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Castle Lake
A terrible tragedy sets in motion a vengeful curse that can turn a girl's sixteenth birthday into her death day. The spirit of profound grief and hatred hangs like a fog over Castle Lake until it can exact its horrific retribution. In the haunting style of Stephen King, award-winning author, Thomas Ryerson, ably touches the simple, natural world of rural life in the nineteenth century with the evil hand of the supernatural.
- GenresHorrorParanormalFiction
288 pages, Paperback
First published March 6, 2007
2 people are currently reading
211 people want to read
About the author
Thomas A. Ryerson
13 books14 followersJust after I was born in 1964, my mother incorrectly wrote my name on the birth record as Thomas Author. My father caught the error, and I was named Thomas Arthur after my grandfather.
I was a bright eyed blonde haired youngster, and I always had a vivid imagination. Once I started school in 1969, this vivid imagination handicapped me in an organized class. I was always being distracted by everything around me, and for that reason I found it very hard to concentrate.
But I never found it hard to create. I drew, I doodled, and I kept myself busy while the teacher tried to teach! About 1973, at the age of 9, I developed some cartoon- like characters I dubbed "The Silly Birds." These cool little characters ended up in the margins of all my notebooks.
In 1975, my family and I moved from the city of London to a farm located near Ailsa Craig. It was a great place in which to grow. Here I continued to write, doodle, and draw. In 1978 I actually won an art contest for an abstract piece that I had painted.
I did enjoy reading though, my favorite authors in public school were Bill Peet, Richard Scarry, E.B. White and Enid Blyton. Later in High School I read Richard Adams, Thomas Tryon, Robin Cook, Margaret Laurence, E.L. Doctorow and O.T. Nelson. I became a huge fan of Judy Blume, and read all of her books, including the infamous 'Wifey.' I'm sure that Wifey influenced Travelogue in some ways. Judy Blume definately helped me understand women more.
For whatever reason, it wasn't until High School that I decided that I wanted to write. I loved to read, and I loved movies. In grade 9 and 10 I began to get all kinds of original ideas. As I sat in class, trying to tune the teacher out, I began to work on these story ideas, developing plots and characters.
In 1982, "Knossos: The Last Years," was my first fully developed story. It was based on the mythology of Knosses, and consisted of a 20 page treatment. There were also many other stories that were fragmented ideas that had a title and some notes.
During the summer of 1983 I read aloud my story outline for an original film called "Cop: The Sensulators-Book One" to a group of friends, who received the story well.
I was able to work on my writing more when I attended college in 1984. My major was Film Production, and I was able to work on scripts for my original ideas. These stories were "Cop: The Sensulators- Book One," "Serious Religion," "By the Book," and "Shoulder to Shoulder."
In 1985, "Shoulder to Shoulder" was made into a short film, which I directed. This film premiered in April 1985 at the college film festival, and was also shown on the Movie Channel several times over 1987.
Then as it often does, life seemed to get in the way. Between working for a living, two marriages, and three children, I found very little time for writing. As well, I got involved in music. I sang and wrote for several bands from 1993 to 2001. In 2002-03 I also did a stint in stand-up comedy.
In 1994 I co-wrote a book on the Ryerse-Ryerson Family, and since then I have also done many public speaking engagements. I have spoken on Family Research as well as Small Business. (I worked in retail sales in Woodstock from 1992-2002) I'm looking forward to speaking to students about writing, as I've done once so far.
However, I still continued to get story ideas, and I entered several local short story contests. I tried to stay focused, and in March 1997 I began my first novel, "Travelogue". The idea for the book came to me in a dream in the fall of 1996.
Travelogue would end up taking me almost 10 years to write and edit. As of May 2008, I have now published 5 novels.
My newest side project was writing some of the liner notes for the upcoming re-issue of the 1979 film 'Caligula.' I'm very excited by this!
I currently live in Woodstock, Ontario, and am working on my 6th novel, 'The Anatomy of a Mermaid.'
I was a bright eyed blonde haired youngster, and I always had a vivid imagination. Once I started school in 1969, this vivid imagination handicapped me in an organized class. I was always being distracted by everything around me, and for that reason I found it very hard to concentrate.
But I never found it hard to create. I drew, I doodled, and I kept myself busy while the teacher tried to teach! About 1973, at the age of 9, I developed some cartoon- like characters I dubbed "The Silly Birds." These cool little characters ended up in the margins of all my notebooks.
In 1975, my family and I moved from the city of London to a farm located near Ailsa Craig. It was a great place in which to grow. Here I continued to write, doodle, and draw. In 1978 I actually won an art contest for an abstract piece that I had painted.
I did enjoy reading though, my favorite authors in public school were Bill Peet, Richard Scarry, E.B. White and Enid Blyton. Later in High School I read Richard Adams, Thomas Tryon, Robin Cook, Margaret Laurence, E.L. Doctorow and O.T. Nelson. I became a huge fan of Judy Blume, and read all of her books, including the infamous 'Wifey.' I'm sure that Wifey influenced Travelogue in some ways. Judy Blume definately helped me understand women more.
For whatever reason, it wasn't until High School that I decided that I wanted to write. I loved to read, and I loved movies. In grade 9 and 10 I began to get all kinds of original ideas. As I sat in class, trying to tune the teacher out, I began to work on these story ideas, developing plots and characters.
In 1982, "Knossos: The Last Years," was my first fully developed story. It was based on the mythology of Knosses, and consisted of a 20 page treatment. There were also many other stories that were fragmented ideas that had a title and some notes.
During the summer of 1983 I read aloud my story outline for an original film called "Cop: The Sensulators-Book One" to a group of friends, who received the story well.
I was able to work on my writing more when I attended college in 1984. My major was Film Production, and I was able to work on scripts for my original ideas. These stories were "Cop: The Sensulators- Book One," "Serious Religion," "By the Book," and "Shoulder to Shoulder."
In 1985, "Shoulder to Shoulder" was made into a short film, which I directed. This film premiered in April 1985 at the college film festival, and was also shown on the Movie Channel several times over 1987.
Then as it often does, life seemed to get in the way. Between working for a living, two marriages, and three children, I found very little time for writing. As well, I got involved in music. I sang and wrote for several bands from 1993 to 2001. In 2002-03 I also did a stint in stand-up comedy.
In 1994 I co-wrote a book on the Ryerse-Ryerson Family, and since then I have also done many public speaking engagements. I have spoken on Family Research as well as Small Business. (I worked in retail sales in Woodstock from 1992-2002) I'm looking forward to speaking to students about writing, as I've done once so far.
However, I still continued to get story ideas, and I entered several local short story contests. I tried to stay focused, and in March 1997 I began my first novel, "Travelogue". The idea for the book came to me in a dream in the fall of 1996.
Travelogue would end up taking me almost 10 years to write and edit. As of May 2008, I have now published 5 novels.
My newest side project was writing some of the liner notes for the upcoming re-issue of the 1979 film 'Caligula.' I'm very excited by this!
I currently live in Woodstock, Ontario, and am working on my 6th novel, 'The Anatomy of a Mermaid.'
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 11, 2011
Review as posted on Amazon.com
First off, I must get something off my chest! Sometimes, Amazon reviewers drive me nuts!! I only thought "blowhards" were reserved for Goodreads..Guess not! Here is a thing, before you can review the book, YOU HAVE TO READ IT!! Had John Samson have read the book, he would have seen that his review was ignorant, uninformed and way off base, and he probably would not have put his name to that ridiculous review. I can't go into why his review was so way off base because then I would be heading into spoilerland! I really hope that people don't use that review to decide whether or not to get this book because you would be missing a great book for someone to have a "look at me" moment.
Now onto my review, I have been trying to get my hands on this book for a while and was finally able to! This book was AWESOME!! I ended up reading it in 3 hours because I just could not, figuratively (I purchased the kindle version), put it down! The book took off running from page 1 and just kept on going. Furthermore, the book went in a twist that I just didn't see coming and normally I am pretty good at figuring these things out.
The only thing that would have made this book better would have been to read it when it was dark out with a fire going in the fireplace and a glass of wine at my side!!
First off, I must get something off my chest! Sometimes, Amazon reviewers drive me nuts!! I only thought "blowhards" were reserved for Goodreads..Guess not! Here is a thing, before you can review the book, YOU HAVE TO READ IT!! Had John Samson have read the book, he would have seen that his review was ignorant, uninformed and way off base, and he probably would not have put his name to that ridiculous review. I can't go into why his review was so way off base because then I would be heading into spoilerland! I really hope that people don't use that review to decide whether or not to get this book because you would be missing a great book for someone to have a "look at me" moment.
Now onto my review, I have been trying to get my hands on this book for a while and was finally able to! This book was AWESOME!! I ended up reading it in 3 hours because I just could not, figuratively (I purchased the kindle version), put it down! The book took off running from page 1 and just kept on going. Furthermore, the book went in a twist that I just didn't see coming and normally I am pretty good at figuring these things out.
The only thing that would have made this book better would have been to read it when it was dark out with a fire going in the fireplace and a glass of wine at my side!!
October 8, 2020
Castle Lake by Thomas Ryerson is a story that covers 70 years of Murdock family and their property around Castle Lake. I jumped right into the book with out reading other reviews or a synopsis of the story. Having read a few of his other books, I came in expecting to find something with a science fiction twist or a futuristic society. However, I found myself somewhere on the east coast of North America in 1821. The story develops at a good pace and nothing seems out of place for the time. The story centers around two families. The Murdocks and Ficks who own the property surrounding the lake Things begin well enough for the new neighbors, but quickly things erode into tragedy and well, black magic – I didn't see that coming.
