Starling House
by Alix E. Harrow
Reviewed by Galen Strickland
Posted November , 2025
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Another author I am behind on, but luckily just one novel, although probably shorter works in magazines. Starling House, which was a World Fantasy and Locus award finalist, is now over two years old, but I finally got to it as I waited for my library to get Harrow's latest, The Everlasting, published two weeks ago. I got it yesterday, and read a bit of it last night. Starling House is a combination of contemporary gothic horror, and somewhat historical fiction. Harrow grew up in Kentucky, and several notes in the afterword tell how the fictional town of Eden in the book was patterned after the now ghost town of Paradise, at one time the most productive coal mining area in the United States. John Prine, whose family was from Kentucky, wrote a song about Paradise for his debut album. Eden is not a ghost town yet, just barely hanging on, still suffering from the pollution from the now inactive coal mines, and the current Gravely Power plant. That is not the only curses the town has suffered.
Some of the things I will say might seem to be negatives, but they aren't really, just a bit of confusion. I may have missed a few clues along the way, or misinterpreted them. There is a curious mix of a first-person account, written by a mid-twenties woman named Opal, and a third-person narrative, sometimes mixed within the same chapter. There are also historical footnotes included in both narrative streams, which I eventually realized were inserted by a librarian named Charlotte, who had been researching and writing a history of the area. Starling House itself is considered by many to be haunted, with numerous stories told about it over the years, only a little bit of truth mixed in with fabrications along the way. If you have read much, especially in the speculative genres, you are likely aware of the unreliable narrator. Gene Wolfe once said all narrators are unreliable. He should know. Some tell you what they want you to know, withholding other information. In the case of Opal, she was unaware of some things about her past, not knowing her father, not even knowing her true surname. Her mother was a liar and a thief, traits that Opal had inherited. Every time Opal tells of her mother's death details vary slightly, maybe due to her suppressing memories from the trauma, with someone else helping her to recover them.
Three Gravely brothers started the mines in the 1850s, mostly with slave labor. Since Kentucky did not secede from the Union they were also not subjected to the same Reconstruction programs levied against the other Southern states. The Gravely's figured it this way; Kentucky didn't secede, so they didn't feel they had to abide by the Emancipation Proclamation. Even if their black workers were not technically slaves anymore, they still drove them just as hard as before. That is, until a major mine disaster. Later, the elder Gravely brother either married a woman, or only fathered a child with her, then banished her from Eden. His daughter, Eleanor, comes back to claim her rightful place with the family. But the curse of the mines claimed her father too, and the second brother knew the town would avert their eyes if he took Eleanor as his bride. That does not end well either. Eleanor claims a portion of Gravely land and builds a great house, naming it, and herself, after the many starlings that nested there. A few years later Eleanor writes a book, The Underland, including her own stark, black and white illustrations of the monsters in the Underland. It is published but doesn't sell well, but is later rediscovered, becoming one of the most popular children's books ever published. It is a book that Opal had read many times. She had also puzzled over what might be happening inside Starling House, which everyone says to stay away from.
For several years Opal and her younger brother Jasper had lived with their mother in Room 12 of the Garden of Eden motel. In spite of its name, the motel is far from a paradise. Opal was never sure of her mother's name either, since she ran quite a few scams for money, changing her name frequently, but always using the first name of Jewell. She had died by drowning after driving her red Corvette off a bridge. Opal was fifteen then, but with the help of the motel owner, Bev, she was able to gain custody of Jasper, and Bev granted them Room 12 as their home, rent free. Jasper had a different father, also unknown, other than he was probably a latino worker at Gravely Power. Jasper is very smart, both in his school studies, and in creating stories and short films. Opal is saving up to send him to a private high school, but keeping the information from him, in hopes of surprising him on his sixteenth birthday. He has ideas of his own, which he keeps from her. Opal had been working at the local Tractor Supply store, but one day walking home she passes Starling House, which she had had many dreams about. The house cannot be seen from the road, and besides there is a heavy, wrought iron gate with a large, old padlock. The gate is not just iron bars, but also depictions of various animals, wolves, bears, and of course starlings. Not understanding how it happened, but when she grabbed the gate one of the animal's teeth or claws cuts the palm of her left hand, and at the same time the gate opened for her. She went to the house, knocked, and the door was answered by a tall, lanky young man, Arthur Starling. Not really understanding why, he offers her a job as housekeeper.
Arthur pays her very well, in cash at the end of each day, which helps her pay off Jasper's tuition and fees faster than she had hoped. The house was very much in need of cleaning, as well as painting and repair of doors, windows, mouldings, and other woodwork, including floors and cabinets. Opal learns a few secrets about Starling House, one being that the house apparently likes and approves of her. Every day the walk from the gate to the house is shorter, and all she needs to do is think of something about the house, and it seems to conform to her wishes, including opening doors previously locked to her, and providing switches and light fixtures where she needs them. Even though the house is not connected to the power grid, and never has been. She also finds Arthur's notes about the house and its history. He is not a Starling by birth, no direct relation to Eleanor, and neither were any of the previous occupants that followed her death. Just as Opal had dreamed of the house, so had Arthur, and his real parents before him, along with many other individuals or families through the years. They all took the name Starling, and were the wardens of the house, protecting it and the surrounding area from the monsters from the Underland. It was never used in the book, but the way they are described I will call them the "mist wraiths." They were the cause of much suffering over the years, deaths and accidents, fires and such, all because Eleanor had inadvertently opened the Underland. Each warden had to wield the sacred sword that Eleanor had forged many years ago. At one point, someone tells Opal they had seen Arthur swinging the sword near the gate one night, as if in a pantomime of a fight, since they could not see the mist wraiths. They could see the mist, which was common almost year round, just not the beasts within.
In between Opal's narrative, and the third-person account which mostly deals with Arthur, there are other citations about Eden, Eleanor, and Starling House. Charlotte, the librarian, lets Opal listen to some interviews she has conducted with people who had stories to tell. There are also some Wikipedia entries (non-existemt of course) about Eleanor and her book, and related references, one being that Josh Ritter had a hidden track on his third album Hello Starling, titled "Nora Lee and Me," Nora Lee being the main character in Eleanor's book. Charlotte offers Opal several boxes of files to look through, knowing Opal would find some things she might not want to find. I won't reveal all the secrets; why Arthur told Opal to run away multiple times, why she always returned; how he managed to find his way into Underland, and how she followed, and I definitely will not tell you what and who they find there. I'll even leave out a major bit of exposition concerning a person and company that gives Opal lots of grief and worry. I recommend this for the eerie vibes, the mysterious beasts, and both the strengths and weaknesses of Opal and Arthur. I do wish Jasper had figured more into the conclusion, considering how smart he was. If you do read it, please make sure to be aware there are actually two epilogues, but the second comes after the Acknowledgments and Author's Note. It is not in the Table of Contents, at least not in my e-book, but is titled "Seven Years Later." It introduces yet another character drawn to Eden for mysterious reasons.
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