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Whispers in the Dark
In this second chilling novel by Jonathan Aycliffe, orphaned Charlotte Metcalf arrives on the doorstep of her relatives, the mysterious Ayrtons, in the hope of locating her younger brother Arthur. Their home, Barras Hall, is at first a welcome refuge, until Charlotte realizes that the manor has become her prison, and that she is surrounded by a horror she cannot escape.
272 pages, Paperback
First published November 19, 1992
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601 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan Aycliffe
16 books261 followersaka Daniel Easterman
Jonathan Aycliffe (Denis M. MacEoin) was born in Belfast in 1949. He studied English, Persian, Arabic and Islamic studies at the universities of Dublin, Edinburgh and Cambridge, and lectured at the universities of Fez in Morocco and Newcastle upon Tyne. The author of several successful full-length ghost stories, he lives in the north of England with his wife, homeopath and health writer, Beth MacEoin. He also writes as Daniel Easterman, under which name he has penned nine bestselling novels.
Jonathan Aycliffe (Denis M. MacEoin) was born in Belfast in 1949. He studied English, Persian, Arabic and Islamic studies at the universities of Dublin, Edinburgh and Cambridge, and lectured at the universities of Fez in Morocco and Newcastle upon Tyne. The author of several successful full-length ghost stories, he lives in the north of England with his wife, homeopath and health writer, Beth MacEoin. He also writes as Daniel Easterman, under which name he has penned nine bestselling novels.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
January 7, 2023
Nice little gothic ghost story by Aycliffe; ghosts really seem to be his forte! This book largely takes the form of an extended memoir written by Charlotte Metcalf, born in the late 19th century, with prologue and ending tacked on to connect it to the present (circa 1992). Charlotte was born into a wealthy family, with her father running a company, but his sudden death, and his soured investments left Charlotte, her mother and her younger brother destitute. So, despite their background, off to the poor house for you! And remember, English poor houses were no joke in the 19th century.
Long story short, Charlotte, after many trials and tribulations, manages to run away from the nasty house where she was a lowly maid and fled to her long-lost cousins, who live in a rather grand estate called Barras Hall. Her two cousins take her in and she is beyond grateful, but it quickly becomes apparent that something is not quite right in Barras Hall, beyond the pretty obvious incestuous relationship between her cousins...
Aycliffe does a fine job here created the gothic atmosphere, especially as Barras Hall still does not have electricity and the story set there largely takes place in a cold and snowy winter. I also really liked the structure of the novel, where Charlotte frequently intercedes; it seems the memoir was written to her shrink around 1970 (when Charlotte was in her 80s) as her 'story'. I have only read a few other Aycliffe novels, but I will be looking for more. 4 ghostly stars!
Long story short, Charlotte, after many trials and tribulations, manages to run away from the nasty house where she was a lowly maid and fled to her long-lost cousins, who live in a rather grand estate called Barras Hall. Her two cousins take her in and she is beyond grateful, but it quickly becomes apparent that something is not quite right in Barras Hall, beyond the pretty obvious incestuous relationship between her cousins...
Aycliffe does a fine job here created the gothic atmosphere, especially as Barras Hall still does not have electricity and the story set there largely takes place in a cold and snowy winter. I also really liked the structure of the novel, where Charlotte frequently intercedes; it seems the memoir was written to her shrink around 1970 (when Charlotte was in her 80s) as her 'story'. I have only read a few other Aycliffe novels, but I will be looking for more. 4 ghostly stars!
May 25, 2025
Let me start by saying that I am a huge Jonathan Aycliffe fan, have read all of his books and this without doubt is my favorite. I might just call it the scariest book I have ever read. Mr. Aycliffe is a master in ghost story telling, and here he does it with such a force that this tale turns into an experience. He has a gift of writing in such a way that whatever the main character sees, you see, whatever she touches, you touch, whatever frightens her, frightens you. I have read this multiple times and it never fails to chill me right to the bone. A certain scene made me put the book down and quickly turn to bed, but was afraid of every shadow I saw along the way. I cannot stress enough how brilliant this is. Charlotte Metcalf went through the scariest moments I have ever read, hearing children singing will never be the same again (this particular cover art is terrible though...doesn't portray the vibe and eeriness of the tale AT ALL)
July 26, 2014
The book starts with a letter from a man named John Simpkins to his friend Norman telling him that he has found a strange journal among his deceased fathers posessions.
His father was a country doctor and one of his patients suffered from severe depression so he asked her to write about what troubled her. Simpkins is forwarding the journal because he believes it to be true even if the recollections are very disturbing.
Then we switch to the journal of the woman Charlotte Metcalf she was born in 1887 and two years later her beloved brother.
Together with their parents they live a charmed Life- her family is very wealthy her mother a heiress but without close relatives since her grandparents,parents and cousins all drowned in a horrific accident.
Her father does have relatives but he is estranged from them and one the one ocassion when Charlotte brings it up he becomes very angry and upset. But this is only a minor thing in her life and she soon forgets about it.
But then her father dies and there are enormous debts,even her mothers fortune had been spent.
They are ruined and the few friends and distant relatives they have either are unable or refuse to help,so in the end there is no other place for them to go but the workhouse. The final disgrace is that the few posessions they have left is taken away from them locked away in a chest. Even the doll of Charlotte.
