Devil's Creek
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- Create Date：2021-06-25 09:55:49
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Todd Keisling
- ISBN：1951043030
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Summary
GIVE US THAT OLD-TIME RELIGION
About fifteen miles west of Stauford， Kentucky lies Devil’s Creek。 According to local legend， there used to be a church out there， home to the Lord’s Church of Holy Voices—a death cult where Jacob Masters preached the gospel of a nameless god。
And like most legends， there’s truth buried among the roots and bones。
In 1983， the church burned to the ground following a mass suicide。 Among the survivors were Jacob’s six children and their grandparents， who banded together to defy their former minister。 Dubbed the “Stauford Six，” these children grew up amid scrutiny and ridicule， but their infamy has faded over the last thirty years。
Now their ordeal is all but forgotten， and Jacob Masters is nothing more than a scary story told around campfires。
For Jack Tremly， one of the Six， memories of that fateful night have fueled a successful art career—and a lifetime of nightmares。 When his grandmother Imogene dies， Jack returns to Stauford to settle her estate。 What he finds waiting for him are secrets Imogene kept in his youth， secrets about his father and the church。 Secrets that can no longer stay buried。
The roots of Jacob’s buried god run deep， and within the heart of Devil’s Creek， something is beginning to stir…
About fifteen miles west of Stauford， Kentucky lies Devil’s Creek。 According to local legend， there used to be a church out there， home to the Lord’s Church of Holy Voices—a death cult where Jacob Masters preached the gospel of a nameless god。
And like most legends， there’s truth buried among the roots and bones。
In 1983， the church burned to the ground following a mass suicide。 Among the survivors were Jacob’s six children and their grandparents， who banded together to defy their former minister。 Dubbed the “Stauford Six，” these children grew up amid scrutiny and ridicule， but their infamy has faded over the last thirty years。
Now their ordeal is all but forgotten， and Jacob Masters is nothing more than a scary story told around campfires。
For Jack Tremly， one of the Six， memories of that fateful night have fueled a successful art career—and a lifetime of nightmares。 When his grandmother Imogene dies， Jack returns to Stauford to settle her estate。 What he finds waiting for him are secrets Imogene kept in his youth， secrets about his father and the church。 Secrets that can no longer stay buried。
The roots of Jacob’s buried god run deep， and within the heart of Devil’s Creek， something is beginning to stir…
Reviews
Brian Irons
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One word。。。 FUCK！
Heather
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3。5 starsI enjoyed this book， my only issue is I felt like it was overly long。 I kept putting it down because I was getting tired。 I felt like it didnt keep me engaged。
Katherine
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Devil's Creek by Todd Keisling。First thing first - I think it would be an amazing movie！Near a small town deep in the woods there was a group of people with the apostle in charge who believed in their evil god - the god of suffering。 After the big tragedy and death of all of the members of the cult， only six children could survive。 After several decades， one of the kids – now a man – came back to the town after his granny’s death。 And obviously - what could happen after it in the three quarters Devil's Creek by Todd Keisling。First thing first - I think it would be an amazing movie！Near a small town deep in the woods there was a group of people with the apostle in charge who believed in their evil god - the god of suffering。 After the big tragedy and death of all of the members of the cult， only six children could survive。 After several decades， one of the kids – now a man – came back to the town after his granny’s death。 And obviously - what could happen after it in the three quarters of the book left？There's a lot of things could happen， though。 All the creepy shit hit the fan。 I used to live in a small town and I hated to live there。 All the people you know and meet， all the gossip。 I think， I can say – small towns have their small closed community and hardly ever a person distinct from others would be comfortable to live there。 If you’re a man who stands out of his/her environment， be ready to become an outsider。Another interesting thought – the faith。 This book claims， the more you have faith in your heart， the higher probabilities the evil penetrates in your soul。 It makes sense。 By your faith you open a slim door of acceptance of something you don’t have any proof to exist。 We all willing to find something to support us， to soothe our pain， to forgive our sins。 And this understanding terrified me。So， this’s a good book， a book with a lot of violence， blood， faith， betrayal and loyalty。 I highly recommend this book！ 。。。more
Stéphane
