The omen door David Seltzer

The book is an adventure story, and a thriller too. Important characters The main character is Robert Thorn. Other very important characters are Kathy Thorn, Jennings, Damien, Mrs. Baylock, Bugenhagen, and the priests Spiletto and Tassone. Robert Thorn is an American diplomat who loves his wife very much. As her justborn child dies, he arranges an unofficial adoption. Only a few people know about it, even his wife doesn’t know that the baby she holds a few minutes later isn’t her child. Kathy Thorn is Robert’s wife, and she dies in the story. Jennings is a press-photographer, and he makes pictures of the Thorn family. He and Thorn are going to work together, but also Jennings dies. Damien is the son of Robert and Kathy. But Kathy doesn’t know that he is not her own child but an andopted one. At the end of the story it turns out that Damien is the son of the Devil. Mrs. Baylock is Damien’s new nanny. When the other nanny died, Mrs. Baylock suddenly showed up. She turns out to be an apostate of the Devil. Bugenhagen is the last person of a big exorcist family. His great grandfathers defeated the Devil twice before, and now he gives Thorn advice about the child. The two priests are important witnesses of the birth of Damien. Spiletto arranged the whole birth for the Devil. Tassone helps him, but regrets it later, because he was helping the Devil. He returns to God. His job is warning Thorn about the child. Extra information Thorn lives in Pereford, England, and the biggest part of the story takes place there. A few scenes, like Damien’s birth, take place in Italy, and in Jerusalem. The story covers a few years, and I don’t know exactly in which year it takes place. I think it could take place between 1980 and now.
Summary One night in Rome, Kathy Thorn gives birth to a child. A priest who works for the Devil takes the child and kills it. As Robert Thorn arrives at the hospital, the priest tells him that his baby died. Robert knows how badly his wife wants a child, and the priest convinces him to adopt one. There was a little baby born at the same time as his, and his mother died. Thorn decides to adopt that child, but he doesn’t tell anyone about the adoption. A few years later, on the birthday of the boy, Damien, something strange happens. While the people were celebrating Damien’s birthday, the nanny kills herself. Just a few days later a strange woman stands at the door. She says that she is the new nanny, Mrs. Baylock. Robert and Kathy didn’t know where she suddenly came from because they didn’t order a new nanny. Mrs. Baylock says that the agency sent her. Robert and Kathy like her, and are happy with the new nanny. When Robert Thorn is working, a little priest suddenly comes to visit him. The priest warns him for the Devil, and says a few things about the adoption. Robert Thorn thought the man was crazy and sent him away. But the priest keeps coming back. In the park the priest tells Thorn that Kathy is in danger. He says that she is already pregnant, and Damien wouldn’t like the child, so he would kill it before it was born. After that he would kill Kathy, and Thorn. Thorn gets confused and walks away. The next morning Kathy tells Thorn she’s pregnant, and as Thorn reads the newspaper he sees that a little priest died yesterday as a result off an accident….. That noon Thorn goes for a ride, and when he’s gone Kathy stands on the balcony and gives water to the flowers. Suddenly Damien runs towards her and pushes her off the balcony. As soon as Robert hears the news he drives to the hospital were they tell him that Kathy lost the baby. At this point he comes in touch with Jennings, a press-photographer who he met twice before. Jennings tells him about strange photographs. Jennings made photographs of the first nanny, and of the priest. They were made just before they died. On both pictures there hung a haze over the person. Jennings wants to find out more, because he made a picture of himself once ( by accident) and he saw the haze above himself too. Thorn and Jennings decide to take a trip to Rome. They want to find out what’s going on. When they’re in Rome they find the graves of Thorn’s child and Damien’s mother. The mother turns out to be a jackal. Then the trip goes on to Jerusalem. At the time they are there, Mrs. Baylock pushes Kathy out of the window of the hospital. She died. Thorn and Jennings went on and met a man, who’s name was Bugenhagen. He gives Thorn 7 knifes. He must kill Damien with the knives. He refuses, saying that Damien is just a child. Jennings and Thorn get in a fight. Jennings walks away angry. Suddenly out of nothing something falls on Jennings’ head. Also Jennings is dead….. Robert is all alone now, and he travels back to Pereford. As he comes home the child is asleep, so Robert gets a razor, and removes Damien’s hair. He sees three sixes and is convinced that Damien is the son of the Devil. He takes Damien, but suddenly Mrs. Baylock appears. Thorn and Baylock get in a fight, and Baylock tries to kill Thorn. Thorn hits Mrs. Baylock, and he stuck two forks in her head, so he can escape. He takes Damien and runs to the car. As he tries to ride away, Mrs. Baylock stands by the fence. Robert drives on and the car smashes into Mrs. Baylock killing her. Robert drives to a church, and pulls Damien towards it. He pulls the struggling child to the massive front steps of the church. A man across the street shouts at him, and calls the police. When Thorn finally reached the steps, he grabs one of the knives. Just as he wants to kill Damien a policeman gets his revolver. At the same time as Robert plunges the knive downward, the policeman shoots. The bullet hits Robert, and he dies in the hospital. Damien is alright. A lot of people are at the funeral of Robert and Kathy Thorn. Damien too, with his new parents. The priest blesses Damien, and Damien and his parents get into the car. A lot of photographers make pictures of it, but they are all amazed as they see pictures of the car. Because there’s a rare haze hanging above the car with Damien and his new parents…………… My opinion I really liked the book. It was a very exciting story, and you couldn’t tell what was coming next. I think I liked Robert Thorn the most, because you could read exactly what he was thinking. He knew something was wrong, but he loved that child, he raised it! Someone said about this story:’A story of a child who is not a child and a man who must become less than a father and more than a man.’ I agree with this. But it’s difficult though. Thorn loved Damien, but Thorn could’ve survived the whole story, if he hadn’t. There was a good mix of Fiction and Non-Fiction. By some books you think:’ Yeah right, like that is ever gonna happen!’. But in this story it all sounds very logical, and you can almost believe it really happened. Some parts in the book were a little boring to read, but when you look back you think :‘ Ow…. Yeah that was what stood in the bible too.’ And: ‘ Hey, now I understand what they were talking about in the other part!’. When you look back now, you understand what the author meant with some parts, and you finally understand why the author tells it. I’ve learned that three sixes are the number of the Devil hahahah. No, now seriously, I’ve learned that you shouldn’t trust everyone. Like Thorn, he trusted Spiletto first, and than suddenly Mrs.Baylock comes, and he just trusts her. And her next move is to kill Kathy Thorn! And I’ve learned also that life suddenly can change, an accident can happen, or someone you love could just die. And how important your choices are, if Robert Thorn would’ve made other choices, the whole story would be different. If he had chosen for another child, or to tell the truth to Kathy. It would all have made a difference.