Darcy Coates Books

The stark world continues to change. Each passing day twists it further, pushing the surviving humans closer to the brink of extinction. But, for the first time, there is hope. Clare and Dorran have set their sights on returning home to Winterbourne Hall. It's a daunting journey, but vital. Humanity needs more refuges—safe areas where food can be grown without attracting the attention of the hollow ones—and the old gothic manor is their best bet. But their home is no longer a sanctuary. It’s become a trap: carefully crafted for them, lying in wait for their return. By the time they realize just how dangerous Winterbourne has become, it’s already too late. The fight for survival is far from over.

The mist is full of evil things―dark, twisted beings that think only of their own hunger―but Clare has clawed her way through. She and Dorran are alive against all odds, though relief is only temporary. Dorran is sick, and declining fast. The only way to save him lies in the mysterious Evandale Research Station, supposedly one of the few remaining places safe from the predators that lurk in the shadows. But the station is a three days' journey away, and it's unlikely their small group can endure that long out in the dark.Because the danger they're facing comes not only from the ravenous hollow ones... but from each other.This terrible new world has left scars, and the people left behind in it are nearly unrecognizable. As Clare fights to protect her ragtag family, she begins to realize a horrible truth: not everyone can be saved. And sometimes the worst monsters wear a human smile.

In the third installment of the Gravekeeper series by USA Today bestselling author Darcy Coates, Keira must decide if she should use her ability to contact ghosts to help the man who once tried to kill her. Hunted and haunted, all she wants is to put her mysterious past behind her and move forward with her new friends as Blighty Graveyard's groundskeeper. But then she receives an invitation to dinner at the local recluse's crumbling ancestral estate. The mansion is steeped in history that is equal parts complicated and bloody--and at its center is the man who once tried to kill her, now begging for her help. Dane Crispin believes his home is haunted--and that the unquiet dead clawing through the ancient house are after him. Unnerved but intrigued, Keira opens her second sight and discovers he's right: resentful specters cling to Dane...and if she can't find a way to stop them, threaten to consume everything in their path. There's something dark happening in the world beyond most peoples' vision, and if Keira isn't able to sever the ties between the living and the dead, the chained spirits may not be the only things twisted beyond saving. Horror Novels By Darcy Coates: The Haunting of Leigh Harker The Haunting of Ashburn House From Below Gallows Hill The House Next Door Carrow Haunt Craven Manor Voices in the Snow

"Fans of eerie ghost stories will be hooked."-- Publishers Weekly for The Whispering Dead When Keira first woke alone in a strange forest, she remembered only two things: that she could speak with the dead, helping them move on from the mortal world, and that sinister mask-wearing men were hunting her. She had no idea what she'd done to earn their hatred or what dangerous secrets she may have uncovered. Until now. Peeling back layer upon layer of the mystery surrounding her origins, Keira has finally learned that the strange masked men work for Artec, an organization profiting off spectral energy produced by hundreds of chained, tormented souls. Their goal is to spread their macabre cemeteries across the world, using the agony of the dead to extend their power and reach--and only Keira and her loyal group of friends can stop them. But there are still mysteries to uncover in Keira's foggy memories, and as she prepares to fight for the souls of the tormented dead, what she doesn't know about her own past may come back to haunt her. More in The Gravekeeper Series by Darcy Coates: The Whispering Dead, Book 1 The Ravenous Dead, Book 2 The Twisted Dead, Book 3

No One Escapes the Stillness There are eyes in the dark. There are whispers in the mist. There is danger lurking in the snow, and one false step could end it all. Something is waiting for Clare on the edges of the snowy woods ... something monstrous, something unfeeling. Something desperately hungry. More details to come as the horror of Black Winter unfolds. Black Winter Series: Voices in the Snow (Book 1) Secrets in the Dark (Book 2) Whispers in the Mist (Book 3) Silence in the Shadows (Book 4).