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Too many characters。 Too long。 Too repetitive。 The story is ok （I’m a sucker for cultish cosmic horror） but honestly this is not very gripping。 The author wanted it to be an epic and threw a lot of characters in it but in the end it’s an unnecessary loss of focus （plot wise）and the many characters are not that interesting or developed and don’t make the story more textured。Taking 12 years to write a horror novel isn’t a good sign， many passages feel contrived， as if the author wanted to stall so Too many characters。 Too long。 Too repetitive。 The story is ok （I’m a sucker for cultish cosmic horror） but honestly this is not very gripping。 The author wanted it to be an epic and threw a lot of characters in it but in the end it’s an unnecessary loss of focus （plot wise）and the many characters are not that interesting or developed and don’t make the story more textured。Taking 12 years to write a horror novel isn’t a good sign， many passages feel contrived， as if the author wanted to stall so as to increase the page count。 （“I will have my epic novel！ This is not going to be another novella god dammit！”）Very cool cosmic descriptions of the grotto though and the cover is beautiful but unfortunately for Keisling， I don’t judge a book by its cover。 。。。more
Kay Oliver
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Cults and Spooks！This was， honestly， a bit of a tome for me at 400 pages。 For me， books beyond 320 seem to quickly lose steam and are bogged down by things that don't accelerate the plot。 This book wasn't like that。 It kept a steady medium pace of a small town and the folks in it， who each stumble upon the happenings at the grounds where decades ago a cult practiced and worshipped。 We often think of cults as sick jokes--a mentally unstable leader or leaders guiding the mentally unstable follower Cults and Spooks！This was， honestly， a bit of a tome for me at 400 pages。 For me， books beyond 320 seem to quickly lose steam and are bogged down by things that don't accelerate the plot。 This book wasn't like that。 It kept a steady medium pace of a small town and the folks in it， who each stumble upon the happenings at the grounds where decades ago a cult practiced and worshipped。 We often think of cults as sick jokes--a mentally unstable leader or leaders guiding the mentally unstable followers into dark and darker crevices of self-preservation and self-sacrifice。 The cult in the center of this story is quite different。 Piercing， glowing blue eyes。 Black phantasms。 Eerie voices of children singing。 Dreams， nightmares declaring， "He's here！"This book had it all and in some aspects was reminiscent of some of King's works。 There were so many characters with their own personal dramas playing out as a darkness slowly swept over the whole town and into a hefty climax。 I loved the direct， in-your-face horror scenes。 I loved the small cliffhangers dotted throughout and the whodunits switching and swapping。 Great， descriptive， brilliant writing and deep， fleshed-out， believable characters （minus the one-dementional， predictable bullies）。 A new master in horror？ Just might be。 。。。more
Natasha Van Duser
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I can't believe it， but I finally found a novel rooted heavily in cosmic horror that I really， really enjoyed。 This is the second book that I've read from Todd Keisling and I'm slowly becoming a huge fan of his writing。 His works are intricate， dark， and very original。 And if you're intrigued by cults， this book should be right up your alley。 One of my biggest issues with cosmic horror is the idea that a cosmic being is so powerful that humanity cannot comprehend it or defeat it。 In many novels， I can't believe it， but I finally found a novel rooted heavily in cosmic horror that I really， really enjoyed。 This is the second book that I've read from Todd Keisling and I'm slowly becoming a huge fan of his writing。 His works are intricate， dark， and very original。 And if you're intrigued by cults， this book should be right up your alley。 One of my biggest issues with cosmic horror is the idea that a cosmic being is so powerful that humanity cannot comprehend it or defeat it。 In many novels， a cosmic being comes down out of nowhere， takes control of something， and the horror of the novel is rooted in the helplessness of humanity against such a being。 This to me is such a cop-out， which is why I was so happy to read a novel like Devil's Creek。 From the very beginning we understand that there is some kind of otherworldly power being utilized， but it is in a sense passive enough against humanity that there is a way to at least subdue it， if not totally destroy it。 This allows for hope， which I feel to be a key component in good horror story telling。 If there's no hope for the protagonist， why keep on reading？I also absolutely loved Keisling's subtle critique on religion and his overall comparison of modern religion to cults。 This obviously isn't an original concept， but it is one that was very well executed here。 And setting the story in a small town in Kentucky definitely helped further many of Keisling's points。 His use of six characters who all underwent the same trauma being able to grow up completely differently also gave a very insightful look into nature versus nurture as well as the corruption of the innocent through a cosmic force。 And the overall diversity of these six main characters allowed this story to be extremely compelling as well as believable。 Todd Keisling is definitely an author to check out as both of the works I have read from him so far have greatly impressed me。 Though he is a little brutal and grotesque in some of his subject matter， it does serve a greater purpose to the overall message of his works， thus creating a deeply unnerving， yet powerful narrative。 。。。more
