The Dark Thing

De: John Ashley

Narrado por: Christian Leatherman

The son of a schizophrenic, Jared Gordon has lived his entire life with a genetic time bomb coded into his DNA. So when the night terrors and hallucinations arrive in force, it seems undeniable that the same disease responsible for his father’s suicide is to blame.

But a bizarre reunion with his estranged brother and a journal from their father resurface chilling childhood memories that cast his current experiences in a sinister new light. To have any hope of salvation, Jared must find proof whether the nightmare he’s living is a descent into madness or an assault from a supernatural force more ancient and evil than Hell itself. Yet at every turn, the answer only grows more impossible to believe, upending his view of himself, his past, and the very nature of reality.

Worst of all is the growing suspicion that his youngest daughter Elena – an eccentric little girl prone to strange and sometimes unsettling behaviors – may be responsible for setting into motion a cataclysm that began decades before she was born.

©2024 John Ashley (P)2024 John Ashley

Dark, deep, and Poignant

Looks like my last book of 2024 is going to be The Dark Thing by John Ashley, and I’m happy to go out swinging. This book is a feverish nightmare that really provoked a lot of thought in me. Without delving into spoiler specifics, it deals with mental illness in a pretty profound way. I’m not sure if it was author intended, but one thing in particular really jumped out at me:

One of my least favorite tropes in horror is the affected victim being ignored by skeptical family members. Kid keeps screaming that the doll is haunted and that’s why the neighbors keep dying, but the parents just tut tut and write the kid off, etc. there are a million things like that that usually only serve as convenient devices so the plot doesn’t get cut off early. What John does here is bring about that skepticism in a way in which the skeptical parties would be a fool not to be. There’s really no choice but for them to fail to take him seriously. After all, it runs in the family.

But what struck a personal chord in me is the ways in which we tend to infantilize and patronize people the moment they start exhibiting mental health struggles. Probably the biggest thing I’ve taken away from this, is the importance and responsibility we have to treat the affected as still real and whole people. We don’t need to always believe them, but we should always listen.

Anyways, this book is surreal, dark, and poignant. If you haven’t checked it out, I suggest you put it near the top of your 2025 reading list.

And may we all win the wars we fight against our own “Dark Things.”

5/5 🌟

I questioned my own sanity

The narrator did such an amazing job with his performance of this story to the point where I was legitimately questioning my own sanity in the first part. I felt part of the story and was enthralled until the very end. Both the author and narrator created such an awesome experience on the listeners part.


Please send psychiatric help :’)

Such a heartbreaking story

This is horror…..why am I crying??? The dark thing is so beautifully written and so heartbreakingly good.

Everything you ever wanted in a book

The story and character development was amazing. And the narration? Let’s just say, you’re going to want to leave the lights on. When listening to the narrator, you forget you’re being read a story because he does such an impeccable job with his narration, you feel like you’re not only watching a movie, but are part of each scene. Male roles, female leaders, kids, other worldly demons, this narrator has zero issue with bringing lit all to life! Excellent story, made even better with the narration!!!

Eh just ok

Not horrible but it’s very long and drawn out and just felt a little been there done that. It was just ok for me.