The agreement was for Baniszewski to take care of the girls in exchange for $20 a week. The cause of the absence of the parents of the girls was due to the fact that they belonged to a circus, and had to travel through the carnival circuit in the USA. Sylvia Likens was a 16-year-old teenager who was left by her parents, along with her younger sister, Jennifer, in the care of a woman named Gertrude Baniszewski, whom they met outside a church.

The girl next door is inspired by an event that shocked the United States in 1965.

About the context of the work Reality surpasses fiction Although the protagonist and his story are separated by decades, it is not unusual to assume that David is a sinister being.

However, when the events related to torture take place, like the others, dehumanizes the young and turns her into a mere object of depraved amusement. When Ruth's clear imbalance grows, she proceeds to lock and torture the young woman in the basement of her house with the help of her children and their friends-all boys under 15 years of age.ĭavid, the narrator, undergoes a crucial change inside his own anecdote: when he meets Meg he falls in love with her. although the target of almost all the grievances is received by the older sister, who is barely 13 years old. €21,56 View deals See features The incomprehensible beginning of evilįollowing the arrival of Meg and Susan, the woman, for no apparent reason, decides to psychologically and physically mistreat both girls. However, what drives the story is a monster of real life: Aunt Ruth herself and his compelling hatred of women. It is at this point where, being a horror novel, the reader could expect a paranormal event to happen and trigger the plot. In this context they meet Meg and her younger sister, Susan, who, having lost their parents, they must go live with their aunt Ruth and their cousins. Synopsis of the girl next door 'Do you think you know what horror is?'Ī single chilling question is the one that opens the way to the novel: 'Do you think you know what horror is?' Through this question, a depressed and already adult David tells a very dark passage from his childhood, the one where he completely lost the innocence of his early years.ĭuring a summer in the 50s, David and his friends playThey watch television, drink cold drinks, go to fairs, and, in general, enjoy all those activities that make childhood unforgettable.

3.1 Other notable books by Jack Ketchum.3 About the author, Dallas William Mayr.2.2 In Praise of the Master of Horror: Stephen King.1.2 The incomprehensible beginning of evil.1.1 'Do you think you know what horror is?'.

Hide and Seek by Jack Ketchum