Monika
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I’m a big sucker for small town horror and cult themed stories。 After reading The Lost Village I needed a similar trope to get the buzz。 The promising synopsis got me into reading this book。 Let me tell you what this story has:✅ atmospheric， creepy small town✅ cults！！ ✅ unreliable characters - a lot of them。 But instead of confusing， they kept the story going well while pointing at each other。✅ interesting chapter endings that kept me intrigued✅ chilling moments Basically any horror/dark thrille I’m a big sucker for small town horror and cult themed stories。 After reading The Lost Village I needed a similar trope to get the buzz。 The promising synopsis got me into reading this book。 Let me tell you what this story has:✅ atmospheric， creepy small town✅ cults！！ ✅ unreliable characters - a lot of them。 But instead of confusing， they kept the story going well while pointing at each other。✅ interesting chapter endings that kept me intrigued✅ chilling moments Basically any horror/dark thriller reader would love this book。 It has some bumps or plot holes， but overall its good。 。。。more
Dave
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4-4。5 stars。 A really great read。 Vivid characters， excellent plot， enjoyable all around。 Highly recommended。
Blake Blanco
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Rating/review to follow。。。 I wish I had read this sooner。。。
Laurie
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3。5 StarsReading all the glowing reviews， I really wanted to love this one more。 I love cult horror， but this one fell a little flat for me。 I usually love books about。 In Devil's Creek， we don't get to see why so many people start following Jacob Masters， and why they would go to such extremes for his God。 He is a monster at the beginning of the book， so I didn't get all the fascinating details about how the cult started， and how it turned into a horror show。 Too many characters， I felt I didn' 3。5 StarsReading all the glowing reviews， I really wanted to love this one more。 I love cult horror， but this one fell a little flat for me。 I usually love books about。 In Devil's Creek， we don't get to see why so many people start following Jacob Masters， and why they would go to such extremes for his God。 He is a monster at the beginning of the book， so I didn't get all the fascinating details about how the cult started， and how it turned into a horror show。 Too many characters， I felt I didn't get attached to any of them and I was not super invested in their fate。 I will definitely check out more books by this author because some scenes were wild and terrifying， and very well written。 。。。more
Bradford Sanders
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Give me that Old Time Religion。。。 In the town of Stauford， Kentucky that Old Time Religion has a hole new meaning about 15 miles outside of town at Devil's Creek。 Mr Keisling tells a spine tingling tale of a man coming back home to bury his Grandmother and must come face to face with the horrors of his childhood。 Won't you come join us as we worship the nameless god of old。 Give me that Old Time Religion。。。 In the town of Stauford， Kentucky that Old Time Religion has a hole new meaning about 15 miles outside of town at Devil's Creek。 Mr Keisling tells a spine tingling tale of a man coming back home to bury his Grandmother and must come face to face with the horrors of his childhood。 Won't you come join us as we worship the nameless god of old。 。。。more
Bill
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I loved everything about this book except the ending。 I felt there were too many questions left unanswered， but I would still recommend this to anyone who loves horror that deals with crooked members using religion to control the masses。Keisling's word play is amazing and the way he describes scenes has me easily picturing them in my mind。 I'm definitely picking up more of his books。 I loved everything about this book except the ending。 I felt there were too many questions left unanswered， but I would still recommend this to anyone who loves horror that deals with crooked members using religion to control the masses。Keisling's word play is amazing and the way he describes scenes has me easily picturing them in my mind。 I'm definitely picking up more of his books。 。。。more
Glenn Rolfe