But worst of all she and her mother are separated from Arthur who is taken away to the mens wing of the workhouse. Their mother doesnt last long and soon dies.Charlotte consoles herself with that as long as her brother is alive and she will be able to see him again some day she can endure.
She goes into training to be a maid and when she is assigned a place on the outside she asks to see her brother but is told he "is gone"At first she thinks it means he died but the cruel woman who runs the workhouse tells her that:
“Brother? What brother? Your brother’s gone long ago,” she said.
Her words hit me like one of the blows she liked to deal out. The blood rushed from my face. I do not know why I did not faint, for the fear I had felt that first moment of her arrival had returned with redoubled force. I was certain for a moment that she meant he was dead.
“Gone?” It was all I could do to force the question out.
“Yes, of course. Did you think he’d stay on here forever, maybe just to wait for his big sister? This isn’t a hotel, you know. Our inmates don’t pay for their keep like decent folks. Your brother was found a place and sent to it like any other lad his age.”
Charlotte is sent away to find her own way to her new employers house but her faint hope that it will be any better is soon squashed and her station in Life cruelly driven into her when she notices a photograph with her decased father on a mantlepiece.Tearfully she reveals who she is to the lady of the house who appears symphatetic but in the end does nothing for her.
Charlottes old friend from the workhouse arrives to be ladies maid at the same houseand tells Charlotte that she know where her brother is. Instead of going to the metal foundry where he was supposed to work he ran away to seek out their fathers distant relatives-the Ayrton at Barras Lodge.
After learning this she start to have strange dreams about her brother where he is asking for her help and trying to get to her. Soon she makes her escape.
She has bad feelings about going there but she has to find her brother!
When she arrives at Barras Lodge she expects to be driven away and her claim to be a relative disbelieved.Instead she is embraced by her cousins,a pair of siblings named Anthony and Antonia.
At first everything is wonderful but then Charlotte starts to notice things,how there are no birds in the garden around the house,footsteps passing by her door at night and the scratching at doors at night.
I could not wholly dispel a growing fear that there was something unnatural about Barras Hall and its grounds.
And why are the clothes given to her by her kind cousin Antonia ten years out of date?
This was a really scary book,the creeping kind of horror wich is apperant even if the inhabitants of Barras Lodge try to make logical explanations for things.
The ending is aa downer. You want good or at least the protagonist to prevail against evil I was made very uncomfortable with the idea that the evil was still out there ready to
emerge.
If you are looking for a book where the maincharacters overcome all her
This is a recollection of someone who just survived a brush with evil and who despite making a new life for herself with a loving husband and children,still suffered severe PSTD from the events taking place in the book.
If this book has any message at all its probably that the most evil things arent perpetrated by something supernatural but is what humans can do to each other. A very bleak outlook
The diary format at first was a bit offputting because Charlotte complains about modern times and how spoiled her grandchildren are but things got going when she started on the actual story-
Overall I did find myself engrossed in this book and wouldnt mind reading something else from this author. ...preferably in broad daylight though.
Maybe someone cleverer than me would have figured out how things would end before me especially as the last name of Charlotte (wich is Metcalf) is so foreshadowing. I didnt even think about her name until I googled it.
I cant feel I spoil anything in revealing this because its revealed early in the book.
And finally I want to adress this books cover.
Oh my god this book cover....at first glance the cover looks extremely cheesy but when I came to a certain scene in the book I had to admit it didnt seem nearly so cheesy anymore...
One Word though
TERRIFYING.
My thoughts about the cover before I read it "looks pretty generic for a book from the 90s,but not that scary.
My thoughst after I finished it.
"Well I am glad to see some cover artists read the book"
"That is seriously disturbing"
"I am freaking out over this cover.Its made by some kind of diabolical genius and now it will haunt me forever" OO
Do you want to know what is so disturbing about the cover?
His father was a country doctor and one of his patients suffered from severe depression so he asked her to write about what troubled her. Simpkins is forwarding the journal because he believes it to be true even if the recollections are very disturbing.
Then we switch to the journal of the woman Charlotte Metcalf she was born in 1887 and two years later her beloved brother.
Together with their parents they live a charmed Life- her family is very wealthy her mother a heiress but without close relatives since her grandparents,parents and cousins all drowned in a horrific accident.
Her father does have relatives but he is estranged from them and one the one ocassion when Charlotte brings it up he becomes very angry and upset. But this is only a minor thing in her life and she soon forgets about it.
But then her father dies and there are enormous debts,even her mothers fortune had been spent.
They are ruined and the few friends and distant relatives they have either are unable or refuse to help,so in the end there is no other place for them to go but the workhouse. The final disgrace is that the few posessions they have left is taken away from them locked away in a chest. Even the doll of Charlotte.
But worst of all she and her mother are separated from Arthur who is taken away to the mens wing of the workhouse. Their mother doesnt last long and soon dies.Charlotte consoles herself with that as long as her brother is alive and she will be able to see him again some day she can endure.
She goes into training to be a maid and when she is assigned a place on the outside she asks to see her brother but is told he "is gone"At first she thinks it means he died but the cruel woman who runs the workhouse tells her that:
“Brother? What brother? Your brother’s gone long ago,” she said.
Her words hit me like one of the blows she liked to deal out. The blood rushed from my face. I do not know why I did not faint, for the fear I had felt that first moment of her arrival had returned with redoubled force. I was certain for a moment that she meant he was dead.
“Gone?” It was all I could do to force the question out.
“Yes, of course. Did you think he’d stay on here forever, maybe just to wait for his big sister? This isn’t a hotel, you know. Our inmates don’t pay for their keep like decent folks. Your brother was found a place and sent to it like any other lad his age.”
Charlotte is sent away to find her own way to her new employers house but her faint hope that it will be any better is soon squashed and her station in Life cruelly driven into her when she notices a photograph with her decased father on a mantlepiece.Tearfully she reveals who she is to the lady of the house who appears symphatetic but in the end does nothing for her.
Charlottes old friend from the workhouse arrives to be ladies maid at the same houseand tells Charlotte that she know where her brother is. Instead of going to the metal foundry where he was supposed to work he ran away to seek out their fathers distant relatives-the Ayrton at Barras Lodge.
After learning this she start to have strange dreams about her brother where he is asking for her help and trying to get to her. Soon she makes her escape.
She has bad feelings about going there but she has to find her brother!
When she arrives at Barras Lodge she expects to be driven away and her claim to be a relative disbelieved.Instead she is embraced by her cousins,a pair of siblings named Anthony and Antonia.
At first everything is wonderful but then Charlotte starts to notice things,how there are no birds in the garden around the house,footsteps passing by her door at night and the scratching at doors at night.
I could not wholly dispel a growing fear that there was something unnatural about Barras Hall and its grounds.
And why are the clothes given to her by her kind cousin Antonia ten years out of date?
This was a really scary book,the creeping kind of horror wich is apperant even if the inhabitants of Barras Lodge try to make logical explanations for things.
The ending is aa downer. You want good or at least the protagonist to prevail against evil I was made very uncomfortable with the idea that the evil was still out there ready to
emerge.
If you are looking for a book where the maincharacters overcome all her
This is a recollection of someone who just survived a brush with evil and who despite making a new life for herself with a loving husband and children,still suffered severe PSTD from the events taking place in the book.
If this book has any message at all its probably that the most evil things arent perpetrated by something supernatural but is what humans can do to each other. A very bleak outlook
The diary format at first was a bit offputting because Charlotte complains about modern times and how spoiled her grandchildren are but things got going when she started on the actual story-
Overall I did find myself engrossed in this book and wouldnt mind reading something else from this author. ...preferably in broad daylight though.
Maybe someone cleverer than me would have figured out how things would end before me especially as the last name of Charlotte (wich is Metcalf) is so foreshadowing. I didnt even think about her name until I googled it.
I cant feel I spoil anything in revealing this because its revealed early in the book.
And finally I want to adress this books cover.
Oh my god this book cover....at first glance the cover looks extremely cheesy but when I came to a certain scene in the book I had to admit it didnt seem nearly so cheesy anymore...
One Word though
TERRIFYING.
My thoughts about the cover before I read it "looks pretty generic for a book from the 90s,but not that scary.
My thoughst after I finished it.
"Well I am glad to see some cover artists read the book"
"That is seriously disturbing"
"I am freaking out over this cover.Its made by some kind of diabolical genius and now it will haunt me forever" OO
Do you want to know what is so disturbing about the cover?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 26, 2023
I've tried countless times to read gothic horror... the vast majority is rather boring and not that scary in the end. That's why I've stop trying for a while. But since I've read the first novel by Jonathan Aycliffe I came to realize that he writes gothic stuff. Is not pure horror, or gore. The books are usually not that big and slowly build tension until the culmination.
Here we've got a old woman telling the tale of her life in the turn of the century and here is where Ayclfife is a master. He really knows how Britain was in the turn of the century, how people behaved and such. So, stuff happens and she loses her father and afterwards her mother and then she is separated from her brother. For years she becomes quite literally a slave/peasant resigned to her life. Then she meets her family (cousins and such) and things start to be better for her, or are they?
As the chapters enfold you get to know more about those strange stuff that is happening and get some information here and there. The ending of our main tale was a bit weak (fast) as I hoped for more. The ending of the novel was good.
I can see Jonathan did this, and thought what a movie rights?
Either way, 8 out 10. My criticism was the fast ending (compare with the slow built).
This is a writer I've read almost everything he wrote (not counting his pseudonymn which he writes historic thrillers). I am missing Naomi's Room & Silence of Ghosts. This one, A Garden Lost in Time, don't know why but it's hard to get.
Here we've got a old woman telling the tale of her life in the turn of the century and here is where Ayclfife is a master. He really knows how Britain was in the turn of the century, how people behaved and such. So, stuff happens and she loses her father and afterwards her mother and then she is separated from her brother. For years she becomes quite literally a slave/peasant resigned to her life. Then she meets her family (cousins and such) and things start to be better for her, or are they?
As the chapters enfold you get to know more about those strange stuff that is happening and get some information here and there. The ending of our main tale was a bit weak (fast) as I hoped for more. The ending of the novel was good.
I can see Jonathan did this, and thought what a movie rights?
