joe hill locke & key vol 1 welcome to lovecraft

Soon Bode is communicating with a spirit that exists on the property as Tyler and Kinsey try to work through their shattered existence. “We used to play fun stuff like Torture and Murderblanket and Buried Alive and Whack-a-Bode,” narrates Bode about the diminishing time spent with his older brother, “but now he never wants to play and he’s always off by himself like in the shower or something.” Hill has a great deal of fun with Bode, who is sharp for his age but still has the naiveté of a six year old. Bode tells Tyler and Kinsey about the doorway but, being teenagers, they aggressively dismiss their little brother for his imaginative, although disquieting, stories. Not realizing that there’s anything disturbing about what has happened, Bode draws pictures of his ghostly adventures, to the consternation of his teacher and Nina. Bode’s key turns the boy into a ghost once he crosses through the doorway, leaving his breathless carcass to lie silent as his spirit travels anywhere he imagines within the estate. The keys located in Keyhouse hold magical powers to whomever uses them specifically children.

Within moments, the youngest Locke uses the key to open a door that is the first of many wonders that will befall the child. Six-year old Bode comes across an unusual key while nosing around in the hidden corners of Keyhouse. Located in Lovecraft, Massachusetts, Keyhouse is a centuries old estate inhabited by Rendell’s younger brother Duncan. Rendell’s wife Nina is left to pick up the pieces of her family’s shattered existence by bringing her three children, Tyler, Kinsey and Bode, to her husband’s family home, Keyhouse.

“Welcome to Lovecraft” follows the lives of the Locke clan after the death of patriarch Rendell Locke by a former student, Sam Lesser. However, between the moments of horror and magic, writer Joe Hill imparts the most integral characteristic of his book: heart.

Ghosts in wells communicate with the living, paintings come to life, and mythical keys open doors to things which are fantastic or chilling sometimes both. Magical things occur in “Welcome to Lovecraft” as well. A father is ruthlessly murdered, his wife is violated, a murderer leaves a trail of corpses behind him on his journey towards something better than the pathetic deck of cards he’s been dealt. Terrible things happen between the covers of “Locke & Key: Welcome to Lovecraft”. The Locke children begin their difficult emotional journey in the first volume of “Locke & Key”.

Joe hill locke & key vol 1 welcome to lovecraft