4 Terrifying New Releases from Indie and Small Presses in January 2026

Arkansas, 1999. Raven Moore is an 18-year-old girl who has spent her whole life trying to escape out from under the shadow of her mother's reputation.

12 years ago, a pair of bodies were discovered burned at the base of the Hill. Deanne Moore, the Wind Witch, was convicted of their murders.

Deanne died three days ago in an asylum without ever opening her mouth to defend herself.

At the funeral, a stranger with a red feather in his hand seems to know things about Deanne that no one in Silverfield will say out loud. He knows things about the Hill People, a community said to practice witchcraft, who all disappeared when Deanne was sent away.

He knows about many things: the wind, blood, the gift that runs through Raven's veins. And he knows whether or not she believes in it.

Raven was brought up by her religious grandmother to fear everything her mother was. Who she is has been intwined with secrets and doubts.

But when the past catches up with her, Raven must choose between staying in the world which has always been afraid of her, or stepping into her mother's legacy.

After all, the wind remembers what others do not. And some murders aren't exactly what they seem.

This book is now available for pre-order, and will be released on January 6th by Severn House!

John Stephenson takes a look out of his window one Tuesday morning to find clear gray skies stretching out over the homes of his suburban street. He has no idea that the next 48 hours will be a living nightmare for he and his neighbors.

As the first flurries of snow begin to fall, a strange whispering comes with it. A woman walking her dog crouches down to listen as if someone is speaking to her beneath the sidewalk.

As the storm grows more vicious, each of the residents hear the chilling words. Words that few of them may survive to repeat.

This snowfall has brought forth an ancient curse, an entity that knows all of their sins and regrets. And it wants to consume them.

This book is now available for pre-order, and will be released on January 20th by CLASH Books!

Rosi is a smuggler who, with her new crew, stumbles across an eerie radio signal in the Romanian mountains. When the world goes abruptly dark, their logging truck is a vessel careening through a black sea of nothingness.

It seems, however, that they are not alone. Transmissions crackle through the radio from isolated islands across the country, from police cars, radio hobbyists, customs facilities, and the like.

Rosi and her crew try to rescue survivors and find a way out of the nothingness. But as they save lives, they quickly find that there is something lurking below.

Something hungry. Something sending up agents—and transmissions—of its own.

This book is now available for pre-order, and will be released on January 20th by Flame Tree Press!

Something unusual is afoot in the remote town of Cairney. Under specific circumstances, the Angel of Death grants the dead a second chance at life—though one should always be careful what they wish for.

Friede Inkerman is a pianist who plays at the sacred funerals of Cairney. For her, Death's generosity is nothing but a curse.

After being murdered by her wife, Friede was resurrected against her will. All she wants is to rest in peace at last, away from the grief and suspicion rampant in this peculiar town.

Death's sacred relic is stolen on Allhallowsmas, and the acolyte who guarded it has been brutally murdered. Now all of the dead souls in Cairney are in danger of dissolving into oblivion come sunset.

It's hard for Friede to ignore how much the acolyte's murder mirrors her own. Now with her fried Bastian at her side, Friede digs through the town's secrets so she can set things right and, at long last, find her eternal rest.

As Friede investigates, she uncovers a plot tangled through with ritual magic and sick devotion. A plot that threatens everything Friede holds dear.

This book is now available for pre-order, and will be released on January 27th by Dead Sky Publishing!