Father and son team Richard and Billy Chizmar build a credible amount of tension and suspense in Widow's Point, a modern ghost story set in an abandoned Nova Scotian lighthouse.

The story is presented as a series of transcribed recordings by Thomas Livingston, an author of multiple books on the occult, who is spending a weekend in isolation at the Harper's Cove lighthouse to explore stories of hauntings based on several incidents of murder and accidental death there over its nearly 200-year history.

Livingston seems a pleasant fellow, balancing credulity with healthy skepticism as he relates some of the legends surrounding the lighthouse as he sets up base camp and looks forward to an atmospheric weekend. The lighthouse is locked, the grounds are secured, and he is guaranteed an uninterrupted couple of days to soak up the feel of the place while researching his next book.

Then things begin to go badly, as we know they must.

Livingston hears things. His supplies are contaminated. Items move. Electronics malfunction. He begins seeing things, too. His recordings become increasingly erratic, maddened, as he struggles to escape from his self-made prison.

The tension is heightened by his discovery of a diary, written by a young girl who once lived at the lighthouse and who fell victim to a violent spree there. She, too, began experiencing strange things as her death drew near. And Livingston, who knows how her story ends, grows in despair.

Widow's Point is a solid horror novella. It's creepy, constructing layers of moody narrative as Livingston's brief adventure unfolds. That said, the story itself succeeds because of the atmosphere the Chizmars create; otherwise, it's not a terribly original story, just well crafted and presented.

If you like horror, and you enjoy the tropes common in this sort of yarn, you'll love this book. You won't be surprised by the end, but you'll be suitably spooked.