"Remy is a tour guide for Carrow House, a notoriously haunted building. When she's asked to host guests for a week-long stay, she hopes to finally experience some of the sightings that made the house famous. At first, it's everything they hoped for. Then a storm moves in, cutting off their contact with the outside world, and things quickly become twisted. But it isn't until one of the guests dies under strange circumstances that Remy is forced to consider the possibility that the ghost of the house's original owner, a twisted serial killer, still walks the halls. And by then it's too late to escape.."--

He'll never let go...Keira, hired as Blighty Graveyard’s new groundskeeper, lives surrounded by the dead. They watch her through the fog. They wordlessly cry out. They’ve been desperately waiting for help moving on—and only Keira can hear them. But not every restless spirit wants to be saved.Sometimes the dead hate the living too much to find peace.As Keira struggles to uncover the tangled histories of some of the graveyard’s oldest denizens, danger seeps from the darkest edges of the forest. A vicious serial killer was interred among the trees decades before, his spirit twisted by his violent nature. He’s furious. Ravenous. And when Keira unwittingly answers his call, she may just seal her fate as his final intended victim.

Darcy Coates brings you a brand-new horror novel that'll take your breath away... Gallows Hill is: Perfect for fans of Jennifer McMahon and Simone St. James For lovers of ghost stories and anyone mesmerized by the twisted secrets of the past The Hull family has owned the Gallows Hill Winery for generations, living and working on the beautiful grounds where they grow their famous grapes. Until the night Mr. and Mrs. Hull settle down for the evening...and are dead by morning. When their daughter, Margot, inherits the family business, she wants nothing to do with it. The winery is valued for its unparalleled produce, but it's built on a field where hundreds of convicts were once hanged, and the locals whisper morbid rumors. They say the ground is cursed. It's been more than a decade since Margot last saw her childhood home. But now that she's alone in the sprawling, dilapidated building, she begins to believe the curse is more than real-and that she may be the next victim of the house that never rests... Also By Darcy Coates: The Haunting of Leigh Harker From Below The Whispering Dead The Haunting of Ashburn House The Haunting of Blackwood House Craven Manor The House Next Door Voices in the Snow

She only went off the trail for a moment... Twenty-two-year-old Eileen goes missing while hiking in the remote Ashlough Forest. Five days later, her camera is discovered washed downriver, containing bizarre photos taken after her disappearance. Chris wants to believe Eileen is still alive. When the police search is abandoned, he and four of his friends create their own search party to scour the mountain range. As they stray further from the hiking trails and the unsettling discoveries mount, they begin to believe they're not alone in the forest...and that Eileen's disappearance wasn't an accident. But by that point, it's too late to escape. Also By Darcy Coates: The Haunting of Ashburn House The Haunting of Blackwood House Craven Manor The House Next Door Voices in the Snow

Sophie and Joseph's escape from Northwood is short-lived. The beast survived, and attached itself to Joseph's young cousin, Elise. Garrett writes to beg for their help. Joseph and Sophie travel to meet him at Kensington, a long-abandoned mansion that overlooks a dead town.The house offers a small hope: its original owner had dedicated her life to researching the monster that possesses Elise. Garrett hopes to find a way to kill the creature without harming his daughter.But Kensington is a dangerous building. Once the carriage leaves, they're trapped inside the collapsing walls and forced to confront the horrors within.Shrouded figures stalk them. Whispers echo through the night. Unmarked graves dot the property. And the dead are not as restful as they seem...

There's something wrong with Ashburn House... Everyone knows about Ashburn House. They whisper its old owner went mad, and restless ghosts still walk the halls. But when Adrienne--desperate and in need of a place to stay--inherits the crumbling old mansion, she only sees it as a lifeline...until darkness falls. Strange messages are etched into the walls. Furniture moves when she leaves the room. And a grave hidden in the depths of the forest hints at a terrible, unforgivable secret. Something twisted lives in her house, its hungry eyes ever-watchful. Chasing the threads of a decades-old mystery, it isn't long before she realizes she's become prey to something deeply unnatural and intensely resentful. She has no idea how to escape. She has no idea how to survive. Only one thing is certain: Ashburn's dead are not at rest. Also By Darcy Coates: The Haunting of Ashburn House The Haunting of Blackwood House Craven Manor The House Next Door Voices in the Snow

Darcy Coates brings you a brand-new horror novel that'll take your breath away... From Belowis: Perfect for fans of Jennifer McMahon and Wendy Webb For lovers of ghost stories and anyone mesmerized by the depths of the ocean--and what hides in the darkness Years ago, the SS Arcadiavanished without a trace during a routine voyage. Though a strange, garbled emergency message was broadcast, neither the ship nor any of its crew could be found. Sixty years later, its wreck has finally been discovered more than three hundred miles from its intended course. Cove and her dive team have been granted permission to explore its rusting hull. Their purpose is straightforward: explore the wreck, film everything, and, if possible, uncover how and why the supposedly unsinkable ship vanished. But the Arcadiahas not yet had its fill of death, and something dark watches them from below. With limited oxygen and a presence on the ship that's determined to keep them on board, if Cove and her team are trapped beneath the ocean's waves, there'll be no going back.