Either way, 8 out 10. My criticism was the fast ending (compare with the slow built).
This is a writer I've read almost everything he wrote (not counting his pseudonymn which he writes historic thrillers). I am missing Naomi's Room & Silence of Ghosts. This one, A Garden Lost in Time, don't know why but it's hard to get.
July 25, 2016
I read a lot of romance, so I feel like I need to post a disclaimer here - this book isn't even vaguely a romance. It's pretty much straight gothic horror.
This Edwardian-set tale focuses on the trials and trevails of 14 year old Charlotte Metcalf. Raised in a successful merchant family, her father's death and a series of bad investments leaves her, her mother and brother in ever-decreasing circumstances until they finally wind up in a grim workhouse. When sent out to work as a teenager, Charlotte learns that her brother has disappeared from his work site with a vague tale of going to seek aid from distant cousins at their estate.
Charlotte sets off in search of her beloved brother, and when she arrives at Barras Hall, her cousins do indeed welcome her. However, readers will quickly figure out that something seems a bit off. And indeed, Charlotte starts to feel uneasy as well. Unfortunately, her life at Barras Hall quickly becomes that of cherished ward/prisoner. The author does a great job of showing the walls closing in around Charlotte and also of amping up the tension as vaguely creepy incidents and remarks evolve into more definite forms of terror. The climax of the story is downright horrifying, and left me quite unsettled. Overall, while the early parts of the book move a little too slowly, this is an intensely chilling tale.
This Edwardian-set tale focuses on the trials and trevails of 14 year old Charlotte Metcalf. Raised in a successful merchant family, her father's death and a series of bad investments leaves her, her mother and brother in ever-decreasing circumstances until they finally wind up in a grim workhouse. When sent out to work as a teenager, Charlotte learns that her brother has disappeared from his work site with a vague tale of going to seek aid from distant cousins at their estate.
Charlotte sets off in search of her beloved brother, and when she arrives at Barras Hall, her cousins do indeed welcome her. However, readers will quickly figure out that something seems a bit off. And indeed, Charlotte starts to feel uneasy as well. Unfortunately, her life at Barras Hall quickly becomes that of cherished ward/prisoner. The author does a great job of showing the walls closing in around Charlotte and also of amping up the tension as vaguely creepy incidents and remarks evolve into more definite forms of terror. The climax of the story is downright horrifying, and left me quite unsettled. Overall, while the early parts of the book move a little too slowly, this is an intensely chilling tale.
November 26, 2025
Another cracking gothic horror tale from one of my favourite authors.
At this time of year, I am always in the mood for horror with a slow build-up of tension, and Aycliffe was a master at this.
For anyone not familiar with this author, I recommend starting with Naomi's Room and going from there.
At this time of year, I am always in the mood for horror with a slow build-up of tension, and Aycliffe was a master at this.
For anyone not familiar with this author, I recommend starting with Naomi's Room and going from there.
October 12, 2023
A superb, beautifully crafted g0thic chiller, dipped in an ancient evil that lurks deep in the heart of Northumberland. Simply Glorious.
July 17, 2020
This is the best horror/thriller book I have ever read. It was spine-chilling and I couldn't put it down.
I decided to explore this genre a little while ago because I was always a little too much of a scaredy-cat to try, but I convinced myself to read this when it was given to me by my English teacher. She knew me very well and thought the book would be right up my alley.
Well, she was absolutely right. I could barely let go of the book. I was staying up until 2 in the morning reading chapter after chapter. It still thoroughly scared me, and that was the best part. I got chills every time something added to the unease. The best bit about this book was the slow burn. There were no real jump scares, just tension and discomfort that built and built throughout the story until it reached its peak towards the end. This kind of style has become my favourite for the thriller/horror genre. I was so pleasantly afraid of the things in the book that I could barely sleep some nights. That was what made me want to pick it back up the most. I had to know how it ended, what happened. It drew me in and I couldn't walk away until the last sentence. It was mesmerizing.
I fully recommend this book to anyone look to be truly scared. The cold fear that creeps up the back of your next for this entire novel is the best technique I've ever seen in a horror/thriller. 10/10.
I decided to explore this genre a little while ago because I was always a little too much of a scaredy-cat to try, but I convinced myself to read this when it was given to me by my English teacher. She knew me very well and thought the book would be right up my alley.
Well, she was absolutely right. I could barely let go of the book. I was staying up until 2 in the morning reading chapter after chapter. It still thoroughly scared me, and that was the best part. I got chills every time something added to the unease. The best bit about this book was the slow burn. There were no real jump scares, just tension and discomfort that built and built throughout the story until it reached its peak towards the end. This kind of style has become my favourite for the thriller/horror genre. I was so pleasantly afraid of the things in the book that I could barely sleep some nights. That was what made me want to pick it back up the most. I had to know how it ended, what happened. It drew me in and I couldn't walk away until the last sentence. It was mesmerizing.
I fully recommend this book to anyone look to be truly scared. The cold fear that creeps up the back of your next for this entire novel is the best technique I've ever seen in a horror/thriller. 10/10.
January 1, 2024
I have read two of Aycliffe’s books. Number one was The Silence of Ghosts which I gave three stars to. My last read was book number two, Naomi"s Room, which I gave five stars to.
