The Killer Who Lived Here by Matt Blake
When I saw The Killer Who Lived Here: The Haunting True Story of a House with a Dark Past by Matt Blake, I was very intrigued. I deliberately didn’t read into the story behind it, as I didn’t want to ruin my expectations of the story, which unfolds and is genuinely intriguing, story which reveals a horrifying crime and elements of potential paranormal activity.
After moving in with his daughter, journalist and author Matt Blake moved into a house in Walthamstow, unaware of its past, and goes much further than the title suggests. After unusual activity with electrical items, strange noises and burnt floorboards, he decides to investigate. What is uncovered is a horror story spanning over a decade and brought front-page media attention to a number of brutal crimes. Although seemingly a true-crime story, we’re also taken on a paranormal investigation which is additionally interesting.
The house itself had a number of problems, which were certainly cause for investigation. I was, however, confused at the author’s choices of who to consult; those consulted certainly had impressive credentials, but I did feel as if the author was leading himself up the garden path and taking the reader along with him, as none of the people spoken to actually addressed the issue. In the UK alone, there are a number of Paranormal Investigation societies that use scientific methodology to attempt to determine the issue, such as the Society of Psychical Research, the Association for the Scientific Study of Anomalous Phenomena and even the Ghost Club. Some of the world’s leading parapsychologists are based in the UK; however, the author chose to ignore all these, and, speaking as an accredited investigator myself, leaves me somewhat confused why.
However, my niggles aside, The Killer Who Lived Here is a highly intriguing story, and will leave the reader wondering what they’d do in that situation. Often humorous and a very much ‘warts and all’ detailing of the author’s own situation and downfalls, the refreshing honesty with which it was written was highly impressive. I believe this is the author’s first book, and, if so, I really hope there’s more to come, as The Killer Who Lived Here genuinely is highly enjoyable, very well researched, and a riveting page-turner, so I look forward to seeing what the future brings!
Founder and Editor of Pilgrim House and The Gothic Revival, currently researching Folklore and early Welsh Christianity and a student Counsellor. Tom’s other work on music, poetry, writing on autism along other writings and images can be found at https://tomasstanger.com