A teenager suffering from recurrent nightmares taking him down a path both literally and figuratively that slowly reveals a past, present, and future he could never imagine, all linked to sinister familial secrets and horrifying truths: this is the premise of the novel “Kindred” by Creed Woodhouse, a must read for fans of horror and mystery who also like a heavy dose of good solid character building and heartfelt storytelling.
We meet Eric Smith on his eighteenth birthday, June 1st 1987, to be exact, trying to shake off the same nightmare he has so often enough that he has come to dread it. What transpires over the next 30 days is Eric’s quest to figure out what those nightmares are telling him as they mutate and start to spill over into real life out in rural southern New Jersey near the Pine Barrens where he lives with his mother Dolores. Described as a “holy roller” she wants her son to become more than what her difficult and decidedly secretive past seems to have left in store for him.
The story follows the activities of those thirty days using the dates instead of chapter numbers to mark it all off. One other interesting note: there are no page numbers in this book, so the dates become even more of a marker of where Eric, his family and friends, and the reader might be. The lack of pages numbers at first was quite shocking (especially to a writer who had to make notes for a review!) but soon became wildly impressive, adding to the thrill and mystery of getting lost in the story itself, anticipating what may happen the next day and upping the ante as to how the story might turn out.
The phrase “slow burner” comes to mind because this story takes its time to let the reader get to know its characters, but the phrase “page turner” (albeit an unnumbered one) can be used as well. Stories based in the horror genre can often toss out a generic character (or two or three or, you get the picture) that dilute the action as well as the emotional connection. “Kindred” offers not only a main character that you grow increasingly concerned for, but supporting characters that become important to the reader as well. Josiah Parker, Eric’s grandfather and a former cop living with the guilt of a difficult past with his daughter Dolores, becomes a prominent figure in the story with his mixture of protectiveness, mettle, and regret. Dolores herself, who has a checkered past that she seems to be trying to pray away, also becomes a central figure especially as Eric tries to piece together the not-so-subtle hints from his subconscious that awaken him night after night.
In addition to the nightmares, which have a surreal Lynchian quality to them, there is the abduction of a waitress who just happened to work at the restaurant where Eric and his family visited for his birthday dinner, an abduction that leads to a gruesome end and even more questions from Eric and his best friends Freddy and Abby who are trying to help him deal with his problems. And Eric isn’t the only one being tormented: creepy visions and sinister voices befall local church leader Pastor Johnson, whose concern for Dolores and Eric leads him to offer his assistance, but also leads to his own haunting.
There are a wealth of mysterious characters and happenings – like the creepy new substitute teacher and a mangled crow that seems to have a message for Eric – and yes, a few gross out moments, but ultimately, Kindred offers a super fun and slightly freaky yet compelling storyline for all lovers of a good old-fashioned thriller. I highly recommend it for readers who would like to partake of the horror genre but fear (pun intended) that it might be too much for them. “Kindred” deftly balances its horror elements with mystery elements but never forgets to put its characters first.
I would never spoil any of the big reveals or the ending or anything else that might take away from the journey through this book, but there is one surprise that I can share: author Creed Woodhouse was recently revealed to be none other than Chip McCabe, the well-known CT writer, DJ, and all around major heavy metal and horror fan. The revelation was made by McCabe himself via social media after he received multiple inquires as to whether he was actually Woodhouse when the information about the author and the book started to be shared. His pen name so happens to have its own horror origins: Creed is the last name of the main family from Stephen King’s novel (and adapted film) Pet Sematary, while Woodhouse is the last name of the main couple from Ira Levin’s novel (and adapted film) “Rosemary’s Baby.”
What many people who are familiar with McCabe’s work in the CT music and writing communities do not know is that he is also the host of “The Fiendish Five Podcast” where he discusses horror films via a variety of top five lists with a variety of special guests (and in the interest of full disclosure, this writer has been one of those guests numerous times). Though he has written two nonfiction books – “666 Days of Metal” and “100 Things To Do in Hartford Before You Die” - Kindred is his first fictional novel, born of a short story he began working on during the Covid lockdown in 2020.
“I figured if I wasn’t booking or at events, I could make one of my dreams happen,” said McCabe in a recent interview.
With more time on his hands, he was able to turn a five-month daily writing routine into a 300 plus page novel which he ended up self-publishing and releasing on July 1st, 2025. He said he always knew he would use a pseudonym, and having been right in the midst of a re-read of every Stephen King novel he ended up referencing the book he was on at that time, “Pet Semetary,” which he “fell in love with again.”
The setting and timing of the novel were also quite purposeful. Southern New Jersey is where McCabe did most of his growing up. The year 1987 -when he himself was 12- came with it a remembrance of the “Satanic Panic” as well as “stranger danger” when he recalled mothers starting to become much more protective of their children with regards to not being alone and not wanting them to wander away when in public. But he did not get heavy handed with too many 1980s references.
“I didn’t want it to be a nostalgia trip,” he said. And it definitively is not.
Other details in the book besides the setting can be considered what McCabe calls “throwbacks to my personal roots” including Eric’s penchant for heavy metal music and horror films. Readers paying close attention can find references to a few of Stephen King’s characters, but never in a way that takes you out of what is happening.
Another influence that can be felt in this novel is David Lynch, one of McCabe’s favorite filmmakers and storytellers of all time. He recalled something Lynch once said about characters that carried over into this story:
“When you meet someone for the first time, you don’t know where they’re coming from and you don’t know where they’re going,” McCabe relayed. “You’re a witness to that period of time of these characters.” In the case of this story, it is that glimpse into these characters between June 1st and June 30th, 1987.
In that same vein, the “diary-esque” type set up of the book with only dates as placeholders and no page numbers was purposeful as well with McCabe hoping that the reader would “invest in the story and not worry about what page they were on.”
“I wanted it to feel like you were walking this timeline with these characters,” he added.
Which is exactly what this writer who is also a huge horror fan felt while reading this book. Not a huge horror fan? Well, this story, as McCabe described it, “sits in the middle of the Venn diagram of horror, true crime, and thrillers.” Plus, it’s a nice little trip away from reality for a few hours. This is exactly the kind of book I love to read on my time off, preferably on a park bench or the back porch. I recommend you do that as well. Just watch out for the crows…
“Kindred” by Creed Woodhouse is available wherever books are sold, and you can even get a signed copy at River Bend Books in Glastonbury. Horror fans make note: in his role as director of placemaking and events for the Hartford Business Improvement District and Hartford.com McCabe hosts the Spooky Popcorn series every summer where horror films are shown outside weekly. It’s all good scary fun, plus it’s free!
”Kindred” cover (photo provided by author)