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I feel like found footage horror is a bit of a love it/hate it subgenre, maybe? Like I definitely see people post about it on Twitter and the vibe tends to go towards extremes.

I’m a big fan, going back to seeing The Blair Witch Project on opening weekend, in the middle of the day because we couldn’t get any better tickets. I walked out of the theatre in a fucking stupor because that movie was just…dang…it scared the goddamn life out of me!

I can’t say I have a ton of experience with the found footage format in book form, though. Maybe HOUSE OF LEAVES which i read ages ago and barely remember? But that probably counts, in a way. I’ve also noticed Craig DiLouie referring to EPISODE THIRTEEN as an epistolary novel, but it’s definitely got the found footage horror movie vibe, no doubt.

Anyhow, whatever you want to call it, EPISODE THIRTEEN is a haunted house novel told through first-hand accounts/journal entries, text message exchanges, and transcripts of videos taken at the scene.

The story centers around the cast & crew of a ghost hunting show called Fade to Black, led by a married couple, Matt & Claire Kirklan. The book includes a sort’ve meta reference to The X-Files, because with Matt as the true believer, and Claire the skeptical scientist, the Mulder & Scully comparison is inevitable.

Their show has found a moderate degree of success, but the producers are looking for something big for the season finale (this is one of a handful of things that required a bit of suspension of disbelief for me…that the show is being filmed/edited/produced/aired on a week-to-week basis, as opposed to being filmed well in advance of airing, which I think is pretty standard for any type of television show). Something to really hook in viewers, and guarantee they will get picked up for another season.

Enter the Foundation House, the long-abandoned headquarters of a group of paranormal investigators who disappeared under mysterious circumstances in the early 1970’s.

This is fine. Everything is fine.

Full disclosure, I’ve never watched a single episode of any of the shows that Fade to Black is supposed to be like. Ghost Hunters, Ghost Adventures, Scariest Places on Earth…I’m not sure why I’ve never bothered checking these out, because it feels like something I’d dig!

At any rate, the cool thing in EPISODE THIRTEEN is getting to pull back the curtain a bit. The crew is not all completely sold on all things spooky the way Matt is. In fact, one crew member named Jessica is an actor.

It’s Claire that stands out the most to me. The more we get to know her, the more we realize she’s not just skeptical of the paranormal, she’s diametrically opposed to basically everything Matt has been chasing his whole life. This creates some interesting dynamics, for sure.

This is the fourth Craig DiLouie book I’ve read, and it stands out in a couple ways. I think it’s most fun I’ve had reading one of his books, but it’s also probably the least character driven. The first two books of his I read, ONE OF US and OUR WAR were emotionally devastating, and I loved both of those books hard.

EPISODE THIRTEEN didn’t really have that effect on me, because I think I never all-the-way connected that much with the characters. I think the format of the book likely contributed to that slight disconnect in a way that’s hard to put my finger on.

There’s definitely some creepy & claustrophobic vibes in EPISODE THIRTEEN, and DiLouie really knows how to crank up the tension as the story progresses.

This was really fun! I think found footage horror is inherently a visual medium, but it’s cool to see it in book form! I know there was a recent horror anthology with a found footage theme that sounded pretty cool, so maybe I’ll check that out too!

EPISODE THIRTEEN reads wicked fast, and definitely had me looking over my shoulder at night!

Thanks so much to Orbit/Redhook for sending a copy my way!!