First off, Ramsey Campbell is my favorite author. Secondly, haunted house stories are my favorite sub-genre of horror. So, add together the fact that a potentially haunted house is a key element of Ramsey’s newest novel, An Echo of Children, and my excitement should be obvious. The haunting of this house isn’t of your usual variety, either. There are no scenes of furniture being cast about the room by disembodied specters or blood dripping from its walls. The presence that lurks within these halls is far more insidious than that. Here, the manifestations are subtle – glimpses of shadowy figures shifting across a room or messages communicated through an imaginary friend – for example. And, perhaps it isn’t even haunted at all. There is enough room for doubt that makes a direct confrontation regarding it to be a source of familial strife.
The novel begins after Coral and Alan Clarendon have acquired a house near the ocean in the town of Barnwall for a great price. Having settled in, they invite their respective parents to come for a visit. Jude and Thom, Alan’s mother and father, grow concerned at how strict Alan and Coral have recently become with their well-mannered young son Dean. The house is located near a park named Childer Field in remembrance of the abnormal amount of children who have died in the town under unusual circumstances which adds to Jude’s trepidation. Dean’s recent penchant of talking to an imaginary friend at the new place seems to irritate his practical, and suddenly very religious, father and mother. During Jude and Thom’s stay, they try and nurture their grandson and are impressed with how polite he is.
Jude is soon convinced something is very wrong since the move there but Coral’s parents don’t see it and suggest she might be experiencing the onset of dementia. Thom disagrees but also thinks Jude may be imagining the issues with Dean. Then one evening they both witness a shadowy form moving through the bedroom they are occupying before vanishing into thin air – or was it a trick of the lighting?
After Jude begins researching the area where Alan and Coral live, she discovers it has a long history of cruelty to children which often ended in their deaths, bolstering her desire to rescue her grandson, one-way-or-another. As pressure mounts, Jude enlists Thom in more elaborate schemes to separate Dean and his parents from the diabolical house.
Ramsey expertly balances the line between what is perceived and what is actually happening with the Clarendons. The negative influence the house has on those who live inside it becomes increasingly evident as more of its secretive history is revealed. This is a family drama at its core, with Jude and Thom struggling, despite their physical limitations to keep their grandson safe from his progressively overbearing parents who are seemly being influenced by a dark presence their new house. The house in Barnwall appears to have a history of despising children and its unearthly hatred looks to be manifesting within the Clarendons more-and-more as time passes. There’s a particularly spooky scene early on when Thom and Jude take Dean on a Ghost Train ride at the fair. Thom witnesses a shadowy figure which shouldn’t be there lurching about around them as they move through the darkened attraction filled with mechanical creatures. It reminded me of Ramsey’s excellent short story “The Companion” which took place in a similar setting.
To summarize, this unique haunted house tale focuses less on phantoms roaming the halls in favor of an exterior force which oppresses the minds of adults, driving them towards continually elevating levels of hatred for children. Campbell’s characters are great as always and make reasonable decisions given what they are experiencing, and his mastery of dialog invests each conversation with dual, ominous meaning. It was a great read which I highly recommend!
– I received an advance copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for fair and honest review.
Order Your Copy Here (Release Date September 9th, 2025):
From Flame Tree Press: https://www.flametreepublishing.com/an-echo-of-children-isbn-9781787589797.html
From Amazon U.S.: https://www.amazon.com/Echo-Children-Special-Ramsey-Campbell/dp/1787589781
From Amazon U.K.: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Echo-Children-Special-Ramsey-Campbell/dp/1787589781
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