Chilling Reads

Camp Damascus

Tingle, Chuck, author
2023

Welcome to Neverton, Montana: home to a God-fearing community with a heart of gold. Nestled high up in the mountains is Camp Damascus, the self-proclaimed "most effective" gay conversion camp in the country. Here, a life free from sin awaits. But the secret behind that success is anything but holy. And they'll scare you straight to hell.

Don't fear the reaper

Jones, Stephen Graham, 1972- author
2023

Four years after her tumultuous senior year, Jade Daniels is released from prison right before Christmas when her conviction is overturned. But life beyond bars takes a dangerous turn as soon as she returns to Proofrock. Convicted serial killer, Dark Mill South, seeking revenge for thirty-eight Dakota men hanged in 1862, escapes from his prison transfer due to a blizzard, just outside of Proofrock, Idaho.

Graveyard of lost children : a novel

Monroe, Katrina, author
2023

"At four months old, Olivia Dahl was almost murdered. Driven by haunting visions, her mother became obsessed with the idea that Olivia was a changeling, and that the only way to get her real baby back was to make a trade with the "dead women" living at the bottom of the well. Now Olivia is ready to give birth to a daughter of her own...and for the first time, she hears the women whispering. Everyone tells Olivia she should be happy. She should be glowing, but the birth of her daughter only fills Olivia with dread. As Olivia's body starts giving out, slowly deteriorating as the baby eats and eats and eats, she begins to fear that the baby isn't her daughter at all and, despite her best efforts, history is repeating itself. Soon images of a black-haired woman plague Olivia's nightmares, drawing her back to the well that almost claimed her life -- tying mother and daughter together in a desperate cycle of fear and violence that must be broken if Olivia has any hope of saving her child...or herself. Baby Teeth meets The Invited in a haunting story of the sometimes-fragile connection between a woman's sense of self and what it means to be a "good" mother"-- Provided by publisher.

A house with good bones

Kingfisher, T., author
2023

As Samantha Montgomery pulls into the driveway of her family home, a vulture is perched on the mailbox, staring at the house. Some might call this a bad omen, but Sam is in her thirties, between jobs, and about to spend an indefinite amount of time crashing at her mom's place. What's left for an omen to say? But once inside, nothing is as Sam expected. The longer Sam stays, the stranger things get. And every day, more vultures circle overhead.

How to sell a haunted house

Hendrix, Grady, author
2023

Louise's parents have passed away, and she's returning to the small Southern town where she grew up to get their house ready to sell. It means she'll have to spend time with her younger brother-and their old grudges make that a terrifying prospect. But childhood hurts pale in comparison to the dangers posed by what still lives inside the house.

Lone women : a novel

LaValle, Victor, 1972-, author
2023

Adelaide Henry carries an enormous steamer trunk with her wherever she goes. It's locked at all times. Because when the trunk is opened, people around her start to disappear. The year is 1915, and Adelaide is ready to make her way to Montana as a homesteader. Dragging the trunk with her at every stop, she will be one of the "lone women" taking advantage of the government's offer of free land for those who can cultivate it - except that Adelaide isn't alone. And the secret she's tried so desperately to lock away might be the only thing keeping her alive.

Looking glass sound

Ward, Catriona, author
2023

In a lonely cottage, Wilder Harlow begins the last book he will ever write. It is the story of his childhood summer companions and the killer that stalked the small New England town. Of the body they found, and the horror of that discovery echoing down the decades. And of Sky, Wilder's one-time best friend, who stole his unfinished memoir and turned it into a lurid bestselling novel. But as Wilder writes, the lines between memory and fiction blur. He fears he's losing his grip on reality when he finds notes hidden around the cottage written in Sky's signature green ink.

Piñata : a novel

Gout, Leopoldo, author
2023

"A Head Full of Ghosts meets Mexican Gothic in Piñata, a terrifying possession tale by author and artist Leopoldo Gout. They were worshiped by our ancestors. Now they are forgotten. Soon, they will make us remember. It was supposed to be the perfect summer. Carmen Sanchez is back in Mexico, supervising the renovation of an ancient abbey. Her daughters Izel and Luna, too young to be left alone in New York, join her in what Carmen hopes is a chance for them to connect with their roots. Then, an accident at the worksite unearths a stash of rare, centuries-old artifacts. The disaster costs Carmen her job, cutting the family trip short. But something malevolent and unexplainable follows them home to New York, stalking the Sanchez family and heralding a coming catastrophe. And it may already be too late to escape what's been awakened..."-- Provided by publisher.

The September house

Orlando, Carissa, author
2023

When Margaret and her husband Hal bought the large Victorian house on Hawthorn Street, they couldn't believe they finally had a home of their own. Then they discovered the hauntings. Every September, the walls drip blood. The ghosts of former inhabitants appear, and something lurks in the basement. Margaret is staying. It's her house. But after four years Hal can't take it anymore, and he leaves abruptly. September has just begun, and with every attempt Margaret and her daugther make at finding Hal, the hauntings grow more harrowing, because there are some secrets the house needs to keep.

Silver nitrate

Moreno-Garcia, Silvia, author.
2023

Montserrat's friend Tristán discovers his new neighbour is the cult horror director Abel Urueta. The legendary auteur claims he has a way to change their lives: a magic film that was never finished and Urueta swears he is cursed. Now the director wants Montserrat and Tristán to help him shoot the missing scene and lift the curse. As they work together to unravel the mystery of the film and the obscure occultist who once roamed their city, Montserrat and Tristan might find out that sorcerers and magic are not only the stuff of movies.

Tell me I'm worthless

Rumfitt, Alison, author.
2023

A dark, unflinching haunted house story that confronts both supernatural and real-world horrors through the lens of the modern-day trans experience. Three years ago, Alice spent one night in an abandoned house with her friends, Ila and Hannah. Since then, Alice's life has spiraled. She lives a haunted existence, selling videos of herself for money, going to parties she hates, drinking herself to sleep. Memories of that night torment Alice, but when Ila asks her to return to the House, to go past the KEEP OUT sign and over the sick earth where teenagers dare each other to venture, Alice knows she must go. Together, Alice and Ila must face the horrors that happened there, must pull themselves apart from the inside out, put their differences aside, and try to rescue Hannah, whom the House has chosen to make its own. -- Provided by publisher.

What kind of mother : a novel

Chapman, Clay McLeod, author
2023

"Madi returns to her hometown and reconnects with an ex from high school, now known locally for his refusal to give up looking for his infant son who has been missing for years. As Madi gets drawn into the search, she begins to see visions that lead to disturbing revelations about the real story of the boy's disappearance"-- Provided by publisher.