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The Whisper Jar

by Carole Lanham (Goodreads Author)

3.96 of 5 stars 3.96 · rating details · 53 ratings · 26 reviews

“I do not know what you have done, but put your mouth right here. Confess your crime to this fruit jar as though it were God’s ear.” ~ from The Whisper Jar

Some secrets are kept in jars — others, in books.
Some are left forgotten in musty rooms — others, created in old barns.
Some are brought about by destiny — others, born in blood.

Secrets — they are the hidden heart of this...more

Kindle Edition, Kindle, 192 pages

Published October 31st 2011 by Morrigan Books

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Mar 22, 2012 Kfir Luzzatto rated it 4 of 5 stars

I picked up "The Whisper Jar" with anticipation and also with some apprehension. Having read, liked and accepted the closing story, "The Forgotten Orphan", for the "Midnight Lullabies" anthology that I co-edited for The Harrow Press, I feared that disappointment might lurk in perhaps lesser stories found between the covers of Carole Lanham's collection. I was wrong.

Carole's characters are mostly very young, disturbed in the best case – and more often than not, utterly contorted, mentally and phy...more I picked up "The Whisper Jar" with anticipation and also with some apprehension. Having read, liked and accepted the closing story, "The Forgotten Orphan", for the "Midnight Lullabies" anthology that I co-edited for The Harrow Press, I feared that disappointment might lurk in perhaps lesser stories found between the covers of Carole Lanham's collection. I was wrong.

Carole's characters are mostly very young, disturbed in the best case – and more often than not, utterly contorted, mentally and physically. But they are believable, and that's what makes them creepy. You watch them as they perform their twisted acts with easy nonchalance and say to yourself that you're safe because they don't belong in your world; but when you scratch the surface of unreality the evil within, the stupidity and the mundane, all ring a bell: you have glimpsed them in people around you, perhaps only for a brief moment but clearly enough to see them reflected in the story.

There is little doubt that among all the excellent stories in this collection "The Good Part" is in a class of its own. The sister-brother relation is brought so vividly to life that you forget the surreal situation in which they live. It would be a sin to include a spoiler here, so I'll only say that reading this story, after the regrettable deluge of commercialized blood suckers to which we have been victims, is a refreshing experience.

From an unlikely fairy tale to a post-apocalyptic sad story, "The Whisper Jar" is a window into your own twisted mind – the bit of it that you hid away deep into your subconscious as a child, and which as a grown-up you deluded yourself into thinking that wasn't there. Beware that you can't close that window again before you get to the last page.

As the astute reader cannot fail to notice, Carole has a thing with orphanages and orphans. Perhaps the boys who live in orphaned conditions are more vulnerable than others, but that's not the reason why they succumb to the females of the species; the way in which the author tells her stories simply highlights what we, the readers of the male persuasion, already know: girls are smarter, stronger and more wicked than we can ever dream to be. (less)

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May 02, 2012 John Kenny rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

There is the danger that a casual perusal of the contents page of Carole Lanham’s collection The Whisper Jar may give the potential reader the impression that this is a work of whimsy, but nothing could be further from the truth. There is certainly an element of whimsy sown into some of the stories, but it is a whimsy that can turn suddenly dark and in the most unexpected and subtle ways. Characters find themselves enticed along a path of discovery that is childish innocence itself, each new sta...more There is the danger that a casual perusal of the contents page of Carole Lanham’s collection The Whisper Jar may give the potential reader the impression that this is a work of whimsy, but nothing could be further from the truth. There is certainly an element of whimsy sown into some of the stories, but it is a whimsy that can turn suddenly dark and in the most unexpected and subtle ways. Characters find themselves enticed along a path of discovery that is childish innocence itself, each new stage of discovery obliging a further commitment that slowly but surely entangles the protagonist in a web that ultimately proves impossible to escape.

Two poems, ‘The Whisper Jar’ and ‘The Adventures of Velvet Honeybone, Girl Werewuff’ set the tone of dark whimsy; the short stories delve more deeply and subtly into this realm. In ‘The Good Part’ we see a young boy try to come to terms with a sudden and dreadful change in his sister, how he tries to normalise her behaviour and how, ultimately, he is willing to sacrifice everything in order to continue being with her. ‘Keepity Keep’ is a fairy story like you’ve never read before. The reader is drawn into a story that on the surface revels in a magical recounting of childhood enthusiasms, but at its heart is a story of jealousy and competition and the inevitability of growing up and leaving childish things behind. The focus of ‘The Blue Word’ is the imminent graduation of a group of children from a Catholic run orphanage in a post apocalyptic world. There’s a hint of Never Let Me Go to this story, but Lanham creates a world radically different to that of Ishiguro’s novel, with horrific discoveries along the way and an achingly sad denouement.

All the stories in The Whisper Jar are told from the viewpoint of children on the verge of puberty and Lanham demonstrates a remarkable facility in capturing perfectly the voice of innocence and insatiable curiosity that presages this difficult rite of passage. There is also a genuine unpredictability to the stories; the reader has no real idea what’s going to happen. Markers are placed along the way in each story and readers can indulge in second guessing the outcomes, but even when they are close, there will be intangible differences of emphasis and meaning to anything they care to posit.

‘Maxwell Treat’s Museum of Torture for Young Girls and Boys’ tells the story of a boy who loses his parents to an accident on a railroad track and is sent to live on a farm with his cousins. Maxwell Treat, the elder of the cousins, enrols the hapless orphan in assisting in the development of a museum of torture out in one of the barns on the farm and it things rapidly get out of control. In ‘Friar Garden, Mister Samuel, and the Jilly Jally Butter Mints’, Esme Padora, along with her friend Sam Bell, is drawn into the dream-like, surreal world of her mentally deficient sister Estrella. The innocence of this world is slowly darkened by emotions and desires they have little or no control over and struggle to understand. Misunderstanding, when the children intersect with the adult world, eventually leads to disaster.

There is a timelessness to these stories; only two make any attempt at placing themselves in time: ‘The Blue Word’ is plainly set in a post apocalyptic timeframe and ‘The Forgotten Orphan’ seems to occur sometime before the First World War. There is a deceptively simple beauty to Lanham’s style and approach to the language of each piece, an intense sense of place if not time, unless we consider childhood as ‘time’. A hint of Bradbury can be detected in several of the stories, but there’s a distinctly darker edge, suffused with an erotic undercurrent and a gentle and understanding humour, that is all Lanham’s own.

I cannot recommend The Whisper Jar highly enough.(less)

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Mar 01, 2012 Rhiannon Frater rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

I am not a huge fan of poetry. It's just not my thing. So I have to admit I was a little put off by the book opening with a poem, but forced myself to read it. The little story depicted in the poem is very clever, so I dove into the first short story. After that point, I was completely hooked.

THE WHISPER JAR is masterfully crafted. There are two poems and seven short stories. Each piece is often amusing, magical, well-written, disturbing and often contain a subtle (or not so subtle) element of h...more

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Jan 19, 2012 aobibliophile™ rated it 5 of 5 stars

“I do not know what you have done, but put your mouth right here. Confess your crime to this fruit jar as though it were God’s ear.” - Carole Lanham from The Whisper Jar

author Carole Lanham's collection features nine delightful dark stories. two of these are poems with rhyming couplets and the rest are all in prose.
i read this mesmerizing book in one sitting. once i was done with the eponymous first tale, there was no turning back. all the stories just drew me in and i lost myself in a world th...more

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Mar 24, 2012 Charles rated it 5 of 5 stars

Throw together a bit of Tim Burton, a pinch of Neil Gaiman, a little Flannery O'Connor, and top it all off with a helping of David Lynch, and you might have something resembling the uniquely disturbing - and charming - voice of Carole Lanham.
In Lanham's tales, the innocent magic of childhood has grown dark and tainted in the twilight realm of adolescence. The emergence of new appetites takes on a sinister flavor, in worlds which are both hometown folksy and simultaneously surreal. Whether showin...more

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Jun 23, 2012 Jeanie Thies rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Whisper Jar is a cornucopia of subtle, literary horror stories, which bend the genre -- horror for the thinking reader. Creepy children, a secret room in a museum of torture, a feral orphan, strange nuns, and, oh, did I mention the creepy children? Lanham has a knack for historical detail, capturing the places and era in which her stories are set with such uncanny accuracy that it’s impossible not to wonder whether she was actually there. Dig in, and prepare to lose yourself in Victorian Eng...more

