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Echo Heights
Synopsis:
Winston Henry always envied the night shift staff up at the old asylum, until there was a vacancy and he found himself working it. Then it was like he’d woken up to what Echo Heights was really like, and everything changed.
He remembered the old saying, “be careful what you wish for,” because it may come true. But it wasn’t exactly what he thought it would be.
Up till then, Winston had never been one for listening to gossip; he avoided people if he could. He thought the stories they told about the things they heard or saw were all made up for attention seeking, so he paid them no heed.
That was until he changed to the night shift.
About the Author:
British crime author Pat McDonald lives in a rural part of the Midlands, United Kingdom. She previously worked as a researcher, project manager, and programme manager in the NHS, and in law enforcement and the criminal justice system. She is now a full-time novelist. This is her first published short story and her sixteenth book. She was inspired by her own experiences working in an old Victorian asylum.
Winston Henry always envied the night shift staff up at the old asylum, until there was a vacancy and he found himself working it. Then it was like he’d woken up to what Echo Heights was really like, and everything changed.
He remembered the old saying, “be careful what you wish for,” because it may come true. But it wasn’t exactly what he thought it would be.
Up till then, Winston had never been one for listening to gossip; he avoided people if he could. He thought the stories they told about the things they heard or saw were all made up for attention seeking, so he paid them no heed.
That was until he changed to the night shift.
About the Author:
British crime author Pat McDonald lives in a rural part of the Midlands, United Kingdom. She previously worked as a researcher, project manager, and programme manager in the NHS, and in law enforcement and the criminal justice system. She is now a full-time novelist. This is her first published short story and her sixteenth book. She was inspired by her own experiences working in an old Victorian asylum.
49 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 14, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 19, 2024
“My name is Winston Henry and I work up at the Asylum.”
So begins the first-person narrative of the son of Jamaican immigrants to Britain. The language used is commensurate with the narrator’s origin, and the uneasy ambience of the story is established from the get-go – the Echo Heights Asylum is not the type of institution where people go to be ‘cured’ so much as a place where long term, ‘hopeless’ inmates die.
When ghostly, unexplained events start happening on the ward, an exorcism is suggested. But is the problem a supernatural issue or a mental one among the anxiety-riddled staff?
But then Winston is moved onto the night shift and his cynicism on matters spiritual undergoes a profound metamorphosis…
‘Echo Heights’ is a short but atmospheric read. If at times it doesn’t make your pulse race, you’d better check that you still have one.
So begins the first-person narrative of the son of Jamaican immigrants to Britain. The language used is commensurate with the narrator’s origin, and the uneasy ambience of the story is established from the get-go – the Echo Heights Asylum is not the type of institution where people go to be ‘cured’ so much as a place where long term, ‘hopeless’ inmates die.
When ghostly, unexplained events start happening on the ward, an exorcism is suggested. But is the problem a supernatural issue or a mental one among the anxiety-riddled staff?
But then Winston is moved onto the night shift and his cynicism on matters spiritual undergoes a profound metamorphosis…
‘Echo Heights’ is a short but atmospheric read. If at times it doesn’t make your pulse race, you’d better check that you still have one.
October 30, 2024
A curious tale told through the eyes of a psychiatric nurse recounting unexplained occurrences from his days working at the local asylum known as Echo Heights.
What I enjoyed most about this short-story is the author’s ability to capture my attention and question an overarching sense of reality. This well written short story is fascinating. Being inspired by the author’s own experience working in a Victorian asylum more so.
What I enjoyed most about this short-story is the author’s ability to capture my attention and question an overarching sense of reality. This well written short story is fascinating. Being inspired by the author’s own experience working in a Victorian asylum more so.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews