What happened at Mahingan Falls? – review of the book “Signal”

A troubled town

Olivia and Tom Spencer live a quiet life in New York City. They are raising a teenage son, a two-year-old daughter and a woman’s nephew. Their carefree lives change when they move to an old house in the small town of Mahingan Falls. They begin to hear strange sounds, haunt their terrible dreams, and wounds appear on their bodies. It turns out that the house once belonged to an occultist, and its subsequent tenants committed suicide. To save the family, Tom seeks help from a local psychic. But it’s not just the Spencers who are in trouble. More people are dying in the city. The circumstances of their deaths are mysterious, but the local police are unwilling to take any action. Only a newly arrived officer starts an investigation on his own. If that was not enough, the local radio can hear the conversation of the visitor from beyond the world, and in one of the cornfields a scarecrow comes to life, who tries to murder children. Will the inhabitants cope with such a wave of supernatural phenomena?

Inspirations from the best

Maxime Chattam’s Signals is an extremely intriguing horror movie full of suspense and twists. The author once again throws us into a whirlwind of mysterious events. It combines supernatural and criminal threads in a great way. By the way, the novel was to be a tribute to the works of Stephen King and HP Lovecraft. And this art was successful. What’s more, fans of the Stranger Things series and even JRR Tolkien’s series will also find something for themselves! Together with the heroes, we move to Mahingan Falls, a town located near Salem. The people here are going through a terrible time. Murders, mysterious disappearances, voices and visions become everyday life for them. Admittedly, Chattam has captured the dark atmosphere of the place very well, and the reader has the impression that this atmosphere surrounds him more and more with each page read. At the same time, thanks to the short chapters and captivating plot, the novel reads very quickly and it is difficult to break away from it. However, this is due not only to the story itself, but also to the characters. Olivia comes to the fore here. Despite adversities, he does not break down. He fights against supernatural forces to save his family. Moreover, it also protects the babysitter of her children, who is being harassed by a friend from school. Tom is also no worse than his wife. It is he who looks for solutions at the local medium and at the local cemetery. Their son became involved in his parents, and his cousin is no different from the rest of the family. Owen, Chad, and their friends Corey and Connor, not only aren’t afraid of the deadly sparrow scare, they can build a flamethrower, and know where to seek help. In addition to all this, we are also a bit stereotypical, but the steadfast and brave lawman Ethan Cobb. Against the will of his superiors, he goes to help the inhabitants. As you can see, even without a detailed description, the author actually draws handfuls from the works of these writers, and the references to Netflix production are obvious. And where is Tolkien in all this? The lovers of the creator of The Hobbit are the aforementioned kids, who call their dog Smaug, and places near the house and in the city are given names taken straight from Middle-earth.

Nothing but reading

The latest novel by Maxime Chattam, published in Poland by the Sonia Draga publishing house, will surely meet the expectations of fans. Although Signal is not the most bloody work in the author’s oeuvre, we still have a lot of scenes of real carnage here. In addition, the aura of mystery and horror is perfectly felt. Also the characters are described very well and the reader is able to get close to them. It is impossible not to cheer for them during the struggle with paranormal events. The plot itself does not seem very revealing at times, but it was the author’s intention. In this way, he referred to the works of other writers, wishing to honor them. And although the book is 669 pages long, it reads very quickly. So it is a perfect read for long winter evenings. Provided you like to be afraid, of course!