Pharos: A Ghost Story

by Alice Thompson

Set in the early nineteenth century, Pharos is a dazzling ghost story from award-winning author Alice Thompson.

A young woman is washed up on the shores of Jacob's Rock, a remote lighthouse island off the coast of Scotland. She does not know who she is or how she got there. She has no memory. The keeper of the lighthouse and his assistant take her in and feed and clothe her. But this mysterious woman is not all that she seems, and neither is the remote and wind-swept island.

Eerily reminiscent of Turn of the Screw and The Others, Pharos is a breathless tale of the supernatural.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Scotland, Ghosts, Gothic, Historical

162 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 6, 2002

About the author

Alice Thompson is a Scottish novelist.

Thompson was educated at St George's School, Edinburgh, then read English at Oxford and wrote her Ph.D. thesis on Henry James. In the 1980s she played keyboard with rock band The Woodentops.

She has a son and lives in Edinburgh. Her novel Justine was the joint winner of the 1996 James Tait Black Memorial Prize. She has also won a Creative Scotland Award in 2000 and was a Writer in Residence in Shetland.

Reviews

[Terra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pharos: A Ghost Story by Alice Thompson was a delightful read. A pure ghost story without the gore, sex and filler you will find in today's books. I must say this was a very unexpected find and I am so glad I was able to get it.

Lucia is a woman who is plain but pretty, frightened by courageous and lost. She is without a memory and wonders how she came to the lighthouse and who exactly she is. A very interesting character who weaves through the book questioning, wondering, seeking and restless as to her purpose here.

The story is set on a remote island off the cost of Scotland with a Lighthouse to protect the ships which pass by from the treacherous reefs that protrude from its shores. Without this lighthouse it would be complete folly to pass through this area of the world unguided.

The story is clear cut with a real twist for an ending that is told with such simplicity that it is smooth and delicious. Even though it is slow to start it does pick up and keeps you wondering right to the last page. It is nicely finished explaining why, how and what things have been going on and are happening now.

I do believe the author is a gifted storyteller with a love for stories from of pure straight frowardness of the past. I would easily give this a 5 star even with the slow beginning just because of the old time, sit beside the fire story telling quality. This is a pure ghost story that could easily have been fact in the distant past. A quick must read for lovers of old.

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

Brief and easy to read ghost story set on a Scottish island in the early 1800s. It is a very small island with a lighthouse, a small graveyard and crypt (obviously .... it's a ghost story) and a vegetable patch; not much else. The lighthouse keeper gets a new assistant and they find an unconscious woman on the beach. She appears to have been shipwrecked and has lost her memory. They keep her on the island and care for her. The lighthouse keepers sister comes to stay and helps out, bringing some order to thier lives. The young woman who has lost her memory (Lucia), begins to hear and see things on the island which disturb her.
Up to this point the tension has been built up well, the characters have some interest and one hopes for some good twists and a few chills. It is a little reminiscent of Henry James, Turn of the Screw and all that; not surprising since the author did her PhD on James.
However then it all goes a bit bonkers and we get animism, a number of strange hobbies, gnosticism, voodoo (I kid you not), wrecked slave ships (remember we are off the Scottish coast), revenge and a few other things that would completely give the plot away. The last third of the book introduces way too many ideas and tropes which just do not hang together and which do not convince, let alone scare. I felt a bit cheated; when I read a ghost story I want to be chilled.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted a short spooky read like Thin Air by Paver, and this… didn’t hit the spot to be honest; thankfully I just picked it up from the library. The writing was lovely and evocative, but it didn’t go where I expected it to (except the part I easily guessed) and became less of a ghost and something else I can’t describe that would be spoilers fo try and explain. This is definitely the sort of book that would be analysed in a classroom or seminar as there’s a lot of undertones and layers to such a short novel (150pages). But honestly I wasn’t blown away and I wasn’t given the thrill I wanted either. The search continues!

[Macarena (followed that rabbit) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

🌊 The story is set in the early 19th century on a small island in the Atlantic Ocean called Jacob’s Rock.

🐚 There are no houses on the island, only a lighthouse run by Cameron and his assistant, Simon.

