The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer: My Life at Rose Red

The fictional diary of the first inhabitant of the haunted Seattle mansion central to Stephen King’s Rose Red, this cleverly written book provides fascinating background to the ABC-TV movie. On one level, as a “diary,” it chronicles the unhappy marriage and tormented life of Ellen Rimbauer, wife of early-1900s industrialist John Rimbauer, who built the mansion that — in the movie — is plagued by paranormal phenomena today. (In the miniseries, both the house and the diary are topics of research for paranormal investigator and Beaumont University professor Joyce Reardon.) On another level, the book is an interesting, well developed portrait of an era and the lives of the early 20th century’s wealthy social elite. Revealing many details and much “history” behind the tragic events that have made Rose Red such an active paranormal site, The Diary of Ellen Rimabauer is a must-read for any fan of the movie.