What do you think?
Rate this book
Soul Asylum
The blood wanted to prick a conscience that couldn’t bleed.
Poe could keep his telltale heart.
I couldn't hear it beating.
Ravens Retreat harbours a sinister secret. Inside its blackened heart lurk the ghosts of patients and staff who died when the asylum was burned down in 1904. Over a hundred years later, the West wing survives and now the patients want revenge.
Their eternal repose is disturbed by a malevolent poltergeist and the ghost tours led by the asylum’s resident, Phineas Soul, which attract the attention of journalist Mason Strider. His attempts to expose Phineas as a fraud have catastrophic consequences when it is Ravens Retreat’s dark heart that’s exposed as it awakens to claim the lives of those who dare to enter its brutal past.
Some things should never be disturbed.
Poe could keep his telltale heart.
I couldn't hear it beating.
Ravens Retreat harbours a sinister secret. Inside its blackened heart lurk the ghosts of patients and staff who died when the asylum was burned down in 1904. Over a hundred years later, the West wing survives and now the patients want revenge.
Their eternal repose is disturbed by a malevolent poltergeist and the ghost tours led by the asylum’s resident, Phineas Soul, which attract the attention of journalist Mason Strider. His attempts to expose Phineas as a fraud have catastrophic consequences when it is Ravens Retreat’s dark heart that’s exposed as it awakens to claim the lives of those who dare to enter its brutal past.
Some things should never be disturbed.
- GenresHorror
396 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2012
14 people are currently reading
83 people want to read
About the author
C.L. Raven
48 books51 followersC L Raven are identical twins from Cardiff who love all things horror. They spend their time looking after their animal army and drinking more Red Bull than the recommended government guidelines. Along with their friend Neen, they prowl the country hunting for ghosts for their YouTube show, Calamityville Horror.
Their work has featured in 8 Hours Anthology, published by Legend Press; August 2010 issue of Writing Magazine (winning ghost story); The Pages Anthologies; Dark Fire Fiction, Dark Moon Digest, Siren’s Call and the Mammoth Book of Jack the Ripper. They also contribute articles to Haunted Digital Magazine and Oapschat. They have self-published six short story collections, one novella and one novel, which was shortlisted in the National Self-Publishing Awards. Their unpublished novels, Bleeding Empire and Silent Dawn were longlisted in the 2013 & 2014 Exeter Novel Prize.
Their work has featured in 8 Hours Anthology, published by Legend Press; August 2010 issue of Writing Magazine (winning ghost story); The Pages Anthologies; Dark Fire Fiction, Dark Moon Digest, Siren’s Call and the Mammoth Book of Jack the Ripper. They also contribute articles to Haunted Digital Magazine and Oapschat. They have self-published six short story collections, one novella and one novel, which was shortlisted in the National Self-Publishing Awards. Their unpublished novels, Bleeding Empire and Silent Dawn were longlisted in the 2013 & 2014 Exeter Novel Prize.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 27, 2019
(2.5 ⭐️) Really wanted this concept to work but execution not there. Possibly better as a short story and I do like CL Raven’s short story writing better. Liked that the dead’s perception of time is different to that of living. Liked the welsh and lgbt+ rep (yay for gay ghost relationships, the thing I kept reading for). The banter between ghosts is something I want to see again. Every character, apart from Phineas and maybe Trey, underdeveloped. Sometimes dialogue confusing and hard to tell what’s going on. Police and living people’s reaction to murder too unrealistic. Guessed the big reveal only 30 pages in out of 380. Some writing inconsistencies, felt like first draft, possibly needed an editor. Wished Freddie the puppet was more involved in story. Ending didn’t feel satisfying. Some things still unexplained.
November 26, 2018
Aside from a couple of places where it felt a little slow I liked this book a lot. The atmosphere created sticks true throughout and CL Raven give you a good feel for the Asylum. I think if they hadn’t then it would loose some of its impact because the Asylum feels like another character.
The characters are in part a little annoying but also engaged in trying to discover the secrets of the history of this Asylum.
I did find the protagonist, Phineus (yeah I know I’ve spelt that wrong!) particularly annoying, but in the way that makes me want to turn the pages and get to the bottom of the mystery.
I did suspect one of the big reveals, but not the other one. That one was bigger and I didn’t even have a clue, but it slots everything into place once you’ve realised.
