A Stir of Echoes

A man agrees to be hypnotized as part of a party trick, and then in the next few days, to his horror, he begins to realize that the hypnosis seems to have awakened in him telepathic abilities. He starts foreseeing the shadows of dead and murder all around him, which puts a bit of the strain on his marriage and his own sanity.

The story is good and well-written, of course, but I think I was expecting more from Matheson here because usually his stuff really wows me. That’s not to say that it isn’t absolutely readable and enjoyable, though, and if you like this sort of mild horror, I recommend it.

I saw the film first, I like some things about the film and there are some things I don't like about the film as well.
If you like mystery/horror books and films then you might like the book or the film.
A man named Tom Wallace attends a friendly party, his friends and brother are also there.
Everyone is talking about spiritual things and if they believe in it or not, until Tom's brother mentions hypnosis and people that have stabbed themselves with blunt objects but didn't feel any pain while hypnotised. None of Tom's friends believe him, but he then decides to ask people at the party if he can hypnotise them but most of them refuse, until Tom decides to agree to being hypnotised.
Tom is very susceptible to hypnosis, so it works very well, it works too well and unleashes a psychic awareness he never knew he had before. Afterwards he develops a psychic awareness sometimes called ESP (Extra Sensory Perception) clairvoyance or mediumship skills because he experiences various types of paranormal phenomena it fits into many categories.
Tom has vivid dreams, can read people's thoughts and desires in their minds, he starts seeing a female ghost or spirit that may or may not have been murdered when they were alive, he has visions and experiences precognition (the knowledge of an event usually something terrible that will happen before it happens)
Tom starts to think that his brother did something to him on purpose, while he was hypnotised to make him feel, see and experience this inexplicable paranormal phenomena, he questions his sanity and if he is going insane.
Nothing is fully understandable or clear until he talks to him friend who is a psychiatrist but they have knowledge of fringe science (the study of psychic and paranormal phenomena) he clarifies all the things Tom has witnessed or experienced and explain to him that it's not mental illness, but he didn't really have an explanation for the paranormal activity other than telepathy and psychic phenomena.
The rest of the book is about Tom trying to communicate with spirits to gain answers, to try and prevent horrible things happening but sometimes he is too late and there is nothing he can do.
Tom discovers that his neighbour that is married had an affair with his wife's sister, but she found out and murdered her which then led to the discovery of her decomposing corpse in a crawlspace under Tom's house.
The wife of the neighbour that had an affair, then decides to try and kill Tom, his wife and son.
The plot for the film, has a particular disgusting and disturbing twist, but the disturbing imagery still remains in the book, which I am glad it is in the book, it helps to create a creepy atmosphere.

This is a ghost story and the book creeped me out. Not however because it is a ghost story. This isn't a scary book with respect to ghosts. There's an attempt to build all that up but the ghost bit, it didn't really work for me except ... except that the characters and worries in here get under your skin. My skin anyway. This is a creepy book because it digs into the underbelly of the mythical suburban family life of the 1950's. A couple of the neighbors were way too effed up and nasty. I was offended a number of times (multiple 'joking' references to punching pregnant women in the belly). Then there's the babysitter ... Some people really like this book. There are a bunch of 4 and 5 star ratings on this. I can see someone who likes getting creeped out giving this 4 or 5 stars. The end surprised me, but not entirely. Matheson plays fair with the reader. I'll probably have a few nightmares from this one.

Matheson has written some famous stuff. He wrote the story for what became the classic Twilight Zone episode 'Nightmare at 20,000 feet' with William Shatner. Among other things he also wrote 'I Am Legend' which was first turned into the film 'Last Man on Earth' then 'Omega Man' and more recently into the film 'I Am Legend'. This story, 'A Stir of Echoes' was made into a movie as well, about 20 years ago, although I never saw it. Others include Hell House, Duel, The Incredible Shrinking Man and more. My favorite film adaptation of a story would be 'Somewhere In Time' with Jane Seymour and Christopher Reeve.

I thought that I knew basically what to expect when reading this book. I had seen the movie and thought that it was better than the other major ghost movie that summer: The Sixth Sense. And knowing and liking Matheson's novels, I had high hopes. Unfortunately they weren't quite satisfied. Instead I got a book that was interesting but also annoying. The story is about Tom Wallace, a man who mistakenly has a psychic power awoken in him after a bout of hypnosis by his brother-in-law. And rather than being a fun capability, Wallace can't control it and his life is thrown into a shambles. And that is the bulk of my problem with the book. For the majority of the story, Wallace is denying his power and wondering what is happening to him despite all the clues that are present and everything that he can do. And worst, his wife is a whiner who is also too dumb to realize the extent of what is happening. OK, so maybe part of the wife's personality is due to when the novel was written (the copyright is 1958) but it is still annoying. If the two of them could have dealt with the powers in a more useful and/or understanding way, then it would have made all the difference. Instead of a richly powerful story, we end up with good concept and characters that annoy. Definitely not one of Matheson's better works.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

During a party one night, Tom Wallace agrees to be hypnotized. But what was supposed to just be a party trick, actually opens a door in his mind, granting him telepathic abilities. He begins to see into the dark, frightening corners of his neighbors otherwise outwardly safe and orderly lives. As his headaches grow along with his perception and his behavior becomes more erratic, his new gifts begin to threaten the stability of his own family, while some darker secret lies just beneath the surface.

This is an easy read and a really enjoyable book. It's tied to its late '50s era, but this is not terribly of putting and it translates fairly well. I think Matheson did a great job portraying both Tom (frightened but curious) and his wife (it must be so terrifying to see someone you love go through this and not know if they are sane or not or how to help them). I would definitely recommend this for some light reading, and while it touches the horror genre, it's not terribly frightening.

As a footnote, I also really love the movie version with Kevin Bacon. They do change parts of the plot and make different connections, but it's a damn good adaptation.

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.

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.

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.

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.