Horror story about a shack full of notorious serial killers' possesions

Question

I remember really enjoying this book, but my recollection of it is woeful.

The main protagonist is a teenage boy, I think he's hired to do some odd jobs around a large house, or maybe the house belongs to a family member. There is a small shack / shed near the house and inside the shed are a bunch of random items. A book, a lamp, an old table and some other things.

The question has been answered below so I'm going to wrap this part in a spoiler tag:

I think as the story progresses the boy starts having dreams and nightmares about killing people and it turns out all of the different items in the shed belonged to notorious serial killers and they are somehow controlling or influencing him.

I can't remember how it ends.

Set in America, maybe the south, probably 10 - 15 years old.

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Answer 1

I think it is likely In the Dark of the Night by John Saul. From Wikipedia:

When the Brewster family moves to an old midwestern town known as Pincrest, Eric Brewster and his teenage friends discover various items such as bladeless hacksaws, shadeless lamps, tables with missing legs, and a headless axe handle, which they perceive as old junk.

Potentially spoilery:

They soon realize that there is a troubling great mystery behind these items; a mystery simply dying to be solved. But the fascination with the mysterious items grows into an obsession. Not only that, while their days consist of tending to the mystery, their nights become nothing but filled with ghastly nightmares that threaten to become reality. And soon they discover yet more information that soon blossoms into the shocking truth. They also learn about the terrifying events that occurred Pincrest seven years before, the horrifying disappearance of Pinecrest's last resident, and a strange legacy with an eerie life of its own, which may also be thirsty and awaiting for new victims.