BOUGHT BY WATTPAD WEBTOON STUDIOS FOR PUBLISHING/MOVIE DEALS!!! (Contract expired September, 2025) Winner of the Wattys 2020 Award in Horror/English "This book really hooks you with its intriguing premise. A super fun horror story rooted in Filipino Folklore, with a science thriller twist - think Jurassic Park meets It Follows." -----What the Wattys2020 Team said about Haunteds, Wattys2020 Winner in Horror category Plot: In 1974, the mysterious cult's mass kidnapping and ritualistic killing led to the summoning of the Shade-a paranormal entity of living shadow. Ever since then, starting in October in Bastillio-a city in the Philippines steeped in history and superstition-the Shade would be seen haunting twelve teenagers at night throughout the month, often resulting in their deaths. But the discovery of U.V. lights as a deterrent from the Shade led the government to establish a system to contain the Shade's threat. Fast forward to 2025, twenty years after the system had successfully prevented any more deaths, the media and global firestorm surrounding the phenomenon died down. So when sixteen-year-old Vergil Torres was identified as one of the twelve and was immediately brought to Biringan-the government shelter where haunteds like him would stay for the month-he was more excited than scared for his life. But the gruesome and inexplicable death of one of them during their stay in the supposedly safe house renews the horror of the Shade. Reluctant at first, Vergil, together with his friends and Major Coleman, decided to get to the bottom of the mystery, if they are to survive through the month.

Blackwell Boarding School is swarmed with cameras that prey on the students in order to film for the reality TV show that shows an exclusive inside to an elite school. Zora McQueen avoids the glistening TV screen when her nudes are spread around campus, instead taking comfort with the only other person who keeps secrets from the public. Alluring mystery and dubbed slut, Eliott Hearse. Except now, Eliott is missing and no one has the faintest idea where she could've gone. Taking matters into her own hands, Zora believes that the answers may lie in Eliott's favourite game: chess. Partnering with the school's best chess club player, Arwyn Truong, Zora learns that not everything is as it seems and that perhaps the old school holds far more secrets than they'd care to admit. Some secrets hitting dangerously close to home. In order to see things for what they are and find her friend, Zora must escape the gossip and cameras that follow her closely and embrace the title she adorns. The only way to do that? Follow the Slut's Guide to Chess. [2022 Watty's Shortlist] [Featured on Wattpad Editors' Picks, April 2021 + 2023]