pages and I was pretty glued to the exciting end. Dolls are creepy and she is really good at capturing that but this still isn't my favorite scary doll novel she's written. Personally I found this to be an average story for her. If your interested in starting reading Jensen I wouldn't recommend this as your first try. There are better stories out there by her (The Living Evil, Jump Rope) to get you on your way. Still Jensen fans should have a copy. Let's not let this forgotten horror author disappear completely.
I like Jensen I do but sometimes I struggle to finish her novels other times they fly by and I'm disappointed to see them end. I really struggled with the first two thirds of this novel. It's not that there isn't an interesting story filled with tension. Mostly my struggles were the result of her overly long descriptive style of action. There is not a lot of dialog and pages and pages of description of the girls thoughts as she explores the mansion and a lot of redundant detail. For example by the third time she described the girl avoiding a hole in the staircase I literally wanted to just throw the book across the room and call it quits. I get it, there is a hole she has to avoid but we don't need two pages describing the hole more than once. Seriously!
So why ultimately did I end up giving the book three stars? Well Jensen recovered nicely for the last 100 pages and I was pretty glued to the exciting end. Dolls are creepy and she is really good at capturing that but this still isn't my favorite scary doll novel she's written. Personally I found this to be an average story for her. If your interested in starting reading Jensen I wouldn't recommend this as your first try. There are better stories out there by her (The Living Evil, Jump Rope) to get you on your way. Still Jensen fans should have a copy. Let's not let this forgotten horror author disappear completely.
May 30, 2021
So, Ruby Jean Jensen was an author of the most strangely creepy, and sometimes scary as HELL books that were published in both the EARLY 70's and 80's, and into the 90's, and let me tell you thta this woman could write an evil Doll/Child horror story better than anyone during that time.
So, 5 year old Jessica is obsessed with the Blahough Mansion that looks to her like a 'Mansion' as it hides between her house and the fence next door, and peeks through the trees, bushes and vines in the lot next door. After losing her mother at the beginning of the book and her no realizing what has happened, she wanders thru the barbed wire fencing, and explores the 'Mansion' next door. What she finds inside is something that she would have never EVER suspected.......her REAL mother!! What? Plus a plethera of dolls that are as big as her.....but ten times more deadly!!! Were these the same dolls that her older half brother Robert had seen attacking a women in her car in the driveway of the house one night, from his bedroom window? Were they the same dolls that told Jessica 'we are her for you for always!!'? The deaths in this book are disturbingly written, but this is still not one of her best books.....however it is CREEPY as shit, and STILL gets a 4 Stabby rating from me!!! Enjoy........now let's GET SCARED!!!
Richard
🔪🔪🔪🔪
February 25, 2022
I will never look at a My Size Barbie the same way again.
We’ve got:
- Rural swampy setting with an abandoned estate on the property
- Possessed and pissed off child-size Victorian dolls with an agenda
- A murder spree with several wack deaths
- Lots of depressing family drama
And right when you think the worst is over, we get treated to a satisfying boss battle between doll and ghost.
Truly terrifying. Would watch this movie (was it ever made it into a movie?)Can’t wait to read more doll horror by RJJ.
We’ve got:
- Rural swampy setting with an abandoned estate on the property
- Possessed and pissed off child-size Victorian dolls with an agenda
- A murder spree with several wack deaths
- Lots of depressing family drama
And right when you think the worst is over, we get treated to a satisfying boss battle between doll and ghost.
Truly terrifying. Would watch this movie (was it ever made it into a movie?)Can’t wait to read more doll horror by RJJ.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 6, 2015
I love anything by Ruby Jean Jensen. This book was even autographed. Though the author has passed away, her legacy of being the Queen of horror novels lives on! Mostly her books are about dolls or toys coming back to life or evil and strange children doing ugly things. Loved this book and all the others.
September 30, 2021
3.5 Stars. Good, though not as Great as, my introductory first novel I read by the queen of creepy "killer doll" stories Ruby Jean Jensen, Victoria. If you haven't already read any of her other killer doll novels I would recommend reading this one or her earlier books first. Living Evil was also one I'll probly never forget because it had an original twist in the outcome. Definitely, gladly look forward to eventually reading more of her other works.
