The Cold Visitor Book Review

by Catalina Bonati

3.75/5 stars ★★★⯪☆

Jonathan Butcher’s The Cold Visitor (published October 4, 2025) is a haunted house and cosmic horror novel that centers on the marriage of Sally and Herbert, who have reached their twilight years and now live in the retirement village of Heaven’s Sent. Sally comes from an accursed family who every half a century must complete a gruesome ritual in order to keep a demonic cosmic monster at bay, and the time has now come for the ritual to be carried out once again. Their relationship and their friendships are put to the test as Sally and Herbert confront the monster, called “The Visitor.”

This story plays with elements which are not so common to see in horror stories, such as old age, a retirement community, and the encounter with a reappearing terror rather than a new one. The premise is innovative if somewhat ambiguous and slow-paced. The characters are overall well-developed, however, Herbert’s devotion to Sally borders on the quixotic and unhinged. There is an element of witchcraft to Sally; she sets up the ritual which has been keeping her family afloat for hundreds of years and she delves into her family’s diary and interprets ancient sigils, which is a welcome nod to a witchy theme in an otherwise cosmic and haunted house horror. The horror in this story is done well; in a particular horror scene, for instance, there are many elements at play which add depth and texture and take it beyond a simple horror scene. The rules of the visitation and the ritual seem rather arbitrary and are only explained at surface level without really diving into the reasons behind them, which sometimes makes Sally seem to be making up rules on the spot. What exactly The Static is is not explained. The difference between The Intruder and The Visitor is unclear.

This book is a good exercise in mixing genres and subgenres. It is a horror novel, yet it is also a romance. It is partly paranormal horror, cosmic horror, winter horror, haunted house and witchcraft horror. It is generally slow-paced but the climactic scenes are steady. The main characters are layered and although their love is a tad corny and a little far-fetched, their relationship is strong and it carries the story forward. It is a bit hard to sympathize with Sally as she comes across as a bit unempathetic towards her husband. Most importantly, this story has an ending worthy of a good horror novel.

I recommend this book to lovers of haunted house novels, winter stories, and lovers of a good creepy monster.