👻 Ghost Stories

The Broughty Souls

✍️ Kirk Paterson Adam
Reader Score
4.4
(1 review)
$12.99
In stock — ready to ship Ships in 1–2 business days
📚 WHAT THE BOOK IS ABOUT

A novel about a man trapped in a haunted Scottish hotel seeking peace but finding horror.

Bruce reaches the Dunella Hotel hoping for quiet and a new chapter. The Georgian building in a Scottish coastal town provides neither. Secret chambers and old rites appear, shaking his stability. Adam crafts a tale where the structure acts as an enemy. The plot tracks Bruce as he learns the hotel holds more than visitors. His search for calm becomes a struggle against the building’s dark history. The story centers on uncovering these truths and their effect on his psyche. Readers see his hope fade as history intrudes. The narrative refuses easy answers or simple escapes from the haunting.

Key Themes
Dunella Hotel forgotten rituals lost souls
Literary Context

The narrative is set in a Scottish seaside town within a Georgian building. It engages with Gothic fiction traditions and supernatural themes. The story reflects on the legacy of old architecture and the dread it can harbor.

Difficulty
●● Medium
Recommended For Fans Of
M.R. James · Shirley Jackson · Robert Aickman · Daphne du Maurier
👻
Ghost Stories
🏛 Kirk Paterson Adam 📅 2026 🌐 English 📔 Paperback ISBN: 9798235298491

📝 Description: The Broughty Souls

Kirk Paterson Adam delivers The Broughty Souls, a tale focusing on Bruce’s arrival at the Dunella Hotel. This Georgian edifice in a Scottish coastal town serves as both refuge and snare. Bruce looks for calm, yet the structure hides secret chambers and old rites that disturb his existence. The plot shows how these concealed truths turn his joy into terror. Audiences meet a main character compelled to face history or stay trapped with dead spirits. The novel uses Gothic and supernatural styles to investigate fear within old buildings. Adam builds the story around Bruce’s mental decline as he moves through the hotel’s background. The focus stays on the clash between wanting a new beginning and the heavy pull of the past. It attracts lovers of moody horror who like slow reveals about haunted places. People wanting quick action or neat endings might dislike the open uncertainty. The text looks at how buildings keep memory and cruelty. It treats the Dunella Hotel as a living entity, mixing up the roles of visitor and target. The writing highlights the loneliness of the coast against the inner turmoil of the hero. This method fits those who like mental stress more than bloodshed. It skips modern technology to keep a vintage feeling of fear.

💎 Our verdict on The Broughty Souls

“
🩸
Horror Reads editorial team
Horror desk
Kirk Paterson Adam crafts a compelling study of architectural horror where the Dunella Hotel acts as an antagonist. The narrative excels in depicting Bruce’s mental decline against a moody, coastal backdrop. By treating the building as a living entity, the author effectively blurs the line between visitor and target. This approach suits readers who enjoy psychological stress and historical intrusion. However, those seeking quick action or definitive answers may find the open uncertainty frustrating. The novel successfully investigates fear within old structures through a lens of loneliness and hidden cruelty.
✓ EDITOR'S REVIEW

📖 Why choose it

📖

Why this book is worth reading

Readers who prefer slow-burn psychological horror over visceral action will find this novel compelling. It suits those interested in the theme of haunted architecture as a living, malevolent entity. Fans of Scottish Gothic settings and tales where isolation exacerbates mental fragility will appreciate the focus on internal turmoil. The book offers a vintage fear experience devoid of modern technology, appealing to audiences seeking atmospheric tension and unresolved uncertainty rather than neat resolutions.

⭐ Reader reviews

The starting rating comes from the team Horror Reads —

Reader rating

4.4
Based on 1 reviews
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Horror Reads editorial team

Kirk Paterson Adam crafts a compelling study of architectural horror where the Dunella Hotel acts as an antagonist. The narrative excels in depicting Bruce’s mental decline against a moody, coastal backdrop. By treating the building as a living entity, the author effectively blurs the line between visitor and target. This approach suits readers who enjoy psychological stress and historical intrusion. However, those seeking quick action or definitive answers may find the open uncertainty frustrating. The novel successfully investigates fear within old structures through a lens of loneliness and hidden cruelty.

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