June 27, 2021
This is one CREEPY doll horror story!
October 17, 2017
*This book has nothing to do with the modern Annabelle movies.*
I own the original paperback version of Annabelle, which I acquired sometime in the late 1990s. I recently rediscovered it while sorting through some things in storage. Ruby Jean Jensen wrote during the mid-1970s to the mid-1995s. Her primary horror topic revolved around hauntings, killer dolls, and evil/possessed children.
Annabelle is a story told in present day (1980s) that revolves around a child named Jessica who has just turned 5 years old that spring. She has an adult half-sister who lives elsewhere and a 12-year-old half-brother. Her father loves her but is the old-fashioned, leave childcare to the women type. Jessica's mother is his second wife, and much younger. They live in a small town area that is somewhat isolated from the world at large.
Annabelle was a little girl who had lived in a now-abandoned house with her father, mother, slightly older brother and infant sister. When Annabelle's father comes home from his business trips, he often brings back dolls as gifts. Her story is told through flashback and nightmares.
This story contains physical and emotional child abuse, as well as unspecified mental illness (my guess is postpartum psychosis on top of another underlying condition) which is kept secret as was typical for the early 20th century. It is not described as graphically as it might be by today's standards.
Revisiting this book in 2017 put a different perspective on things compared to when I first read it as a teenager. To start, I'm a mother now. A new level of horror was added because I knew no one was going to be able to protect the children in the story. The other thing that was odd - even for the 1980s, I think - is that the preschool Jessica was frequently wandering off on her own for hours. This is eventually noticed by people off and on, but supervising a small child doesn't seem to be on anyone's list of priorities.
In 2017, we have cell phones, digital cameras, and internet. None of these things were common in 1987. When a phone is used, it is a landline or a payphone. You leave a message with whoever picks up, if anyone does, and hope it gets to the intended person. If you see something bizarre while looking out the window, you can't Instagram it for proof. If you want information about the run down abandoned house in the area, there is no internet archive of records to search. You look in the printed paper phone book to track down the last living relative who owns the property and pay them a visit in person.
Things are creepier without the modern crutches. By the time people start to figure things out, the evil has already taken a foothold.
I own the original paperback version of Annabelle, which I acquired sometime in the late 1990s. I recently rediscovered it while sorting through some things in storage. Ruby Jean Jensen wrote during the mid-1970s to the mid-1995s. Her primary horror topic revolved around hauntings, killer dolls, and evil/possessed children.
Annabelle is a story told in present day (1980s) that revolves around a child named Jessica who has just turned 5 years old that spring. She has an adult half-sister who lives elsewhere and a 12-year-old half-brother. Her father loves her but is the old-fashioned, leave childcare to the women type. Jessica's mother is his second wife, and much younger. They live in a small town area that is somewhat isolated from the world at large.
Annabelle was a little girl who had lived in a now-abandoned house with her father, mother, slightly older brother and infant sister. When Annabelle's father comes home from his business trips, he often brings back dolls as gifts. Her story is told through flashback and nightmares.
This story contains physical and emotional child abuse, as well as unspecified mental illness (my guess is postpartum psychosis on top of another underlying condition) which is kept secret as was typical for the early 20th century. It is not described as graphically as it might be by today's standards.
Revisiting this book in 2017 put a different perspective on things compared to when I first read it as a teenager. To start, I'm a mother now. A new level of horror was added because I knew no one was going to be able to protect the children in the story. The other thing that was odd - even for the 1980s, I think - is that the preschool Jessica was frequently wandering off on her own for hours. This is eventually noticed by people off and on, but supervising a small child doesn't seem to be on anyone's list of priorities.
In 2017, we have cell phones, digital cameras, and internet. None of these things were common in 1987. When a phone is used, it is a landline or a payphone. You leave a message with whoever picks up, if anyone does, and hope it gets to the intended person. If you see something bizarre while looking out the window, you can't Instagram it for proof. If you want information about the run down abandoned house in the area, there is no internet archive of records to search. You look in the printed paper phone book to track down the last living relative who owns the property and pay them a visit in person.
