Synopsis

Is the legend of the Loch Ness Monster a paganistic secret or just a cautionary bedtime story? It all depends on who you ask. For skeptic and playboy newsman, Johnathan Gant, Nessie is nothing more than an old wives’ tale. But his engineering friend, Jonas Honig, would beg to differ. In fact, he has something up his sleeve that may finally help convince Gant and the rest of the world that Nessie is no mere bedtime story.
Enamored by the legend and determined to prove the public wrong, the innovative Honig creates a prototype camera sophisticated enough to capture what lies beneath the impenetrable loch waters. However, producing photographic proof is only half the battle. He and his wife, Sandra, also need their confidant along for the ride, for Gant will be the one to break the story to the world. A skeptic he may be, but Gant can’t pass up the prospect of helping his dear old friend — even if it’s a choice he’ll soon regret.
With their crew in tow, including a local guide and expanded science team, Gant, Honig, and Sandra embark on the seafaring Banshee for the first of many trips to test the camera rig. However, the ship and crew are continually hampered by mysterious and unexplainable events that delay their efforts, including sabotage to the ship’s hull. But it’s the floating corpse — a man last seen alive arguing with Gant — that’s now garnered the constabulary’s attention.
The evidence points to Gant, but it’s a frame job nonetheless. And complicating matters is Honig’s revelation that someone has been after the high-tech camera since before their trip began. But why risk its destruction with sabotage?
It’s only when Gant and Sandra take a deep dive into the loch and discover a centuries-old stone tablet that they begin to understand the enormity of their circumstances. And its significance is bigger than even the legend of Nessie would suggest.
Although Hellstone can be considered a work of riveting horror and crime fiction, its foundation can be traced to none other than Spruill’s own research. The myth of the Loch Ness Monster was enough to launch his interest in the subject, but visiting the loch provided him with more than required to write a horror tale. For those who believe Nessie exists, there is no myth or legend. Just pure, unadulterated fact. And when the facts already match the fiction, there’s no getting in the way of a master storyteller.
Out of print since 1980, this new edition of Hellstone features dustjacket and interior art by David Ho, a new introduction by F. Paul Wilson, and a bonus autobiographical essay by Steven Spruill.