The Winter People - Horror Annotation

Title: The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon

Published: 2014

Number of Pages: 317 pages

Plot Summary: This story alternates between 1908 and the present day in West Hall, Vermont. In 1908, Sara Harrison Shea is struggling with the death of her young daughter, Gertie. Her husband, Martin, is worried about her mental state. Yet, his worry comes to a peak when she begins saying Gertie is back from the dead. But the dead don’t come back to life, right? Meanwhile in the present day Ruthie is troubled with the abrupt disappearance of her mother and Katherine is trying to cope with the loss of her husband. When both women find Sara Harrison Shea’s diary that recounts the days between Gertie’s death and her own, the pieces begin to fall into place to show how everything is connected. 

Horror Elements:

Tone: Saricks states that horror has a feeling of foreboding and fear (p. 238). That is definitely present in The Winter People as each section builds up then cuts off. It leaves the reader fearing a certain outcome, but it will not be revealed until the character’s next section.

Setting: The setting for The Winter People is also in tune with typical horror novels as it is set in the winter, specifically January, and in a very spooky woods.

Pacing: The pacing in The Winter People is erratic with its alternating time periods and abrupt ends of chapters and sections.

Characterization: Most characters in horror are haunted, shattered individuals who are vulnerable and lacking control (Saricks, p. 243). These are true for each character in The Winter People, but especially Sara. Sara has gone through several traumatic experiences her whole life starting with her mother who died giving birth to her, then having several miscarriages, and finally losing her daughter. This makes Sara the perfect character to have at the center of a horror novel. She is desperate and unpredictable which adds to the feeling of foreboding.

3 Read-Alikes:

The Women in Black: A Ghost Story by Susan Hill

The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian

The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher

Personal Thoughts: This was more creepy than I thought it would be. I thought since it would not have jump scares like TV shows and movies that it would be okay, but there kept being that sense of fear and foreboding. I got to a point where I had to make sure I read it when other people were around even though I usually do not like to be interrupted when reading. Even though it was creepy, it was a very interesting complex story with well-developed characters. These were stated on Novelist and I was glad to find it to be true. I also found it interesting that Saricks stated that horror normally has a lot of sex, violence, and profanity, but The Winter People was actually quite tame in those areas. There were only a handful of instances where “making love” was mentioned and there were only a few pages where profane language was used. The violence was a little more prevalent, but still not as bad as it could have been. Overall, I think this is a great read for those who are reading horror for the first time and are nervous about it.