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Shades of Gray
The dreams would start with the high-pitched sound of a child crying, and with that would come the cold, frosting the windows of the old barracks room in the 47th Division at West Point. Cadet Barstow would wake then, and the gray shape would be there, the llights of its eyes shining on them with infinite sadness. Barstow sthought he was going crazy. One morning, visited again by the dream and its spectral attendants, he disappeared.
When faculty psychologists Sam Bondurant and Liam FitzDonnell are consulted in Barstow case, their job is to keep the episode quiet--at least until the Army-Navy game--and to find some reasonable explanation for whatever is really going on in that room. Sam and Liam are friends who rarely see eye to eye, but together they're fit for the task--Sam withhis rationalism and faith in sophisticated equipment, Liam with his own painful grasp of the demons to which the mind is vulnerable. Their investigation is wilolfully joined by Sam's scholarly and fanciful wife, Maggie, who gradually uncovers evidence of not one ghost but several, bound together in the warp of time to a fatal fire in 1830.
What none of these protagonists realizes is the awesome power of the supernatural--the power to clutch at the living from the other side of death. Shades ofGray offers the reader many satisfactions: a colorful and amusing portrait of West Point and the people who spend their lives there, a resonant psychological theme, stylish and intelligent writing. But most of all, Timothy O'Neill's novel makes the power of the supernatural real...and terrifying.
When faculty psychologists Sam Bondurant and Liam FitzDonnell are consulted in Barstow case, their job is to keep the episode quiet--at least until the Army-Navy game--and to find some reasonable explanation for whatever is really going on in that room. Sam and Liam are friends who rarely see eye to eye, but together they're fit for the task--Sam withhis rationalism and faith in sophisticated equipment, Liam with his own painful grasp of the demons to which the mind is vulnerable. Their investigation is wilolfully joined by Sam's scholarly and fanciful wife, Maggie, who gradually uncovers evidence of not one ghost but several, bound together in the warp of time to a fatal fire in 1830.
What none of these protagonists realizes is the awesome power of the supernatural--the power to clutch at the living from the other side of death. Shades ofGray offers the reader many satisfactions: a colorful and amusing portrait of West Point and the people who spend their lives there, a resonant psychological theme, stylish and intelligent writing. But most of all, Timothy O'Neill's novel makes the power of the supernatural real...and terrifying.
352 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 21, 1987
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 22, 2023
This is one part killer ghost story, one part a love letter to West Point. I definitely agree with the cover blurb by Kirkus Reviews: "A splendidly realized occult thriller... A serious novel of manners about West Point and military life." The novel switches POVs among the main characters as the story unfolds. We have a rational Army psychologist Sam, his wife Maggie, and Liam, also in the psychology department. Both Sam and Liam served in Vietnam and are now tenured faculty at West Point.
I loved the ghost story aspect. This part begins with one cadet raising concerns about a pleb under his supervision that eventually moves up the chain to Sam and Liam. The pleb or 'beanhead' in question started having nightmares and then, upon waking around 3:30 AM or so, would see a ghost. He had complained/discussed it with his roommate, but finally quit so as not to be singled out as a flake. One night, however, he just 'went over the hill' and walked out of West Point altogether. Then, his roommate saw the ghost.
Now, Sam and Liam are sure that there are no ghosts and it must be something in the kid's mind. Acting scientifically, however, they get the commander of West Point to allow them to set up a wide range of equipment to monitor the room, like temperature gauges, video, and even EKG stuff for the cadet to wear at night. While this is going on, Maggie starts her own investigation on the ghost and finds out that over the last 150 years or so, many others have noticed the ghost. The room in question where the ghost appears typically became a stock room after the complaints, but this last year it became a dorm once again, and once again, ghosts...
The second part of this novel concerns the daily life and history of West Point, along with military life, unfolded via the dialogues and interactions among the characters. Lots of colorful secondary characters populate the pages, especially when Maggie starts digging into the history of the ghost. This part was interesting, but could really have been substantially trimmed. I think the book tried to do too much, almost becoming a memoir of West Point alongside a ghost story. All in all, however, a good read and one that probably still floats around the dorms in West Point in some tattered paperback form. 3 ghostly stars!
I loved the ghost story aspect. This part begins with one cadet raising concerns about a pleb under his supervision that eventually moves up the chain to Sam and Liam. The pleb or 'beanhead' in question started having nightmares and then, upon waking around 3:30 AM or so, would see a ghost. He had complained/discussed it with his roommate, but finally quit so as not to be singled out as a flake. One night, however, he just 'went over the hill' and walked out of West Point altogether. Then, his roommate saw the ghost.
