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Here it is folks, the ultimate haunted house book by Richard Matheson. He's the man that brought vampires (or zombies, depending upon how you look at it) to life in the book I Am Legend. It's also the book that inspired the 1973 film, The Legend of Hell House, which starred Roddy McDowell.

Anyway, before we go much further let me warn you this one is not for those with a low tolerance for bad language. The evil of this house is created through one man's excesses and the people that lived and died in the house did some very evil things. During the playing out of some of those evil actions and spirit possessions, some very colorful vernacular is used -- so be prepared.

The narrator, Ray Porter, does a phenomenal job of vocally distinguishing characters and he delivers the horror with the right level of chill to keep your hair standing on end. Without using digital effects, Ray's voice portrays the haunting spirits as though the disembodied voice is right there with you. He does things with his voice that may creep you out.

The story follows four people: Dr. Lionel Barrett, a physicist out to prove that hauntings are merely electro-magnetic parts of nature; Edith, his wife; Florence Tanner, a medium who will help clear the house of its spirits; and Benjamin Franklin Fischer, a medium and the only survivor from previous excursions to Hell House.

A very rich man on the edge of life wants to find if there is life after death. The perfect place to prove this is the notorious Belasco House, known as Hell House. Two different groups of people have visited Hell House before, to explore the haunting and only one person has survived. The house's original owner, Emeric Belasco, was know to throw parties in which all party-goers reveled in evil. All manner of sin is said to have occurred and many people died in the house during these parties. Belasco's body was never found and his evil is said to destroy all who enter the house.

The hired experts have to spend a week in the house to prove whether spirits exist. Immediately, they are treated to the evil that is Hell House. From rocking chairs that rock on their own to violent attacks, the party learns they are not welcome. Dr. Barrett has a machine that will clear out the haunting by using electro-magnetic energy, but before he can get his machine running, he must first survive the attacks and possessions.

I want so badly to tell you about some of the terrifying adventures in the house, but the element of surprise is what makes this book such a great ghost story. Just remember, even with the lights on or with someone keeping you company, it's not safe to listen to this story.

Gil T. has spent a quarter of a century working in radio and has lots of spare time on his hands and reading or listening to books takes up all that time. Check out his blog to find out what he's up to at any given moment.