---

I wasn’t really familiar with Eden Royce before her recent novella PSYCHOPOMP & CIRCUMSTANCE was released. It’s got one of the most striking covers in recent memory & it’s definitely on my radar after seeing some really good reviews from some Bookstagram friends! 

But then I found out that Royce has written a few middle grade horror novels & so I picked up a copy of her most recent one, THE CREEPENING OF DOGWOOD HOUSE!

When we meet our young protagonist, Roddie Bolden, he’s living in the Williamson Orphanage. His mother has tragically died in a car accident & Roddie is alone. We get the sense that while Williamson isn’t an awful place, it’s also not exactly a happy place. 

Which is why Roddie is equal parts anxious and grateful to learn that his Aunt Angie, his only living relative, is going to take custody of him. Angie and Roddie’s mother had been somewhat estranged of late, but Angie and her new husband, Erik, are delighted to be bringing Roddie into their family. 

Angie & Erik are in the process of fixing up Angie’s (and Roddie’s mom, Layla’s) childhood home in South Carolina, Dogwood House. I’m not sure the house is ever explicitly described as Victorian, but that’s kind of how I imagined it. Either way, it’s BIG. 

And in total disrepair. The house had been a rental for a while, and it’s in terrible shape. Room by room, Angie & Erik are trying to rehab this majestic place, getting rid of mold, painting, and modernizing. It’s an intense amount of work, and Roddie, eager to show his gratitude, chips in where he can. 

Angie also slowly introduces Roddie to some of the hoodoo practices that Layla was into when she was younger, things like hair burning & creating remembrance spaces. It’s all strange & new to Roddie because…he had no idea his Mom was a hoodoo. Which sort of compounds the sense of grief & loss he feels. The idea that he never really knew this big part of his Mom’s identity stings. 

And as the outrageously hot summer (WITH NO A/C) wears on, Roddie begins to understand why his Mom practiced hoodoo: Dogwood House is EXTREMELY haunted! Roddie learns about a creature called the Bridgeweaver, and starts to understand the house’s strange connection between shed hair & this creepy monster. 

This is a relatively short book (around 250 pages) and I don’t think describing it as a “slow burn” is totally accurate. The story is so engaging, and incredibly tender & emotional from the very first page. But the last 30 pages or so of this one?

Absolutely terrifying. 

The Bridgeweaver is such a creepy villain, one of the creepiest I’ve met in a middle grade horror novel. There’s also moments in this book that feel a bit like…cosmic horror? Just a little, but it was a cool touch. 

Roddie is an incredibly self-aware kid who has had to endure way more than any twelve-year-old should. He’s carrying an enormous amount of grief & the process of learning to let a little of that grief go, to almost share in it with Angie & Erik (who are so lovely to Roddie), is a difficult but important one.

There’s so much to love about THE CREEPENING OF DOGWOOD HOUSE. It can feel heavy & very grief-focused at times. But there are some moments of pure joy & the powerful love of family. Oof, yeah. This one had me feeling feelings. 

There’s also so much about the importance & uniqueness of hair in Black culture, as the treatment & styling of Roddie’s hair is probably the most precious memory he has of his mother. I loved getting to learn a bit about hoodoo, even in small doses. This just feels like a really personal, and culturally rich book for young readers (and grownups, too!), and I loved the whole vibe of it!