Southern Gothic Fiction

Titus Crown is the first Black sheriff in the history of Charon County, Virginia. In recent decades, quiet Charon has had only two murders. But after years of working as an FBI agent, Titus knows better than anyone that while his hometown might seem like a land of moonshine, cornbread, and honeysuckle, secrets always fester under the surface. Then a year to the day after Titus’s election, a school teacher is killed by a former student and the student is fatally shot by Titus’s deputies. As Titus investigates the shootings, he unearths terrible crimes.

A heart rendering story about a twelve-year old girl's struggle to take care of her single mother who has cancer.

Catherine “Tink” Mabry, an up and coming attorney, is shocked by her recent inheritance from her estranged family on the bayou. After her mother died during childbirth, Tink’s father had quickly relocated them to the big city of Atlanta, Georgia. With no memory of her mother, she is determined to learn more about her lineage and decides to visit the bayou town of Kane, Louisiana. Candace, Tink's co-worker and best friend, agrees to make the trip with her. Before she has time to explore her family’s history or decide what to do with the declining property, local murders plague ...

Love the creepy charm of old Southern houses? Start here. Four bone-chilling novellas from M.L. Bullock in one haunting bundle. Whispers linger in the heat, and every home has a ghost. Step into the Southern Gothic world of M.L. Bullock—where love turns tragic, secrets are buried beneath the porch, and the veil between the living and the dead is thinner than a thread of Spanish moss. This specially curated set includes four unforgettable novellas: Being With Beau A grieving girl. A mysterious boy. And a love story that might not survive the grave. Death’s Last Darling Hollywood glamor ...

In an immersive Southern Gothic with echoes of Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery and Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn, a restauranteur lured by pandemic-era incentives moves her family to a seemingly idyllic small town in Georgia, only to discover a darkness lurking beneath the Southern hospitality and sun-dappled streets.

Seven Sisters Collection: Book Two continues the haunting journey through the heart of Mobile's enigmatic Seven Sisters estate. In this compelling second installment, author M. L. Bullock weaves three more mesmerizing tales: "The Stars That Fell," "The Stars We Walked Upon," and "The Sun Rises Over Seven Sisters." Each story delves deeper into the mysteries of the antebellum mansion and its ghostly inhabitants, blending Southern charm with chilling paranormal encounters. "The Stars That Fell" finds Carrie Jo Jardine adapting to her role as the estate's dream catcher. Her connection to the ...

A mountain girl in the early 1900’s copes with a marriage arranged by her dad. Her story is titled from an old saying “I own my land, heaven-high and hell-deep.” “Your pa gave his consent for us to marry,” he said the words as though it was a simple matter. It wasn’t a romantic proposal of love and devotion. It wasn’t a proposal at all. I opened my mouth but nothing came out. I tried again. “I don’t know your name,” I managed to say as I felt my chest constrict. There was a pain in me that started at my toes and went to the roots of my hair. Dad had come up with a ...

All children mythologize their birth... So begins the prologue of reclusive author Vida Winter's beloved collection of stories, long famous for the mystery of the missing thirteenth tale. The enigmatic Winter has always kept her violent and tragic past a secret. Now old and ailing, she summons a biographer to tell the truth about her extraordinary life: Margaret Lea, a young woman for whom the secret of her own birth remains an ever-present pain.

Shots rang out in Savannah's grandest mansion in the misty,early morning hours of May 2, 1981. Was it murder or self-defense? For nearly a decade, the shooting and its aftermath reverberated throughout this hauntingly beautiful city of moss-hung oaks and shaded squares. John Berendt's sharply observed, suspenseful, and witty narrative flows like a thoroughly engrossing novel, and yet it is a work of nonfiction.

Some legacies are carved in stone. Others are soaked in oil, blood, and regret. Spanning five generations of the Chiswell family—from 1845 to the modern day—The Gospel According to Texas is a haunting, literary saga of land, sin, and redemption. When Elias Chiswell abandons everything to chase a new life on the Texas frontier, he believes he’s outrunning his past. But the land he claims has a voice—and a memory. Told in part by Texas itself, this Southern Gothic novel weaves journal entries, confessions, and mythic narration into a sweeping story of faith, failure, and family legacy...

A dark collection of tales from the American South full of twists and turns that you will never see coming. Did you ever have your name on the board for misbehaving in class? If you only got in trouble with the teacher, you should count yourself lucky. Ever find something old in the water? Was it an old box? Did it divide your whole town in ways you couldn’t imagine? What is beauty, and how do you stay forever young? The answer might not be what you want, especially if Joe passes by your house. Where does art come from? An old man’s backyard? Who’s to say?