Sophie's world is shattered when disaster bankrupts her family. She's still reeling from the news when she's offered an unexpected solution: Mr Argenton, a wealthy stranger, asks for her hand in marriage. Marrying Mr Argenton will restore her family's fortunes and save them from scandal, but condemns Sophie to a life in Northwood, a vast and unnaturally dark mansion situated hours from civilisation. Sophie struggles to adjust to her new position as mistress over the desolate house. Mr Argenton's relatives are cold, and Mr Argenton himself is keeping secrets. Even worse, the house is more than it seems. Mr Argenton's young cousin, Elise, draws terrifying images. Doors slam. Inhuman figures slink through the forest surrounding the house. A piano plays in the middle of the night. Blood drips from the ceilings. Sophie is inevitably pulled towards the terrifying truth: Northwood's ancient halls are haunted by the family's long-dead ancestors. The malevolent spirits--produced by grisly deaths--resent her intrusion into their home. Trapped in Northwood and desperate for an escape, Sophie's fate is further complicated as she finds herself irrevocably drawn to the tall, dark-eyed man she married. She suspects her feelings are returned, but Mr Argenton is hiding the truth about the house--and his secrets are so dangerous that they might just be unforgivable.

Homeless, hunted, and desperate to escape a bitter storm, Keira takes refuge in an abandoned groundskeeper's cottage. Her new home is tucked away at the edge of a cemetery, surrounded on all sides by gravestones: some recent, some hundreds of years old, all suffering from neglect.And in the darkness, she can hear the unquiet dead whispering.The cemetery is alive with faint, spectral shapes, led by a woman who died before her time... and Keira, the only person who can see her, has become her new target. Determined to help put the ghost to rest, Keira digs into the spirit's past life with the help of unlikely new friends, and discovers a history of deception, ill-fated love, and murder.But the past is not as simple as it seems, and Keira's time is running out. Tangled in a dangerous web, she has to find a way to free the spirit... even if it means offering her own life in return.

Immerse yourself in the macabre, the gothic, and the chilling with this collection of fifty short stories.

From USA Today bestselling horror/thriller author Darcy Coates comes the chilling legend of a monster no one can escape.DON'T WALK ALONE, OR THE STITCHER WILL FIND YOU.Abby Ward lives in a town haunted by disappearances. People vanish, and when they're found, their bodies have been dismembered and sewn back together in unnatural ways. But is it the work of a human killer...or something far darker?DON'T STAY OUT LATE, OR THE STITCHER WILL TAKE YOU.She and her younger sister live by a strict set of rules designed to keep them safe-which is why it's such a shock when Hope is taken. Desperate to get her back, Abby tells the police everything she knows, but they claim their hands are tied.DON'T CLOSE YOUR EYES, OR THE STITCHER WILL REMAKE YOU.With every hour precious, Abby and her friends are caught in a desperate game of cat and mouse. They have to get Hope back. Quickly. Before too much of her is cut away. And before everything they care about is swallowed up by the darkness waiting in the tunnels beneath the home they thought they knew.Chilling Reads by Darcy Coates:The Haunting of Ashburn HouseThe Haunting of Blackwood HouseVoices in the SnowThe Whispering DeadFrom BelowGallows Hill

From bestselling gothic horror author Darcy Coates comes a chilling story of a quiet house on a forgotten suburban lane that hides a deadly secret... Leigh Harker is certain her house is haunted. Curtains open by themselves. Radios turn off and on. And a dark figure looms outside her bedroom door at night, watching her...waiting for her to finally let down her guard and fall asleep. Despite appearances, despite all logic, Leigh knows she's no longer alone. Pushed to her limits but unwilling to abandon her beloved home, Leigh's determined to find some answers. But the more she digs, the more she begins to suspect that her house is keeping troubling secrets...and some of them could be deadly. Also By Darcy Coates: The Haunting of Ashburn House The Haunting of Blackwood House Craven Manor The House Next Door Voices in the Snow The Whispering Dead

"Push past the curtains of the rational, safe world and explore the un-nameable horrors living in the darkest corners of our conscience. This is the realm of monsters and shifting shadows, where a single wrong step can plunge you into a terrifying, irreversible fight for your life"--

"Coates ratchets up the ghostly manifestations till you can't imagine there are any more stops to pull out--though of course there are." --Kirkus Reviews for Gallows Hill When Jenine finds an abandoned polaroid camera, she takes a photo just for fun. But there's something wrong with the image: a ghostly figure stands in the background, watching her. Jenine and her best friend, Bree, quickly realize the camera is capable of capturing the dead. But the ghosts seem to be following the friends. And with each new photo taken, the specters become clearer and closer... DISCOVER CHILLING NEW BONUS STORIES, INCLUDING: A woman survives a plane crash in a remote arctic tundra and must make the long journey to reach help, accompanied only by a stranger whose name she doesn't know and whose face grows more decayed by the day. A single mother and her young daughter are haunted by a presence desperate to claim what they hold most dear. A house stands empty. Hungry. Waiting for the children drawn to it like moths to a flame. And more! Also By Darcy Coates: The Haunting of Leigh Harker Dead of Winter Gallows Hill From Below The Whispering Dead The Haunting of Ashburn House The Haunting of Blackwood House Craven Manor The House Next Door Voices in the Snow

From bestselling author Darcy Coates comes Dead of Winter, a remote cabin in the snowy wilderness thriller that will teach you to trust no one. There are eight strangers. One killer. Nowhere left to run.When Christa joins a tour group heading deep into the snowy expanse of the Rocky Mountains, she's hopeful this will be her chance to put the ghosts of her past to rest. But when a bitterly cold snowstorm sweeps the region, the small group is forced to take shelter in an abandoned hunting cabin. Despite the uncomfortably claustrophobic quarters and rapidly dropping temperature, Christa believes they'll be safe as they wait out the storm.She couldn't be more wrong.Deep in the night, their tour guide goes missing...only to be discovered the following morning, his severed head impaled on a tree outside the cabin. Terrified, and completely isolated by the storm, Christa finds herself trapped with eight total strangers. One of them kills for sport...and they're far from finished. As the storm grows more dangerous and the number of survivors dwindles one by one, Christa must decide who she can trust before this frozen mountain becomes her tomb.

Daniel is desperate for a job. When someone slides a note under his door offering him the groundskeeper's position at an old estate, it seems too good to be true. Against his better judgement, he accepts. But Craven Manor is nothing like what he expected.

The first in a chilling new series from beloved bestselling horror writer Darcy Coates! When a vicious snowstorm drives Clare's car off a rural road, she's left stranded in a world of blinding white. She can't escape the feeling of being watched, but before she can face her growing terror, she's rescued by a stranger who offers her his home until the storm subsides. At least the stranger seems kind... but Clare doesn't know if she can trust him. He promised they were alone here, yet she sees and hears things that convince her something else is creeping about the dark forest surrounding his old house, watching...

When Guy finds the deeds to a house in his mother's attic, it seems like an incredible stroke of luck. Sure, the building hasn't been inhabited in forty years and vines strangle the age-stained walls, but Guy is convinced he can clean it up and sell it. He'd be crazy to turn down free money. Right? The house is hours from any other habitation, and Guy can't get phone reception in the old building. He decides to camp there while he does repairs. Surely nothing too bad can happen in the space of a week. But there's a reason no one lives in Rookward House, and the dilapidated rooms aren't as empty as they seem...

They're closer than you think...A guard discovers an unusual lifeform on her remote moon outpost. She disregards protocol to investigate it, with catastrophic consequences.The parasitic alien wears its victims' skins and adopts their personalities. It's a perfect disguise, and allows the creature to spread without being detected. By the time humanity realises it's facing extinction, a third of its six hundred space stations have already gone dark.As the alien's ruthless progress collapses communication networks, wipes out defences, and leaves hundreds of stations to fend for themselves, a handful of remarkable individuals must find a way to battle the greatest threat the universe has ever encountered.