Things are creepier without the modern crutches. By the time people start to figure things out, the evil has already taken a foothold.
January 11, 2023
But there was light now, and she could see, and when she climbed off the chair and turned, she was startled to see that the papa doll was no longer sitting in the living room in his chair. He was standing now, in the middle of the room, facing her.“Annabelle. We’ve waited so long.”
Jessica was five years old when her mother Diane decided motherhood and seclusion wasn't her idea of a great life anymore. Wishing to trade all the responsibilities of raising a child and being a stay at home.mother, she shocked everyone with her announcement to move to New Orleans to pursue a career instead. With her husband Paul absolutely outraged and livid, it left her little choice but to leave and begin processing for a divorce to come. Leaving her child behind without even a goodbye, Jessica feels her heart shatter with unknowns as her attention now fully turns to the abandoned and collapsing mansion that's practically in her backyard. Belonging to 37 year old Thomas Blahough, his wife Dorabelle, and children; Zachary, Annabelle and Mary Anne from the early 1800's. More than a century has passed since the tragedies unfolded, yet the evil and malice still kept to the air like a live wire. A cruel and sadistic woman was Dorabelle, who routinely beaten, abused and tormented all her children. From clawing their faces, to asiatic beatings, even killing the family pets, there was no stopping that once beautiful monster. As Annabell recedes into herself with her dolls, their mother would harm Zachary the worst as he still chased after his mother's loves and affection. Yet the dolls her Papa gave her were special, they came alive and became her only friends in the twisted world she was trapped inside. After her mother finally snapped, she murdered Zachary along with the baby. After her father came home to discover the bloody ruins of his family and his wife standing over them, he shot and killed her before turning his gun on himself in a suicide. Yet the mystery of where Annabelle went remains a century old mystery.
"Zachary, oh Zachary darling. See what Mama has for you . . . see . . . what . . . Mama . . . Annabelle . . . Annabelle . . . are you with Zachary? Are you filling his head with bad things again?"
Surrounding herself with her dolls and the safe barrier they provide from the family,Jessica begins spending every hour possible in the abandoned Mansion. When she delivered the painting of the beautiful blond woman with an equally gorgeous baby, she takes to it like a kinship believing that's truly her real mother. When Diane has a change of heart and wants her daughter to join her in New Orleans, that road trip home would prove to be most fatal. While pulling into the driveway she encounters these little people, who bring out the things of nightmares. As they leap onto her vehicle, it causes her to have a fatal car crash where she later succumbed to her injuries. Following her death is the mysterious suicide by hanging of Jessica's older brother Robert,something he showed zero signs of contemplating previously. With the disappearance of Mrs. Archer; the long time family nanny, it prompts Paul to call home his eldest daughter Brenda fe California to help with the responsibilities of raising Jessica. As the child grows more disgusting and more distant, nobody can understand the truth until it all falls apart. One horrific evening was the ground breaker needed to snap Jessica from her troubles. When her dolls came to the manor and mauled her own father before her eyes. As Brenda and he long time love Rick take turns destroying the straw bodies and porcelain faces, they managd to save him just in time. Following Jessica one last time to the abandoned Mansion proves spirits truly exist in all kinds of fashions; from good to pure sinister. With the final battle between Annabelle and her mother comes to a close, everyone thinks the worst is over. U til back at their home, the little girl they brought home isn't Jessica.
“I, Thomas Blahough, am now alone. I came back from a business trip to find that all the servants had been dismissed, and many rooms of the house stained with the blood of two of my children. The baby, dead in her cradle, and my son on the floor beside her. And my wife, with blood on her hands. Annabelle, my dear daughter Annabelle, is gone. I pray she has escaped to safety. And now I, too, have killed. I could not let her live, not after she had killed so brutally her own children, our own children. I would go to my own grave in silence, except that I cannot but leave behind an explanation of life. Good-bye, Annabelle.”
