Read Time:1 Minute, 57 Second
Last year, I stumbled on Stephen King’s miniseries, “Rose Red,” one night while I was flipping channels. Fortunately, I only missed the first few minutes—because I was hooked right from the start. I lost sleep after each suspenseful installment, eagerly anticipating the next. But what really intrigued me—perhaps even more than the miniseries itself—was the Blair Witch-like hype built up around both the miniseries and this book, The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer: My Life at Rose Red.
The book is said to be the true diary of an early twentieth-century Seattle socialite, Ellen Rimbauer, the wife of John Rimbauer, a wealthy businessman. The Rimbauers—as well as Dr. Joyce Reardon, the book’s editor—are fictional characters. And the university at which Reardon teaches paranormal studies, Beaumont University (which has its own web site), doesn’t exist, either. But readers aren’t given a single clue about the actual author’s identity. (Incidentally, I know, but I’m not telling—wouldn’t want to spoil the fun.) Isn’t that perfectly ingenious? I think so.
In her diary, Ellen tells of her marriage to John, of the troubling things she finds out about her husband, and of the strange things that happen in their gigantic mansion, Rose Red—a house that appears to have a mind of its own. Built on old Indian burial grounds, Rose Red seems to be cursed from the beginning—when a man is killed on the day the foundation is first laid. And after the Rimbauers move in, more men are killed—and women disappear within the house’s walls. Though John won’t admit it, it appears that Rose Red is alive.
Throughout the book, Ellen gradually changes from a naïve nineteen-year-old girl to a vicious, obsessed woman, whose servants (not to mention her husband) believe her to be mostly insane.
The Diary… is anything but dull—and Ellen Rimbauer is anything but a stuffy, turn-of-the-century socialite. The book is filled with dark stories of “the other side”—of séances and visits to fortune tellers—as well as Ellen’s steamy encounters with both her husband and her African maid, Sukeena.
It’s a quick read—mostly because it’s difficult to put down. Perhaps the book has a mind of its own, too…
Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
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Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
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