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Editorial Reviews
Goat Dance is a full-length novel of supernatural horror, more than 400 pages in length.
In winter, in the mountains, a darkness envelopes a town...a house on the edge of a lake holds the key to its horrifying secret.
From Douglas Clegg, award-winning author of Isis and The Hour Before Dark, comes a novel of unimaginable terror and heart-pounding suspense. What secrets lie within the ancient place known as the Goat Dance?
A Haunted Lake . . .
Seven-year-old Teddy Amory should have died that winter's day on Clear Lake, when she fell through the ice while skating with her older brother, Jake. But something got inside her that day . . . something terrifying . . .
A Haunted Town . . .
Nightmarish forces lurk in the mountains of Virginia, and a shadowy darkness has begun to spread like a shroud over the living. Now a town must face its terrifying past as a possessed child threatens to unleash an unspeakable horror . . .
Related Reviews
A great introduction to Douglas Clegg
By now, all my reader friends are probably pretty tired of hearing my repeated recommendations of Douglas Clegg. When I find something I like, however, I am more than happy to recommend it to others.
Goat Dance takes us to Pontefract, Virginia--a tiny community where everyone knows everyone else. Cup moved away years ago, but he is now having horrifying dreams and receiving ominous telephone calls that lure him back to his hometown. Once there, he is caught up in an ancient evil that is reaching out to gain power. Cup joins forces with some fellow townspeople to try to stop the spread of this horrifying creature before it destroys everyone in its path. At one point, Cup asks himself "How do you keep the dead out? If they want you, they'll find a way."
This is a chilling story that kept my attention from page one. The characters are realistic and interesting, the evil is deliciously frightening, and the twists and turns are enough to grab the reader's attention all the way through the story. As with any Clegg novel, this one is part love story, part personal discovery, part epic and 100% scary. This title may be difficult to find, but it is certainly worth the effort. If you are new to Clegg, you might want to also check out YOU COME WHEN I CALL YOU, HALLOWEEN MAN and THE NIGHTMARE CHRONICLES.
Goat Dance takes us to Pontefract, Virginia--a tiny community where everyone knows everyone else. Cup moved away years ago, but he is now having horrifying dreams and receiving ominous telephone calls that lure him back to his hometown. Once there, he is caught up in an ancient evil that is reaching out to gain power. Cup joins forces with some fellow townspeople to try to stop the spread of this horrifying creature before it destroys everyone in its path. At one point, Cup asks himself "How do you keep the dead out? If they want you, they'll find a way."
This is a chilling story that kept my attention from page one. The characters are realistic and interesting, the evil is deliciously frightening, and the twists and turns are enough to grab the reader's attention all the way through the story. As with any Clegg novel, this one is part love story, part personal discovery, part epic and 100% scary. This title may be difficult to find, but it is certainly worth the effort. If you are new to Clegg, you might want to also check out YOU COME WHEN I CALL YOU, HALLOWEEN MAN and THE NIGHTMARE CHRONICLES.
Don't let the title or the cover art put you off, because this book isn't another one of those tedious, repetitive, done-to-death "Oooh-look-it's-Satan" novels. In fact, Satan (or Memnoch, as Anne Rice would call him) does not even put in an appearance. Instead it's a young-man-returns-after-many-years-to-the-town-he-grew-up-in-and-where-something-bad-happened-when-he-was-a-kid novels. Most horror writers seem to have written at least one, but this one is very well done nonetheless. The plot overview has already been iterated in previous reviews, so I won't add another one to the pile, but you get the idea.
It is all too easy to compare Douglas Clegg to Stephen King, but that is because there are some similarities in their narrative styles, though Clegg's descriptions are possibly more vivid.
I liked this book and think that it is worth tracking down.
Back in high school, I was a big fan of horror novels, namely anything by Stephen King (before his writing went south)but one of my favorite books in the horror genre was "Goat Dance" by Douglas Clegg. Yeah it was not Shakespeare but then again Shakespeare has never done anything for me. I bought "Goat Dance" on a whim when I first saw the book cover with the half-man, half-goat. That really freaked me out yet strangely enough compelled me to buy it. Part of the story involves a young girl named Teddy Amory who almost drowns but doesn't. She is revived but when she is revived, something powerful invades her body and takes control of her body and soul. That is just the sub-plot. The main plot revolves around a young man named cup who returns home to Pontefract to find that the place he grew up isn't what it used to be. In fact his home has become something of a nightmare. It has been awhile since I read this book but I do know that I loved reading it. It came off as a cheesy horror story at times but I enjoyed reading Cup's attempts to save his town from being consumed by the Eater of Souls.
The Goat Dance A Demoinic Twist
The book Goat Dance by Douglas Clegg is a literary masterpiece. It moves from the grotesque to the bizarre in an evil tide of events. The book is a wonderful journey from the angelic to the demonic. I really enjoyed reading it. Inside are some very interesting ideas and practices, yet through all these there is a true underlying pattern and love of life.
I would not recommend this book to a casual reader. It must be read by those who enjoy occult and demonic books. It should also not be read by anyone under the age of 14. Those who read it, as long as they follow these guidelines, will really enjoy this literary delight.
I would not recommend this book to a casual reader. It must be read by those who enjoy occult and demonic books. It should also not be read by anyone under the age of 14. Those who read it, as long as they follow these guidelines, will really enjoy this literary delight.
I read this book quite awhile ago, before Douglas Clegg became famous, and i loved it. Now he's a household name in the horror genre, and that's great, because he deserves all the praise he receives. Very scary, some gore, and good characterizations. I have so far only read "Goat Dance" and "Breeder", and both have my stamp of approval. Looking forward to all of his other books, and I hope he continues to write for years and years to come. Some of the scenes in this book will stay with me for a long time, as will the characters, who seem like people that you almost know. Keep up the good work Doug!
I have really enjoyed some of Clegg's books, particularly Hour Before Dark and The Infinite. I found this in a used bookstore and was eager to read it. It was vaguely Salem's Lot-ish, lots of characters in a small town and everyone eventually goes bad. Even though Clegg is basically a pulp horror writer, his characterizations, even here, are very good, realistic. This just didn't have enough of a plot to justify 400 pages. After awhile it became tedious and boring. Everyone is possessed by malignant evil and dies in appropriately grisly fashion. Yawn. The last half of the book needed to be trimmed by half again. Granted, it is his first published novel, but I wouldn't recommend it for anyone other than diehard fans.
Dougals Clegg is one of the most amazing horror writers turning out fiction these days. His stories are not traditional zombies, vampires, werewolves. etc. He is the new voice in horror with some awesome ideas and plots; simply put he is the new King.
He doesn't string together a plot to unleash gore and violence on you. His plot's are well-thought out, well researched, and thought-provoking. Some say he is too intellectual in his recent work, but he has simply evolved. This is a fine example of his early stuff and clearly shows he is no flash in the pan.
This novel is excellent; he knows how to scare and he knows how to flesh out his main characters. Clegg knows how to get under our skin and pulls no punches in doing so. He is a modern master of horror.
...that it's hard to choose examples. There are too many to pick from.
To say this story is a mess is an understatement of titanic proportions. It leaps around, to and fro, as if continuity is an abstract concept the author has heard of but doesn't understand. The characters are largely unsympathetic, which is okay because the reader doesn't get to know them very well. There are lots of flashbacks, some flash-forwards, and what I think was a flash-sideways, none of which furthers the tale to any great extent. There are allusions to plot points that remain undeveloped right up to the end (which, frankly, could not have come quickly enough...and didn't).
Worst of all, the images conjured to give the readers the shivers give a whole new meaing to "horror." Most of the "scary" parts were anything but scary. (Most memorable is the descripton of steel "teeth" located on a part of the body that God only wants treated nicely -- really silly.) I think if I were another of the writers who have been repeatedly compared to Mr. Clegg, I would stop writing immediately and become a plumber. (I'm looking at you, Mr. King.)
I paid next to nothing for the Kindle version of this book, and that's exactly what I received in return. I've also removed the other works by this author from my wish list. Maybe he gets better as he goes along, but I'll never know. After all, that's what I thought about _Goat Dance_ too, right up to the last page.
To say this story is a mess is an understatement of titanic proportions. It leaps around, to and fro, as if continuity is an abstract concept the author has heard of but doesn't understand. The characters are largely unsympathetic, which is okay because the reader doesn't get to know them very well. There are lots of flashbacks, some flash-forwards, and what I think was a flash-sideways, none of which furthers the tale to any great extent. There are allusions to plot points that remain undeveloped right up to the end (which, frankly, could not have come quickly enough...and didn't).
Worst of all, the images conjured to give the readers the shivers give a whole new meaing to "horror." Most of the "scary" parts were anything but scary. (Most memorable is the descripton of steel "teeth" located on a part of the body that God only wants treated nicely -- really silly.) I think if I were another of the writers who have been repeatedly compared to Mr. Clegg, I would stop writing immediately and become a plumber. (I'm looking at you, Mr. King.)
I paid next to nothing for the Kindle version of this book, and that's exactly what I received in return. I've also removed the other works by this author from my wish list. Maybe he gets better as he goes along, but I'll never know. After all, that's what I thought about _Goat Dance_ too, right up to the last page.
I recently purchased this e book and I enjoyed it a lot. I really cannot help but compare it to a few Stephen King novels like IT and Needful Things. That being said, Mr. Clegg does have his own style and it is, at times, very humorous, which I enjoy very much. He was also great at creating a creepy atmosphere regarding the whole town, Pontefract and I liked that also.
All that being said this Kindle version has a lot of typos in it which does get on one's nerves-but overall, I found this book to be a fun read.
All that being said this Kindle version has a lot of typos in it which does get on one's nerves-but overall, I found this book to be a fun read.
A PSYCHODOLIC RIDE TO THE UNKNOWN
My first Clegg. In top form is he in this no holds barred tale of darkness beyond the grave. From the rich crafted plot to the multidimensional characters, Douglas Clegg weaves a literary nightmare worthy of Poe. Grab yourself a copy and enjoy but, please, leave the lights on at any time.-----Martin Boucher
I purchased this book after having read a book by Andrew Harper and looking for someone in the same genre. Clegg was touted by some online reviewers to be the second coming of Stephen King. I purchased Goat Dance and I labored and toiled through half of the book, but in an unprecedent act, I abandoned the rest of the book.
Clegg is a good writer, in terms of the style and narrative, but this book was way too slow and far from being a thriller. It was meandering and repetitious and self-indulgent.
I do not plan to read any more books by this author.
Clegg is a good writer, in terms of the style and narrative, but this book was way too slow and far from being a thriller. It was meandering and repetitious and self-indulgent.
I do not plan to read any more books by this author.
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The protagonist is a guy named Cup, and the antagonist is "The Eater of Souls", aka 'goat man'. I'm not going to say anymore because I wouldn't want to spoil your read, but if you're into horror, I'd reccomend you checking it out. Happy Reading.