George C. Shattuck

The Haunted Camera George C. Shattuck

John Starlight buys an antique movie camera and in it discovers a reel of exposed 16 mm film. John has the film developed, it dates from the mid 1930s, and in it views a massacre of an entire family. Curious, he reviews old newspapers and finds detailed accounts of the 1935 massacre which is the citys oldest unsolved crime. Further research leads John to the actual house where the incident occurred and into the first of many verbal clashes with the houses current owner, a school teacher named Kimmey Keating. Shortly thereafter Kimmerys house, scene of the massacre, is burned down in an attempt to murder her. Kimmeys uncle, Jacob FitzHugh Van Dusen IV, appears to dislike John and Kimmey in equal measure and finds it difficult to believe that he too is in danger. As it turns out a hired assassin is apparently trying to wipeout the last memories of the family, to complete what was started in 1935. Danger, suspense, old family secrets, and the 1935 massacre combine in a novel whose genre could be labeled Mystery/Romance with a Touch of the Gothic.