Oubliette

Gothic Horror

by L.V. Russell

ISBN: 978-1-967911-57-8

(2026), 230 pages

Sylvatica knows only hardship, solitude, and shame. Born into hunger on a rural farm in Norfolk in 1523, she is the unwanted twin. Ignored by her father, resented by her mother. Affection comes only from the aging housemaid who raises her in scraps of kindness…and later, from the dark-eyed stable boy who watches her too closely. From the shadows, he bears witness to every grotesque act, every simmering cruelty. Sylvatica’s hands are not clean, and her soul is even less so. So when he offers her a terrible choice, she cannot help but listen. Why suffer hunger when she could become it instead?

Rue knows only bloodshed, longing, and isolation. Born centuries later into ancient wealth on the Cornish coast, Rue grows up in a house steeped in rot and haunted by the dead. Twisted specters trail through the halls, whispering her name, the lords and ladies of high society she has delivered for her mother. For feasting. With blood beneath her nails and a soul darkening by the day, Rue begins to wonder if there might be something more to crave than violence and decay. Something better than hunger… Or if perhaps hunger is all she was ever made for.