So where does this book fit. Well……right in the middle. A four-star read!
The story is set in the late 19th Century as Charlotte is born into a wealthy family. However, her father dies and her whole life is destroyed. From rich to poor.
She gets away from the workhouse where the poor live and work and goes to her long-lost cousins who live in a mansion, Barras Hall, and are rich. She hopes her brother will also be there.
Charlotte starts to feel uncomfortable and uneasy in Barras Hall as it becomes clear all is not as it seems.
A great gothic tale with a creepy, scary, unsettling, and disturbing atmosphere.
So where does this book fit. Well……right in the middle. A four-star read!
The story is set in the late 19th Century as Charlotte is born into a wealthy family. However, her father dies and her whole life is destroyed. From rich to poor.
She gets away from the workhouse where the poor live and work and goes to her long-lost cousins who live in a mansion, Barras Hall, and are rich. She hopes her brother will also be there.
Charlotte starts to feel uncomfortable and uneasy in Barras Hall as it becomes clear all is not as it seems.
A great gothic tale with a creepy, scary, unsettling, and disturbing atmosphere.
July 30, 2023
Middle class Charlotte is brought to low circumstances when her father dies. After leaving the workhouse she finds her way to distant cousins in the north-east who live in a large hall in the middle of nowhere. At first she is thrilled by their welcome and feels at last she is safe but soon hears crying and mysterious footsteps in the night and she fears her life may be in danger. This is a decent ghost story with weird goings on and a mystery to unravel.
March 19, 2017
I really liked this Gothic tale. It reminded me of those old books by M R James, which Susan Hill has been influenced by in more recent times. We begin by reading some correspondence between the son of a doctor and a vicar, concerning an elderly patient named Charlotte Metcalfe and including her journals. This correspondence forms the frame of the book, with the main story being told by Charlotte herself through her journals, which she also frames with the past being contained in the present. And what a story it is. Charlotte lived a very long life and the start of it was a privileged one. She recounts her happy life with her brother and family in Newcastle in the late 19th century but this quickly falls into despair when the family fall on hard times and they finish up in the workhouse. This provides an excellent contrast, and you just want things to improve for her – but you know that they won’t, at lest not yet, if ever.
After heartbreaking times in the workhouse and being treated abysmally in service, Charlotte decides to seek out her remaining, distant, family at their country pile Barras Hall, which she finds full of luxury and fine things. She is welcomed with open arms at first, although this slowly and surely turns into a worse nightmare than anything the workhouse had to offer. Ancient horrors still reach down through the ages and will not be satisfied. As Charlotte slowly learns the truth, and valiantly attempts to escape, she is betrayed again and again and we feel her total helplessness and terror.
I didn’t want to put it down and couldn’t wait to pick it up again – preferably when I was curled up at home with candles and a glass of wine. It is suffused with melancholy and sadness, the perfect tone for such a story. Nobody has a happy ending, I’m afraid.
4.5
After heartbreaking times in the workhouse and being treated abysmally in service, Charlotte decides to seek out her remaining, distant, family at their country pile Barras Hall, which she finds full of luxury and fine things. She is welcomed with open arms at first, although this slowly and surely turns into a worse nightmare than anything the workhouse had to offer. Ancient horrors still reach down through the ages and will not be satisfied. As Charlotte slowly learns the truth, and valiantly attempts to escape, she is betrayed again and again and we feel her total helplessness and terror.
I didn’t want to put it down and couldn’t wait to pick it up again – preferably when I was curled up at home with candles and a glass of wine. It is suffused with melancholy and sadness, the perfect tone for such a story. Nobody has a happy ending, I’m afraid.
4.5
September 3, 2015
A great horror story--I liked it almost as much as Naomi's Room. This is a very traditional gothic, with almost Lovecraftian plot elements.
September 2, 2020
This book deserves far more stars than just five!
January 19, 2016
Consumed this super fast. Thoroughly creepy.
July 31, 2025
First horror/paranormal book I read at like 15, now I’m 19 still my fave author. Hated the part where the unknown creature was moving across the garden
August 18, 2016
What a terrific ghost story! I loved the use of sensory details Aycliffe added to this story - lots of sound and smell - it gave the story an old school feel and the account based prose reminded me of Dolores Claiborne. Definitely worth a read for anyone who enjoys classic tales of the supernatural or ritualistic lore based plots. The characters were well structured and left just enough questions on the fringe of perception to allow for a story line that didn't stray away from the main plot in order to explain their peculiar personalities. Overall it was well paced and a good, quick read.
4/5
4/5
December 15, 2015
Not one of Aycliffe's best and definitely does not bear comparison with Naomi's Room.
Saying that, it was still an engrossing read. Very Gothic (with a capital C), very dark and depressing. And very predictable.
I felt the ending was rushed with no sense of resolution. But that's possibly what Mr Aycliffe wanted to achieve.
Saying that, it was still an engrossing read. Very Gothic (with a capital C), very dark and depressing. And very predictable.
I felt the ending was rushed with no sense of resolution. But that's possibly what Mr Aycliffe wanted to achieve.
October 15, 2009
Very readable and gripping gothic novel, with an unsatisfyingly vague ending similar to those of several other novels by Mr. Aycliffe.
