The Cellar (novel)
The Cellar is a 1980 horror novel by American author Richard Laymon. It was Laymon's first published novel, and together with sequels "The Beast House", "The Midnight Tour", and the novella "Friday Night in Beast House", forms the series known by fans of Laymon as "The Beast House Chronicles." "The Cellar" is an example of a splatterpunk novel, containing much extreme violence and gore, as well as adult themes including rape, incest, paedophilia, and serial murder. Laymon is often associated with this genre. Synopsis. Donna, the book's protagonist, goes on the run with her daughter  Sandy when she learns that her ex-husband, who molested Sandy for years, has been released from prison. After a car accident leaves them stranded in the small California coastal town of Malcasa Point, Donna and Sandy cross paths with Judgement, a mercenary hired to track down and kill the murderous creature that supposedly haunts a local tourist attraction, the Beast House. Judge's employer, Larry, is an elderly man who had a traumatic encounter with the Beast as a child. Over the years the Beast has been connected with various rapes and murders that have happened in the house . Reception. Like much of Laymon's work, "The Cellar" has been controversial for its extreme content, especially in regards to its depiction of sexual and sadistic violence. It has also been dismissed by some critics as poorly written. In his non-fiction book about the horror genre, "Danse Macabre", Stephen King shows dislike of the novel: "There are haunted-house stories beyond numbering, most of them not very good ("The Cellar", by Richard Laymon, is one example of the less successful breed)." (However, King would go on to praise Laymon's writing, a pullquote attributed to King frequently appearing on  his novels: "If you've missed Laymon, you've missed a treat.") Nonetheless, the "Beast House" series, of which "The Cellar" is the first, has been consistently popular with Laymon fans, and warranted reprints. Limited Edition. In 1997, Cemetery Dance Publications printed a limited edition hardcover version of "The Cellar" under . The new edition featured an introduction by Bentley Little, an afterword by Laymon himself, and new artwork by Alan M. Clark. It also featured signatures from all three. The book was released in a Slipcased Limited Edition of 500 signed and numbered copies, and a Traycased Lettered Edition of  26 signed and lettered copies.