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The Elementals  By  cover art

The Elementals

By: Michael McDowell
Narrated by: R. C. Bray
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Publisher's summary

After a bizarre and disturbing incident at the funeral of matriarch Marian Savage, the McCray and Savage families look forward to a restful and relaxing summer at Beldame, on Alabama's Gulf Coast, where three Victorian houses loom over the shimmering beach. Two of the houses are habitable, while the third is slowly and mysteriously being buried beneath an enormous dune of blindingly white sand. But though long uninhabited, the third house is not empty. Inside, something deadly lies in wait. Something that has terrified Dauphin Savage and Luker McCray since they were boys, and which still haunts their nightmares. Something horrific that may be responsible for several terrible and unexplained deaths years earlier–and is now ready to kill again....

A haunted house story unlike any other, Michael McDowell's The Elementals (1981) was one of the finest novels to come out of the horror publishing explosion of the 1970s and '80s. Though best known for his screenplays for Tim Burton's Beetlejuice and The Nightmare Before Christmas, McDowell is now being rediscovered as one of the best modern horror writers and a master of Southern Gothic literature.

©1981, 2016 Estate of Michael McDowell (P)2016 Valancourt Books LLC

What listeners say about The Elementals

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Absolutely amazing

One of my favorite books. Characters are excellent and Bray absolutely slays the accents.

Wish it was longer. I love the idea of the summer homes. I could really imagine what it all looked like.

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The absolute BEST!!!

This is one of the best books I’ve ever heard. I think I listened to the whole thing within two days i could not stop listening. This is definitely my favorite author.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A great listen for Spooky Season

This novel is truly strange and frightening—it sticks in the mind and almost makes you see things out of the corner of your eye. I found listening at 90% speed perfect. Unfortunately this edition is missing the creepy prologue, although the events of the prologue are recounted in Chapter 1.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Great story

A fast paced and extremely well written story. Strong characters, and a great atmosphere was created. Definitely a solid 5/5, and the fact that RC Bray narrated was a cherry on top.

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Creepiest story I've read

Wow! The Elementals packs a punch you won't see coming even if you're looking for it. What is creepy about the beach, sunshine and sand? Read on if you dare...

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

RC Bray is Amazing

There’s no other narrator on Audible who can provide the voice of a southern black woman, an angsty teenage girl from New York, a southern white woman socialite and politicians wife, etc.
RC does this all while making an average storyline way more interesting.

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RC Bray

Love his way in which he reads. He always brings all he does to life!

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  • 10-11-23

Perfect Horror Story!!!

The story and performance were excellent! I was hooked immediately and couldn’t stop listening!
This was my first book by Michael McDowell and enjoyed it immensely! Have already bought 3 more titles by him.
I was sorry to read he passed on in 1999. What a tragic loss.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Complex and intriguing

Even though The Elementals came out over 40 years ago, it still holds up as an interesting haunted house story. I didn’t feel scared reading it but I was intrigued. The setting on a beach in Alabama was brought to life and I was able to picture the environment.

The two main families in the story are peculiar and much of the plot focuses on their family dynamics and doesn’t have anything to do with the supernatural forces. It would be a suspenseful story even without the paranormal subplot because the human characters are complex.

I listened to the book on Audible and the narration was excellent. The narrator was believable in both the Northern and Southern accents.

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The Elementals

Fan-freakin-tastic!

Just my kind of spooky.

Scary, funny, entertaining the whole way through.

Narration made the book EVEN better.

Wish it was longer, that’s how much I enjoyed it.

Perfect October listen.

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