A week's visit to the remote Harob Lake cabin couldn't have come at a better time for Sam. She's battling artist's block ahead of a major gallery exhibition. Staying at Harob Lake is her final, desperate attempt to paint the collection that could save her floundering career. It seems perfect: no neighbours, no phone, no distractions. But the dream retreat disintegrates into a nightmare when Sam discovers she's being stalked. A tall, strange man stands on the edge of her dock, staring intently into the swirling waters below. He starts to follow her. He disables her car. He destroys her only way to communicate with the outside world. And Sam is beginning to suspect he's responsible for the series of disappearances from a nearby hiking trail. Stranded at Harob Lake, Sam realises she's become the prey in the hunter's deadliest game...

How long could you survive? As the daughter of spiritualists, Mara's childhood was filled with s ances and scam mediums. Now she's ready to start over with her fianc , Neil, far away from the superstitions she's learned to loathe...but her past isn't willing to let her go so easily. And neither is Blackwood House. When Mara and Neil purchased the derelict property, they were warned that ever since the murder of its original owner, things have changed. Strange shadows stalk the halls. Doors creak open by themselves. Voices whisper in the night. And watchful eyes follow her every move. But Mara's convinced she can't possibly be in danger. Because ghosts aren't real...are they? Also By Darcy Coates: The Haunting of Ashburn House The Haunting of Blackwood House Craven Manor The House Next Door Voices in the Snow

Push past the curtains of your rational, safe world and explore the un-nameable horrors living in the darkest corners of our consciousness. This is the realm of monsters and shifting shadows, where a single wrong step can plunge you into a terrifying fight for your life, where... Something mimics human voices as it lures you into the woods. A corpse had gone missing from its drawer in the morgue. A friend's eyes are unnaturally bright as they approach you in the dark.Whatever your choice, these fifty small bites of horror are sure to leave you haunted.

From USA Today bestseller Darcy Coates comes a tale of darkness, family legacy, and haunting secrets. When their mother is hospitalized, Tara and Kyle are sent to live with their elderly grandparents. Initially welcoming, the grandparents' home soon reveals its unsettling nature. A locked bedroom, slamming doors, and shifting curtains create an atmosphere of unease, compounded by whispers of a drowned sister from long ago. The children feel an unseen presence watching them, and as a violent storm cuts off their connection to the outside world, they find themselves trapped in the haunted manor. With their grandparents growing increasingly erratic, Tara and Kyle must navigate the mysteries of the house and confront the dark secrets that have haunted their family for generations. Alongside the main narrative, readers will enjoy three bonus gothic horror short stories that deepen the chilling experience. Perfect for fans of haunted house fiction, this story promises to leave readers with an unsettling sense of dread.

Elle is thrilled to spend a month minding the beautiful Gillespie property. More than an hour's drive from the nearest town and surrounded by forests, the aging mansion is ideal for someone seeking solitude. But things start to go very wrong, very quickly. Elle discovers a crumbling graveyard nestled in the woods. It contains a generation of the house's residents, all with an identical year of death. Scratching in the walls... slamming doors... whispers in the night... a locked room... As Elle explores deeper into the house, she begins to unravel the property's dark and dangerous history. At its centre is Jonathan Gillespie, a tyrannical cult leader and the house's original owner. And as Elle soon learns--just because he's dead, doesn't mean he's gone. Also By Darcy Coates: The Haunting of Ashburn House The Haunting of Blackwood House Craven Manor The House Next Door Voices in the Snow

Tief unter dem Meer liegt das Wrack der SS Arcadia, die 1928 spurlos verschwand. 60 Jahre später entdeckt ein Taucherteam das Schiff und begibt sich auf die Suche nach der Wahrheit. Doch etwas Dunkles lauert in der Tiefe. Darcy Coates entführt uns in eine fesselnde Geistergeschichte voller Grauen.

