Have You Read This? Man Fuck This House by Brian Asman

 

Horror fans with Internet connections are likely familiar with the following meme:

 

 

 

 

 

The idea behind this meme is a cliche at this point: a family looking for a fresh start moves into a haunted house. However, several authors try to take this formula and add their own spin. One such author is Brian Asman who delivers a very out there, body horror, kaiju-inspired take on the concept with his novel Man, Fuck This House.

The story starts with a typical suburban family, the Haskins, moving into what appears to be a typical suburban home. Wife Sabrina is the typical housewife who has finally stopped to breathe long enough to ask what happened to her life. Her kids are distant, with her youngest being maladjusted at best and murderous at worst. Her husband is too wrapped up in his own life and work to notice that his wife is in dire need of emotional support. With no one left to turn to, Sabrina finds an unlikely friend in the house she just moved into. It’s a house that seems to respond to her wishes and it tries its best to make Sabrina’s life easier, even if it’s her family getting in the way of her happiness.

The story isn’t as much Gothic ghost story as it is a manic monster story, much less a haunting as much as a slow sort of possession. Sabrina suffers from loneliness, possibly because she is taken for granted by the family, and the house, or whatever intelligence dwells in its walls and beams, is there to provide comfort. This allows the house to ingratiate itself subtly into Sabrina’s life before Asman hits the Crazy button and this ride of a story goes full monster. Add in some truly disturbing body horror moments and Man, Fuck This House goes beyond the haunted house trope to create a truly fucked-up story about a dark relationship between a housewife and her house.