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May 13, 2012 Krista rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: not-good

Not really having an overview on this book it was tricky from the start, basically its alot of short stories. The beginning starts off really neat the actually Whisper Jar Poem is awesome. Without spoiling any of the secrets to this part, that's just it the whisper jar a creative poem told about keeping your secrets or bad thoughts. After reading the poem I thought great the rest of the book will be wonderful, well not so much. The second story is about a man "vampire" that pays a family a visit...more

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Mar 26, 2012 Alisa Carter rated it 5 of 5 stars

I don't usually read short stories, but I loved this book. Sometimes short stories seem rushed, like the author just wanted to get it done and move on. Not these. Each one was full of great characters, effective imagery, and perfect plots that just happened to be short. They were little bite-sized chunks of other worlds. Speaking of biting, "The Good Part," about a brother getting bullied by his vampire older sister, was fabulous. I did feel a "no, not yet!" moment when I read the last page. I w...more

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Dec 17, 2011 Patrick D'Orazio rated it 4 of 5 stars

Carole Lanham has compiled a series of intriguing poems and short stories that all revolve around the experiences of children in dark and strange places-sometimes these places in the mind, and in other instances, geographically and chronologically distance lands that seem like dreamscapes, even if they are in places as commonplace as a farm in rural Iowa. The stories here have a way of tantalizing without revealing too much, too soon. Many of the stories tease about the relationships among boys...more Carole Lanham has compiled a series of intriguing poems and short stories that all revolve around the experiences of children in dark and strange places-sometimes these places in the mind, and in other instances, geographically and chronologically distance lands that seem like dreamscapes, even if they are in places as commonplace as a farm in rural Iowa. The stories here have a way of tantalizing without revealing too much, too soon. Many of the stories tease about the relationships among boys and girls-their dreams and fears, lusts and passions. And while what the characters are experiencing seem so real and within your grasp as a reader, there is a magic allure to them that makes them fleeting and illusive. They have an otherworldly quality about them. It is not just the tales with obvious magic, like 'Keepity-Keep' or 'Friar Garden...', or the tales beset with monsters, like 'The Good Part' or 'The Blue Word', but every tale and every poem within this compilation. Even though 'Maxwell Treat's...', 'The Reading Lessons', and 'The Forgotten Orphan' all seem as if they could take place in the real world-our world-the author manages to transport us to mysterious and alien realms in them that are fascinating and dark beyond the realities most of us will ever deal with.
I enjoyed this compilation. I had read 'The Blue Word' previously, and while I normally skip a tale when I come across it for the second time, I found myself compelled to read it again and was filled with the same level of sadness and regret that I felt the first time, even when I knew what was coming at the end of the story. It is one of my favorites in this book, along with Keepity-Keep. Some of the other tales didn't resonate with me quite as much, but they still had a flavor to them that is hard to pin down or describe-like a meal in a restaurant you've never been to before. They sort of leave a odd taste in your mouth, but not in a bad way...in more of a fantastical way that sticks with taste buds long after the food is gone. There wasn't a particular story or poem I didn't like-the author pulled me in with each, and even if there may have been a certain aspect or one or the other that didn't click for me (the ending of 'Friar Garden' seemed rather abrupt for my tastes), they all made sense in a strange, dream-filled way.
Carole Lanham has a tremendous talent for the written word. I don't just mean this because she can craft a story, which she most certainly can do, but because there is a particular quality to each story that transports you, like some authors are able to do-taking you elsewhere with just a few words in the first few sentences. Some authors make you feel at home with their writing, as if you are reading about people you feel like you know and could find yourself surrounded by even if they are in a environment that is pure fantasy or beyond belief. Carole Lanham does not do that here, in this book. Instead, she has the knack of introducing characters and places that take you out of that comfort zone and puts you on alert that there is something strange going on, both in the world at large and within the characters themselves that make them different from you or I. You may not be able to figure it out right away, and even if you think you do, you realize that there is probably more to it with every passage you read. And in the end, things don't all fall into place. You are left wondering what just happened.
The Whisper Jar is a compelling read, sweet and savory while often times leaving you squirming with discomfort as you journey through its pages. (less)

