The experiment in Terror Series by Karina Halle is about Perry and her ability to see spirits. Together with Dex, they made a film about paranormal stuff.
Series Title: Experiment in Terror
Author: Karina Halle
Genres: Fantasy > Paranormal > Ghosts
Read Format: Kindle Edition
Total Pages: 3,821
Reading Date: 18th September 2018 ~ 23rd October 2018
The Reading Order – How to Read Experiment in Terror Series by Karina Halle
- 1 Darkhouse
- 2 Red Fox
- 2.5 The Benson (Short Story)
- 3 Dead Sky Morning
- 4 Lying Season
- 5 On Demon Wings
- 5.5 Old Blood (Short Story)
- 5.7 The Dex-Files (Short Story)
- 6 Into the Hollow
- 6.5 And With Madness Comes the Light (Short Story)
- 7 Come Alive
- 8 Ashes to Ashes
- 9 Dust to Dust
Dark House
Perry Palomino hated her daily reception job, and when offered the opportunity to do something more adrenaline rush, she jumped into it no matter how dangerous it was. It all started on one fateful night during a weekend trip to her uncle’s house. She wandered to an abandoned lighthouse on his uncle’s property and filmed some interesting footage.
When her sister, Ada, asked her to post something on her fashion blog, she didn’t have any idea what to write, so she uploaded the video, and it became sensational. Dex Foray, who she stumbled upon in the lighthouse then asked her to collaborate in making an online web series.
Together, they headed back to the lighthouse, and Perry had a terrifying night where an old spirit choked her, trapped in the tower and had to jump off the place to save herself. Throughout the ordeal, although they couldn’t get it all in film, Dex was still able to produce their first demo and showed it to his boss, Jimmy.
Red Fox
Following the launch of the show, though it wasn’t a success, Jimmy had agreed to have a go with the series. When Dex got a call from his old friend named Maximus about a disturbance that happened in a Navajo couple’s ranch in New Mexico, both of them set out to investigate.
This time though, they had to pretend to be a married couple because their host was super religious and wouldn’t be happy if they stayed together in the same room. It was extra hard for Perry to control her feelings because she was already smitten by him even though she knew that Dex had a girlfriend.
During their investigation, what they thought initially poltergeists were Skinwalkers, and things got dangerous the longer they stayed there. Maximus tried to persuade them to leave, but they were just stubborn, and only when they almost got killed that they took the advice.
The Benson
The Benson was a story about their investigation into a haunted hotel. It’s a short story but still managed to creep me out especially the scene where Perry was locked in the laundry room and saw the ghost of a hanging man on the ceiling.
Dead Sky Morning
Following their effort to produce quality and unique shows online, their web series Experiment in Terror was getting popular. This time they headed to a former leper colony island in Canada, the D’Arcy Island.
On the island where there were no humans but spirits, both of them were tested, leaving them questioning everything they thought they knew about each other. With the evil spirit trying hard to have them trapped on the island, they have to fight harder to free themselves and get to safety.
Lying Season
In book four, Perry got the invitation and joined the company’s Christmas party. She stayed in Dex’s house in Seattle after some persuasion from Jenny, Dex’s girlfriend. It was hard for Perry to see the interaction between the couple, but she needed it to talk sense to herself. During her stay, she encountered Dex’s Ex-girlfriend’s ghost, found out about Dex’s secret and did some experiments with it.
Workwise, they had a rival, and during their visit to a mental hospital for their upcoming show, the rival team tried to steal their show by leaving Dex and Perry locked in the hospital. Meanwhile, the event after the Christmas party was the happiest and also the darkest moment in Perry’s life. Her world crumbled to her feet when Dex said something hurtful to her after their intimate moment.
On Demon Wings
Following the sad event, Perry quit the show and worked in a coffee shop trying to leave everything behind. But not all things could be left behind, something followed her back home, and she was in immediate danger.
