''The Midnight Tour'' is a 1998 horror novel by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

author

Richard Laymon Richard Carl Laymon (January 14, 1947 – February 14, 2001) was an American author of suspense and horror fiction, particularly within the splatterpunk subgenre. Life and career Laymon was born and raised outside of Chicago, Illinois, then li ...

, originally released by Feature Publishing. It is the third chapter in the author's "Beast House Chronicles" series, preceded by '' The Cellar'' in 1980 and ''

The Beast House ''The Beast House'' is a 1986 horror novel by American author Richard Laymon. It is the first sequel to Laymon's 1980 novel '' The Cellar''. Plot summary Teenager Janice Crogan finds a diary belonging to a previous owner of Beast House, a local ...

'' in 1986, and followed in 2001 by the posthumously published novella ''Friday Night in Beast House''.

Plot

Seventeen years after the events of''

'', the town of Malcasa Point has become a popular tourist destination. The Beast House tours have been updated to include a family-friendly tour during the day and an adult-oriented tour late at night, complete with a screening of a movie inspired by the previous book's events and a tour into the cellar where the first of the beasts resided. Owen, one of the tourists, is on holiday with his overbearing girlfriend Monica. While touring the Beast House he develops an attraction to Dana, a tour guide. His attraction to Dana compels him to break up with Monica, whose possessiveness has reached breaking point, and he begins stalking Dana. Dana, meanwhile, becomes romantically involved with Warren, the owner of a food stand. Warren tells her that he was recently abducted, taken into the Beast House and sexually abused by something, hinting that maybe there's still one more beast out there... The story skips back and forth between the present and the in-between years that Sandy, one of the former prisoners of the Kutch family that originally owned the Beast House, has given birth to a beast and raises it in secret. When the beast - whom she has named Eric - turns 13, his sexual urges get the better of him and he rapes Sandy before running away. As the days go by and the midnight tour approaches, hints of some unknown horror become increasingly prevalent. When the tour goes down into the cellar, they are attacked by a now adult Eric. After killing or maiming several tourists, Sandy arrives and manages to seriously injure Eric. After being treated for their injuries, Dana, Sandy and their friends all spend time together celebrating, only for Eric to show up alive and well and kidnap Dana. Owen finds himself back with Monica against his will. The epilogue is from Dana's point of view as Eric rapes her. She expresses her fear of what he will do next, only to have an orgasm.

Limited edition

In 1998, Cemetery Dance Publications printed two limited edition hardcover versions of ''The Midnight Tour'' under . It featured new art by

Alan M. Clark Alan Marshall Clark is an author and an artist who is best known as the illustrator and book cover painter of many pieces of horror fiction. He was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel for his 2005 book ''Siren Promised'' ( ...

, and it featured signatures from Richard Laymon, and Alan M. Clark. The two editions were: * Limited Edition - 1,000 signed and numbered copies * Traycased Lettered Edition - 52 signed and lettered copies

References and links

Official Cemetery Dance page about the Limited edition of ''The Midnight Tour''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Midnight Tour, The 1998 American novels Novels by Richard Laymon Cemetery Dance Publications books