Author Language English Published 1980 | Country United States Genre Horror fiction | |
Media type Print (Hardcover, Paperback) | ||
The Cellar is a 1980 horror novel by American author Richard Laymon. It was Laymon's first published novel, and together with sequels The Beast House, The Midnight Tour, and the novella Friday Night in Beast House, forms the series known by fans of Laymon as "The Beast House Chronicles."
Contents
Synopsis
Donna, the book's protagonist, goes on the run with her daughter Sandy when she learns that her ex-husband, who molested Sandy for years, has been released from prison. After a car accident leaves them stranded in the small California coastal town of Malcasa Point, Donna and Sandy cross paths with Judge, a mercenary hired to track down and kill the murderous creature that supposedly haunts a local tourist attraction, the Beast House. Judge's employer, Larry, is an elderly man who had a traumatic encounter with the Beast as a child.
Meanwhile, Donna's ex-husband, Roy, follows Donna to Malcasa Point after killing Donna's sister and brother-in-law. Along the way, he also abducts and repeatedly rapes a nine-year-old girl and murders the girl's parents.
In the end, Roy, Larry and Judge fall victim to the carnivorous Beasts, several of which roam the underground tunnels beneath the Beast House at night, and Donna and Sandy become prisoners of the murderous Kutch family, the owners of Beast House.
Limited Edition
In 1997, Cemetery Dance Publications printed a limited edition hardcover version of The Cellar under ISBN 1-881475-28-X. The new edition featured an introduction by Bentley Little, an afterword by Laymon himself, and new artwork by Alan M. Clark. It also featured signatures from all three. The book was released in a Slipcased Limited Edition of 500 signed and numbered copies, and a Traycased Lettered Edition of 26 signed and lettered copies.