Whistling in the Dark

About the Book

Based on some riveting true stories, this is the tale of a daredevil pilot and atheist who comes to faith through his research into and encounters with supernatural phenomena and to love through his Jamaican wife Annie. The hero´s story is woven into a larger account of his family, which has been plagued for centuries by a demonic being, from the mountains of Greece to present-day New England. Reminiscent of the works of Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne, the novel´s dark, Gothic elements are leavened with humor and spiced with a playful sensuality that celebrates the joys of the marriage bed. (Now there´s a radical idea: a book that doesn´t portray the marriage bed as the source solely of boredom, bitterness and betrayal!)

The story is told from the perspective of the demon itself and of Wolff Ladiakas Reinhardt, the latest member of his family to be marked by the Vouno Diavalos as his favored prey. (Author´s Note: The legend of the Vouno Diavolos or mountain devil is current to this very day in the author´s ancestral Greek village of Valteseniko.) Initially an atheist, Wolff soon learns through encounters with the demon and ghosts why he has been given the rare gift to see into the Spirit Realm: only he can see them, and only he can save those afflicted.

Wolff eventually finds comfort in the love of his Jamaican-American wife, and they discover that their lives are entwined in The Haunted House of Assateague, where Wolff twice confronts the demon and Annie learns the truth about her Scottish ancestry. (An actual haunted house that the author wrote about when working as a newspaper editor, The Haunted House of Assateague is located near the National Park Service Visitor´s Center for Assateague National Seashore in Maryland, home to the famous wild ponies. This novel marks the first time that the home´s actual location is revealed, along with frightening details of its haunting.) Wolff is ultimately possessed by the demon, and he must struggle to free himself to save his young family and to prevent an evil new church from rising.

The novel provides profound insights into the value of faith and a woman´s love. It will be prized by those who like spooky, Gothic stories, who are hungry for spiritual meaning and insights, who recognize Humor as a Divine Gift, and who cherish the rich sensual pleasures of this world. Written in a fresh voice with often startling power, the novel dares to provide verifiable answers to the Age-Old Questions: Are there Gods and Devils, and if so, what role do they play in our lives? Is there a Spirit World and Life after Death? What is the true nature of Original Sin? Yes, God is alive, the Devil still marks his favored prey, this way lies fascination...

About the Author

Intrigued since childhood by his vision of a demonic being, author Dale Nicholas Walter has spent a lifetime finding answers to the Age-Old Questions: Are there Gods and Devils, and if so, what role do they play in our lives? Is there a Spirit World and Life after Death? What is the real nature of Original Sin? His research led to his ancestral Greek village and its legend of the Vouno Diavalos or mountain devil; to the Haunted House of Assateague; to the Obeah rituals of Jamaica; and into the depths of a personal Hell. He has returned, singed around the edges but with his ribald humor intact, to share precious coins of insight in this supernatural thriller and haunted love story.