The Well

"[A] superior example of horror fiction ... a vision out of hell ... an original and awesome adventure that should be read in broad daylight, when one is not alone." - Publishers Weekly



"It takes no special critical powers to recognize in Cady an exceptional writer, who is not just promising but has already achieved some remarkable feats." -
Joyce Carol Oates



"[A] haunted house story ... intelligently written both in terms of concept and style ... Cady develops his horrors with subtlety." - Encyclopedia of Fantasy and Horror Fiction



Years earlier, John Tracker fled the insanity of his family and their house, a centuries-old monstrosity that his grandfather Theophilus rigged full of hallucinatory tricks and vicious death traps designed to capture the Devil. Now middle-aged, John receives word that the place is to be demolished to make way for a freeway, and he decides to revisit it with his girlfriend Amy Griffith before its destruction. But when a blizzard traps them inside the house, they will be forced to contend with the dangers hidden within: strange time-shifts, murderous traps, and something evil that stalks the halls in the form of John's grandmother Vera. As the terror mounts, John and Amy will make the horrifying discovery that Theophilus's mad ambition to trap the Devil may have succeeded only too well ...



Jack Cady (1932-2004) has been recognized as a master American storyteller and was the recipient of the World Fantasy, Nebula, and Bram Stoker Awards for his novels and short fiction. This edition of The Well (1980), a classic of modern horror fiction, includes an introduction by Tom Piccirilli.