Shadows in the Asylum: The Case Files of Dr. Charles Marsh

by D.A. Stern

In September of 2004, Dr. Charles Marsh arrived at the Kriegmoor Psychiatric Institute in Bayfield, Wisconsin, anxious to take on his new duties, eager to distance himself from the scandal that had forced him to resign his previous post. Among the patients assigned to Marsh at this time was a young woman named Kari Hansen, a college student who had suffered a nervous collapse during a school-sponsored anthropology dig a year previously. Subsequently, Ms. Hansen began experiencing what hospital records referred to as "a series of vivid hallucinations;" her own words described visions of an "alien" intelligence, a heretofore unknown kind of life form which appeared to her as shadows, often of indeterminate shape, occasionally taking on the form of man. Dr. Marsh came to believe these shadows were real.

Shadows in the Asylum collects, for the first time anywhere, Ms. Hansen's patient records, as well as records belonging to a number of Dr. Marsh's other patients and the related historical evidence that led the doctor to his astonishing conclusions to present a bizarre story of insanity that blurs the line between fact and fiction.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Mental Health, Mental Illness, Medical, Mystery, 21st Century

224 pages, Paperback

First published December 12, 2005

About the author

See Dave Stern and David Stern.

Reviews

[H. Anne Stoj · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely adored this. The way it's set up, with the different transcripts, letters, email and so on reminded me a good deal of House of Leaves. The idea of seeing something and not being able to unsee it brought to mind China Mieville's story Details, which always brings to mind Lovecraft. Though the title alone makes me think of Shadows Over Innsmouth. That it's about an asylum only added to the Lovecraft feel. It is disjointed in the idea that records and letters aren't always following a linear timeline, which I think follows Marsh's descent into his own madness and obsession while telling himself he'd trying to figure things out for his patients. The story didn't scare me, but it did give me the creeps and it was a compelling read that took less than a day to finish. It might not be for everyone, but it was certainly a fun read for me.

[Frances · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taking me straight back to White Wolf's productions in the early oughts, all greyscale copies of documents and collages of notes.

Production value on this is much better, though--the various handwriting actually looks handwritten vs lifted direct from a font.

Also, after the introduction, there's nearly no external structure; the documents are laid out in the order the protagonist would have found them, but there's no pacing, chapter breaks, notes from a detached post-climax collator... It's interesting.

Heh. Shortly after I write that, I ran across a note from the curator of the notebook. Only one, though.

On balance, I really liked it. A very fast read, but solidly plotted, distinctly creepy, and with a couple of horrible moments.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are interested in epistolary/found footage type books, I totally recommend this one. So many different type of articles, patients files, transcripts, letters, etc. What is reality and what is madness?

[Andrew Boden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Utterly convincing. Completely compelling. Wish there were more from this author.

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just picked this up randomly at the library and it turns out I loved it. Perfect psychological spooky season read. I love this style of alternative formatting and the design was so realistic and well done.

[Laura Gandia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I (almost) always enjoy a good ergodic fiction book, especially when it is of the horror/thriller/mystery variety. I also love unreliable narrators and open-ended conclusions. I must be a glutton for punishment. Take those elements and drop them into a mental asylum and I'm hooked!

"Shadows in the Asylum" was no exception. I was thoroughly entertained by the various sources and types of media used--newspaper clippings, diary excerpts, transcripts, patient case files, etc. It allowed for the factual and scientific story to blend with the folkloric and supernatural story to blend together to give readers a new story in which we have to decide for ourselves what is the truth and what isn't. My main point of contention is that the ending felt a bit rushed. To me it seemed that the pacing was off; Dr. Marsh's perspective on the situation and his patients' sanity shifts rather early in the book, and his story evolves in an interesting way, but the final few pages were frantic and confusing. Maybe it was intended to reflect the mindset of Dr. Marsh? Regardless, this was a quick, fun and creepy read.

[Sharon · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was not my type of book, but I can definitely appreciate it for what it is. It's relatively well put together, and the story is successful--interesting and creepy. But there's a big chunk in the middle that drags kind of unforgivably. The first chunk, where you're learning about Kari and getting situated, is good. The last chunk, where the revelations come fast and furious, is good. But the middle is about twice as long as it needs to be. I'll say that I should have skimmed some things that I read straight through--that would have made a difference--but still, I was hung up through the middle third of the book.

I think, if I was a different reader, I would have given it three stars easily--if I was the target audience.

[Ingrid Spera · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty... Interesting read. It calls itself horror and if it were a movie, it might be. As it is, the book is a fun interactive read going through doctors notes, transcripts, newspaper clippings, etc. I was pretty sure I knew what was going on until the end. Pretty good twist. I didn't love the book, but I enjoyed reading it.

[Thomas Rau · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the third book of its kind that I've read, and the best. Still, while the form intrigues me, I'm not sure it really improves on traditional epistolary novels. This one has nice twists, a fair plot, very good design.

[Kristina Mathioudakis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this in one sitting, it’s currently almost 2am and I just finished it I couldn’t stop.

I had been eyeing this book for a while because I tend to really enjoy stories being told in formats such as this and as a criminology/psychology graduate this was right up my alley. The story was quick to get into right from the beginning and had me guessing until the very end. And speaking of the end, I hadn’t expected that at all!

[Evan Hammerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book.

I read it in one night!

It has a lot of cultural references.

It mentioned the place I grew up in (Bayside, Queens)!

Some reviewers said it had elements of HP Lovecraft, and also Mark Z. Danielewski's "House of Leaves". So this is a great book!

