The Manor Review – Gothic Horror Meets Indian Folklore
A chilling review of The Manor by Heena Rathore-Pardeshi—an atmospheric gothic horror rooted in Indian folklore, grief, and psychological suspense. When I picked up The Manor by Heena Rathore-Pardeshi, I expected a good gothic horror novel. What I didn’t expect was to feel like the walls were closing in on me while I read. This book doesn’t just tell a haunted house story, it breathes it. It’s steeped in Indian folklore, rich with psychological suspense, and wrapped in the kind of slow-burn horror that stays with you long after you’ve turned the last page. From the first chapter, I was pulled into Leela Jamwal’s world, a woman returning to her ancestral manor on the monsoon-drenched Konkan coast to grieve and protect her younger brother. It all felt so vivid: the smell of wet earth, the rhythmic pounding of rain, and the oppressive stillness of the old house. But very quickly, I realized the Manor wasn’t just a setting, it was a character. The walls hummed, the mirrors seemed to...