JERY TILLOTSON

After Andrea d'Allasandra's "Death House" became an overnight bestseller, readers swamped the publishers for more tales about the terrifying Benji, the mountain psycho. In this thrilling sequel, "Horror House," Benji returns with a vengeance. Now, "Death House" has become transformed into an ultra-modern apartment complex. The New York realty firm hopes residents have forgotten about the horrific Weekend Massacre of three years before. Ten weekend partygoers were butchered and vanished. More than twenty tenants have now moved in to enjoy the beautiful mountain vistas. Among the renters are Josie Jetson--the 'blue collar Martha Stewart', whose best-sellers are popular with the trailer trash crowd; Clyde McManus, a fading Hollywood screenwriter who is desperate to make a comeback; the cute and frisky gay couple, Charlie and Scotty; the bizarre welfare mother and her two children who've won a two-month stay at the luxurious Mountain Manor through a radio lottery. Joy is the bubbly but sharp office manager who watches out for the needs of the eccentric, bizarre, neurotic residents. Her handsome husband, Tyler, is chief of security, and he warns her that strange things are beginning to happen. With a blizzard on its way, Tyler and Joy become increasingly jittery. Because it was during a ferocious blizzard that the first Weekend Massacre occurred. Sure enough. As soon as the winds blow and the snow screams against the eaves of the great chalet, Benji creeps out of his hiding place. The slaughter begins anew.
Andrea D'Allasandra says: "What no one can believe is that both 'Death House' and 'Horror House' are based on an incident that occurred in l901. A group of hunters were exploring a remote mountain in North Carolina. They came across an enormous hunting lodge. Inside, they discovered seven skeletons. The victims had been butchered and tortured years before. Who they were and what happened is still a mystery."