Jessica was five years old when her mother Diane decided motherhood and seclusion wasn't her idea of a great life anymore. Wishing to trade all the responsibilities of raising a child and being a stay at home.mother, she shocked everyone with her announcement to move to New Orleans to pursue a career instead. With her husband Paul absolutely outraged and livid, it left her little choice but to leave and begin processing for a divorce to come. Leaving her child behind without even a goodbye, Jessica feels her heart shatter with unknowns as her attention now fully turns to the abandoned and collapsing mansion that's practically in her backyard. Belonging to 37 year old Thomas Blahough, his wife Dorabelle, and children; Zachary, Annabelle and Mary Anne from the early 1800's. More than a century has passed since the tragedies unfolded, yet the evil and malice still kept to the air like a live wire. A cruel and sadistic woman was Dorabelle, who routinely beaten, abused and tormented all her children. From clawing their faces, to asiatic beatings, even killing the family pets, there was no stopping that once beautiful monster. As Annabell recedes into herself with her dolls, their mother would harm Zachary the worst as he still chased after his mother's loves and affection. Yet the dolls her Papa gave her were special, they came alive and became her only friends in the twisted world she was trapped inside. After her mother finally snapped, she murdered Zachary along with the baby. After her father came home to discover the bloody ruins of his family and his wife standing over them, he shot and killed her before turning his gun on himself in a suicide. Yet the mystery of where Annabelle went remains a century old mystery.
"Zachary, oh Zachary darling. See what Mama has for you . . . see . . . what . . . Mama . . . Annabelle . . . Annabelle . . . are you with Zachary? Are you filling his head with bad things again?"
Surrounding herself with her dolls and the safe barrier they provide from the family,Jessica begins spending every hour possible in the abandoned Mansion. When she delivered the painting of the beautiful blond woman with an equally gorgeous baby, she takes to it like a kinship believing that's truly her real mother. When Diane has a change of heart and wants her daughter to join her in New Orleans, that road trip home would prove to be most fatal. While pulling into the driveway she encounters these little people, who bring out the things of nightmares. As they leap onto her vehicle, it causes her to have a fatal car crash where she later succumbed to her injuries. Following her death is the mysterious suicide by hanging of Jessica's older brother Robert,something he showed zero signs of contemplating previously. With the disappearance of Mrs. Archer; the long time family nanny, it prompts Paul to call home his eldest daughter Brenda fe California to help with the responsibilities of raising Jessica. As the child grows more disgusting and more distant, nobody can understand the truth until it all falls apart. One horrific evening was the ground breaker needed to snap Jessica from her troubles. When her dolls came to the manor and mauled her own father before her eyes. As Brenda and he long time love Rick take turns destroying the straw bodies and porcelain faces, they managd to save him just in time. Following Jessica one last time to the abandoned Mansion proves spirits truly exist in all kinds of fashions; from good to pure sinister. With the final battle between Annabelle and her mother comes to a close, everyone thinks the worst is over. U til back at their home, the little girl they brought home isn't Jessica.
“I, Thomas Blahough, am now alone. I came back from a business trip to find that all the servants had been dismissed, and many rooms of the house stained with the blood of two of my children. The baby, dead in her cradle, and my son on the floor beside her. And my wife, with blood on her hands. Annabelle, my dear daughter Annabelle, is gone. I pray she has escaped to safety. And now I, too, have killed. I could not let her live, not after she had killed so brutally her own children, our own children. I would go to my own grave in silence, except that I cannot but leave behind an explanation of life. Good-bye, Annabelle.”
February 15, 2021
Porcelain dolls = creepy
Small children = creepy
Porcelain dollars that are small children sized and move = insanely creepy
I loved this story. The author did an amazing job of creating an atmosphere that was creepy as balls. For being from 1987, I was expecting her to pull some punches, but, nope, she did some things that I was not expecting (trying not to give anything away). The book had a few lines that felt dated, but overall, this easily could have been written by someone today. I also appreciated the lack of errors. Often with older books that get digitized, there will be so many conversion errors, but nothing stood out to me. I'm excited to read more from this author.... though during the day with the lights on...
Small children = creepy
Porcelain dollars that are small children sized and move = insanely creepy
I loved this story. The author did an amazing job of creating an atmosphere that was creepy as balls. For being from 1987, I was expecting her to pull some punches, but, nope, she did some things that I was not expecting (trying not to give anything away). The book had a few lines that felt dated, but overall, this easily could have been written by someone today. I also appreciated the lack of errors. Often with older books that get digitized, there will be so many conversion errors, but nothing stood out to me. I'm excited to read more from this author.... though during the day with the lights on...
September 21, 2022
It took me way longer than it should to read this one…., but what it was doing was inspiring me to decorate my house like a haunted mansion for Halloween… so I was reading in between decorating… lol…
I’m actually glad I took my time reading it… I enjoyed it a lot!!
At one point I was reading and my dog barked and I jumped practically out of my skin - lol…
Is it a scary read? Not really - but Ruby Jean Jensen really sets the perfect atmosphere(tone) for some second guessing of the sounds in your own home….
I only wish I read this when it came out and I was younger… I’m sure it would have terrified me then…. ;)
I’m actually glad I took my time reading it… I enjoyed it a lot!!
At one point I was reading and my dog barked and I jumped practically out of my skin - lol…
Is it a scary read? Not really - but Ruby Jean Jensen really sets the perfect atmosphere(tone) for some second guessing of the sounds in your own home….
I only wish I read this when it came out and I was younger… I’m sure it would have terrified me then…. ;)
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April 22, 2022Having just read the flop faux ghost story The Children God Forgot by G. Masterton..I was reluctant to pick up another horror book. Annabelle, by Jensen was exactly what I wanted in a horror story: suspense, immersion into another world where the strange and mysterious happens to unsuspecting people. Jensen tells two stories at once bringing the timelines together with maximum effect. All the touchstones are there. Young children, emotional trauma, spooky houses, creepy atmosphere, stupid people failing to do their ONE JOB watch the kid. How is that so hard? Good read.
June 25, 2024
Jessica's mother walks out on the family, and hell breaks loose... literally. Jessica finds comfort in the overgrown "castle" in the meadow near her house. She finds some companions in the old castle in the form of dolls. Dolls that will protect her. I'm a sucker for the possessed doll trope, and this story does not disappoint. The creepiest part for me was in the description of how the dolls moved.
April 2, 2021
This book was, Amazingly interesting I loved it. I'm definitely gonna read this again someday. But, I have to return this book the the library now...Along with 3 other books that I love... TwT
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April 30, 2020good
May 24, 2020
Wonderful old fashioned horror! I loved this book as a teenager and love it even more as an adult. I recommend this book to an y horror reader.
December 18, 2021
Just a traditional 80s mass market horror novel, but creepily good.
August 2, 2022
Good easy read but the end seemed to come up a bit abruptly and felt like the author wanted to make it longer but had to end it
October 28, 2023
Totally well written horror book. Great character development and unexpected turns. Keeps one on the edge of your seat and hard to put down. Highly recommend
September 9, 2022
I got caught up in this one. It just flowed and was an easy read. If you like old creepy houses with dolls.