🌊 One day, Simon found a woman on the shore of the island. It looked like the waves left her there. To his surprise, she was alive, so he took her to the lighthouse in order to help her.

🐚 When the woman woke up, she couldn’t remember anything. It seemed like her memory was completely washed out.

✨ Who is this mysterious woman? How could she possibly arrive on the island?

🌬️ The island isn’t what it seems. There are secrets hidden under the sand, at the bottom of the sea and in the lighthouse. It seems that Cameron knows more than he tells.

🕯️ A highly atmospheric tale with a touch of mystery, supernatural and even magical realism.

📚 Another wonderful buddy read with my friend Anoud The story was good, but the discussion was even better 🥰 Two people from different parts of the world reading a book by a Scottish writer in a foreign language, isn’t it wonderful?

[Tabitha Vohn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pharos began as a delightfully eerie story about a remote lighthouse and the eccentric oddballs who inhabit it, to include a young man who enjoys bringing puppets to life, a reclusive lighthouse keeper with a locked room and a woman suffering from amnesia who finds herself washed up on shore, naked, completely devoid of memory. Add to that a mysterious crypt and single gravestone on the other side of the island, the lush description of isolation and the strange little girl who "haunts" the island and you've got a recipe for a great stormy day read.

Thompson also builds the suspense perfectly through subtle revelations of horror; things like a character sick with fever glances over at her caregiver to find the woman laughing hysterically (and silently) to herself, or ghostly apparitions moving like giant slugs across the darkened wall-did I mention one character likes to bring puppets to life?!-and what's hidden behind that mysterious locked door. All great stuff, right? All super fun, supernatural suspense delight!

That and that alone merited the 3-stars I gave this book. The last thirty pages or so just flat out disappointed, underwhelmed and, frankly, pissed me off. Not since Lost has there been such a cop-out! Without delving into spoilers (which I really, r-e-a-l-l-y want to do) I will just say that the explanation for all the supernatural occurrences was contrived and it was trying too hard to be original (good vs. evil ain't that hard, man; but trying to spin some web where the evil must become good to balance out the evil offender whom the evil is after so the evil can win against the evil?? Yeah. It's a paradox. Think on that one for a while.) Furthermore, the origin of our mysterious castaway is revealed in a lazy way, and the little tangent into child sacrifice was in completely poor taste (I don't know a lot about the religion referenced in the book, but I know enough to know that the insinuation towards that religion (and to African slaves) that they would sacrifice children would have to undoubtedly piss people off.

So...Pharos was two-thirds awesome and one third outrageous upchuck. Maybe I'll read it again someday and invent a different ending, b/c the wasted potential just kills me.

[Callum McLaughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the timeless feel of this story, which was very reminiscent in tone to The Turn of the Screw, and felt like it could even be a classic itself, being set in the nineteenth century and verging on melodrama at times. It has all the elements you could generally hope for in an old-school ghost story: An unreliable narrator; an air of mystery; an isolated setting, strange supporting characters and creepy goings on.

The heroine, unsure of her past and unable to decipher reality from wild imaginings, was at times frustrating, with her tendency to run away aimlessly whenever spooked or upset, though this was somewhat justified in the story itself once her history became clearer and she did also become a bit more proactive later on.

It's not scary per se, but the dreamlike quality and the unsettling atmosphere worked really well for me.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the atmosphere of the book and the way the environment seemed to have a sentient presence. Without giving the plot away, I did not really enjoy the “voodoo” angle tying the events into the “haunting.” It felt like when old Hollywood movies would choose an ‘exotic’ location and culture to fetishize as villainous or dangerous.

But it’s a short read and quite enjoyable for what it is.

[Anoud · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book with a friend, it was an awesome experience.. But the book it self felt lacking. The overall story was actually very good but the execution was all over the place. Imho.
If you liked A House at the Bottom of a Lake you might like this one, also The Essex Serpent it was a mash of these 2 books and it's short, which is a plus.

[Chyina · Rating 1 out of 5]

This story was a disappointment for me. The shortness of the book I could handle if the contents made up for the lack of pages... but it didn't.