The characters in the story are all very real and well developed. The likeable characters are easily likeable and their actions are very human. The story moves at a good pace and the book can be completed in a sitting or two. I have read a few of Ryerson's books and they all are worth the read. Castle Lake, like his other books, provides a nice bit of escapism. His books are the perfect break in the piles of non-fiction I usually read; he has become my go to guy for fiction. If you are looking for something to read this weekend or for a day at the beach, I recommend Castle Lake or another of Ryerson's books. I haven't been disappointed in any of his books.
The characters in the story are all very real and well developed. The likeable characters are easily likeable and their actions are very human. The story moves at a good pace and the book can be completed in a sitting or two. I have read a few of Ryerson's books and they all are worth the read. Castle Lake, like his other books, provides a nice bit of escapism. His books are the perfect break in the piles of non-fiction I usually read; he has become my go to guy for fiction. If you are looking for something to read this weekend or for a day at the beach, I recommend Castle Lake or another of Ryerson's books. I haven't been disappointed in any of his books.
September 23, 2022
Set in the 19th century, author Thomas A. Ryerson takes us on a supernatural journey to a place where a hidden family secret would eventually change the destiny of the Murdock clan.
Good buildup on characters and events! A great afternoon read!
Good buildup on characters and events! A great afternoon read!
July 21, 2012
Well, it started off… not bad. Then the "not" slowly faded by the second half. I like the premise, but the writing just seemed to get worse as the book went on. I'm wondering if he got halfway through and realized that he was going to make the page count he guaranteed his publishers. Either that, or he really wanted it to be turned into a movie, so he wrote everything as stage directions. Seriously. Don't know how to make coffee? Learn by reading this book, because I am not exaggerating; it's like this:
"I have some really important news!" said James.
"Wonderful," said Mary, "But first, let's have coffee."
Mary went to the pantry. She reached her hand out and put her hand on the pantry door handle. She turned the handle. She placed her hand on the handle to open the pantry door. The door opened with her hand's pressure. She looked up at the top shelf, where there was a tin of coffee. She removed her hand from the door handle and stretched it toward the coffee tin. She lifted the coffee tin off of the shelf with her hand. She walked the tin over to the counter and set it down, then returned to the pantry to shut the door. She returned to the coffee tin, and put her hand on the lid. She twisted the lid until it came loose, then set down the lid. She opened the drawer to retrieve a spoon. She closed the drawer….
…ad nauseam like that until the coffee is finished being made. Then someone will inevitably want tea instead. You see where this is going. Keep in mind that none of this ads anything to the story, or even the atmosphere. There is no insight snuck in there, nor any beautiful use of language. And the only useful part of the story is the "really important news" (that you'll get to pages later).
Total disappointment. I should have stuck with my friends' ghost story recs instead of going out and finding one on my own!
"I have some really important news!" said James.
"Wonderful," said Mary, "But first, let's have coffee."
Mary went to the pantry. She reached her hand out and put her hand on the pantry door handle. She turned the handle. She placed her hand on the handle to open the pantry door. The door opened with her hand's pressure. She looked up at the top shelf, where there was a tin of coffee. She removed her hand from the door handle and stretched it toward the coffee tin. She lifted the coffee tin off of the shelf with her hand. She walked the tin over to the counter and set it down, then returned to the pantry to shut the door. She returned to the coffee tin, and put her hand on the lid. She twisted the lid until it came loose, then set down the lid. She opened the drawer to retrieve a spoon. She closed the drawer….
…ad nauseam like that until the coffee is finished being made. Then someone will inevitably want tea instead. You see where this is going. Keep in mind that none of this ads anything to the story, or even the atmosphere. There is no insight snuck in there, nor any beautiful use of language. And the only useful part of the story is the "really important news" (that you'll get to pages later).
Total disappointment. I should have stuck with my friends' ghost story recs instead of going out and finding one on my own!
February 13, 2011
I enjoyed this book. The characters were interesting and the storyline was different. The dialogue was choppy but it helped to define the time period and the characters. I would call it more of a "deep" read and less of a "fun" read. It held my attention and I found myself thinking about it even after I finished it. In my eyes that makes if a winner.
March 21, 2011
An easy read. Interesting plot. The story in the past was very good. Then, it moved to the present and it was a bit confusing, at first, what generation and relationship the present day characters had to the past one. Yes, it was the same family, but for some reason, I didn't realize the old grandpa was the accused of the past history in the book.
February 27, 2011
I really enjoyed this story. The love of the family and the coming together to ensure the survival of the one that needed protection was endearing. A good quick read that is best savored on a dark and stormy night.
March 23, 2011
I won this book from First Reads. This was a very good book. I enjoyed it and will hopefully be reading the sequel soon. Thank you.
August 15, 2011
Classic. Ghost story.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews