The Bog Wife
A gripping and claustrophobic rural gothic horror novel about an isolated family who worship the bog that surrounds them, perfect for fans of T. Kingfisher and Stephen Graham Jones.
It is said that the Haddesleys have too much of the bog in their blood to live in the world. Living an isolated existence in the Appalachians, they observe strange rituals and worship the forest and mud that surrounds them.
When Charles, the patriarch of the family, reveals he is dying, his children rally around him, only to find their fraying bonds tearing apart one by one, and their beliefs upended. For Wenna, the only Haddesley to have ever escaped the forest, it means coming home to face difficult truths. For Charlie, the eldest son, his father's death means facing up to new, terrifying responsibilities.
Because the bog is waiting, ever-growing, ever-hungry, and if the Haddesley children aren't careful, they will awaken something they have tried to keep at bay for a century.
Kay Chronister is the author of Thin Places (Undertow, 2020) and Desert Creatures (Erewhon, 2022). Her short fiction has appeared in Strange Horizons, Clarkesworld, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, The Dark, and elsewhere, and has been nominated for the Shirley Jackson and World Fantasy awards. Originally from Washington State, she has spent time in Virginia, Cambodia, and Arizona. She now lives outside of Philadelphia with her dogs and her husband.