March 5, 2016
Loved this! Really spooky!! One of the best authors!!!
March 13, 2016
I recommend this book to every horror story lover. You will not be disappointed.
September 17, 2016
Boilerplate gothic suspense--sometimes you can judge a book by its cover. Predictable creepy elements, mild violence, no romance.
June 24, 2019
Very scary. Had to sleep with the lights on
December 20, 2025
I love me a good, well written horror/ ghost story. I first read this in the 90's from my local library and loved it so bought the Kindle edition.
This centres around Charlotte Metcalf, the much loved daughter of a wealthy industrialist father at the end of the 19th century. Charlotte leads a happy, secure, privileged existence with her parents and beloved younger brother Arthur. But behind the scenes all is not well, Charlotte's father is estranged from his family, her mother lost her own family in a boating tragedy and when financial troubles come calling, it leads to his premature death, plunging the Metcalfes into ever more desperate circumstances. Despite pleading with various relatives and friends no one will help.
Eventually they are forced to seek out the workhouse, a brutal and much feared fate amongst the poor. Any one familiar with the conditions will know how harshly the inmates were treated, its where the whole idea of the deserving/ undeserving poor comes from. Charlotte is seperated from both her mother,her brother and sent to the school.
She spends several years there, almost worked to death until she is sent out to be an unpaid scullery maid, her brother was sent away to work and she has no idea where he is. Its not until she is reunited with her old workhouse pal Annie that Charlotte finds out Arthur ran away from the company he was sent out to, in search of his father's cousins, the Ayrtons, who live in remote Northumberland.
Determined to seek him out Charlotte travels the long, dangerous, isolated route until she comes across Barras Hall, a large, formerly grand, but isolated house which shows signs of neglect and decay. She is greeted by her cousins, the handsome Anthony and his sister Antonia and at first all seems well, the prodigal is returned.
But little by little things happen that dont add up, make sense and Charlotte starts to feel the cold creep of palpable dread. All is far from well at Barras Hall, but will Charlotte survive long enough to find out why?
Jonath Aycliffe is a very skilled writer with the ability to draw you in immediately, this is a first person memoir. He is very good at describing time and place and adding historical details which add to the richness of the story. Its a slow burn which I love, you cant beat a gradual feeling of unease and fear. I love watching horror fims/ tv but never bother with slasher or serial killer material. As I love paranormal themes better
Its a scary, creepy, unsettling read. If you loved the Woman in Black you'll enjoy this.
This centres around Charlotte Metcalf, the much loved daughter of a wealthy industrialist father at the end of the 19th century. Charlotte leads a happy, secure, privileged existence with her parents and beloved younger brother Arthur. But behind the scenes all is not well, Charlotte's father is estranged from his family, her mother lost her own family in a boating tragedy and when financial troubles come calling, it leads to his premature death, plunging the Metcalfes into ever more desperate circumstances. Despite pleading with various relatives and friends no one will help.
Eventually they are forced to seek out the workhouse, a brutal and much feared fate amongst the poor. Any one familiar with the conditions will know how harshly the inmates were treated, its where the whole idea of the deserving/ undeserving poor comes from. Charlotte is seperated from both her mother,her brother and sent to the school.
She spends several years there, almost worked to death until she is sent out to be an unpaid scullery maid, her brother was sent away to work and she has no idea where he is. Its not until she is reunited with her old workhouse pal Annie that Charlotte finds out Arthur ran away from the company he was sent out to, in search of his father's cousins, the Ayrtons, who live in remote Northumberland.
Determined to seek him out Charlotte travels the long, dangerous, isolated route until she comes across Barras Hall, a large, formerly grand, but isolated house which shows signs of neglect and decay. She is greeted by her cousins, the handsome Anthony and his sister Antonia and at first all seems well, the prodigal is returned.
But little by little things happen that dont add up, make sense and Charlotte starts to feel the cold creep of palpable dread. All is far from well at Barras Hall, but will Charlotte survive long enough to find out why?
Jonath Aycliffe is a very skilled writer with the ability to draw you in immediately, this is a first person memoir. He is very good at describing time and place and adding historical details which add to the richness of the story. Its a slow burn which I love, you cant beat a gradual feeling of unease and fear. I love watching horror fims/ tv but never bother with slasher or serial killer material. As I love paranormal themes better
Its a scary, creepy, unsettling read. If you loved the Woman in Black you'll enjoy this.
July 15, 2020
If nothing else, I was glad to see Jonathan Aycliffe attempt a different kind of ghost story with his second novel. I enjoyed his first and third novels but, overall, found them a little too similar, and while Whispers in the Dark still contains a house with a sordid history, it plays out more like a Victorian bildungsroman than the typical story of a family that moves into a new house only to discover its evil past.
The novel, told in epistolary form, recounts the story of a young girl who begins her life with a loving family only to fall on hard times when, first, her father dies and, then, her mother passes once they have been shunted off to the poorhouse. After being sent to work for a miserable family, she escapes to search for her brother, only to end up at the house of her distant cousins, which is suitably remote and increasingly mysterious. The house is fancy but seems to be filled with the sounds of crying and unsightly visitations; the cousins are kind, but their stories don't always add up.