Siblings Bert, Willet, and Pansy know better than to go swimming at the old rock quarry. According to their father, it's the Devil's place, a place that's been cursed and forgotten. But Mississippi Delta summer days are scorching hot, and they can't resist cooling off in the dark, bottomless water - until the day six-year-old Pansy vanishes...not drowned, not lost, simply gone. When their father disappears as well, Bert and Willet leave their childhoods behind to try and hold their broken family together.

They buried something beneath Cypress Hollow. Now it remembers. Lana Gray keeps to herself—curator of a half-forgotten museum in a swamp town most have already left behind. But when a local widow’s quiet unraveling leads to an unmarked shoe and a floor that seems to breathe, Lana stumbles into a pattern that stretches back decades. Maybe longer. The town is changing. The people are changing. And the roots run deeper than anyone knew. As memory distorts, nature recoils, and the soil begins to hum, Lana must decide whether to resist what’s waking beneath her—or become part of it. The ...

When a historian disappears from a decrepit Selma mansion, haunted dreamer Carrie Jo is asked to help locate the missing woman. Armed with her ability to dream about the past and with the aid of a familiar ghost, the dream catcher gets to work.Hoping to unravel the mystery quickly she decides to stay at the lonely manor house and through her dreams uncovers the forgotten Starlett family history. As she discovers the paranormal reports are true and that she has become a target of the angry spirits, she must quickly work to settle the score on their behalf. Or join their ranks as a ghost of ...

From Chapter 2: ... “Did you see those folks from off while you were up there?” Gramps asked, but I didn’t answer, nor did I think Granny had seen me at all, but Gramps was good at guessing what I’d been up to. “What folks?” I asked as innocently as possible. Gramps grinned ever so slightly as he nodded toward my feet. “You got that red clay dirt on the bottom of your feet. That mountain is the only place where you can find that kind of red dirt.” I looked down and sure enough my feet were stained slightly orange by the red dirt I’d walked through instead of plain old ...

Twisted Briar is Peggy's fortieth novel; her forty-fifth book. Each book resonates with Peggy's authentic Appalachian mountain voice and her gift to engross the reader in the story. From Chapter 2 : He was looking for another woman and boy. The young woman stopped and looked at the crowd as though she didn't know what direction to go in. She looked so lost and scared he felt sorry for her. Not only that, she was just a girl. She couldn't be a whole lot older than the frail little boy whose hand she had a tight grip on. One thing was for sure, the ragged clothes they wore wouldn't keep them ...

Southern Legacyby Harper Stanwick, Sr. is a captivating mystery novel set in the Gulf States during the sweltering summer of 1888. This gripping tale weaves together elements of historical fiction, intrigue, and Southern Gothic tradition. In the heat of 1888, at a modest station where eastbound and westbound trains exchange a handful of passengers daily, two men meet whose lives will become deeply intertwined. Adley Witt Jr., a sociable and amiable gentleman, steps in to help a young woman named Kitty Palmer, setting off a chain of events that reveals the complexities of Southern life post-...

In 1933, nine-year-old Stella is left in the care of her grandmother, Motty, in the backwoods of Tennessee. The mountains are home to dangerous secrets, and soon after she arrives, Stella wanders into a dark cavern where she encounters the family's personal god, an entity known as the Ghostdaddy. Years later, after a tragic incident that caused her to flee, Stella - now a professional bootlegger - returns for Motty's funeral, and to check on the mysterious 10-year-old girl named Sunny that Motty adopted.

In the heart of the Deep South, nestled within the hauntingly beautiful landscapes of Mobile, Alabama, lies the Seven Sisters estate. Here, author M. L. Bullock invites readers into a world where the past and present intertwine in eerie and unexpected ways. "Seven Sisters Collection: Volume One" brings together the first three chilling tales in the Seven Sisters series: "Seven Sisters," "Moonlight Falls on Seven Sisters," and "Shadows Stir at Seven Sisters." The journey begins with "Seven Sisters," where readers meet Carrie Jo Jardine, a young woman with an extraordinary gift. Hired as a ...

It’s John Wayne Orkney’s first week as a cop. There’s already one dead body, two old flames, a half-feral foster brother, and a murder suspect who once slept with him… and recently ran over the police chief with a mobility scooter. Welcome back to Camelot, West Virginia—a down-but-not-out Appalachian town full of ghosts, grudges, and folks trying to claw their way back. Some with magic. Some with moonshine. John Wayne never wanted a badge. He’s already juggling EMT runs, trying to launch a business, and keeping tabs on his three wild brothers. Then there’s Gallagher Lance—...