Horror old-timer Blatty (The Exorcist
) takes a new route down an old road in this disorienting tale. Realtor Joan Freeboard, trying to dispel the title mansion’s creepy reputation, arranges for a psychic, a parapsychologist and a noted author to move into Elsewhere with her and declare it ghost-free. Isolated by a storm from civilization, they become absorbed by the house and its growing sense of strangeness; exploring its secrets exposes their own. Ultimately, Elsewhere forces them to accept the individual realities that they have created for themselves. Blatty neatly entwines the twin branches of psychological and supernatural horror, and save for a late scene of violence, the work is more life-affirming than shocking. Includes otherworldly b&w illus by Alex McVey. (Mar.)