The characters, although mildly likable, did nothing for me to actually connect with them. There were many points where I sat scratching my head at a turn in the scene or plot. Especially the end, which was a bit muddled, and left me feeling more than a little underwhelmed.

Don't get me wrong, I don't mind (and even like) ghost stories that aren't scary, but this just sort of left me with puzzlement. Though I get the ending and what was going on, it just wasn't satisfying in any way.

This book had so much potential but fell short. Pity. I forced myself to finish both with the hope that it would still surprise me, but mainly because I can't stand not finishing a book, even one I'd rather put down. I would, sadly, not recommend this story.

[Jaret · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was very unimpressed by this ghost story. The only good thing I can say was that it was short so I didn't waste too much time reading it. The story had lots of potential because the premise of the story was very interesting. However, the writing was very choppy and the scenes changed too quickly. The author seemed like she was trying to keep you in a fog (much like the main character), but all she really did was keep me lost until the build-up. Finally at the end, when I thought it was going to get good. Nope, a ridiculous cheesy ending that left me going, "really?"

[Kitty · Rating 1 out of 5]

Here's a couple of examples of why I hated this book.

1. "The slippery texture and strong sea smell reminded him of the act of love."

2. "The world, for Simon, was not something to be controlled or managed or done to."

If you need more than these 2 sentences to convince you, then you deserve the tragedy of this experience.

[Bettie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was more soft haunt than horror which suited me fine and dandy

[Dafne Flego · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was looking for a book a friend had once told me about, and "Pharos" came up in my research. It wasn't the intended book, but it shared certain key points ("a book about a woman washed upon a lighthouse") plus it promised a ghost story and a Scottish island into the bargain! :D

The story started out strongly - I was looking forward to beautiful depictions of coastal British scenery and some delicious, fantasy-tinged mystery.

Unfortunately...

The storyline held potential, but I had issues with the execution. :(

The characters never came across as "actual people" i.e. convincing, recognizable personalities. They felt tenuous, ephemeral, insubstantial - I couldn't care for or connect with any of them.

The omniscient third-person-singular narrator moved between several perspectives, all of which proved highly unrealiable.
Unreliable narrators can be effectively employed in storytelling, of course, but narration here didn't build suspense gradually... The unsettling/horrific elements were inserted into the narrative almost willy-nilly, making the writing feel jumpy and jumbled, in my opinion. As a reader, I was annoyed rather than intrigued.
When "the mystery" got explained at the end, it felt jarring to me, again (even though, technically, hints were sprinkled throughout the text). Jarring in tone, mostly.
(lots of unclear, deliberately vague experiences/sightings, is it real/is it not?..., and then - BAM - here's this, this and that, but FOR REAL!)

The writing felt experimental to me, and a certain quote kind of corroborates this impression:

It was a giant depiction of his life with the meaning taken out: no narrative, no analysis, no thoughts. Just excerpts.

Now, the unfortunate "fact of life" is that, most of the time, writers are the only readers who enjoy (their own) experimental writing.

I think this story would have "hit" much harder, written from a more traditional approach.
Edgar Allan Poe, sir Arthur Conan Doyle, even F. Scott Fitzgerald all "grounded" their "more imaginative storylines" in POVs of respectable, ordinary, reliable narrators (old friend in "The Fall of the House of Usher", Watson in Sherlock-verse, Nick Carraway in "The Great Gatsby"). It was precisely the "unimpressiveness" of these narrators which strengthened the impact of the stories themselves.

[Kash · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up this book knowing basically nothing about it. The premise of an isolated lighthouse in Scotland during the 19th century was enough. It went on to take an extremely different direction from where I thought it would go, and I did not like it. There are some interesting ideas and I think the author was very good at descriptions, especially at first. That being said, I overall felt the book was lacking another review or re-edition. Something about the repetition of certain sentences felt unfinished.

Now getting into spoilers, I just think the voodoo aspect was lackluster at best and the book overall felt like it was falling into disarray as things went by. The dialogues were not very good because everyone talks the same and in a cryptic but not quite fable like tone so it didn't really work. Obviously the intention was to make it all feel surreal and fairytale like but the way scenes succeed one another and the way characters meet, develop their relationships, and things happens feels simply arbitrary, even a little bit amateurish and little inconsistencies here and there give an overall sense of an unfinished and unpolished work, as I pointed out.

