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Darkness comes in different forms: in the mischief of the supernatural, in the evil of demonic spirits, or in the greed and selfishness of humans themselves. Regardless of where it comes from, its proponents are all ‘devil kin’. From gothic to post-apocalyptic to vampiric folk horror, the kin are waiting in this collection of short stories.
Out 15th May 2023 (my birthday!)
Paperback will also be available.
A tragic accident, shrouded in mystery, leads to a family reunion in the hidden village of Little Hatchet, located in the smothering shadow of GodBeGone Wood, the home of the mythical Woodcutter and Grandma. Alec Eades rediscovers his bond with GodBeGone Wood and the future his father agreed to years ago as nefarious landowner Oliver Hayward schemes to raise money for the village by re-enacting part of the Woodcutter legend. Old wounds are re-opened and ties of blood and friendship are tested to the extreme when the Woodcutter is summoned and Grandma returns.
Out August 2023
Paperback will also be available.
Return to the Weald, the world Stephanie Ellis introduced us to in The Five Turns of the Wheel.
Reborn is the story of Cernunnos, the Father of all, who has risen. Born of blood offerings, he travels to the Layerings—one of those places, like Umbra, which sit just beyond the human veil.
Reborn is the story of Tommy, Betty and Fiddler, the infamous troupe whose bloody rituals were halted by Megan, Tommy’s Daughter. Rendered weak by Megan’s refusal to allow them to hunt in the human world of the Weald, they seek their rebirth and forgiveness from the Mother and Cernunnos.
With Reborn, Ellis delivers another powerful tale of folk horror that will captivate the reader from the first page until its final bloody climax.
Reborn is the story of Megan, who follows Cernunnos and Hweol’s sons on a pilgrimage of hope—one that would see her husband restored to her and the dark presence of Hweol removed.
Ultimately, though, Reborn is the story of Betty, the most monstrous of the three brothers. He is Nature, red in tooth and claw. He is what the Mother made him. And who are we to judge?
People are stopping, bodies halting regardless of situation or location. They are still alive but completely unresponsive, vulnerable statues utterly at the mercy of their environment. Unable to run from fire, some burn. Unable to return to shore, some drown. Unable to move from the path of a truck, some are crushed. Nor are you safe at home—unable to move, you starve.
Dr Alex Griffiths heads a research department in a university hospital. As more and more succumb to this strange affliction—including his own family—it becomes a race against time for his team to find an answer before they too are affected.
Humanity has been put on pause. Will it ever restart?
It’s back! My folk horror novel, The Five Turns of the Wheel, has returned!
Welcome to the Weald.
The Five Turns of the Wheel has begun.
With each Turn, blood will be spilled,
and sacrifices will be made.
Pacts will be made…and broken.
Will you join the Dance?
In the Weald, the time has come for the Five Turns of the Wheel. Tommy, Betty and Fiddler, the sons of Hweol, Lord of Umbra, have arrived to oversee the sacred rituals… rituals brimming with sacrifice and dripping with blood.
Megan Wheelborn, daughter of Tommy, hatches a desperate plan to free the people of the Weald from the bloody and cruel grip of Umbra, and put an end to its murderous rituals. But success will require sacrifice and blood as well. Will Megan be able to pay the price?
Praise for The Five Turns of the Wheel :
‘A superb novel’ – Jonathan Maberry, NY Times best-selling author.
‘Haunting folkloric horror’ – Laurel Hightower, author of Crossroads
‘An incredible novel’ – Coy Hall, author of Grimoire of the Four Imposters
The Weald is full of strange folk. A rural idyll on the surface, it is home to many a bloody tradition. The novel, The Five Turns of the Wheel, outlined the most horrific of these – or did it?
In these short stories, Tommy, Betty and Fiddler reappear alongside others of their kind and continue to spread their unique brand of cruelty across the Weald.
The Wheel never stopped turning.
Praise for As the Wheel Turns:
Building on the superb Five Turns of the Wheel, this collection of short stories only cements The Weald’s position as one of the most terrifyingly ‘real’ locations in horror fiction.’ – Kev Harrison, author The Balance and Below
‘A blood-drenched, mesmerising collection of uniquely British folk horror’ – T.C. Parker, author of Salvation Springs.
The house was his, an unwanted and unwelcome inheritance. As a child, Tyler Vitrum spent many miserable hours beneath its roof, hating his grandfather and the man’s housekeeper, Mrs. Waites. His only escape during those visits had been via the impossible bottles created by his granddad; bottles holding miniature worlds in which he could lose himself for hours.
Sometimes however, he sensed something else living in the house and in the bottles and when he returned home, he took the nightmares with him.Now an adult, Tyler decides one last visit can do no harm, allow him to finally shake off his nightmares. The bottles however, are waiting—and so is Mrs. Waites. As both house and bottles gradually yield up their secrets, it is made clear to Tyler what is expected of him and what will happen should he fails Tyler master or servant of the house?
Praise for Bottled:
‘Deliciously creepy – a lock-the doors and turn-on-the-lights kind of horror story’ – Christina Dalcher, international best-selling author of Vox and Q.
‘A grisly, surreal examination of free will and the curse of heridity’ – Deborah Sheldon, award-winning author of Perfect Little Stitches and Other Stories
‘A wonderfully terrifying story’ – Cindy O’Quinn, Bram Stoker nominated author
In In 2017, my novella, Domnuill-dhu, appeared in the Bloody Heathers anthology published by Dark Chapter Press. The press folded not long after the ebook came out so it never made it into print. It has now been slightly revised and I have made it available as a free pdf download. This story takes place in the Scottish Highlands, where the clans have made a deal with Domnuill-dhu, the Devil.
Stephanie Ellis is a UK writer of dark fiction. All written work on this site is the original creation of Stephanie Ellis unless otherwise indicated.
Stephanie Ellis 