It's not as creepy as Aycliffe's other works, but I found this book to contain his most sympathetic protagonist. Maybe I'm just a sucker for explicit class issues, but I really felt for her and her family's plight. Additionally, I appreciated that, for a good part of this book, I had no idea where the story was going, which is always nice.
Things fall apart more toward the end. There are some narrative strains that don't work. The protagonist seems to forget about her brother, her ostensible reason for running away, for long stretches of time. She goes to a medium who holds a seance for her, which adds nothing to the plot and feels like it's only there as padding. The climax and resolution are anticlimactic, as problems wrap themselves up nicely in a matter of moments. But, again, I was happy to see something a little different.
The novel, told in epistolary form, recounts the story of a young girl who begins her life with a loving family only to fall on hard times when, first, her father dies and, then, her mother passes once they have been shunted off to the poorhouse. After being sent to work for a miserable family, she escapes to search for her brother, only to end up at the house of her distant cousins, which is suitably remote and increasingly mysterious. The house is fancy but seems to be filled with the sounds of crying and unsightly visitations; the cousins are kind, but their stories don't always add up.
It's not as creepy as Aycliffe's other works, but I found this book to contain his most sympathetic protagonist. Maybe I'm just a sucker for explicit class issues, but I really felt for her and her family's plight. Additionally, I appreciated that, for a good part of this book, I had no idea where the story was going, which is always nice.
Things fall apart more toward the end. There are some narrative strains that don't work. The protagonist seems to forget about her brother, her ostensible reason for running away, for long stretches of time. She goes to a medium who holds a seance for her, which adds nothing to the plot and feels like it's only there as padding. The climax and resolution are anticlimactic, as problems wrap themselves up nicely in a matter of moments. But, again, I was happy to see something a little different.
September 21, 2016
Don't expect an especially "literary" book, but come prepared for a spine-tingling Gothic chiller. If you're hoping for a few shivers, you're likely to find them here. Is it predictable? Well, yes, but it made me shudder, all the same.
This is my second read of this author, the first being The Vanishment, and I hope to read the others, in time. Aycliffe has a writing style that is (generally speaking) effortless to read, which makes the pages fly.
Having said that, the beginning of Whispers in the Dark is a little slow, and Charlotte's trials and tribulations before she arrives at Barras Hall are at times a trifle too melodramatic for my tastes-- but the pace soon picks up.
This tale is creepy, dark, and atmospheric. There's not much gore, for those of us who abhor "body horror" or physical horror in general; instead, an abundance of eerie moments provide just the right level of fairly genteel creepiness.
Specifics (with SPOILERS):
--I do like a story told in journal/diary format. This one really takes that trick and runs with it! Frames within frames! We start out with correspondence between a vicar and the son of a doctor who had an elderly patient (Charlotte) with a most unusual personal history. The son sends all relevant papers to his friend, the vicar-- chief among them, Charlotte's memoir/journal. Now, within that journal, we are treated to two other journals/diaries , which Charlotte somehow remembers word for word after all these years. (Yes, I know. No fair, making fun of a format I've just professed to enjoy!)
--There are things we never learn for certain:
----And probably more besides...
--The darkest element of the novel would have to be the repeated insistence that
--There's one thing above all others that I simply can't understand about this book, and that is this: Why would Charlotte ever have willingly had children, knowing (and believing in) the curse that flows through her bloodline? Her husband, we know, would also have been familiar with at least some of her frightening past. Wouldn't they have discussed it and come to the conclusion that they should not have children of their own? Why not adopt, instead? Or would she have decided that adopting children would still confer the curse upon them? Maybe she figured that if she didn't tell them about their family history-- if they never knew it and never visited the family land-- they would live normal lives and be no more doomed than anyone else. (I assume she believes that all people are doomed to an eternity in hell. That certainly seems to be the implication, though it doesn't fit with Mrs. Manners' typical messages from beyond the grave. Those, we are told, are usually words of comfort and reassurance that all is well.) However, still, that doesn't explain why she would have children. It seems a very selfish decision, and it simply doesn't make sense to me. (Of course, the real reason for it is that it makes an ominous ending for the novel, with Charlotte's grandson on the verge of rebuilding the cursed hall and unwittingly exposing more people to the evils that still haunt the surrounding land.)
--Some of the covers of Aycliffe's paperbacks are atrocious! There's one cover for this book that depicts a young woman in anachronistic garb standing between two of the closest-set eyes you ever did see. Amusingly, there's another of his books with a very similar cover. A different woman in different clothes, but still standing between hilariously close-set eyes. Crazy...
This is my second read of this author, the first being The Vanishment, and I hope to read the others, in time. Aycliffe has a writing style that is (generally speaking) effortless to read, which makes the pages fly.
Having said that, the beginning of Whispers in the Dark is a little slow, and Charlotte's trials and tribulations before she arrives at Barras Hall are at times a trifle too melodramatic for my tastes-- but the pace soon picks up.
This tale is creepy, dark, and atmospheric. There's not much gore, for those of us who abhor "body horror" or physical horror in general; instead, an abundance of eerie moments provide just the right level of fairly genteel creepiness.