Now, Sam and Liam are sure that there are no ghosts and it must be something in the kid's mind. Acting scientifically, however, they get the commander of West Point to allow them to set up a wide range of equipment to monitor the room, like temperature gauges, video, and even EKG stuff for the cadet to wear at night. While this is going on, Maggie starts her own investigation on the ghost and finds out that over the last 150 years or so, many others have noticed the ghost. The room in question where the ghost appears typically became a stock room after the complaints, but this last year it became a dorm once again, and once again, ghosts...
The second part of this novel concerns the daily life and history of West Point, along with military life, unfolded via the dialogues and interactions among the characters. Lots of colorful secondary characters populate the pages, especially when Maggie starts digging into the history of the ghost. This part was interesting, but could really have been substantially trimmed. I think the book tried to do too much, almost becoming a memoir of West Point alongside a ghost story. All in all, however, a good read and one that probably still floats around the dorms in West Point in some tattered paperback form. 3 ghostly stars!
August 12, 2011
My brother graduated from West Point in 1990 and told me about this book. The author was an instructor of his. Very credible scary account of hauntings on this historic campus.
May 11, 2009
Best ghost story I have read. Something is haunting West Point. It's up to three officer instructors from B.S.&L. (Behavioral sciences & Leadership -- AKA Bull Sh__& Lies) divsion to explore the problem and solve it. People shooting at them they're used to but this --!
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July 30, 2025This is absolutely one of the best ghost stories I've ever read, and certainly the best (relatively) recent one. I first read it not long after it was published, and at that time, I thought of it as a 5-star read. Having just read it again, I have to reduce it to four stars. Some of the attitudes about women, even women who are wholeheartedly admired in the novel, are not comfortable. It still is a first rate ghost story even as social conventions and attitudes around it have changed since the 1980s. Scary. Literate. Fabulous setting--West Point in the autumn. Definitely worth reading, even with its flaws!
Update: I last read this 9 years ago, and my opinion that the attitudes toward women expressed by characters in the book will cause many readers some discomfort has only hardened. The essential idea for the story is still remarkable, and considered as a ghost story alone, it's excellent. The social aspects of the story, which, given O'Neill's background, are probably quite accurate for the day, cannot be overlooked, except as they shed light on a certain culture at a certain time. I really can no longer recommend the book without offering that caveat. I am removing its star rating.
Update: I last read this 9 years ago, and my opinion that the attitudes toward women expressed by characters in the book will cause many readers some discomfort has only hardened. The essential idea for the story is still remarkable, and considered as a ghost story alone, it's excellent. The social aspects of the story, which, given O'Neill's background, are probably quite accurate for the day, cannot be overlooked, except as they shed light on a certain culture at a certain time. I really can no longer recommend the book without offering that caveat. I am removing its star rating.
February 9, 2014
I first read "Shades of Gray" when it first came out in paperback in the late '80s - and read it and re-read it many times. One of the few ghost stories I've ever really liked, and I always thought it a shame that it went out of print. I found out in June that it was returning as an ebook, and have been eagerly looking forward to downloading it on my Kindle.
"Shades of Gray" is a tightly plotted, character-driven story with memorable characters like Sam and Maggie, Liam and Track. It's thoughtful, melancholy, exciting...a real page-turner. I recommend it highly.
I give it five stars for the wonderfully written story I've never been able to forget. Also, according to the author, there is additional material in this edition that was cut from the original edition.
The Kindle edition does have formatting errors and typos, which should be easily fixable -- nothing to keep me from recommending it.
"Shades of Gray" is a tightly plotted, character-driven story with memorable characters like Sam and Maggie, Liam and Track. It's thoughtful, melancholy, exciting...a real page-turner. I recommend it highly.
I give it five stars for the wonderfully written story I've never been able to forget. Also, according to the author, there is additional material in this edition that was cut from the original edition.
The Kindle edition does have formatting errors and typos, which should be easily fixable -- nothing to keep me from recommending it.
August 7, 2013
I first read "Shades of Gray" when it first came out in paperback in the late '80s - and read it and re-read it many times. One of the few ghost stories I've ever really liked, and I always thought it a shame that it went out of print. I found out in June that it was returning as an ebook, and have been eagerly looking forward to downloading it on my Kindle.
"Shades of Gray" is a tightly plotted, character-driven story with memorable characters like Sam and Maggie, Liam and Track. It's thoughtful, melancholy, exciting...a real page-turner. I recommend it highly.