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Dec 13, 2011 Chris Lanham rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror, dark-fiction, grim-fairytale-feel, some-fantasy, some-scifi

Since this is my wife's book, I don't feel right reviewing it. I would like to share an online review the book received from Ashley Denis of Dark Moon Digest:

Is it rude to say that on top of being a very busy new mom, I dragged my feet to start this book because short stories excite me a heck of a lot less than a good, thick novel? Well, sadly, that is what happened. The joke is on me though, because when I finally opened the PDF to get crackin', I did not stop until I read every single word, of...more Since this is my wife's book, I don't feel right reviewing it. I would like to share an online review the book received from Ashley Denis of Dark Moon Digest:

Is it rude to say that on top of being a very busy new mom, I dragged my feet to start this book because short stories excite me a heck of a lot less than a good, thick novel? Well, sadly, that is what happened. The joke is on me though, because when I finally opened the PDF to get crackin', I did not stop until I read every single word, of every single short story in this book. I kid you not, I could not stop. Now I bet you are wondering what on earth these stories contained to get me to sit for two hours straight and plow right though. Well it is my pleasure to share just that with all of you fellow readers.

The first striking piece of this book is before the short stories even start. There is a small description of all of them that is so cleverly done that I found my anticipation mounting right from the first words uttered. Once I eagerly started the stories, the words that kept coming into my mind as I read was `wow, this is almost poetic, how beautifully the words flow.' This thought stuck with me the whole way through. Carole Lanham has such a smooth, poetic way about her writing that I was able to speed right though the stories in no time flat while enjoying every delicious word that my eyes happened upon.
Next was the plot. Each and every story was utterly unique, enchanting, yet without a doubt disturbing. These sometimes macabre endings were breath stoppers. Allow me to give an example. In her short story The Forgotten Orphan, a young orphan boy helps the drug addicted doctor with his daily tasks of healing and caring for the sick children. There are rumors that something horrifying lives behind the locked door on top of the stairs. This orphan boy soon learns it is a feral female girl who has been locked away most of her life. One would assume the story will continue with the boy trying to help her and solve the puzzle as to why she has been locked away for so long. What Carole Lanham has in store for this boy is just cruel and unusual.

In the midst of her stories is an actual poem that she creates called Velvet Honeybone, Girl Werewuff. I have never read such a poem that has given me goosebumps. This short, yet description-filled poem is very obscure and ghastly. Even if you aren't a lover of poems, this will sure give you a new, dark appreciation for them.

I would recommend these short stories first and foremost to any reader out there who gets a thrill from not-so-perfect endings. I invite you, readers, who enjoy an unfair and unhappy ending to characters we so badly wanted to root for. If that is your shtick, then this is the book for you. This wasn't just another book to read, I consider this to be an experience for me, and I enjoyed every second of it. Thank you Carole Lanham for sharing your talents with all of us! (less)

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Dec 11, 2011 Webbweaver Reviews rated it 5 of 5 stars

First things first… The Whisper Jar is a collection of previously published works by the author that have been brought together in one delicious volume. It is often very hard to review a collection of short stories and poems, but I will do my best.

The stories and poems in The Whisper Jar include:

•The Whisper Jar

•The Good Part

•Keepity Keep

•The Blue Word

•Maxwell Treat’s Museum of Torture for Young Girls and Boys

•Friar Garden, Mister Samuel, and the Jilly Jally Butter Mints

•The Reading Lessons

•The...more

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Oct 14, 2011 Carole Lanham rated it 5 of 5 stars · (Review from the author) · review of another edition

REVIEW OF THE WHISPER JAR
By Conrad Zero

The Cover
The cover shows a red eye peering through an ornate door/windowframe. This looks great, and a touch unnerving. Definitely fitting for a work of dark fiction, but I was disappointed that it wasn’t more directly related to the title itself. I would rather have seen a visual of an actual Whisper Jar.

The Content
Overall, there were nine stories

The Whisper Jar
The Good Part
Keepity Keep
The Blue Word
Maxwell Treat’s Museum of Torture for Young Girls and Boys...more

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Dec 14, 2012 Paula rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: had-to-give-up

I loved the poem at the beginning of the book but the book itself did not thrill me. But then, I am not a fan of short stories and this book consists of seven short stories. I've read the first one, which was great if it comes to the theme and writing style. So anyone liking short stories would consider this a gem. Unfortunately, it isn't for me, so I quit reading after the first short story.