It started very well, but I have to say I tend to agree with most reviews here: the book itself was not too great. I overall liked the writing style and, again, some ideas are very interesting, but I kept wishing for a story that was different from what it ended up being. This is to blame on me however, because simply put, the writer set out to write a story that was not the story I wanted to read. That she failed to trap me and convince me into it is, perhaps, secondary.

[Sarah B · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a Scottish ghost story that revolves around a group of people who live and work at an isolated lighthouse.. the story has a lot of twists that has you guessing what might be going on...so you think you know what is going on but then the next page says different. Even with the author trying to trick me, I was able to guess the main plot twist very easily. It was obvious. The other things not so obvious...

This story is not scary at all. It's not horror. It's more drama really. And it's about madness, deception, lying to oneself and revenge. And there is indeed a ghost in here..and voodoo. It also takes place in a previous time period...1826 to be precise. The map at the front of the book has the date.

The story itself is sort of like being in a dream or hallucination, with things changing constantly. It makes you wonder which character is lying. Or is Lucia simply insane? It's a bit surreal. Until you realize what's actually going on. I did notice a plot hole near the end which was not addressed but I suppose that's ok...I suppose it fits with the one characters state of mind at the time.

I did feel sorry for Lucia. She truly had no idea who she is or anything about her past. Her life at the lighthouse is a jumbled mass of confusion.

The book can also be classified as a mystery.

I did enjoy seeing the 18th century terms. It made me think of Pirates of the Caribbean. The book also points out how important lighthouses are to ships and the relentless danger of the sea.

[Mila Daskalova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written, this short novel touches on so many themes - the relationship between human and nature, madness, memory and faith, among others. I especially loved the metaphor of language as a man-made bridge between the natural and the human worlds: away from the buzz of society, one does start to feel the inadequacy of words (and of their mortal human creator) to portray reality as experienced, let alone to change it and affect the course of nature.

As to the plot, I loved the obscurity that dominated most of the novel, but as I approached the end, I was on the verge of feeling the disappointment many other reviewers have expressed. The last third of the book loses some of its eeriness and strikes the reader (or at least me) as unpersuasive. However, if one tries to take the ending seriously, the whole story needs to be reevaluated - and the new perspective raises so many exciting questions about reality and imagination. At present, if someone asks me to describe what happens in the book, I am not sure I can answer at all. I would like to reread it, now aware of the resolution, and see how I'll interpret it differently.

This the first of Thompson's works that I've read, and I am eager to get my hands on the next one.

[Sara Gerot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely haunting. I think that it was interesting the way the author toyed with magical realism, ghosts, and spirituality to create something fairly unique. A ghost story sorts of captures it, but it feels like more. Great setting.

[Noah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was loving this until about the last 3 pages. The prose is wonderful, the mystery and intrigue are incredibly well done. It just ends up with a very rushed conclusion and although the conclusion makes sense there’s too much that could and should have been expanded on.

[Marsha Valance · Rating 3 out of 5]

A woman amnesiac, rescued by two lighthouse keepers, encounters the apparent spirit of a drowned African slave girl.

[Iris Lolly · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book very disappointing, particularly as it had such a strong premise. The characters were underwritten and I found the writing very flat and basic. Ultimately, the plot was full of holes which made the 'reveal' a huge disappointment.

[Ape · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wasn't that impressed by this one, despite the fact that it is set on a Scottish island and I usually go mad for books set in Scotland, especially on islands. I ought to have been onto a winner with this one, but never mind. At least it wasn't a long book. Thinking back over it, there were a lot of ideas and the idea of the plot and what was going on actually seems like a good idea. Something REALLY got lost in the execution and just didn't work, so it turned into a bit of a dull tale lacking in atmosphere. Perhaps the way it was written in lots of tiny bits, getting too caught up in its own vagueness and general cleverness to bother with atmosphere or trying to build any tension.

SPOILERS******************... The whole Pinnochio thing was kind of obvious but I didn't realise the voodoo connection really until the end. She really could have made a lot more of this. I wish she had. And then alternative explanations I came up with that never turned out to be right... that they were all figments of Cameron's imagination; or that they were all ghosts except for Lucia;; none of which the author had in mind!

