SPECIAL NOTE: Devil's Day, by Andrew Michael Hurley, is one of two books included in this month's Creepy Crate! Order by October 5 to get one of these two books, along with a selection of surprise horror-themed collectibles.
As kids, we’re told frightening tales of local lore—from the unsolved murder one street over to the missing child that was never found. And though we grow up and leave our childhoods behind, these urban legends of our youth can linger in the mind.
For John Pentecost—the protagonist of Andrew Michael Hurley’s new horror novel—stories of the Devil will always be a part of his life. One hundred years ago, tragedy struck John's Lancashire village, leaving thirteen dead and every survivor in terror. This was not the work of fate, they said, but of Satan—who had crept down from the moors and disguised himself as an ewe. To appease their tormentor and prevent his return, the Endlanders began hosting an annual gathering of song, dance, and ritual. And though John eventually swapped sheep farming for a job in the city, the legend of Devil's Day remains an integral part of his identity.
- Photo Credit: Dave Reed / Unsplash
When John returns home for the funeral of his grandfather—a well-known local figure called the Gaffer—he finds himself becoming increasingly attached to the life he gave up. But while he reconnects with his heritage and helps prepare for Devil’s Day, his pregnant wife is not so taken with the Endlands: Since their arrival, someone has set fire to the woods, a local man has disappeared, and a teenage girl seems to exhibit an eerie gift for prediction...But are these events related to coincidence and local feuds? Or are the legends true, and the Devil has come back after all?
Andrew Michael Hurley’s masterful evocation of the Lancashire landscape, combined with his use of mythology, lends Devil’s Day the same palpable menace of his debut, The Loney. Deeply atmospheric and bristling with an almost unbearable tension, the novel is a must-read for fans of folk horror and slow-burn scares. Read on for an excerpt of the first two chapters, in which John reflects on his return to the Endlands, and all that followed...
SPECIAL NOTE: Devil's Day, by Andrew Michael Hurley, is one of two books included in this month's Creepy Crate! Order by November 5 to get one of these two books, along with a selection of surprise horror-themed collectibles.
Click here to read an excerpt of Devil's Day, and then download the book.
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Featured photo: Joshua Fuller / Unsplash
