
In "Diavola," a USA Today bestseller, Jennifer Marie Thorne transforms a remote Italian villa into a psychological nightmare where family tensions ignite supernatural terror. What makes this vacation-Gothic thriller so divisive it's earned both passionate devotion and visceral frustration from horror aficionados nationwide?
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Villa Taccola rises from the Tuscan countryside like a beautiful trap. From the moment Anna Pace arrives for what should be an idyllic family vacation, something feels terribly wrong. A strange circle of barren earth surrounds the medieval property. The structure stands eerily still against the landscape. And is that someone watching from the tower window? Inside, smoke-blackened beams and weathered floors seem to hide centuries of secrets, with original medieval elements peeking through modern renovations like the past refusing to stay buried. The family dynamics are equally fraught-Anna's relationship with her sister Nicole is strained by past incidents, her twin brother Benny seems changed by his controlling new boyfriend Christopher, and Nicole's young daughters soon report speaking to "neighbor children" who shouldn't exist. As the family settles in, strange occurrences multiply: cold spots in sweltering summer heat, whispers in Italian, scratching noises from behind the locked tower door, and hallucinations of bodies in the swimming pool. When Anna asks about accessing the mysterious tower, she learns it's strictly off-limits-a prohibition that only intensifies her curiosity about what might be hidden there.
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