Specifics (with SPOILERS):
--I do like a story told in journal/diary format. This one really takes that trick and runs with it! Frames within frames! We start out with correspondence between a vicar and the son of a doctor who had an elderly patient (Charlotte) with a most unusual personal history. The son sends all relevant papers to his friend, the vicar-- chief among them, Charlotte's memoir/journal. Now, within that journal, we are treated to two other journals/diaries , which Charlotte somehow remembers word for word after all these years. (Yes, I know. No fair, making fun of a format I've just professed to enjoy!)
--There are things we never learn for certain:
----And probably more besides...
--The darkest element of the novel would have to be the repeated insistence that
--There's one thing above all others that I simply can't understand about this book, and that is this: Why would Charlotte ever have willingly had children, knowing (and believing in) the curse that flows through her bloodline? Her husband, we know, would also have been familiar with at least some of her frightening past. Wouldn't they have discussed it and come to the conclusion that they should not have children of their own? Why not adopt, instead? Or would she have decided that adopting children would still confer the curse upon them? Maybe she figured that if she didn't tell them about their family history-- if they never knew it and never visited the family land-- they would live normal lives and be no more doomed than anyone else. (I assume she believes that all people are doomed to an eternity in hell. That certainly seems to be the implication, though it doesn't fit with Mrs. Manners' typical messages from beyond the grave. Those, we are told, are usually words of comfort and reassurance that all is well.) However, still, that doesn't explain why she would have children. It seems a very selfish decision, and it simply doesn't make sense to me. (Of course, the real reason for it is that it makes an ominous ending for the novel, with Charlotte's grandson on the verge of rebuilding the cursed hall and unwittingly exposing more people to the evils that still haunt the surrounding land.)
--Some of the covers of Aycliffe's paperbacks are atrocious! There's one cover for this book that depicts a young woman in anachronistic garb standing between two of the closest-set eyes you ever did see. Amusingly, there's another of his books with a very similar cover. A different woman in different clothes, but still standing between hilariously close-set eyes. Crazy...
November 2, 2019
This story seemed to drag on about the main character family's fall from grace, while also showing the gradual and final descent into madness of the extended family. Outside the main character the rest dont have much of a divercity between them, all seem scared and distant. The only difference between them is their suffering or cruel intentions. I think others who enjoy a slow paced book will enjoy this and the paranormal side of it is minor but rather enjoyable so i guess people might find that enough for them but this book just didnt hold me enough within the story. The whole time reading it i kept thinking about just getting it finished and moving on to another book.
March 24, 2020
One of the finest ghost story books that I have read.
At the turn of the century Charlotte Metcalf is a child of good fortune: a prosperous father, a loving mother, a loved brother - all cocoon her against the world. With her father's death she is plunged into poverty: the workhouse is her miserable home, servitude her lot. Charlotte's escape in search of her lost brother brings her to Barras Hall, home of unknown relations, where fine clothes, fine food, the warmth of wealth would seem to promise all she could desire. But in the night the horror begins - a horror of sound and sense, surpassing all earthly horror. And Charlotte must fulfil her destiny...
At the turn of the century Charlotte Metcalf is a child of good fortune: a prosperous father, a loving mother, a loved brother - all cocoon her against the world. With her father's death she is plunged into poverty: the workhouse is her miserable home, servitude her lot. Charlotte's escape in search of her lost brother brings her to Barras Hall, home of unknown relations, where fine clothes, fine food, the warmth of wealth would seem to promise all she could desire. But in the night the horror begins - a horror of sound and sense, surpassing all earthly horror. And Charlotte must fulfil her destiny...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 29, 2020
A masterfully written, gothic tale by
Jonathan Aycliffe
that keeps you on the edge of your seat from cover to cover. Whispers in the Dark is filled with vivid description, dark twists and marvellous character development. It could rival any classic ghost story and then some. Definitely a must-read for horror fans.
April 6, 2018
2.5 stars
I got what I expected, a nice gothic ghost story and a haunted mansion. Unfortunately the plot was very predictable and the main character was very bland. I liked Caroline more as an old woman, the glimpses we catch of her at the beginning of the story instead of the boring pretty girl we follow through her predicament. Her older self showed more emotion and wit in one page than we get in the whole novel and it's disappointing.
I got what I expected, a nice gothic ghost story and a haunted mansion. Unfortunately the plot was very predictable and the main character was very bland. I liked Caroline more as an old woman, the glimpses we catch of her at the beginning of the story instead of the boring pretty girl we follow through her predicament. Her older self showed more emotion and wit in one page than we get in the whole novel and it's disappointing.
July 21, 2024
~ Whispers in the Dark by Jonathan Aycliffe ~
The second book by Aycliffe and it is just as good as the first!
He's a great storyteller, the pages just keep turning as he leaves you wanting to know what's actually going on!
One of those bump in the night ghost stories. I could really imagine some of the events happening, very atmospheric.
A great Sunday afternoon ghost story to get lost in!
Am easy writing style, really enjoyed it 👌
The second book by Aycliffe and it is just as good as the first!
He's a great storyteller, the pages just keep turning as he leaves you wanting to know what's actually going on!
One of those bump in the night ghost stories. I could really imagine some of the events happening, very atmospheric.
A great Sunday afternoon ghost story to get lost in!
Am easy writing style, really enjoyed it 👌
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