Knox Wilder and the Skunk Ape of Appalachia

A Small Town Folk Horror Creature Thriller

A respected folklorist vanishes while investigating a persistent legend in the mountains of Tennessee, leaving behind only a cryptic letter. The desperate plea summons his old friend, disgraced cryptozoologist Knox Wilder, and his brilliant, battle-hardened field medic, Rhea Mallory, to a forgotten valley soaked in fear.

They arrive in Ashfork Hollow, a place consumed by a conspiracy of silence. The hostile locals, the corrupt sheriff, and the abandoned coal mines all hide a terrible secret. Something ancient stalks the fog-choked woods, a beast of impossible size and cinder-red eyes, an entity the town both fears and protects.

But Knox and Rhea aren’t the only ones searching for the truth. A ruthless hunter with a generations-old vendetta is closing in, armed with military-grade technology and a team of mercenaries. He isn't just trying to prove the monster is real—he’s trying to finish a bloody job his ancestors started.

Caught between a town that wants them gone, a hunter who wants them dead, and a legendary beast being cornered, Knox and Rhea must uncover the truth behind the pact that holds the valley in its grip. In a hollow that devours secrets, can they find their friend before they become the next to disappear?