Nachdem ihre Mutter nach einem schweren Autounfall im Krankenhaus liegt, müssen Tara und Kyle bei ihren Großeltern wohnen, die sie noch nie zuvor gesehen haben. May und Peter Folcroft scheinen zunächst warmherzig und ihr weitläufiges Haus am Waldrand wirkt idyllisch. Doch die Kinder werden das Gefühl nicht los, dass etwas sie beobachtet ... Als ein heftiger Sturm ihren Kontakt zur Außenwelt abschneidet und sie in dem verwunschenen Herrenhaus festsitzen, müssen die Geschwister einen Weg finden, sich vor ihren zunehmend unberechenbaren Großeltern zu schützen ... und vor den Geistern der Familie Folcroft, die das Haus heimsuchen. Neben dem Roman enthält dieser Band drei weitere Kurzgeschichten, die das ungewöhnliche Talent der jungen Autorin veranschaulichen. New York Journal of Books: »Die Autorin setzt eher auf Atmosphäre und Suggestion und bietet ein Feuerwerk der Spannung und des Unheimlichen.« Ihr liebt Geistergeschichten? Dann lest die Romane von Darcy Coates. Ihre Fans lieben es, wenn beim Lesen die kalten Finger der Angst die Wirbelsäule hinaufkrabbeln.

Krátce poté, co se Keira poprvé probudila sama v neznámém lese, s jistotou věděla jen dvě věci: že umí mluvit s mrtvými a pomáhat jim do posmrtného života a že ji pronásledují děsiví muži v maskách. Neměla ponětí, čím si vysloužila jejich nenávist, ani jaká nebezpečná tajemství mohla v minulosti odhalit.Nyní už to ví.Postupně odkrývala jednotlivé vrstvy záhady obklopující její původ a konečně se dozvěděla, že ti hroziví maskovaní muži pracují pro Artec, organizaci, která profituje na spektrální energii vyrobené stovkami spoutaných, trýzněných duší. Jejich cílem je rozšířit hřbitovy hrůz po celém světě a využít agonii mrtvých, aby zvětšili vlastní bohatství a vliv.Zastavit je může jen Keira a její skupinka věrných přátel. Zatímco se připravuje bojovat za duše týraných mrtvých, její vzpomínky na vlastní minulost zůstávají mlhavé a ona nikdy neví, co nového z její paměti vypluje na povrch.

Jak daleko zajde, aby zachránila ztracené duše? Keira svádí boj o holý život. Svou schopností pomáhat duchům na onen svět přímo ohrožuje Artec, mocnou společnost, která uvězňuje a týrá zesnulé duše, aby na nich vydělávala. Keira jí unikala celá léta, ale už nemá kam jít. Artec z ní má strach a je ochotný udělat cokoli, aby se jí zbavil – nezdráhá se ani vyslat ozbrojené muže na všechny její blízké. Keira je zoufalá a dochází jí čas. Snaží se vybrousit své dovednosti a najít způsob, jak tu krutou firmu navždy zničit. Alespoň už na to není sama. Její přátelé jí budou krýt záda, i kdyby se rozhodla zaútočit přímo na velín Artecu, kde by na ně ovšem čekala jistá smrt.

Když hlídka při rutinní kontrole okolí své vesmírné stanice objeví neobvyklou formu života, nedbá na protokol a pokusí se ji sama prozkoumat. Její neuvážený krok má však katastrofální následky. Velice brzy se ukáže, že má co do činění s mimozemšťanem, jehož schopnosti přesahují všechno, co si lidé doposud uměli představit. Je to parazit, který se šíří vesmírem a dokáže ukrást identitu svých obětí. Zmocní se jejich kůže, vypadá jako oni, a dokonce přebírá jejich osobnost. Napodobuje jejich mluvu, vzhled i chování. Lidská kůže mu poskytuje dokonalý převlek, který je téměř nemožné odhalit. A když si lidstvo konečně uvědomí, že mu hrozí zánik, je téměř pozdě. Lidé přicházejí o své komunikační sítě, které se při nelítostném postupu mimozemšťanů hroutí, a stovky vesmírných stanic jsou ponechány napospas osudu. Pokud nebudou sítě a komunikace obnoveny, lidstvo nepřežije. Hrstka jedinců vyslaných na sebevražednou misi na záchranu posledního komunikačního uzlu musí najít způsob, jak této hrozbě čelit. Když neuspějí, zahynou nejen oni, ale brzy i celé lidstvo.