[soda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book to reflect upon in regards to nihilism and questioning reality.

"Melancholy is a dangerous friend. She will make you her slave".

A woman (later named Lucia by the light keeper's assistant) washes upon Jacob's Rock, a lighthouse island off the coast of Scotland and is taken in by the light keeper and his assistant. She doesn't know who she is, where she came from, and her amnesia never really seems to go away. She keeps seeing visions, hearing sounds, is told they're not real and feels like she is kept at the lighthouse against her will. The 3 are soon joined by the light keeper's sister who admits no one wants Lucia's memories to return, as they just love having her at the lighthouse.

As secrets get revealed there are questions of what's real, who's real and what does 'real' actually mean. Do you truly exist because you think you do, or because someone else thinks you into existence?

If you like books that touch on the existential this is a very good read!

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a brief, atmospheric ghost story. The setting, a lighthouse on a small island off the coast of Scotland, is deliciously remote and helps give the novel a dreamlike, timeless quality. The only denizens of the island are Cameron the lighthouse keeper and his apprentice, Simon, until one day a mysterious woman washes up on shore. They call her Lucia, as she has no memory of who she is or of her previous life.

Cameron and Simon feed and clothe Lucia and treat her kindly, but life on the island becomes increasingly odd and dreamlike. Lucia keeps seeing a young girl on the island, who the others insist doesn't exist. She is also beginning to get the feeling that while the two men have posed no threat to her, they also very much do not want her to leave.

This is a perfect book for a cozy evening under the blankets with some tea. It's not scary, but it's spooky and mysterious and beautifully written.

[Ingibjörg · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel is interesting in many ways. Set on a small island (or rock), it tells of strange happenings that take place in the lighthouse and on the island. A mysterious woman is washed ashore. She has lost her memory. She struggles to make sense of weird happenings on the island and the atmosphere becomes ever more eerie and uncanny. I like how the author cleverly plays with her characters' and her readers' conceptions and expectations, as things are truly not what they seem. But I found some of the plot elements too unbelievable and far-fetched. Somehow I was also not convinced when the truth came out. Still, an interesting book and in some ways comparable to M.L. Stedman's A Light Between Oceans.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was absolutely surprised by the book. I found it lurking half hidden on a back shelf at my library. I was a little leery when part of the title was "A Ghost Story." Not that I have anything against ghost stories, but I was worried it was an urban legend type read that you tell under a blanket with a flashlight.

Anyway, I was greatly surprised by it. It's an extremely short book that I read in a matter of hours, but it had me hooked. Thompson described everything so vividly that I felt like I was on the island with them.

Since I don't want to give away any spoilers, I'll just recommend reading it.

[Sam (Hissing Potatoes) · Rating 1 out of 5]

I could handle the strange prose since it's trying to create a ghostly atmosphere, but I couldn't get through when Charlotte came into play. Why why WHY did the narrative put down a character who is respected by the main male characters, hardworking, and emotionally stable, for not being obviously, unabashedly SEXY in a plot where that's not even relevant? ?????????????????????????? Finally get a woman who exists not to be a romantic interest, and the narrative puts her down for it. And that's where I put the book down.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you have the hardcover version of this book, DO NOT read the blurb on the inside of the dust jacket. It compares the book to another work and that acts as a major spoiler for the plot. I was really mad about that, because I went into the book already predisposed to believe a certain thing. I would have enjoyed the book more without reading that comparison.

I enjoyed the story and it was unique.

[Sara Dennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifully crafted tale of isolation, superstition, sanctity, the responsibility of time, the unpredictability of tide and the slow descent into madness. Themes of myth and magic, binaries of darkness and light, freedom and entrapment, nurture and cruelty run throughout the tale. Culminating in a delicate twist, the story leaves the reader wondering with whom they should sympathise.

[JMJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

An eerie yet simple ghost story, that provides many alternatives throughout for how the story may end. The sparseness of the style was useful in building the atmosphere and it was an enjoyable short read.

[Pamster · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am afraid of lighthouses now.