house of
dark
shadows

BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR

Comes a Horseman
Germ
Deadfall

DREAMHOUSE KINGS SERIES
1 House of Dark Shadows
2 Watcher in the Woods

house of
dark
shadows

BOOK ONE OF
DREAM HOUSE KINGS

ROBERT LIPARULO

© 2008 by Robert Liparulo

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other—except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Thomas Nelson, Inc., titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail SpecialMarkets@ThomasNelson.com.

Publisher’s Note: This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. All characters are fictional, and any similarity to people living or dead is purely coincidental.

Page design by Mandi Cofer
Map design by Doug Cordes

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Liparulo, Robert.
House of dark shadows / Robert Liparulo.
p. cm. — (Dream house Kings ; bk. 1)
Summary: When fifteen-year-old Xander and his family move into an old, abandoned house in the middle of a dense forest outside of a small California town, they discover that not only are some of the rooms portals into other places, but that malevolent forces are at work.
ISBN 978-1-59554-494-1 (hardcover)
[1. Supernatural—Fiction. 2. Dwellings—Fiction. 3. Family life—California—Fiction. 4. California—Fiction. 5. Horror stories.]
I. Title.
PZ7.L6636Ho 2008
[Fic]—dc22 2008004620

Printed in the United States of America
08 09 10 11 QW 6 5 4 3 2 1

TO MY SON ANTHONY ,

whose enthusiastic and energetic spirit

makes our home as adventurous as

(but eternally brighter than)

the house in this story.

“A house of which one knows every room isn’t worth living in.”

- GIUSEPPE TOMASI DI LAMPEDUSA

Contents

prologue

chapter one

chapter two

chapter three

chapter four

chapter five

chapter six

chapter seven

chapter eight

chapter nine

chapter ten

chapter eleven

chapter twelve

chapter thirteen

chapter fourteen

chapter fifteen

chapter sixteen

chapter seventeen

chapter eighteen

chapter nineteen

chapter twenty

chapter twenty - one

chapter twenty - two

chapter twenty - three

chapter twenty - four

chapter twenty - five

chapter twenty - six

chapter twenty - seven

chapter twenty - eight

chapter twenty - nine

chapter thirty

chapter thirty - one

chapter thirty - two

chapter thirty - three

chapter thirty - four

chapter thirty - five

chapter thirty - six

chapter thirty - seven

chapter thirty - eight

chapter thirty - nine

chapter forty

Reading Group Guide

Content not shown in limited preview…
HDS:

About House of Dark Shadows: A spooky and thrilling time-adventure perfect for the whole family

From award-winning author Robert Liparulo comes the first installment in the Dreamhouse Kings series. House of Dark Shadows, featuring a teen discovering the secrets of a mysterious home with his siblings, is a time-bending adventure, mystery, and thriller, all in one.

"A powerhouse storyteller delivers his most fantastic ride yet!" --Ted Dekker, New York Times bestselling author

When the Kings move from LA to a secluded small town, fifteen-year-old Xander is beyond disappointed. He and his friends loved to create amateur films, but the tiny town of Pinedale is the last place a movie buff and future filmmaker wants to land.

But he, David, and Toria are captivated by the many rooms in the old Victorian fixer-upper they moved into--as well as the heavy woods surrounding the house.

They soon discover there's something odd about their new home. Sounds come from the wrong directions. Prints of giant, bare feet appear in the dust. And when David tries to hide in the linen closet, he winds up in locker 119 at his new school.

Then the really weird stuff kicks in: they find a hidden hallway with portals leading to far-off places--in long-ago times. Xander is starting to wonder if this kind of travel is a teen's dream come true . . . or his worst nightmare.

With cinematic pacing, supernatural intrigue, and relatable family dynamics at its heart, this novel offers thrills without losing its warmth--making it an ideal choice for shared reading, middle grade and teen audiences, and adults looking for imaginative escapism alike. Continue the adventure with Watcher in the Woods, Gatekeepers, Timescape, Whirlwind, and Frenzy.

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Table of Contents