Journey through the Heart of Terror
Listen.
They are calling to you.
Do you hear them?
They are the whispered echoes of your darkest fears.
From the pen of horror writer Paul F. Olson comes Whispered Echoes, a stunning dark fiction collection that will carry you down lonely twilight byways into a world of darkness and dread. It’s a world of forgotten roadways, sleepy small towns, deep forests, windswept waters—a place where the uneasy spirits of your imagination roam free and anything at all can happen.
- A man searches for answers at an abandoned lighthouse and uncovers an unspeakable past
- An unassuming tourist goes for a stroll and leaves devastation in his wake
- An ancient voice speaks from the depths of a long-forgotten cave
- A violent storm rages overhead, while the scratching sounds begin in the cellar below
- A man inherits the family talent, but what price does that legacy demand
- A return to the family homestead brings overwhelming memories, but the darkest memory of all still waits outside
- A late-night call from an abandoned camp brings a frightened cop face-to-face with everything he fears
- A wild joyride ends with a surprise reunion and an encounter with the impossible
Previously available only in a deluxe limited edition, Whispered Echoes features the resurrection of eleven classic horror stories, originally published in the ‘80s and ‘90s and out-of-print for years, along with a stunning new novella written especially for this collection. With a foreword by horror master Chet Williamson and an introduction by the author, this book is an unforgettable journey through the quiet heart of terror.
Brought to you by Crystal Lake Publishing - Tales from the Darkest Depths.
Interview with the author:
What makes this horror collection so special?
Olson: You’ve heard people say “This book was years in the making.†Well, in the case of Whispered Echoes, that’s the literal truth. Actually, it was “decades in the making.†This collection is an overview, a catalog of my career in dark fiction, from the very first short story I ever published in 1983 up to my newest published work. It contains stories from horror fanzines and from major anthologies. Most of them have not been in print or available anywhere but on the collectors’ market for years, and would not have been if not for this book.
Why should readers give this collection of Dark Fiction a try?
Olson: While the horror stories in Whispered Echoes span a long period of time and incorporate a range of styles, they do have some things in common. First and foremost, I think, is that I’ve always wanted to do just one thing: tell a good story as clearly and entertainingly as possible. And that’s what this collection is about. These short stories may scare you. They might make you anxious, or make you glance over your shoulder, or move you, or make you think. Actually, I hope they do all of those things. But above all, I hope they’ll entertain you. I hope they’ll make you forget where you are for a little while, that they’ll carry you out of your world and into the world of the story, that they’ll make you forget everything but the tale unfolding around you. That’s what happened to me when I was writing them. I take a little trip. And nothing makes me happier than when a reader comes along for the ride. In part because of their style, and in part because some of the stories in the collection are 20 or 30 years old, the book has been called “old school.†That’s fine with me. Old-school horror is the best horror, as far as I’m concerned.