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Todd Keisling delivers one of the best stories of the year！DEVIL'S CREEK wails， even at almost four hundred pages， like a screaming devil worshiper ready to bleed for their dark lord！ There are moments of near poetry， scenes of horrific gore， and the all-important quiet moments that let you catch your breath。 Put that together with a cosmic/Old Time Religion plot filled with fantastic characters and you're in for one hell of a ride。I loved the nod to The Fog （Stevie and the Witching Hour） and ni Todd Keisling delivers one of the best stories of the year！DEVIL'S CREEK wails， even at almost four hundred pages， like a screaming devil worshiper ready to bleed for their dark lord！ There are moments of near poetry， scenes of horrific gore， and the all-important quiet moments that let you catch your breath。 Put that together with a cosmic/Old Time Religion plot filled with fantastic characters and you're in for one hell of a ride。I loved the nod to The Fog （Stevie and the Witching Hour） and nicknaming the Stauford 6 （perhaps a play on the West Memphis 3， even if in name only）， as well as all the alternative/goth heavy rock of the 90s。I'm a hard sell on big books （anything over 300 pages pushes my limits）， but Keisling rises to the challenge with DEVIL'S CREEK。 This will certainly be in my Top 10 of 2020。And it better be in yours， too！ 。。。more
DeeDee
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DNF at 60%。 No tea， no shade， but this is just not working for me。 I'm pretty disappointed because from the description I thought it would be an all-time favorite。 Cults？ Small town horror？ The past coming back to haunt the protagonists？？ This book had all of the ingredients I wanted but in the end it didn't bake into a cookie I'd eat， do you feel me？Todd Keisling is a good writer， there's not doubt about that。 But I found the story to be repetitive and I thought it dragged （and I'm someone who DNF at 60%。 No tea， no shade， but this is just not working for me。 I'm pretty disappointed because from the description I thought it would be an all-time favorite。 Cults？ Small town horror？ The past coming back to haunt the protagonists？？ This book had all of the ingredients I wanted but in the end it didn't bake into a cookie I'd eat， do you feel me？Todd Keisling is a good writer， there's not doubt about that。 But I found the story to be repetitive and I thought it dragged （and I'm someone who loves character-driven， slow-paced stories！）。 I thought I'd be getting The Devil All the Time levels of fucked up， but instead this felt like reading a cheesy slasher film。 Also I just want to mention that I started this at the beginning of February and it put me in such a huge reading slump that I didn't read anything for the months of February or March and that's a problem。 Again， someone else might love this， but it didn't resonate with me and sometimes that's just the way。 。。。more
Stephen Snead
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Not quite my thing。I kept thinking that I might have enjoyed this book at 19 or 25 years old。 But， I'm 64 and the story seemed to gothic and soap opera for me。 The evil town cop and the religious hysteria and troubled youth。 I have to admit I didn't finish it。 But， I saw where the author wrote it over a decade。 Which might account for the uneven narrative。 All in all I can't say its a bad work。 But， I do think it's mediocre。 But， then again I have limited right to judge。 Since by my own admissio Not quite my thing。I kept thinking that I might have enjoyed this book at 19 or 25 years old。 But， I'm 64 and the story seemed to gothic and soap opera for me。 The evil town cop and the religious hysteria and troubled youth。 I have to admit I didn't finish it。 But， I saw where the author wrote it over a decade。 Which might account for the uneven narrative。 All in all I can't say its a bad work。 But， I do think it's mediocre。 But， then again I have limited right to judge。 Since by my own admission。 I didn't finish it。 。。。more
Shannon
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4。5。 Such a good horror read。 There was a plot device that wasn’t developed quite as much as I would have liked。 But otherwise really entertaining and gross。
Katie B
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I really enjoyed this book— it would make a great movie or limited series。 Creepy and disturbing with lots of characters to get to know。 Keep the light on for this one！
Linann McDonald
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I absolutely loved this book and would say it is now my favorite folk horror novel。 The book starts off with parents trying to sacrifice their own children to an ancient god and it never lost my attention after that。 There was a cult， zombies and magical rituals and I was here for it。 Everything written was interesting and either moved the plot along or developed the characters。 Nothing seemed like fluff to just fill pages。 Although little was ever revealed about the ancient god， it was clear th I absolutely loved this book and would say it is now my favorite folk horror novel。 The book starts off with parents trying to sacrifice their own children to an ancient god and it never lost my attention after that。 There was a cult， zombies and magical rituals and I was here for it。 Everything written was interesting and either moved the plot along or developed the characters。 Nothing seemed like fluff to just fill pages。 Although little was ever revealed about the ancient god， it was clear that it was a very powerful entity that could give its followers actual power。 It is generally frustrating for me when there is some god in a book and the only thing it can seemingly do is exist and kill people。 Even the ending was satisfying for me。 Overall， it was a great read and I would highly recommend it to anyone that likes or wants to try folk horror。 。。。more
