I got into this book not being aware of all the hype back in 2002 when Stephen King produced a mini-series based on this same subject. (Yes, I do live on this planet!) Almost right from the start of the book I began to wonder if this story was non-fiction, as presented, or fiction. After all, who would sell a dust-covered, unopened diary that had been part of a nortorious estate? And what bride sits down and spends an hour writing in her diary just before her wedding - like she has nothing else to do? So I started looking around the net and found that this is, indeed, a work of fiction by author Ridley Pearson, (who coincidentally has written a book entitled The Art of Deception.) The following is a quote from thebookhaven.homestead by book reviewer Amy Coffin (how apt!):

"Rose Red is a haunted house with a disturbing past. The Seattle mansion was constructed at the turn of the 20th century. Oil magnate John Rimbauer built the house for his bride, Ellen. From the early stages of construction, the house is rocked by tragedy and scandal... Stephen King created a mini-series based on the Rimbauer domicile. Rose Red documents the work of Dr. Joyce Reardon in her attempt to unlock the secrets of the house before it's demolished. The troubled history of Rose Red and its inhabitants are the subjects of Dr. Reardon's life-long work...

NEWS FLASH: Everything described up to this point is fiction. Only the mini-series creator is real, leaving questions regarding the authorship of the book (which were answered in mid-2002.)

The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer is merely a physical prop of King's Rose Red mini-series. However, the book stands well on its own to a point.

The diary format gives readers a voyeuristic thrill. The entries are quite detailed, full of fear and sexual energy. Rose Red becomes more and more frightening up to the final page. After reading the book, you'll want to see the mini-series, meaning the tie-in succeeds in its intentions.

As it is, this fictitious diary, written by a fictitious author living in a fictitious house, edited by a fictitious paranormal expert makes for interesting reading...

Upon completion of The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer, be prepared to view Stephen King's mini-series. No doubt Rose Red answers the many questions left by this mysterious diary and its namesake."

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This is a hard to put down diary. The website connected to Joyce Reardon's research is very interesting to visit. A must Summer's read. You won't beable to put it down! I read it in one long hot Sunday and planned to seek out Rose Red on my next trip to Seattle, Wash.

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I actually saw the start of this movie and loved it so much I ran right out to get it so I could see the end. I ended up getting the book because I didn't want to wait for it to come in! =-) This is a good, creepy tale about a woman named Ellen who marries a wealthy man and comes home to a house he has built for her. Strange things begin to happen in the house, disappearances (including her daughter) and the house seeming to have a life of its own-it literally changes its own walls! Now in modern time, Dr. Reardon decides to take it upon himself to discover the secrets of the house once and for all. LOVED the story. Save it for a stormy night!

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This is about Ellen Rimbauer's life before Rose Red, and during. This tells of how she became sick from her husband and how she met Sukeena and how the house was created, and how she wanted it to continue to be created. I must say this is actually like a real diary, excessive in detail. The only reason I post it as 4.5 is the fact that, just like a real diary, there are parts you really don't care about.

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I found this book really interesting to the point I had to google after to see if this house really exists! Enjoy!

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Wow! Couldn't put it down. I'm not going to add anything to the cover blurb except that I really want to see if the upcoming move/TV show does the book justice. I highly recommend this one.

From back cover: At the turn of the twentieth century, Ellen Rimbauer became the young bride of Seattle industrialist John Rimbauer, and began keeping a remarkable diary. This diary became the secret place where Ellen could confess her fears of the new marriage, her confusion over her emerging sexuality, and the nightmare that her life would become. The diary not only follows the development of a girl into womanhood, it follows the construction of the Rimbauer mansion -- called Rose Red -- an enormous home that would be the site of so many horrific and inexplicable tragedies in the years ahead.

The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer: My Life at Rose Red is a rare document, one that gives us an unusual view of daily life among the aristocracy in the early 1900s, a window into one woman's hidden emotional torment, and a record of the mysterious events at Rose Red that scandalized Seattle society at the time -- events that can only be fully understood now that the diary has come to light. Edited by Joyce Reardon, Ph.D. as part of her research, the diary is being published as preparations are being made by Dr. Reardon to enter Rose Red and fully investigate its disturbing history.

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