About the Book
Title: Darkview Part One: Psychosis
Author: R.J. Bathgate and M.J. Hall
Genre: Ghosts / Paranormal / Horror
Take a journey into the disturbed, delusional mind
of Jack Cyrus ... take a journey into Darkview ... a small, remote coastal
town, deep within the Scottish Highlands.
The sleepy, isolated spot bears a sinister, horrific history, shrouded by a chilling secret. A secret one man must unveil, which will ravage his soul ... and sanity!
Jack Cyrus is in damnation!
After witnessing the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, he has become plagued by dark memories and devilish visions, the result of post traumatic stress.
After returning home to Scotland and compounding his trauma, he is faced with the sudden death of his wife, from cancer.
Lost, alone, and struggling to forget the horrific circumstances surrounding her passing, Jack has developed schizophrenia, experiencing chaotic, disturbed thoughts and demonic hallucinations.
On the sixth anniversary of his wife's death, Jack receives a cryptic, hand written letter from her, telling him she is still alive. Suffering and held captive, she pleads with him to return to Darkview, the place she spent her last days, and rescue her from purgatory.
Upon arrival in Darkview, strange things start happening, and what appears to be a centuries old mystery, starts unravelling itself.
Jack must piece together the clues and lost fragments of his sanity to solve the unravelling mystery.
Is any of it real, or is it just a manifestation of Jack's mind, or another facet of his schizophrenia?
The sleepy, isolated spot bears a sinister, horrific history, shrouded by a chilling secret. A secret one man must unveil, which will ravage his soul ... and sanity!
Jack Cyrus is in damnation!
After witnessing the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, he has become plagued by dark memories and devilish visions, the result of post traumatic stress.
After returning home to Scotland and compounding his trauma, he is faced with the sudden death of his wife, from cancer.
Lost, alone, and struggling to forget the horrific circumstances surrounding her passing, Jack has developed schizophrenia, experiencing chaotic, disturbed thoughts and demonic hallucinations.
On the sixth anniversary of his wife's death, Jack receives a cryptic, hand written letter from her, telling him she is still alive. Suffering and held captive, she pleads with him to return to Darkview, the place she spent her last days, and rescue her from purgatory.
Upon arrival in Darkview, strange things start happening, and what appears to be a centuries old mystery, starts unravelling itself.
Jack must piece together the clues and lost fragments of his sanity to solve the unravelling mystery.
Is any of it real, or is it just a manifestation of Jack's mind, or another facet of his schizophrenia?
Author Bio
R.J. Bathgate, born and bred in Scotland, is the
creator and co-author of Darkview: Psychosis.
A father of two, and enormously proud of his heritage, he has studied
psychology, social sciences, and is currently working towards an advanced
diploma in psychotherapeutic counselling and hypnotherapy. His heart lies with
new experiences and an interest into the unknown, particularly with writing. He
has travelled the world from the dusty, wildlife-filled plains of Zambia, to
the glaciers of Alaska, and the soaring peaks of the Canadian Rockies. He is
extremely fond of NHL ice hockey, video games, good films, fine wine, and Jack
Daniels. He originally wrote Darkview as a screenplay when living in Canada,
but upon returning to Scotland, researched mental health issues, namely
psychosis and schizophrenia. Inspired by this research, he brought in his lifelong
friend, M.J. Hall, to help create a more realistic take on Darkview. The result
is a story that combines traditional Scottish history with real life,
catastrophic world events, told through the eyes of the protagonist, Jack
Cyrus.
M.J. Hall was born in Stockport, Greater
Manchester, at the turn of the eighties. Despite being born in England, he
identifies more with his ‘adopted’ country, Scotland – he’s lived there since
he was four, and his late maternal grandfather was Scottish, too. He presently
lives in Edinburgh and is currently studying Environmental Science at the Open
University, but has always dreamed of a career in music or writing, or both. He
is vegetarian, loves animals (especially cats) and is devoted to his black and
white moggy, Tahlula. He humbly admits being just a small voice in a big
chorus, and his life changed for the better, or at least would never be the
same, when his lifelong and best friend – R.J. Bathgate – invited him to
collaborate on Darkview.
Links
Excerpt
Jack,
Where are
you? Why have you abandoned me? Why, Jack? Why? You promised you would never
leave me … that you would never hurt me. Help me. I’m scared. I can’t remember
how I got here. I’m in that place again, the place I spent my last days. But
it’s different. It’s dark, always dark. It’s not
as I remember it at all. I’m in pain. A pain you cannot understand. I don’t
know how or why I’m here. Please help me. Please come and take me home!
I love you
Jack
FAA
Chloe
At the end of every letter Chloe sent Jack, she wrote
FAA—Forever and Always before her name. It was their little peace of mind,
their little piece of trust. To anyone who read the correspondence which passed
between the couple it may have seemed over the top, but to Jack Forever and
Always meant the world. When he spent half the year working in Africa FAA
affirmed that Chloe was waiting, faithful and devoted, for him. Perhaps it was
because Jack felt insecure that FAA provided the reassurance he needed,
especially when so far away from home.
However,
Chloe had stopped writing to Jack six years ago, so receiving this was bizarre.
There was no explaining it. The strangest thing about this letter wasn’t the
bloody fingerprint stains, or the fact that the handwriting was most definitely
Chloe’s, it was the date she had supposedly written it: June 6, 2001. Exactly
six years after her death.
* * * * * *
* * *
Jack opened his eyes and found himself gazing into an
old, cracked mirror in a dilapidated public toilet, ignorant of the mirror's
imperfections and the strange substance smeared all over it. His dry hands
gripped the sides of a rusty metal sink. In a trance his fingers reached for
the droplets of water falling intermittently from the tap, then formed a cup to
catch as much of the moisture as they could. A faint, cool breeze caused a dim
flickering light fitting to swing from side to side above his head. Jack looked
deep into his reflection as if he were searching for his missing soul.
He
straightened up and sighed, his pale blue eyes locked on the tattered mirror.
Unaware of where he was or how he got there and oblivious to the stench of
stale urine that permeated his nostrils, Jack could only think of one thing: the
letter. The words kept on replaying in a constant loop in his head, going
over and over, character by character, word by word. It was as if Chloe was there, speaking them
to him…
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