Descension by Edmund Stone

Something is buried beneath Salt Flat.

When Cole Masters moves his family into an aging house on the edge of town, the worst he expects is creaking pipes and sleepless nights. But the sounds in the walls aren't settling noises—and the darkness under the floor isn't empty.

Miles away, a mining operation shuts down without warning. New owners arrive. Strange cargo is delivered deep below the earth. Then the workers start disappearing.

At first, the two worlds don't connect. A restless child. A cut finger. A vent that won't stay closed. Small things. Easy to ignore. Until they aren't.

As Cole digs deeper—into the town, the mine, and the people who run both—he uncovers something far older than Salt Flat. Something broken. Something scattered. Something that has waited a long time to be made whole again. And it's not staying buried.

Now, with his family caught in the middle and the town unraveling around him, Cole is forced to confront a truth no one else is willing to see:

The danger isn't what lies beneath. It's what's coming up. Descension is a relentless supernatural horror novel about what happens when the ground gives way—and something begins to rise from the dark.

I want to call this small-town horror, but Salt Flat has much more going on than your typical down home folksy characters fending off an unknown evil. When Cole Masters, former small town football star turned wannabe writer, turned cop, moves his family into the creaky old house on the edge of town, don't think those noises in the vent are rodents. And if you say, AHA! it's a ghost! You are way off too. (Although you will meet some ghosts in this novel.)

What is it in that vent? Well, honestly, I am not sure, but it's connected to the mine, which has suddenly been closed by the russian mafia, who you might think have something to do with the deal between the Mexican cartel and the hillbilly drug dealers. Am I giving away too much of the plot? I don't think so because you'll barely be a few pages in when it gets even crazier than this.

There are a lot of characters, but there was no worry of confusing who was who because they were very distinctive and impossible to mix up. Descension is an insane wild ride with nearly nonstop action and suspense and several heart in your throat moments. This was my first read by Edmund Stone, but I feel compelled to read Tent Revival now.

My thanks to Crystal Lake Publishing/Sinister Smile Press for the e-ARC.

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Sundowning - A short film

Left alone overnight with her estranged grandmother in rural Scotland, a perceptive nine-year-old girl begins to see dementia transform the woman she loves into something terrifyingly unfamiliar. 

I was invited to watch an early screener of Sundowning, a short horror film that unfolds through the eyes of a child, and her understanding of what is happening to her grandmother.

Claire (played by Betty Pirie) is a 9 year old girl who shows obvious discomfort at being left with her grandmother for an overnight stay while her mom is forced to work a night shift. There is something just a bit off about Grandma during the day, but as night falls and Claire follows her into the woods, it becomes apparent that something is seriously wrong. Maria MacDonell gives a convincing performance with very little dialogue needed to convey that she is not up to babysitting. Sarah McCardie plays Maggie, the harried mom who seems to know that this remote trailer is not the best place for Claire to spend the night, but has no other option.

This film is beautifully shot from the opening frame, which sets the tone for the uneasy atmosphere, to the final scene that stirs a mix of emotion with a touch of dread for Claire's future, which is mainly left to the viewers' imagination.

View the trailer

IG: sundowningshort2026

Producer - Serena Gardner

Writer/Director - Aimie Willemse

Cast

Betty Pirie

Maria MacDonell

Sarah McCardie

She Isn't Herself Tonight by Hailey Piper

 When Rabbit was ten years old, she was abducted by aliens. Then, it happened again when she was twenty. Now thirty, she’s ready for their next visit. What she isn’t prepared for is her boyfriend callously ending their long-term relationship and ejecting her from their shared home.

As her birthday approaches, the aliens still haven’t arrived. Rabbit descends into a spiral of growing paranoia and bizarre bodily transformations, until soon it seems that even her reflection has a mind of its own. With her only refuge being the chaos of strangers who might not have her best interests at heart, Rabbit worries that her ex’s abandonment not only severed her from his life, but also from her own. Struggling to orient herself within a world growing more topsy-turvy by the day, Rabbit must regain control before her aliens at last return.

Brittany, who prefers to be known as Rabbit, the nickname she was taunted with as a child, has been dumped by her boyfriend and put out of her home. Friendless and alone, she rents a room from a couple she barely knows.

In between stalking her ex and watching him walk the dog that she used to think of as hers, she waits with increasing anxiety for the aliens to come and take her. The anxiety is not fear that they will come; it is fear that they no longer want her. They came for her when she was 10 years old, and again when she was 20. It's nearly her 31st birthday, and she is still waiting. Have they abandoned her too? Rabbit feels no acceptance from anyone, including herself. Even her own reflection in the mirror hates her.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. This was my first read by Hailey Piper. Are they all this surreal and poignant? This is a story of trauma, body horror, and a desperation for love in a time of profound loneliness. I flew through this mind-blowing, genre-bending read with a mix of dread and hope for how it would end for Rabbit. 

My thanks to S&S/Saga Press for the e-ARC

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About the author

The Memory Tree by Heather Davey

A sinister Gothic folk horror from the bestselling author of The Ghosts of Merry Hall, in which a family in modern day England find their new home beset by the terrifying ghosts of the past. Ideal for lovers of gothic chillers by Laura Purcell, Susan Hill and Rebecca Netley.

When her husband, Ben, takes on his first parish in the rural community of Hope-Upon-Barrow, Kate Greenway feels like it could be a fresh start for the family. But from the moment they arrive, something just feels… off. It could be the mysterious housekeeper, Mrs Butterworth, so demanding and controlling of the family. It could be the locals, with their strange rituals and rites. Or it could be the yew tree which stands in their garden, whose presence brings headaches, visions and disturbing, unfamiliar memories that do not belong to Kate. 

As she investigates the strange things happening to her, Kate begins to delve into the history and memories of Hope-upon-Barrow, and the more she uncovers, the more she risks losing herself to something deadly and ancient. 

Told on two timelines, the present day and the 1800s, this is a story of grief, guilt, strange customs, and how they came to be.

 In the 1800s, we have best friends Octavia, the vicar's daughter, and Alice, whose family owns the nearby farm. When these friends are witness to a strange occurrence at the ancient yew tree and share this information with Octavia's father, tragedy and deception ensues which still, to this day has a hold over the community of Hope Upon Barrow.

In the present day, we have Kate, her young son Noah, and her husband Ben, who has just been appointed his first parish. As they move into the old vicarage by that same yew tree, Noah and Kate are both disturbed by memories that could not possibly be their own. 

That is all I will say about the plot. 

I liked the small community setting with their unnerving superstitions, but I preferred the characters from the past over the present day goings on. I had a lot of empathy towards Octavia and Alice and the gradual reveal of what they endured all those years ago. The climax near the end wasn't the shocking twist it was probably meant to be, because it was too easily inferred long before it was exposed.

My thanks to Titan Books for the e-ARC

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