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Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin

© Kathy Kehrli

Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin

It all started with a selfish wish, a desire to live in an upscale apartment building in an affluent neighborhood of Manhattan. Rosemary and Guy Woodhouse have already signed a lease on another apartment when The Bramford suddenly has an opening. Her heart set on living in the building for years, Rosemary takes a tour of "The Bram" and falls in love. A few white lies later and the young couple are out of their previous agreement and into the house of Rosemary's dreams, one that will soon become a house straight out of her worst nightmares.

Almost from the start, strange things start happening, omens paralleling the warnings Rosemary's friend Hutch gave her prior to moving in. Rosemary's first friend, a former drug addict reformed and taken in by the Woodhouse's next door neighbors, the Castevets, commits suicide by flinging herself out a 7th floor window. Sharing their grief, Rosemary offers a kind word to the Castevets and soon a friendship ensues.

Guy starts spending more and more time with Roman Castevet and suddenly his stalled acting career is soaring, thanks to some rather unfortunate mishaps to his rivals. Strange odors and maniacal dreams begin to invade Rosemary's otherwise normal life. Then she discovers she's pregnant. While guy is withdrawing, Minnie Castevet is in the wings waiting to take charge, arranging the "best medical care" for Rosemary and her child.

It's all part of a diabolical plot and by the time Rosemary figures it out, she's mourned a friend, lost a husband to its madness, and become a victim to a premise no sane person could believe. Her baby's future at stake and with no one to turn to, Rosemary is forced to resort to desperate measures. But can she handle the truth when she finds it?

This haunting tale of modern deviltry will hold you in its grip right to the chilling end. Published in 1967, the book was made into an Oscar winning motion picture starring Mia Farrow. For an unusual Halloween scare, you might want to pick up the book and the film.

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