Žiju vedle domu, kde straší. Začala jsem mít podezření, že je s gotickým domem něco v nepořádku, když jeho rodina prchla uprostřed noci, děti s křikem a matka uplakaná. Nikdy se nevrátili, aby si odvezli nábytek. Žádná rodina tam nezůstane dlouho. Zvířata se tomu místu vyhýbají. Jednou mi připadalo, že jsem zahlédla ženskou siluetu, jak se prochází jednou z místností v horním patře… ale to bylo nemožné – nikdo tam v tu dobu nežil. Do domu se právě nastěhovala nová majitelka, Anna. Navštívila jsem ji, abych ji před budovou varovala. Nečekala jsem, že se z nás stanou kamarádky, ale osud tomu chtěl jinak. Teď, když se dům u Marwicků probouzí, poprosila mě, jestli bych u ní nezůstala přes noc. Nikdy jsem neměla v plánu se s budovou nebo její pomstychtivou, mrtvou obyvatelkou zaplést. Teď ale musím Annu zachránit… než bude pro obě z nás příliš pozdě.

Sophiina rodina zbankrotuje a jí se zhroutí svět. Ještě se ani nevzpamatovala, a už se jí nabízí nečekané řešení – o ruku ji požádá bohatý cizinec pan Argenton. Sňatek s ním zachrání její rodinu, ale Sophii odsoudí k životu v Northwoodu, rozlehlém a nepřirozeně temném sídle vzdáleném hodiny cesty od civilizace. Sophie se snaží přizpůsobit svému novému postavení paní skličujícího domu. Příbuzní Josepha Argentona se chovají chladně a sídlo je něčím víc, než čím se být zdá. Den po dni se Sophie neodvratně blíží k děsivému poznání. Ve starobylých prostorách Northwoodu straší a muž, kterého si vzala – a kterého začíná milovat –, skrývá neodpustitelnou pravdu o sídle svých předků… a přízracích, které nyní pronásledují je oba.

Když Guy najde na půdě své matky dědické listiny k domu, má pocit, že ho potkalo neuvěřitelné štěstí. Jistě, v domě nikdo čtyřicet let nežil, je částečně zchátralý a obrůstá ho vinná réva, ale Guy je přesvědčený, že ho dokáže dát do pořádku a výhodně prodat. Byl by přeci blázen, kdyby se o to nepokusil. Zvlášť, když jeho současná životní etapa není zrovna záviděníhodná. Dům Rookward stojí na samotě v lesích a není v něm ani telefonní signál. Jenže je tři hodiny jízdy od města, kde Guy bydlí, a proto se rozhodne v domě na několik dní utábořit. Ale existuje důvod, proč v Rookwardu nikdo tak dlouhou dobu nežil, a zchátralé místnosti nejsou tak prázdné, jak se zdá... V domě se před čtyřiceti lety odehrála příšerná tragédie, jejíž následky přetrvávají dodnes. Usídlil se zde totiž duch ženy, která tragédii způsobila. Je zahořklá, posedlá, žárlivá a vyšinutá, a jakmile se objeví Guy, nemá v úmyslu nechat ho odejít a udělá i nemožné, aby s ní zůstal.

Darcy Coates, autorka bestsellerových gotických hororů, přináší další mrazivý příběh o tichém domě na zapomenuté předměstské uličce, který skrývá smrtící tajemství...Tichý dům byl Leigh Harkerové jejím útočištěm více než deset let, dokud se věci náhle nezměnily. Záclony se samy rozhrnují. Rádia se vypínají a zapínají. A ve stínu dveří její ložnice se v noci rýsuje tmavá postava, která ji pozoruje a čeká, až konečně poleví a usne.Leigh, na konci svých možností, ale neochotná opustit svůj domov, se snaží najít odpovědi. Ale každý krok ji nutí k něčemu děsivějšímu, než si kdy dokázala představit.Ze zamčených dveří pod schody prosakuje jedovatý stín. Klika přes noc chrastí a nehty škrábou o dřevo. Její domov skrývá nebezpečná tajemství a teď, když je Leigh uvězněna v jeho zdech, se bojí, že už nikdy neuteče.Myslíte si, že jste v bezpečí?Mýlíte se.