I’ll say upfront that I’m a huge fan of the supernatural, so Something Still Lives Here was always going to appeal to me. But what I didn’t expect was quite how effectively L J Newton would make me believe her. This is a well written and credible account of eight years spent living alongside something the family couldn’t explain, couldn’t name, and ultimately couldn’t escape — and it is all the more compelling for the way it is told.
Newton and her family moved into a farm cottage in the northeast of England in January 2014, full of hope and fresh beginnings. By the first night, something had already made itself known. What followed over the next eight years — the footsteps in empty rooms, the clock with wildly spinning hands, the presence on the stairs, the reluctant secrets of a sealed attic — is recounted here without sensationalism or embellishment. There are no dramatic psychic mediums called in, no paranormal investigation teams sweeping the property with equipment. Newton simply tells you what happened, as honestly and plainly as she can, and leaves you to draw your own conclusions.
That restraint is a deliberate choice, and a wise one. A part of me, as a lover of all things supernatural, would have enjoyed more drama — more investigation, more answers. But the understated approach is precisely what makes this account feel legitimate. Newton isn’t trying to convince you of anything. She’s just telling you what her family lived through, and somehow that quiet honesty is far more unsettling than any embellishment could be.
The chapters are short and the pace moves quickly — perhaps too quickly, because you reach the end before you feel ready, still wanting more. The news that Newton is conducting research into the history of the property is intriguing, and the questions that linger are genuinely compelling ones. Did the family who moved in after them experience anything similar? What — or who — was there? The mystery remains open, and that feels entirely right.
For those of us who have had our own unexplained moments — those feelings of not being quite alone, of something just beyond explanation — this book will resonate deeply. It is a quiet, atmospheric and thoroughly absorbing read, and one I’d recommend without hesitation.
I award 5 stars.
