THE CHILDREN'S HOME

Narrator Todd Haberkorn's whispery tenor adds just the right eeriness to this fairy-tale-cum-ghost-story. Morgan, a gruesomely disfigured recluse, allows only his housekeeper and his doctor to see him in his family's rambling mansion. But strange children begin appearing on his doorstep, and, one-by-one, dozens more appear, seemingly out of nowhere. The kids' behavior grows especially creepy as a bizarre series of events unfolds. The children discover a mask of Morgan's old face in the attic. It fits smoothly, perfectly, over his hideous scars. Haberkorn presents the odd youngsters with childlike bluntness, while delivering Morgan's remembrances with restraint, even as his mental images grow increasingly macabre. Although the conclusion is disappointing, Haberkorn keeps the tension high enough to satisfy. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2016]