A Witch Down By the Lake (The Blair Witch Files: The Death Card)

The Blair Witch Files: The Death Card (The Blair Witch Files #5)

Author: Cole Merill

Published: 2001

On Goodreads

My Rating:

Rated W for the wicked witch of the woods coming out to claim the willing.

It’s not over…

The Blair Witch lives!

In 1974, Gavin Burns disappeared in the woods near Deep Creek Lake. The only witness was 16-year-old Sharon Webster. It wasn’t an accident. It was the Blair Witch, but that’s a secret she’ll take to her grave and she almost succeeded.

Years later, amid the hype of the Blair Witch, the story is unearthed by Kayla Maynard. She, her cousin, Erin, and boyfriend, Jon go on a weekend trip to hunt down the Blair Witch. What they discovered was more terrifying than they imagined. Cade Merrill, Blair Witch investigator, helped uncover what happened when they went into the woods and explain the unexplainable that is deemed the Blair Witch.

Before Paranormal Activity, there was The Blair Witch. The terrifying supernatural documentary really set the tone for this genre. It added a realistic quality that shook people. And holy crap, I had no idea a book series was released based on it. I didn’t hesitate to snatch this guy off of the thrift shelf.

Of course, this was cheesy and the main characters didn’t seem too bright, but this really hit the spot for a light and easy read. It was a good time but not a long time that I could implement my sarcastic commentary on. Kayla, Erin, and Jon just had to go do the typical teenage thing and look for trouble. Kayla was the go-getter, Erin the scaredy-cat, leaving Jon to be the complainer. Traipsing around some creepy woods didn’t sound like much but I was more rooting for the witch with the way these guys were acting.

I appreciate a book that utilizes a double storyline regarding time-a past and present. I enjoy the way they intertwine and how they can come to interesting conclusions. Sometimes they’re even surprising or add to the plot or storytelling. In this case, the past was referenced in regard to a campfire story, one that was true. It set up the book, and there’s nothing more old school than an old summer camp spookfest that verges on murder and obsession.

While the set-up was good and the characters were perfectly dim-witted and whiny, I’m not going pretend this was fantastic and off-the-wall epic and spooky. However, I did have fun and was entertained. I feel like the base of every book starts there.

This wasn’t a super in-depth look into the legend, just another tale gone awry, it did stand on its own. And, seeing that this one is part of a series, I definitely think this should develop into an anthology series. It would reawaken a well-known movie that even got a remake.

Overall

Not bad. I’ll probably keep it just because it enters the cult classic section for me. If you like a good ghost story then definitely worth a read. Don’t expect some major revelations or intense action sequences.