[Vince Home · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was pretty interesting but the problem with these books is that sometimes the different characters don't seem to have their own voices which makes the different perspectives of those characters not as engaging as the author may think.

[Maggie Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a sucker for "found footage" style documentaries. Shadows in the Asylum collects a variety of documents that allows readers to piece together a horrifying story about angry spirits and mental health doctors. It hit lots of my sweet spots that I so rarely find in written form :)

[Rachel Winchester · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like playing Call of Cthulhu you'll probably like this book.

[Angela]

Mentioned here: Epistolary Horror Novels

[Db Cooper · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ending was a bit abrupt, would have liked a more rounded ending.

[Sraah · Rating 3 out of 5]

that was a lot. wow. heavy stuff.

[Ashley (gotbookcitement) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I Loved This! It was so fun to read. The layout was what drew me to the book, and it was done right. I was interested from page one, and had to race to the end to find out the shocking conclusion. After finishing, I looked for more books by D.A. Stern, because I wanted to read more by him.
I'm always drawn to books with unique layouts, they call to me, and just look like such fun things to read. I have been burned by books with unique layouts though. Sometimes the way the story is told can make the reading experience not fun. My biggest example of this was House of Leaves by Danielewski. That book took me ages to get through, and the format made for confusing and frustrating reading. Also, to a lesser extent, Illuminae by Kristoff and Kaufman, I didn't hate the book, but the unique layout kind of got repetitive, and I became over it very quickly. Shadows in the Asylum was this unique type of layout done right! It was just so fun to read, it felt real, like I was really reading Dr. Marsh's notes and case files. I loved the commitment to making it look real. That's actually another thing that's funny about this story, passing it off as a work of nonfiction, making the reader believe that all this stuff actually happened. It was just a lot of fun to lose myself in the book, flipping through these interviews with Kari, seeing Dr. Marsh slip deeper and deeper into his belief of what haunts her.
The things that happened in this book were kind of shocking too. Perfect Halloween read! Dr. Marsh has some interesting treatment methods, that's all I will say. The ending of this book, that was an I can't believe that happened moment.
I totally recommend this. It was tons of fun. I flew through it. I am now excited to read the other book I found that D.A. Stern wrote, it's The Blair Witch Project!! So yeah, this was great. If you see it, definitely pick it up. It's a fun reading experience.
BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 4/5
I Loved This!

[Garrett Zecker · Rating 2 out of 5]

Definitely an interesting read, to say the least. This book is an extremely postmodern book that takes the form of various narratives that compromise the entirety of the text from beginning to end - and the narratives themselves are not normal narratives, but are built from facsimiles that are meant to be real records from fictional people, histories, and other materials that compromise the overall story. While this is not the scariest book I have ever read, to say the least, I will say that there are many aspects of fear and horror that evoke Henry James in my mind as I read this. I will say that it was a great deal of fun to read and experience, and I would recommend it to anyone as either a frightful and fun romp or even an exercise in postmodern narrations. Regardless, it was fantastic and fun, and well worth the price of admission into the troubled halls of Kriegmoor.

[Sarah Pavlina-Whelehan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a surprise, both in its unorthodox yet oddly compelling method of telling a story, and in its ability to actually disquiet me. I have read so many so called 'horror' books, only to be not even slightly horrified. This book gave me chills. I finished it in two large sittings, as its method of telling the story moves the plot along surprisingly fast. I could easily see this book being made into a movie, and that is in no way an insult. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. Oh, and the ending was unexpected, which was another pleasant surprise.

[Amber Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book, mostly because of the way it's laid out. It isn't a traditional narrative. Instead, the story is told through transcripts of the doctor's sessions with patients, letters, emails, newspaper/magazine articles, etc. The story itself focuses mainly on those shadows in the title and how they are affecting the patients at the Kriegmoor psychiatric hospital. Definitely worth a read if you like epistolary type novels/stories.

[Cindy M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay...so maybe I shouldn't have read the end of this book when I was in bed with a head cold. I actually loved this book and was intrigued with the way it managed to somehow develop into a great story using only medical transcriptions, newspaper article clips, etc. But, the ending...I finished and said "huh"? Someone please tell me that I missed something important here due to my stuffy head!

[Grace Rakich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Difficult to get into at first, but once you're hooked, it enraptures you into the world of the protagonist doctor. After a while, it felt like I really was perusing through a doctor's medical file. A bit of a misleading ending, but, overall, the book is really interesting and fun to read.

[The Dark Krystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story progresses with the help of files from transcripts of sessions of Dr. Marsh with a patient, letters and the personal writings of Dr. Marsh. In a Plathian way, you don't quite see the insanity coming.

[David Schumacher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book quite good for a fiction book. Books dont normally give me the creeps but i have to say that this one did. There is a very eerie feel to it and there are parts that are down right scary, I would love to see this book made into a movie

[GracieKat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for diary format books. Along with ones that include "clippings" of newspapers. So I really liked it, but I can see where others might not. The pacing was fairly even. In all it was a fairly short read, I finished it with a few hours. Nothing but brain junk food but good.

[Daniel Moskowitz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautifully Set up, took a lot of time, effort and care all of which came across in the book. The ending was very just, the characters were very intricate. However as unique as the set up is, there are a few cliches that have been overly used in the genre.

[Auden Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I find myself looking forward to the end so I could move on to something interesting. Needless to say, I won't be finishing it. Reading it feels too much like an assignment. I like the creative format and the writing but the story didn't draw me in.

[Aurora Raboin · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was very thrilling, scary to read at night, did not end the way I expectedit to,and was very pleased with the way it ended. The way the story was presented in the book was difficult to at times to follow.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty creepy....