casey
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DNFI hated this book。 The plot/character building was poorly done and didn't flow well at all。 It also seemed unoriginal。。 more like a mosaic of other books/movies。 "IT" by King， the 2002 movie"The Ring" etc。 I can't believe I wasted so much time on it。 DNFI hated this book。 The plot/character building was poorly done and didn't flow well at all。 It also seemed unoriginal。。 more like a mosaic of other books/movies。 "IT" by King， the 2002 movie"The Ring" etc。 I can't believe I wasted so much time on it。 。。。more
Becky
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When my buddy Dan 2。0 threw this book into the ring for a read amongst friends， it was an instant yes for me。 If you are （still） following my reviews at all over the last couple of years， you'll know that my reading has taken a hard non-fiction social justice turn， to the exclusion of nearly everything else。 But once upon a time， books like this were my JAM， and so， I jumped at it。 And then proceeded to take about 286 years to read it。 OK， fine， that's a SLIGHT exaggeration。 It took me 53 days。 When my buddy Dan 2。0 threw this book into the ring for a read amongst friends， it was an instant yes for me。 If you are （still） following my reviews at all over the last couple of years， you'll know that my reading has taken a hard non-fiction social justice turn， to the exclusion of nearly everything else。 But once upon a time， books like this were my JAM， and so， I jumped at it。 And then proceeded to take about 286 years to read it。 OK， fine， that's a SLIGHT exaggeration。 It took me 53 days。 But I was also reading a bunch of other books at the same time。 （About 8 of them。 NOT an exaggeration this time。）So， about this book。 This has a 4。09 average rating right now。 It's only been out for about 8 months， so I anticipate that coming down a bit as more people read it。 Usually early release enthusiastic positivity is followed by more middle-of-the-road and critical reviews later on， so it might moderate a bit， but I think that this will stay a book that most people who read this genre will really enjoy。 I see it likely winning （or placing pretty solidly at least） in the Goodreads Choice Awards horror category （unless Stephen King shits out another book this year， then sorry for your loss， Mr。 Keisling）。 But I am about to drop that average down a bit right now。 Why wait？ After I finished this book this afternoon， I was firmly in the "middle-of-the-road" camp and had planned to rate this 3 stars。 But as it settled in， I found myself wondering and wanting a lot of things this book didn't deliver on。 OK - Standard warnings apply here。 There may be spoilers beyond， so read on at your own risk。---- The premise of this drew me in right from the start。 A religious death cult set in Appalachian Kentucky right around the corner from where I used to live in southwestern Virginia？ Yessir。 As soon as I realized where this fictional town was supposed to be located， I felt right at home （even though it's been a long time since I've been in that neck of the woods - which is also kind of fitting and appropriate）。 The town that I actually DID live in made a nice stand-in for Stauford， KY in my mind， and I could easily picture the town and backwoods settings described here， and quite enjoyed the lush descriptions of the area that set the scene。Unfortunately， after that， it kinda went a bit stagnant for a good chunk of the middle section。 'Algae covered swampwater teeming with mosquitos in the still night air' stagnant。 The first quarter was lovely and revved right up。 The last quarter was something of a rollercoaster （more on that in a bit） but the middle half was just。。。 a whole bunch of buildup that really only served to set-up an ending that didn't deliver for me。 I liked it well enough， but it's also fair to say there wasn't much going on。 Characterizations， but they didn't really matter， so。。。 *shrug*The aspects of religion， and the DICHOTOMY of the religions depicted here - your standard Southern Christianity vs the cult of the Nameless God - really piqued my interest and I kept waiting for that to be relevant。 I'm still waiting。。。 because it never was。 The cult literally only served to attract hardcore disciples， and as a catalyst for the story。 If the cult-religion aspect was completely removed from the book after the prologue， it probably wouldn't have made much of a difference。 And depending on how it was handled， it could have actually improved it quite a bit in my opinion。 So as I say， it was essentially just a catalyst for the story， which is that there's a supernatural hive-mind Lovecraftian-style "old god" entity living under Stauford， and it's hungry。 It lured in a preacher who had been cast out of his Christian church and encouraged him to found a new church around it， and then proceeded to infect and corrupt and essentially eat its devotees - though it likes innocent children the best， so encourages them to breed sacrificial appetizers。 All of that makes complete sense to me。 It checks out， and I can truck along with this story thus far。 But when Hivey makes its move and really starts infecting and spreading and corrupting the people of the town， that's when it loses the plot for me。 Because ol Hivey infects and "converts" the entire town， has them commit some fade-to-black torture in the name of "suffering" as part of the conversion of others， and then burn all their bibles， get all sexually depraved - incest， multiple mentions of sex with children， orgies， you name it - and then all of the adults just walk into a raging fire and burn to death。 The corrupted kids celebrate it， and are left behind and forgotten as the story moves on。 So what was the point？ We see Hivey ACTUALLY eat 3 sacrifices under Devil's Creek。。。 why did he convert all of the people in the town， just to throw them away？ They weren't used to further spread the infection， or to breed children。。。 It was like their only purpose in the story was so that there could be lots of depravity， and lots of gross as fuck mentions of worms and fingers and black tears and people's faces and bodies splitting open as the corruption contorts them。 It really seems to me like the whole book was written around the depictions of the "suffering" and an image of an underground ocean with a sky full of eyes， rather than the story itself。 In that way， I feel like this book straddled the line between torture porn and horror。。。 but lands on the horror side simply because I don't think there was a firm commitment to the torture aspect。。。 By which I mean that it wanted to be shocking and gory and depraved， but it flinched away from actually depicting any overt acts， and then also wanted to have its mysterious Lovecraftian 'never show the scary thing' aspect too。 This book didn't know what it wanted to be。 It's supernatural， in that people come back from the dead， and apparently can float， or crawl across ceilings （but to me that's more insectile than anything）， but then the resolution of the story is super mundane， in that they blow up some propane tanks。。。 and that's that。 Literally， it could have happened by accident if Zeke and his buddy fucked up their meth lab in the area。It's religious， but that really only serves to lure people in。 There's no reason for the religion of the "old god" to carry on once someone is infected。 There's nothing relevant to religion in the resolution - no "True God" comes to the rescue， or faith intervenes， or someone holds a crucifix up and the banishes the devil， or whatever。 There's no point or purpose at all to the idol that is stolen at great cost and effort by a side character， and is supposed to be KEY to everything。 Hivey gets it back， and sacrifices 3 people in the light of its blue eyes， and nothing happens at all。 There's no point to the ritual that Genie spent 30 years researching and working on in order to come back to life， because she， or literally anyone else could have fought Jacob and kept him occupied enough to blow shit up。。。 Was she supposed to be a Christ-like savior？ I just feel like there are so many holes that it doesn't work for me。 The corruption/infection should have been something like the cordyceps fungus and we could have had a story that had fewer plot holes around the religion aspect， and a much better story that actually somewhat fit with the kill-it-with-lots-of-burny-burny-fire ending。 Killing a supposedly ancient， immortal supernatural hive-mind that has spread to hundreds of people with one centralized explosion seems。。。 unrealistic。 There was nothing to suggest that the location was special or critical， it's just where it was。 （And I'm not buying that the idol was destroyed and that is was what killed it either， because we have no proof that is what happened。 Genie hit Jacob with the idol， yes， but that doesn't mean it was destroyed then， or in the explosion。）I dunno。。。 there's just so much that seemed built up to set a specific tone and theme， and never delivered on the implied promise。 It breaks the Chekhov's Gun principle。 Religion and the idol were built up as key components of the story - and neither mattered in the slightest。 All in all。。。 I didn't hate reading it。 There were a lot of quirky phrasings that bugged me （"canceling" a call instead of just hanging up， for instance）， but I really liked the occult references and research aspects as they were building up。 It's just after I realized that they added up to a whole lot of nada that it became frustrating。 The last quarter of the book moved fast and kept me interested enough， but again was quite disappointing in the end when the implied built-up aspects came to nothing。 Oh well。 。。。more
William Sterling
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The short version: Keisling captures all of the horror of small town living and old time religion in a beautifully written masterpiece。 I adored it。 The longer version: Keisling gives us a gaggle of characters who are unique and easy to cheer for （or against）， a big bad who is truly the stuff of nightmares， and a third act which dares to go places that most other horror stories seem to shy away from。 There's body horror。 There's cosmic horror。 There's things that go bump in the night and cults a The short version: Keisling captures all of the horror of small town living and old time religion in a beautifully written masterpiece。 I adored it。 The longer version: Keisling gives us a gaggle of characters who are unique and easy to cheer for （or against）， a big bad who is truly the stuff of nightmares， and a third act which dares to go places that most other horror stories seem to shy away from。 There's body horror。 There's cosmic horror。 There's things that go bump in the night and cults and monsters and worms。 Worms everywhere。Whatever your preferred flavor of horror， it's somewhere in Devil's Creek。But it all works together and flows seamlessly。 What could have come across as a scattershot approach to hitting too many horror stereotypes was handled masterfully by Keisling， and it all built up to a bat-shift crazy story that I won't soon forget。 。。。more
Inessa
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A list of things wrong with this book: The only excitement took place within the first fifty pages。 Character development doesn’t exist， if I’m reading a 400 page novel I better love， hate or find someone funny or endearing。 I had no one to root for nor care for。 The only novels where great detail is always needed is in a fantasy as it is new and unfamiliar - readers need to visualize the land and concepts。 This is not a fantasy novel。。。 we get it， the possessions needed to be explained but how A list of things wrong with this book: The only excitement took place within the first fifty pages。 Character development doesn’t exist， if I’m reading a 400 page novel I better love， hate or find someone funny or endearing。 I had no one to root for nor care for。 The only novels where great detail is always needed is in a fantasy as it is new and unfamiliar - readers need to visualize the land and concepts。 This is not a fantasy novel。。。 we get it， the possessions needed to be explained but how many times I read a mixture of: “black tendrils” “oozing black sludge” or chantings of “he lives” or “will you suffer for the Lord？” Was way too many to count。 I’d dare say at least 100 pages are devoted to quotes along this nature。 I feel what this author should explore is writing terrible erotica。 I read half of his attempts to write about sexual acts just so I could laugh at how awful it was。Spoilers belowThe ending was pretty much “the ending” the first time Jacob Masters was around。 I don’t see any extraordinary difference but it worked this time！ I found his resurrection stupid and then his grandma resurrecting as well - I actually chuckled。 The one who put him down thirty years ago is back！ This could’ve potentially been a successful novella but at 400 pages it is a read I can’t fathom anyone enjoying。 Grateful to be done！ 。。。more
Court Garris
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Quite possibly the best cult story I've ever read。 I would highly recommend this one 。。。。。just read it during the day。 Not much scares me anymore but this。。。。。。this was horrifying， and I loved every second！！！！ Quite possibly the best cult story I've ever read。 I would highly recommend this one 。。。。。just read it during the day。 Not much scares me anymore but this。。。。。。this was horrifying， and I loved every second！！！！ 。。。more
John Milburn
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Well written but feels familiarThis book started out feeling like pulp， but got much better as it went on。 My biggest complaint was that it didn’t feel all that original。 More like a mosaic of other books。 Still a fun read
Evelyn Hall
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Devil’s Creek， by Todd Keisling is a horror book I read last summer。 The the main reason I picked it up is because it was set in a small community in Kentucky。 Since that is something I am familiar with I was excited to see what the author would do with it。The premise is that six children are rescued from a religious cult right before its members commit mass suicide and their compound is burned to the ground。 Now， 30 years later the six are reunited to try and stop the past from repeating itself Devil’s Creek， by Todd Keisling is a horror book I read last summer。 The the main reason I picked it up is because it was set in a small community in Kentucky。 Since that is something I am familiar with I was excited to see what the author would do with it。The premise is that six children are rescued from a religious cult right before its members commit mass suicide and their compound is burned to the ground。 