This is one I’ll read again in the future so I can connect all the clues now I know the secrets of Raven Retreat.
The characters are in part a little annoying but also engaged in trying to discover the secrets of the history of this Asylum.
I did find the protagonist, Phineus (yeah I know I’ve spelt that wrong!) particularly annoying, but in the way that makes me want to turn the pages and get to the bottom of the mystery.
I did suspect one of the big reveals, but not the other one. That one was bigger and I didn’t even have a clue, but it slots everything into place once you’ve realised.
This is one I’ll read again in the future so I can connect all the clues now I know the secrets of Raven Retreat.
July 1, 2017
This story centres around Phineas Soul who owns a haunted asylum. He takes people on ghost tours but he is constantly tormented by a poltergeist as well as a journalist who comes in to investigate the story when someone dies on one of Phineas's ghost tours.
This was an intriguing story and it kept you guessing until the end what actually was going on in the asylum. However some scenes were repeated a few times, but on the whole it was a good story.
This was an intriguing story and it kept you guessing until the end what actually was going on in the asylum. However some scenes were repeated a few times, but on the whole it was a good story.
November 15, 2020
Seems like someone got a new thesarus
Confusing to many over the top descriptions only finished reading because I have a rule to finish what I start
Confusing to many over the top descriptions only finished reading because I have a rule to finish what I start
October 11, 2014
I apologize if this review seems overly harsh but I feel the need to give an explanation for a one-star review. There's no point in giving one unless you lay out your reasons.
To start, I *love* haunted/abandoned asylum stories. There's nothing more spooky to me than the thought of ghosts who were possibly dangerous before they died. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything spooky in the almost 400 pages of this book. I thought I figured out all of the plot twists towards the beginning but decided it couldn't possibly be that transparent so I kept reading. Then I started skipping several chapters at a time and realized I hadn't missed anything. Then I skipped around 100 pages and found out everything I'd guessed at the beginning was the "big reveal".
Soul Asylum is an idea that could have been effective as a creepy short story but there is no reason on god's green earth it needed to be book-length, much less clocking in at almost 400 pages. The entire story was an excuse for a plot twist which is extremely frustrating for this reader.
(note to the authors: if you happen to see this, I don't think you're bad writers. You had a love story, a scary backdrop and the chance to explore the deplorable prejudices of the time. Leave out the gimmicks and focus on the heart of the story and/or scaring the bejeezus out of the reader.)
To start, I *love* haunted/abandoned asylum stories. There's nothing more spooky to me than the thought of ghosts who were possibly dangerous before they died. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything spooky in the almost 400 pages of this book. I thought I figured out all of the plot twists towards the beginning but decided it couldn't possibly be that transparent so I kept reading. Then I started skipping several chapters at a time and realized I hadn't missed anything. Then I skipped around 100 pages and found out everything I'd guessed at the beginning was the "big reveal".
Soul Asylum is an idea that could have been effective as a creepy short story but there is no reason on god's green earth it needed to be book-length, much less clocking in at almost 400 pages. The entire story was an excuse for a plot twist which is extremely frustrating for this reader.
(note to the authors: if you happen to see this, I don't think you're bad writers. You had a love story, a scary backdrop and the chance to explore the deplorable prejudices of the time. Leave out the gimmicks and focus on the heart of the story and/or scaring the bejeezus out of the reader.)
August 25, 2013
Soul Asylum was a really really good book. But that said I found that my reading of it was constantly being interrupted, and it has therefore taken me over 4 weeks to read!
The book is very well written and has some very creepy elements, I do a lot of reading after dark, whilst reading this book I found that I had become a lot more aware of my surroundings and even felt a little jumpy at times! This book for me certainly captured my imagination and "the shadows" that Phineas describes my imagination had no problems storing and making me look just that little bit harder into a dark place before I walked past!
The book also has some gore spots too, "Rick's stomach parted like the gates of Hell and his insides spilled out like the corpses of a thousand damned, desperate to flee the horrors that awaited them." I love gore so I thoroughly enjoyed these sections, and could picture them vividly.
Overall this is a really good book with a twist at the end which isn't obvious from the start!
I would definitely recommend this book to people who enjoy a creepy story!
