The Birthing House

The Birthing House is the debut novel of American writer Christopher Ransom. The main premise of the story centers around the idea that the only thing scarier than death is birth. It is set in a fictional American town called Black Earth and revolves around an old Victorian house known as The Birthing House into which the main protagonist Conrad Harrison moves with his wife, Jo and their two dogs that they treat like children, with the aim of starting over and escaping from the country.

However, when Jo leaves to accept a job in the city, Conrad is given a mysterious photo album and as he looks through it, a photograph depicting a group of Victorian women, all dressed in black and all with hatred in their eyes. And among those women is the exact replica of his wife.

As he delves deeper into the mystery, he finds out that the house used to be a shelter for war widows, who gave birth to children fathered by the sadist doctor, Justin Gundry, who used to abuse them.


 * Creepy Doll: Conrad is visited by one of these during one of the first nights he spends there.