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Jun 15, 2012 Nirmala Chandrasiri rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads

The Whisper Jar by Carole Lanham is a collection of two poems and seven short stories. Lanham writes her poetry elegantly. But quite unfortunately she loses that grip when it comes to her short stories, and the darkness in her stories makes them a dull read. Anyway if you are looking for something whimsy to read, I’m sure this book will be a good choice.

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Oct 04, 2011 Cate Gardner rated it 4 of 5 stars

There are secrets hidden within The Whisper Jar.

These are not the sort of secrets you can whisper into jam jars, twist the lid and know (or hope) they'll stay hidden; these are secrets that spill out across the pages of Carole Lanham's debut collection, which weaves tales that prove just how un-innocent childhood can sometimes be.

There are vampires and maybe vampires, and werewolves and fairies, and macabre torture devices that may or may not kill depending on the flick of a switch. There are t...more

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May 07, 2012 Billie Copas rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was different. Very good though. I really enjoyed the stories. A few I didn't totally understand but the book as a whole was terrific.

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Dec 26, 2011 Lindy Dale rated it 5 of 5 stars

I'm not a fan of short story compilations as such, nor am I a fan of Forewords at the beginning of a book. I tend to skip them - as I did with this one. However, that said, the stories in this book are gripping and I was quite disappointed that they were only short stories. I would like to have seen them developed as full length novels -especially The Best Part. The strange relationship between Etta and Gideon is definitely worth taking further.
If you're a fan of quirky off-beat fantasy or paran...more

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May 09, 2012 Patty rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

looks and sounds great...

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May 02, 2012 Mateo rated it 5 of 5 stars

What a great surprise of short stories! I don't know what I was expecting, but I found myself unable to stop mid-story and that rarely happens. "Friar Garden, Mister Samuel, and the Jilly Jally Butter Mints" was probably my favorite..if I had to choose. The theme of the stories here seem to be about growing up and imagination versus reality- dark fairy tales that keep you riveted. I want more from this author. SERIOUSLY.

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Oct 02, 2012 Felicia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: goodreads-first-reads-books, own

I received this book from GoodReads First Reads give away. It's a collection of short stories. I liked all of them but my favorites were The Good Part and The Reading Lessons. I think the majority of the stories reminded me of a cross between Poe and O'Conner, with maybe a little Faulkner. I love short stories especially twisted ones :)

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May 02, 2012 Rebeca rated it 4 of 5 stars

I wasn't sure what kind of book this would be when I downloaded it, but it was like a breath of fresh air. Completely unique and refreshing but haunting at the same time. I pretty much devoured it and I'm hoping to read more by Carole Lanham in the future.

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May 02, 2012 Flower rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: kindle-read, short-stories

The title caught me, the stores kept me. Of course not being a fan of short stories, this book left me wishing for longer versions of each. Enjoyed the book very much, found that I needed a mental pause between each story. Good Stuff

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Dec 11, 2012 Emily rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy-sci-fi, adult-fiction

A strange and fantastical book. I enjoyed the stories although they were a bit odd...not quite what I was expecting when I started to read it. But overall I really enjoyed it and thought it was very well written.

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Nov 13, 2011 K.V. Taylor added it

It would be a bit ridiculous for me to rate this since I work for the pub, but I have, in fact, read this book a few times, and adore it. <3

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Nov 17, 2011 Kim rated it 5 of 5 stars

Strangley wonderful. Looking for something spooky to stir your imagination? This is it!

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Jun 02, 2012 Saša rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: in-english, ebooks, horror-thriller-crime-mystery, stories, own-ebooks

I really enjoyed the reading! :) I will write more soon.

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May 08, 2012 Ami Blackwelder rated it 4 of 5 stars

Strangely interesting:)

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May 18, 2013 Karen Johnson marked it as to-read

May 16, 2013 Laurend marked it as to-read · review of another edition

May 11, 2013 Legato Darksummers added it

Shelves: daddy-dark-s-baby-warrior-list

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