The book is very well written and has some very creepy elements, I do a lot of reading after dark, whilst reading this book I found that I had become a lot more aware of my surroundings and even felt a little jumpy at times! This book for me certainly captured my imagination and "the shadows" that Phineas describes my imagination had no problems storing and making me look just that little bit harder into a dark place before I walked past!
The book also has some gore spots too, "Rick's stomach parted like the gates of Hell and his insides spilled out like the corpses of a thousand damned, desperate to flee the horrors that awaited them." I love gore so I thoroughly enjoyed these sections, and could picture them vividly.
Overall this is a really good book with a twist at the end which isn't obvious from the start!
I would definitely recommend this book to people who enjoy a creepy story!
February 8, 2013
C L Raven have done it again - a dark and gothic story with twists of humour. I've been looking forward to reading this for ages and so when I did get it, I took my time reading it so I could absorb all of the beautifully described passages.
The story story revolves around an old asylum and its resident, Phineas Soul. He's visited by a journalist, Mason Strider and extreme spookiness ensues.
It's creepy and strange, as it should be, and all the way through I felt I was reading a carefully crafted piece of writing. The ending will take you by surprise and leave you wondering what is really going on in the ether that we can't see ...
Give this book a download and then take your time reading it so you can enjoy the quality of the writing. It's really worth it.
The story story revolves around an old asylum and its resident, Phineas Soul. He's visited by a journalist, Mason Strider and extreme spookiness ensues.
It's creepy and strange, as it should be, and all the way through I felt I was reading a carefully crafted piece of writing. The ending will take you by surprise and leave you wondering what is really going on in the ether that we can't see ...
Give this book a download and then take your time reading it so you can enjoy the quality of the writing. It's really worth it.
October 21, 2016
I devoured this book over a couple of days, having bumped into C.L. Raven at Bristol Horror Convention. The story and characters are brilliant. Phineas is as good a main character as any I've encountered. The mystery is well written. I thought I knew what was going on and, for the most part, I was right (although that didn't spoil the narrative) but C.L. Raven still managed to fool me with one unexpected twist. The horror and suspense work well and the scenes of paranoia and madness are excellent. I found some of the use of description, metaphor and simile was a little cliche (common for this genre) but also rather repetitive at times. But what was done well was so good it was very easy to forgive the faults. I will definitely be looking out for more from these creepy women.
October 25, 2012
One quote from this book perfectly sums it up: “This is no longer a simple story about a ghost tour in a creepy asylum. The present and past have collided in a truly horrific way. Ravens Retreat has risen from the dead and is hungry for revenge.”
Like everything I’ve read by C L Raven, this novel features a spattering of humor in between elegant descriptions of spooky people, places and things. I laughed aloud at several spots and was uncomfortable (in a horror-kind of way) at others. And it takes a lot to spook me.
So if you like your ghost tales with twists and turns and plenty of music, pick up this one!
Like everything I’ve read by C L Raven, this novel features a spattering of humor in between elegant descriptions of spooky people, places and things. I laughed aloud at several spots and was uncomfortable (in a horror-kind of way) at others. And it takes a lot to spook me.
So if you like your ghost tales with twists and turns and plenty of music, pick up this one!
March 1, 2013
It took me a little while to get into the book - I felt it maybe moved a bit too slowly at first, and maybe the first half could have been edited a bit more tightly, but by about halfway through I was gripped. It's well put together, with a good, strong, original plot, and a pleasing twist at the end. Nice touches of humour, as one has come to expect from the author(s). It's definitely worth persisting with.
November 5, 2013
OMG, This book was awesome! Even though I am a bit biased as Cat & Lynx are two of my favorite twitter besties, I was still blown away at the quality of writing and level of suspense in this psychological thriller. I kept thinking I knew what was going on, but their skill at their craft kept me second guessing myself. SO well-written and creepy, C L Raven is well on their way to dethroning the 'King' of horror!
June 24, 2013
Soul Asylum is for those readers who hang onto every word. Each sentence is dripped in description, and oozes visual affect. This can be too much for hesitant, or reluctant readers, but certainly not for those who love word play. I am a lover of all things ghostly, and so, I am ready to purchase my next novel from C.L Raven.
May 26, 2014
I love a good ghost story. I read this like a speed demon. Phineas is a total whack job. His life at the asylum is, well I'll just say,INSANE. Disturbing and a very unsettling read. Thanks twins you two are on my Fav list.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews