thornapple press

A scholar’s research into an obscure folk song takes a sinister turn when it leads him to the decaying castle of Astiigos and the lord who governs it.

For readers who enjoy Dracula, The work of Vernon Lee & M.R. James, The Historian, The Castle of Otranto, heavily historical world building and many footnotes. This is a queer gothic horror novel written in the style of early 19th century prose.

“A gorgeous blend of folk horror and the gothic, Astiigos has a vividly imagined world, brooding, elegant prose, and delightfully sexy and eerie secrets in equal measure.” - Robin Zeno

You can get a free teaser or purchase the full Part I on my itch store. $7 gets you the epub, mobi, PDF and a darkmode PDF.

The Lord of Astiigos is a queer, 19th century gothic horror novel about a scholar searching for the truth behind a cursed folk song, and the lord of a distant castle fated to protect that truth with his life.

You’ll like this book if you like moody, atmospheric gothic horror and want that shit to be queer. That’s the real pitch. The castle is ancient. The lord of it is from a cursed bloodline. The scholar who made the very bad decision to travel all the way to the castle is perpetually on the verge of a breakdown.

You can read the first 6 chapters as an epub or get it as a pdf.

The entire first half of it (33k words) is available by joining my Patreon or Substar. Your support as I write the second half is essential to finishing it!