Maximus showed up trying to be her knight in shining armour but did he mean it, or there’s something behind it? Perry also found out that her sister, Ada, had the same ability as her, and it made Ada the only one who believed in her during the difficult time.
I think the scariest part was when she was woken up by something under her bed, and when she ran to Ada’s room, the thing caught her leg and dragged her back to her room. I was also mad with the ending in this book; I hated her family and also Maximus. Poor Dex though, after all the help he gave, the family treated him like he was a criminal!
Old Blood & The Dex-Files
I couldn’t bear to read what happened next, and luckily there were these two short stories that I could read and take my mind off of their story for a while. Old Blood was a story about Perry’s grandmother, from when she was little, her exposure to the paranormal world, and how she met her end.
The Dex-Files was obviously a story about Dex, starting from when he was little, his relationship with his nanny, and also his point of view when he was with Perry.
Into the Hollow
After the exorcism, Perry finally back to being her usual self, but she needed to get out of her house, away from her mum and dad who were watching her like a hawk, waiting for the time she started acting weird again and sending her to a mental institution. Although it was against the wishes of her parents, she had to do it.
Having two choices, either move in with Maximus or with Dex, Perry chose the latter, although she hadn’t forgiven Dex. Away from her family, she needed to earn money, and so she gave the show a second chance. This time she chose to stay behind the camera while Dex became the host.
They flew to the Canadian Rockies to investigate a beast named Sasquatch. Given a psychopath guide, lost in the jungle, chased by the beast and jumped off the cliff to stay alive. It was a terrifying experience but sadly one that didn’t get into their online show out of respect for the dead person.
And With Madness Comes the Light
And With Madness Comes the Light was a short story about what Dex had been doing when Perry was absent from his life in the story at the end of book 4 and also book 5.
Come Alive
In Come Alive, the story was told from Dex’s point of view. Following the failure in producing a show from their previous adventure on the Sasquatch beast, Jimmy gave them the last chance to shoot an episode to get a sponsorship, but with the condition that they must have Maximus in their team as their superior.
Dex and Perry hated Maximus, but they had to agree to it. Three of them visited New Orleans, dealt with zombies and voodoo, discovered Maximus’s past and who he really was, and Dex also had a near-death experience. And just when Dex and Perry finally were an item, Maximus revealed something that shook Dex’s life.
Ashes to Ashes
In Ashes to Ashes, we’re back to Perry’s point of view. Dex was still not telling Perry about the things that Maximus had told him regarding their relationship. Back to the show, Dex and Perry have Rebecca as Maximus’s replacement. And this time they went to a haunted school for filming and stayed there for a few days.
Although the children’s spirits sounded not too scary, but when added to having demons around, things turned out to be bad, and Perry barely made it to the safety. This time though, Dex and Perry had made a decision not to continue doing the show in future, so for the final play, they did their best and even managed to help the spirits to cross over. Dex also finally proposed to Perry, but not in a romantic place!
Dust to Dust
During the visit to Perry’s home, Dex suddenly went missing, and Perry had some idea of Dex’s whereabouts and who was behind it. She travelled to New York, and Ada insisted on going with her.
Perry also asked for Maximus’s help, and the three of them searched for him. When she finally found him, she realised that something was very wrong with him. Perry’s parents joined them shortly after that in New York, and when Perry’s mum asked for a visit to Dex’s old house and went inside, that was when things went wrong.
My thoughts…
It took me 35 days to finish reading this series. It was so good that I purposely read the last book slowly to have more time with Perry and Dex. I loved the duo and all their creepy adventure, and don’t forget the dramas that helped to build up their characters. One thing I disliked was the conclusion. I wished the author had written a different ending.
The last possession was unnecessary! I was so mad when I read about it, unbelievable! Just when they finally got to the same pages, and were ready to live a harmonious life; it wasn’t fair at all. As for Maximus, I refused to accept the conclusion. Thus I created my own ending for him – Maximus was reinstated back to his post as a Jacob and given a final task to guide Perry’s sister. When he completed it, he went back to be with Rose. The End!