August 12, 2011
I surprisingly do not have many books or stories on my bookshelf that are about evil toys. Aside from Tick-Tock by Dean Koontz (Which I still don’t really consider an evil toy story as much as one about magic) and a handful of Stephen King short stories, there is not a book that has demonic playthings as its focus- until now! Jessica escapes from her turbulent home life into a fantasy world set in a decaying mansion where she has living Dolls as friends and a substitute mother in a portrait that resembles her. In actuality her new “mother” is a homicidal ghost and the dolls are the lingering grudge of her murdered daughter, Annabelle. The dolls are fiercely protective of Jessica, and attack anyone that threatens to take her away. The tragedies are paced well; first Jessica has nightmares as the ghost mother haunts her dreams, which brings the oldest daughter Brenda into the picture who buffers the unlikeable parents. The parents are opposite extremes, a young mother so concentrated on her career she neglects Jessica, and an old misogynistic father so overprotective it is detrimental. Brenda is pulled away from a possible romance with Rick, a periphery character that has enough of an outline to be appealing without making the story lose focus. Mrs. Archer, the ex nanny, goes missing, and Jessica’s real mother is put into the hospital where she dies after a fatal car accident, and Robert is found hanging from a rope in the garage- all tragedies orchestrated by the Dolls. The last attack is on Paul, the father, but he is rescued by Brenda and Rick who smash the dolls. Paul is mostly in the background, grieving for his losses and then sedated after his injuries. The descriptions throughout the book are good, the dolls are satisfyingly creepy, some of the details become a little stale as each character finds the ruined mansion and sees the same cobwebs and broken stairs. The ending of the book feels rushed. Paul is sedated because of his crazed ramblings about dolls and his injuries, it gets a little weak as the duration of his hospital stay lengthens. Rick comes back from a day of research and reveals some of the Barlough mansion’s history, also rushed but coming at a point in the story where a side trip for research would have made it lose too much momentum. The thing that lurked in the hole in the staircase if finally revealed, it’s a doll that looks like Annabelle, I was hoping for something more gruesome or even a more disfigured doll, but it was okay. The ending is a little shaky, the last few paragraphs could have been executed better, especially the last sentence. I like the idea, it just lacks the impact it should have as the last sentence. Despite being a smidge sloppy towards the end, the story is still strong.
September 11, 2023
Another solid horror novel from Ruby Jean Jensen. It also provides a little twist to her usual Evil Doll format. I am going to attempt to review without spoilers. Probably to start it off: a Trigger Warning. There is some child abuse that is described with little kids as well as an infant. Most of that by is through the reaction of one of the children as she hears it happen to her siblings or experiences it herself.
This book was originally published in 1987. But in the typical fashion of Jensen's novels, the story's main plot has a timeless feel despite little moments that do date the "modern" section of the plot. I specify modern because this book does alternate between present day and flashbacks to a time in the past with a different family. Juggling multiple times periods is another common occurrence in Jensen's stories but she always did a good job of it.
The majority of the story is told though the eyes of a little girl named Jessica. She is only around 5 or 6 years old. She finds her way to an abandoned mansion on the grounds that her own affluent father's home is built on. Inside the abandoned building, she comes across a family of dolls. Just like a lot of Jensen's novels, the dolls are not what they appear to be. And they will do anything to prevent interference from people in Jessica's life that try to keep her away from them.
Jessica can seem selfish and grating at points but it fits with her age as well as her just needing to enforce some type of control in her life. Probably the most annoying character would be her father but that is solely due to him being from a "different generation" and holding "traditional clauses" when it comes to girls and women's places in home and family.
The dolls in this one may be my favorite ones of the Jensen novels that I have read so far. Seeing an actual family of dolls, that follow that dynamic, was an interesting change.
This book was originally published in 1987. But in the typical fashion of Jensen's novels, the story's main plot has a timeless feel despite little moments that do date the "modern" section of the plot. I specify modern because this book does alternate between present day and flashbacks to a time in the past with a different family. Juggling multiple times periods is another common occurrence in Jensen's stories but she always did a good job of it.
The majority of the story is told though the eyes of a little girl named Jessica. She is only around 5 or 6 years old. She finds her way to an abandoned mansion on the grounds that her own affluent father's home is built on. Inside the abandoned building, she comes across a family of dolls. Just like a lot of Jensen's novels, the dolls are not what they appear to be. And they will do anything to prevent interference from people in Jessica's life that try to keep her away from them.
Jessica can seem selfish and grating at points but it fits with her age as well as her just needing to enforce some type of control in her life. Probably the most annoying character would be her father but that is solely due to him being from a "different generation" and holding "traditional clauses" when it comes to girls and women's places in home and family.
The dolls in this one may be my favorite ones of the Jensen novels that I have read so far. Seeing an actual family of dolls, that follow that dynamic, was an interesting change.
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