I give it five stars for the wonderfully written story I've never been able to forget. Also, according to the author, there is additional material in this edition that was cut from the original edition.
The Kindle edition does have formatting errors and typos, which should be easily fixable -- nothing to keep me from recommending it.
"Shades of Gray" is a tightly plotted, character-driven story with memorable characters like Sam and Maggie, Liam and Track. It's thoughtful, melancholy, exciting...a real page-turner. I recommend it highly.
I give it five stars for the wonderfully written story I've never been able to forget. Also, according to the author, there is additional material in this edition that was cut from the original edition.
The Kindle edition does have formatting errors and typos, which should be easily fixable -- nothing to keep me from recommending it.
July 23, 2016
Read my full review: http://bit.ly/1i9Zhan
My opinion: Probably one of the most unusual ghost stories I have ever read. I must admit that it did take me a bit of time to get into it due to the constant military reference, as I mostly read the typical haunted house, particulary from the English moor ghost stories.
Once I got into the flow of this book, I whipped through it because it was so engrossing.
My opinion: Probably one of the most unusual ghost stories I have ever read. I must admit that it did take me a bit of time to get into it due to the constant military reference, as I mostly read the typical haunted house, particulary from the English moor ghost stories.
Once I got into the flow of this book, I whipped through it because it was so engrossing.
September 1, 2015
This book is one of my favorite ghost stories, and came out in the late 1980's. I've read it twice and found it chilling, especially as the novel is founded upon true events. The setting of West Point up in New York state's Hudson Valley, both in the early 1840's and now, can be unsettling, especially after dark. Highly recommended!
December 6, 2012
great ghost story
January 4, 2015
I read this when it was first written. When you have lived in those barracks, the book is more than a story.
December 17, 2016
Here's the missing description for the book.
"The dreams would start with the high-pitched sound of a child crying, and with that would come the cold, frosting the windows of the old barracks room in the 47th Division at West Point. Cadet Barstow would wake then, and the gray shape would be there, the lights of its eyes shining on them with infinite sadness. Barstow thought he was going crazy. One morning, visited again by the dream and its spectral attendants, he disappeared.
When faculty psychologists Sam Bondurant and Liam FitzDonnell are consulted in Barstow case, their job is to keep the episode quiet--at least until the Army-Navy game--and to find some reasonable explanation for whatever is really going on in that room. Sam and Liam are friends who rarely see eye to eye, but together they're fit for the task--Sam with his rationalism and faith in sophisticated equipment, Liam with his own painful grasp of the demons to which the mind is vulnerable. Their investigation is willfully joined by Sam's scholarly and fanciful wife, Maggie, who gradually uncovers evidence of not one ghost but several, bound together in the warp of time to a fatal fire in 1830.
What none of these protagonists realizes is the awesome power of the supernatural--the power to clutch at the living from the other side of death. Shades ofGray offers the reader many satisfactions: a colorful and amusing portrait of West Point and the people who spend their lives there, a resonant psychological theme, stylish and intelligent writing. But most of all, Timothy O'Neill's novel makes the power of the supernatural real...and terrifying."
"The dreams would start with the high-pitched sound of a child crying, and with that would come the cold, frosting the windows of the old barracks room in the 47th Division at West Point. Cadet Barstow would wake then, and the gray shape would be there, the lights of its eyes shining on them with infinite sadness. Barstow thought he was going crazy. One morning, visited again by the dream and its spectral attendants, he disappeared.
When faculty psychologists Sam Bondurant and Liam FitzDonnell are consulted in Barstow case, their job is to keep the episode quiet--at least until the Army-Navy game--and to find some reasonable explanation for whatever is really going on in that room. Sam and Liam are friends who rarely see eye to eye, but together they're fit for the task--Sam with his rationalism and faith in sophisticated equipment, Liam with his own painful grasp of the demons to which the mind is vulnerable. Their investigation is willfully joined by Sam's scholarly and fanciful wife, Maggie, who gradually uncovers evidence of not one ghost but several, bound together in the warp of time to a fatal fire in 1830.
What none of these protagonists realizes is the awesome power of the supernatural--the power to clutch at the living from the other side of death. Shades ofGray offers the reader many satisfactions: a colorful and amusing portrait of West Point and the people who spend their lives there, a resonant psychological theme, stylish and intelligent writing. But most of all, Timothy O'Neill's novel makes the power of the supernatural real...and terrifying."
August 20, 2013
I enjoyed the story, but all the psycho babble got in the way and made it quite a hard read!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews