The Haar: A Horror Novel

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But when an overseas property developer threatens to evict the residents from their homes and raze Witchaven to the ground in the name of progress, all seems lost… until the day a mysterious fog bank creeps inland.

David Sodergren - Fantastic Fiction David Sodergren - Fantastic Fiction

His employees buy or force people to give up their property. Most of them do exactly this. But not Muriel McAuley. Her counteroffer is simple and elegant. “Double the offer and then shove it up your arse.” Growing up, he was the kind of kid who collected rubber skeletons and lived for horror movies. Not much has changed since then. Now, I haven’t forgotten about that ‘gore-soaked’ aspect either. Expect the brutality and bloodbath that David is known for. Think ‘Maggie’s Grave’ and you’ll have an idea, and while this one doesn’t have as much as most of his books, it works perfectly to highlight the horrors and events Muriel is living through. Do I think David’s work is grossly overlooked? Absolutely. Look at his body of work thus far; ‘The Forgotten Island,’ ‘Night Shoot,’ ‘Dead Girl Blues,’ Maggie’s Grave,’ The Perfect Victim,’ and ‘Satan’s Burnouts Must Die!’ I would call all of these Indie Horror Masterpieces. Sodergren fully embraces the DIY Self-Publishing model and the level/caliber of books he’s given us are second to none. And I’m not going to include our co-written novel ‘The Navajo Nightmare’ as I think that would be too biased, but I will say, his opening salvo that makes up the story is simply one of the best Splatter-Western stories released in that genre over the last few years. Muriel McAuley is one of the most delightful elderly heroines I’ve met in literature, yet at the same time she has a terrifying amount of gumption and unwillingness to give in. Muriel has lived in the remote Scottish village of Witchaven her entire life – she literally knows nothing else and has no desire to go to a new place, especially at 80+ years old.It gets pretty gruesome, but there's a genuine heart running through it. That's all I kind of want to say without ruining anything. Like I've said many times before, I rarely read a synopsis. I most often go on an author's previous efforts or recommendations from fellow readers. With David Sodergren, it's a no-brainer. He never lets me down. I don’t fear death… but they do.” Muriel McAuley has lived in the Scottish fishing village of Witchaven all her life. She was born there, and she intends to die there. But when an overseas property developer threatens to evict the residents from their homes and raze Witchaven to the ground in the name of progress, all seems lost… until the day a mysterious fog bank creeps inland. THE HAAR To some it brings redemption… to others, it brings only madness and death. What macabre secrets lie within… THE HAAR Romantic and deranged, THE HAAR is a gore-soaked folk horror fairy tale from David Sodergren, author of The Forgotten Island and Maggie’s Grave The Haar by David Sodergren – eBook Details I love battle-for-nature stories with revenge. The Haar was excellently paced, an easy read to breeze through, and stirred in me rainbow of emotion. I was angry then happy then disgusted then sad then infuriated then exuberant. Haha, really everything under the sun. ☀️ It's set in a small Scottish seaside fishing village that's under threat of a billionare land developer. He's throwing crazy money at the residents to buy them out but eighty-four year old Muriel ain't budging. No amount he offers could entice her to give up her home, the one that her 12 years gone husband built just for her, where all her best memories reside. Muriel is a likable character at first but like I said. I abhor characters that make their personality solely based on someone they love. So once she starts becoming infatuated with the sea jello she became less likable and all the more detestable. To the point that I was no longer rooting for her and was beginning to lose sympathy for her. Is she a bad person? No. Not at all. But she does become increasingly annoying as the plot continues and again the obsession and her sole goal being to just be able to peacefully hold a sea creature in her house and have it shape shift into her husband so she can play house with it - it’s just not my jam. Her sadness is completely understandable and valid. However the lengths she goes through to keep her delusions alive does come off as rather pathetic. It’s one thing to miss your husband. It’s another to keep a sea creature alive and beg it to cosplay as your hubby cause you have unresolved issues.

The Haar Download - OceanofPDF [PDF] The Haar Download - OceanofPDF

If there was ever a story I wish I could erase from my mind only to read over and over again…it would be this one! It is the perfect love story with a Cthulhu twist, and although I don’t foresee anything like this happening to me, it has really made me think about my own relationships in my life. It’s a wonderful piece about humanity and what we are as creatures in this vast world. I have never felt so small and meaningless in this world, and yet my heart has never been so full. Because it’s another one of those films that begins with a dynamite sequence of horror and then flails around like a fish out of water for the rest of its runtime. But let’s enjoy the good while it lasts.The Haar starts as a story about a greedy American arsehole who is trying to destroy the small coastal fishing town of Witchhaven, Scotland, and slowly turns into a story about love, self-preservation, and the human condition. Then there's the cliche yelled from a police blow horn at an 80-something year old widow: You are surrounded! Come out with your hands up!!... Would you fall in love with a murderous sea creature that only has your best intentions at heart? Honestly… I might. This story for all its gore and injustice was surprisingly… adorable. 😆 I absolutely love Muriel as a character. She is so righteous with a hard edge and very relatable. A well-rounded character who I wanted nothing but the best for. And I think Avalon gave that to her in the most romantically disturbing way. 🥹🖤 🌊

David Sodergren – Paperbacks and Pugs | The official website David Sodergren – Paperbacks and Pugs | The official website

But with the coming of the haar (coastal fog) comes a strange monster/alien that changes her life forever. It gives me Basketcase meets the old couple from The Notebook vibes (that makes zero sense, probably, but just trust me it works). Trust me when I say that you really can't wait to meet this creature. And you really should find out how a single book that made me cry has a one-eyed blobby alien creature that can change forms/shapes and also involves some (much deserved) penile mutilation. While there are some sweet moments in this book in terms of senior love and marriage, this is STILL a Sodergren novel and you can expect all the gore and blood and death. One night, the mist comes to the village and brings something with it that will change everything. Especially for our main character Muriel, a lonely elderly woman that will not give up her home, her memories and her identity. There is gore in this, and for someone like me who loves the gore, it’s the best kind of gore. Sodergren does a fantastic job of describing true horror, some absolutely gruesome things happen in this story…and I could not get enough! Besides the gore, there is so much love shown in this story. For someone like me, the gore and the love make it the perfect masterpiece of literature.Thou shalt not judge a film by it’s opening scene,Thou shalt not judge a film by it’s opening scene,Thou shalt not judge a film by it’s opening scene, etc’

The Haar by David Sodergren | Goodreads The Haar by David Sodergren | Goodreads

The end of the book has some words from Sodergren's own gran from a journal entry. He mentions parts of Muriel were inspired by her and it was such a treat to see her own words and thoughts on paper.

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But, if you look at that synopsis closely, you’ll see Sodergren says this is a gore-soaked folk horror fairy tale, and that’s just what we get. We get a looming fog, the haar, that sweeps in one day and brings something from the ocean. Muriel saves it, connects with it and gets to experience some of life’s moments again. Things and memories she thought long since buried, returning and reinvigorating her. The billionaire villain in this story truly has the audacity. In truth, the sheer number of things he’s able to get away with here are appalling to a satirical extent, (at least I’d like to tell myself that). Basically, he’s gotten everybody to move out of Witchaven except for stubborn Muriel and her bff. They’ve tried placating with money, they’ve moved to psychological warfare, and soon, when it becomes clear that’s not enough, things escalate to an even more violent degree. The novel centers on the little Scottish town of Witchaven and an 80-something year old widow woman, Muriel...