In the year of 1882, there was an old wives' tale that started to circulate around many parts of North America. It was of 'Bledlow Valley' which was said to be a town full of witches and monsters that you'd only find if you wandered off into the forest too far.
It was basically used to scare children into staying close to home instead of ambling around deep into the forest. Refrain Blackwater was a woman who always enjoyed nature. She loved how beautiful it was, how nice it smelled, and oh the whispers of the wind was enough to deepen her love for the forest. Because of this, her friends always joked about her being the one who was "most likely to find Bledlow Valley."
However, when she became twenty-seven, she was walking peacefully in the forest when she found a path she'd never seen before. Intrigued, she followed the path until she became light headed. Until her body felt like she may collapse from exhaustion. Her brain became fuzzy and she couldn't remember anything more than finding the path.
She found Bledlow Valley and was welcomed very warmly by the locals. Perhaps too warmly. Life in Bledlow Valley soon becomes a sick and twisted game of manipulation and fear, everyone being puppets and their ancient, beloved deity, The Stone Mother, has all the strings in her hands.
Every full moon The Stone Mother must be fed, but The Messengers of the Famine (As the locals/cultists call themselves) are running out of sacrifices. People, rejoice! A new easily manipulated woman has wandered into town! Will Refrain escape Bledlow Valley, or will she end up in The Stone Mother's prison, bound to be devoured?
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Antique store owner Liz brings home a Victorian taxidermy hound from auction, unwittingly unleashing dark forces on her wife and son.
*****
Nat Loman has finally married the love of her life, Liz, and is getting used to her role as stepmother to Liz's 5-year-old son, Liam. The Loman family runs a bustling antique business so they attend a sale where a striking, black taxidermied hound is up for auction. Liz picks it up for the business, but it ends up being stored in their home, where Nat notices strange things occurring. She quickly discovers the past residents had died violently. Then she hears from a friend about the myth of "the devil's dog", a hound that perches in the shadows, tearing families apart from the inside. Soon, people around the Lomans are dying, and Liz is changing, darkening. It's up to Nat to save the woman she loves from the darkness closing in, and to save Liam from danger no matter what she has to sacrifice.
[[Winner of the 2018 Wattys "Hidden Gems" category]]
[[word count: 60,000-70,000 words]]