Now， 30 years later the six are reunited to try and stop the past from repeating itself。 This book had several things that appealed to me。 First of all， I have a minor fascination with cults so that element really intrigued me。 The idea of a small town being taken over by evil forces is a classic horror trope and one to which I am always drawn。 I was getting a lot of early Stephen King vibes， specifically， Salem’s Lot， It， The Stand and even a little bit of Cycle of the Werewolf。 And while Keisling is clearly inspired by King he does impart is own originality to the story。 What is the saying？ Borrow from the best and make it your own。 Keisling does a really good job of it by fleshing out the characters without them being the usual stereotypes and creating a really compelling plot。 This book is a throwback to the epic horror novel of the past。 It’s long in length， is playing with big ideas and allows the terror to gradually build until the final showdown between good and evil。 Add in Kentucky and I was a happy camper。 My only complaint was I thought there was a little too much gore， but it’s a horror novel， right？ Overall it was a solid and fun read and I’ll be looking forward to his next book。 #bookstagram 。。。more
Joe Koch
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This is a dark， well-rounded， and thoroughly entertaining bit of cult fiction from Todd Keisling。 It is a gruesome story that is brilliantly told and I am excited to read whatever Mr。 Keisling makes next。
Nia Ireland
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I’ll preface this review by saying that I appreciate that the book is really well written and is heavily inspired by Stephen King in style and content， and as someone who doesn’t particularly enjoy King’s writing style （heresy， I know）， I was never going to be the hugest fan。 That being said， I read all 400+ pages so clearly something about it worked for me！ This book is an epic and well worth the love it's getting， the 3 stars are representative of my personal enjoyment of it。I’d venture that t I’ll preface this review by saying that I appreciate that the book is really well written and is heavily inspired by Stephen King in style and content， and as someone who doesn’t particularly enjoy King’s writing style （heresy， I know）， I was never going to be the hugest fan。 That being said， I read all 400+ pages so clearly something about it worked for me！ This book is an epic and well worth the love it's getting， the 3 stars are representative of my personal enjoyment of it。I’d venture that this book was about 100 pages than it needed to be to comfortably convey the story， I’m too impatient to truly enjoy the pace at which the author revealed the mysteries of Devil’s Creek。It all begins with six children being rescued from becoming sacrificial lambs to an old god living under a cultist church。 They spend their lives trying to recover from the trauma of their messed up childhoods， but eventually events lead them back to their creepy priest father and the old god that still wants his sacrifice。The author doesn’t balk at the nastier and gorier sides of horror – including plenty of assaults on children， incest and gross zombie worm puke。 The first two are handled with appropriate delicacy so it doesn’t feel like they’re glorifying the acts or downplaying how horrific they actually are， but they hit hard and made me a little queasy in places。For fans of Stephen King， this book is going to blow your socks off。 For horror fans who don’t worship at the altar of King， it’ll at the very least make you nod your head in respect。TW: Incest， sexual assault， child abuse， torture。 。。。more
Bethany
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3。5Nothing like a mindless satanic cult book set in rural Kentucky to start the new year off right。
Steven Montano
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Overlong， uninspired tale of a blasphemous cult and the rebirth of evil。 Some good characters， but the plot is thin and severely dragged out， and the author relies on gore rather than actual scares。 Also， this novel is at least 100 pages too long。On the plus side， if you have ever wondered how much repeated mention of pedophilia and icky black body burrowing worms it takes before they lose all shock value， then this is the book for you。A generous 1。5 stars rounded up to 2。
Gary Regan
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3 Stars:I’ve read a lot of other reviews and many absolutely loved it。 Sorry but I could not get into this in any way shape or form。 I found it somewhat off putting。 I’m giving it a three because I may be missing something here。 About fifteen miles west of Stauford， Kentucky lies Devils Creek。 According to local legend， there used to be a church out there， home to the Lords Church of Holy Voices a death cult where Jacob Masters preached the gospel of a nameless god。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Devil's Creek
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Devil's Creek&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Devil's Creek&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0