A Stir of Echoes

By Richard Matheson

Madness is only a step away . . .

Tom Wallace is happy with his suburban lot. Until an evening of casual entertainment turns reality into nightmare.

Tom sees himself as a pragmatist, and when his brother-in-law challenges him to undergo hypnotism, he obliges to prove a point. So no one is more surprised than Tom when it works. But this cheap parlour trick unlocked something that now threatens his sanity, way of life and marriage. Suddenly he can sense his neighbours' darkest desires, and some are dark indeed. When shadows from the past and glimpses of the future are revealed to him, Tom tries to deny what's happening.

But as his existence becomes increasingly unbearable, the biggest revelation of all awaits -- a message from beyond the grave.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pan Macmillan
• Release date: Aug 1, 2013
• ISBN: 9780230772557

Richard Matheson

Richard Matheson was one of the great writers of modern science fiction and fantasy. A New York Times bestselling author and screenwriter, his novels included I Am Legend, The Incredible Shrinking Man and many others. Stephen King called Matheson 'the author who influenced me the most as a writer'. A Grand Master of Horror and past winner of the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement, He also won multiple other awards including the Edgar, the Hugo, the Spur, and the Writer's Guild awards. Richard Matheson passed away in June 2013.

Reviews for A Stir of Echoes

[williemeikle-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The perfect suburban ghost story. Matheson always did have a way with blending the mundane job of living a working life with the supernatural forces that might swirl just beyond perception and will rush in given a chance. His work was consistently at the top of the field and A STIR OF ECHOES is no exception.

It's the simplest of simple plots. A working man gets hypnotized, hypnotist accidently opens the man's mind to the great beyond, and man starts to experience the wider world of the weird beyond his normal day to day life - including the strange woman in his living room.

Matheson makes it work by populating the tale with believeable characters, and by hitting us with several set pieces that not only ramp up the tension but are genuinely creepy and have that 'cold tingle in the spine' moment that marks all the best ghost stories.

The Kevin Bacon movie went all out on the special effects for this one, but they weren't needed. It's the quiet moments, spent alone in the dark with what's inside - and outside - your mind that makes this so effective.

For me, one of the best haunting novels ever written. It's short, fast, and packs a real punch.

[cyndavaz · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was a pretty good book, though I have to say that I enjoyed the movie a bit more. There were definitely some changes (different ghost, I think - and definitely a different killer). I appreciated that the writing didn't feel too dated, given the fact that this book was published around 1958.

[seekingflight · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

At an ordinary dinner party, looked forward to with no great excitement by the inhabitants of a quiet suburban street, Anne’s brother Phil attempts to hypnotise her sceptical husband Tom. Subsequently, Tom develops strange psychic abilities. For me, Matheson’s depictions of the way in which this effects the relationship between Tom and Anne are some of the best parts of this very readable novel. I was less interested in the parts of the story that dealt with Anne and Tom's neighbours and their relationship, and the resolution of the ghost story elements of the plot - although these were probably also quite well done. Not a bad book, but not entirely my cup of tea.

[librarycin · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It started with a party at a neighbour’s place and one friend who said he’d like to hypnotize someone. Tom said he’d be hypnotized, but later that night, he couldn’t sleep… and there was a “woman” in his house. That is, possibly a ghost? From there, Tom seemed to be able to sense what others were feeling… then he seemed to be able to “see” things happen before they happened… And on and on… I really liked this. Not only was all this going on with Tom, but Tom has a wife and young son. His wife, in particular, was very upset about the whole thing, so in addition to Tom trying to figure out what was going on with himself, the book also explored how this was affecting their relationship. And there was a surprise ending.

[flissp_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

There was a film adaptation of this years ago, not long after "Sixth Sense" came out and I remember thinking at the time that it seemed just to be more of the same. I didn't realise that it was based on a novel, (which, in fact, came long before "Sixth Sense") until I came across the book randomly a couple of years ago - and, as it was written by Richard Matheson (I loved I Am Legend - the book that is), I had to buy it.Tom Wallace leads a fairly normal life in the suburbs of LA with his wife Elizabeth (expecting their second child) and son Richard. However, messing around at a dinner party given by a neighbour, he allows his brother-in-law to hypnotise him. Everything seems fine, even amusing at the time, but that night, he sees the apparition of a woman in a black dress in their living room. They soon come to realise that the hypnosis has released some form of innate hypersensitivity of which Tom hadn't been aware.I made the mistake of taking this to read in the bath with me and ended up wrinkled like a prune - it took a lot of will power to put it down long enough to get out the bath! It's very tense and the sense of Tom's mounting curiosity mixed with confused fear is very well conveyed. That said, towards the end, certain aspects did start to feel a little contrived. Not enough to stop me enjoying the book, but enough that it didn't have nearly the same kind of impact as I Am Legend, which I continued to think about for quite some time. Nonetheless a gripping read.

[nwdavies-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Another excellent read from Matheson. I don't think anyone does creepy ghost stories like he does. Right up there with I Am Legend and Hell House - what a pity the films never live up to the quality of the books. Very much a recommended read.

[sturlington_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Tom, a typical 1950s suburban guy, is hypnotized as a party trick by his brother-in-law and develops psychic powers. Not only can he now sense the disgusting thoughts swirling through all his neighbors' minds, he also must solve the mystery of the ghost who keeps appearing in his living room, while reassuring his wife that he is not going crazy. This is a quick read, sometimes shocking, but not at all scary, despite the ghost. It explores some typical Matheson themes--sudden transformation and resulting isolation from a masculine point of view. I enjoyed this, but I thought both [The Shrinking Man] and [I Am Legend] tackled similar themes in a more satisfying way. This one does a good job of exposing the underbelly hiding beneath squeaky-clean 1950s suburbia, though; that's where the real horror lies. A bit dated, as women do not come off well in this novel; all of the female characters seem shrewish, slutty, or baby-crazy. I was pretty uncomfortable with the "jokes" about punching pregnant women in the stomach.

[laugal-2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Odd book. Man gets hypnotized by brother and becomes telepathic.Most of the book is dealing with his family and they think he might be mad. He has dreams and visions. Toward end of book he is advised by a doctor that the hypnosis just heightened his latent telepathic traits.I like this author but disappointed with this book.

[tjcams · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a short, quick paced ghost story, that despite being written in 1958 does not feel dated. The movie version with Kevin Bacon does diverge quite a bit from the book, but that's to be expected in most cases.Overall, I really enjoyed it.

[chirpchirpsquawk · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Usually, I am the type of person who enjoys the book more than a movie based on that book.Maybe it's because I watched the movie first but IMO, the book pales in comparason to the movie. I don't even like Kevin Bacon lol but he does a good job. The story in the movie, way different than in the book and far more creepy.