“…embraces and deconstructs the genre of folk horror. Here, at its core, is a self-aware commentary on a genre with deep roots. It’s also a fantastic ride…an immersive, bingeable, and rewarding tale. The reader is heavily invested in the cast before the book’s 10% mark. …unsettling, creepy, and satisfying…an everyday epic and brilliant storytelling.”
—Coy, Goodreads review
NEW RELEASE
THE CURSED EARTH
Published by Nosetouch Press
Small towns always guard their secrets, and the quaint Pennsylvania tourist town of Lynchburg is no exception. When members of a Pittsburgh gang retreat to the outskirts of the town in an ill-fated bid to hide from the authorities, they—along with a trio of industrial spies, a would-be celebrity chef, and a happy-go-lucky band of unwary festivalgoers—find themselves set upon by the dark forces behind the town’s 50th annual Fungus Festival.
Part folk horror-comedy, part cosmic horror thriller set deep in the forests and hills of Pennsylvania, THE CURSED EARTH hurls readers headlong into the heart of a cosmic folk horror nightmare in a town ruled by the enigmatic La Signora Grigia—the psychedelic Grey Lady—where gangsters, partygoers, investigators, and sinister cultists clash in the midst of the wild festival atmosphere. Who is the Grey Lady, and can outsiders ever hope to survive for long in Lynchburg?
Horror Author
D.T. Neal
D. T. Neal is a fiction writer and editor living in Chicago. He won second place in the 2008 Aeon Award for his short story, “Aegis,” and has been published in Albedo One, Ireland’s premier magazine of science fiction, horror, and fantasy.
He is the author of Saamaanthaa , The Happening, and Norm, collectively known as the Wolfshadow Trilogy. He’s also written the vampire novel, Suckage, as well as the Lovecraftian cosmic horror-thriller, Chosen. He has written three creature feature/eco-horror novellas, Relict, Summerville, and The Day of the Nightfish, and the cosmic folk horror comedy thriller, The Cursed Earth. He continues to work on several science fiction, fantasy, horror, and thriller stories.
AWARDS:
• 2008 Aeon Award, Second Place for “Aegis”
• 2009 Honorable Mention, “Best Horror of the Year,” edited by Ellen Datlow for “Aegis” and “Rotgut.”
• Runner-up, 2013 Best New Novel by a Chicagoan, Chicago Reader, for “Suckage”
• Shortlisted for the 2012 Aeon Award for “Day of the
News
D.T. Neal Interview at Gingernuts of Horror
“D. T. NEAL IS FAR FROM THE NORM” Read the full interview here…
July 2020 Updates
If you liked THE DAY OF THE NIGHTFISH (released in July 2020), just know that there are some future horror-suspense-thriller novellas coming out in 2021 from D.T. Neal, including STRANGELIQUE and MAENAD. STRANGELIQUE is a story of a cursed statue, and MAENAD follows a...
Horror Author
D.T. Neal
D. T. Neal is a fiction writer and editor living in Chicago. He won second place in the 2008 Aeon Award for his short story, “Aegis,” and has been published in Albedo One, Ireland’s premier magazine of science fiction, horror, and fantasy.
He is the author of Saamaanthaa, The Happening, and Norm, collectively known as the Wolfshadow Trilogy. He’s also written the vampire novel, Suckage, as well as the Lovecraftian cosmic horror-thriller, Chosen. He has written three creature feature/eco-horror novellas, Relict, Summerville, and The Day of the Nightfish. He continues to work on several science fiction, fantasy, horror, and thriller stories.
AWARDS:
• 2008 Aeon Award, Second Place for “Aegis”
• 2009 Honorable Mention, “Best Horror of the Year,” edited by Ellen Datlow for “Aegis” and “Rotgut.”
• Runner-up, 2013 Best New Novel by a Chicagoan, Chicago Reader, for “Suckage”
• Shortlisted for the 2012 Aeon Award for “Day of the
News
D.T. Neal Interview at Gingernuts of Horror
“D. T. NEAL IS FAR FROM THE NORM” Read the full interview here…
July 2020 Updates
If you liked THE DAY OF THE NIGHTFISH (released in July 2020), just know that there are some future horror-suspense-thriller novellas coming out in 2021 from D.T. Neal, including STRANGELIQUE and MAENAD. STRANGELIQUE is a story of a cursed statue, and MAENAD follows a...
ALL Books
SAAMAANTHAA
[NOVEL]
Something’s been eating Samantha Hain’s friends, and she’s more than a little afraid it might be her.
THE HAPPENING
[NOVEL]
Zooey’s werewolf insurrection has exploded beyond the confines of the city of Chicago, appearing throughout the country, with only the members of a secret government agency to stop it.
NORM
[NOVEL]
The final piece of the Wolfshadow Trilogy puzzle, Norm delivers bracing Horror-Thriller action in the tautly evocative literary style that has characterized all books in the series. The fur flies and blood spills as Trueborn Lupines go up against Infectives in a bid for supremacy on the streets of Chicago.
LUPINIA
[POETRY—A WOLFSHADOW BOOK]
Lupinia is a collection of Polly Drinkwater’s darkest and most intimate experiences as a lycanthrope, captured in poems of loss, love, lust, longing, and loquacity. Seeking an elevated understanding of her condition, she finds she is at war with her body, her identity, and even her soul. The duality of the human condition through the lens of lycanthropy offers insight into the liminal animality of herself as a living thing. The story of one woman’s struggle to define herself through her own paranormality, Lupinia offers a voice in the wilderness across fecund fields of feral ferocity, through the mind-fire of her ongoing affliction.
CHOSEN
[NOVEL]
Something’s rotten in the Pennsylvania town of Ludlow, or, more precisely, deep within the Mercy River that flows through it. Chosen serves up a paranoid and terrifying vision of an undead epidemic in the form of the cult of the Brethren, uniquely lifeless-yet-sentient apparitions who seek to take over the town, with only a small band of survivors fighting for their lives as they try to stop them.
SUCKAGE
[NOVEL]
Vampires suck—One part urban vampire tale, one part vampire slayer’s memoir, Suckage tracks the evolution of a minion, offering an irreverent and darkly humorous exploration of undead life in Chicago, as narrator/protagonist Nate Sharp goes toe-to-toe with Iris Augenblick, his vampiric lover, mentor, and nemesis.
THE DAY OF THE NIGHTFISH
[NOVELLA]
Nightfish is on the menu, yet nobody knows what it is. This novella follows the quest for the elusive Nightfish, leading to the enigmatic town of Gunwale, Rhode Island, and an unforgettable fishing trip at the sinister source of the seafood delicacy, far below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean.
RELICT
[NOVELLA]
This novella features a group of luxury tourists sailing to the exotic and faraway Palmer Atoll, all by itself in the Pacific Ocean. There, they encounter a monstrous sea creature that has made the atoll its home, and is all too welcoming of visitors to feed its insatiable appetite. Claustrophobic and terrifying, Relict seizes the reader and won’t let go.
SUMMERVILLE
[NOVELLA]
The southern town of Summerville has seen better days. This eco horror novella tracks a group of thrillseekers to the ruin of the town in search of a fabled Civil War-era spirit, only to find a lurking menace growing all over the town. What began as a countryside jaunt turns into a horrifying fight for survival.
REVIEWS
THE CURSED EARTH:
“The Cursed Earth by D.T. Neal both embraces and deconstructs the genre of folk horror. Here, at its core, is a self-aware commentary on a genre with deep roots. It’s also a fantastic ride.
Through four distinct story strands, Neal takes the reader to Lynchburg, PA and its annual mushroom festival. This small town functions around the festival, which boasts 100,000 visitors a year. The people of Lynchburg unashamedly embrace their dependence on mushrooms (with restaurants like The Shroom Room) and their dependence on the divine figure of La Signora Grigia (The Grey Lady). Paganism and dark deeds are afoot, but the crop and the cult are on display for visitors to enjoy, experience, and purchase. Even The Grey Lady is commodified with statuettes of the goddess sold in the hotel gift shop.
Regarding the story, Neal masterfully weaves the strands (recently out of college friends, the undercover agents of a big-pharma baron, organized crime members of The Red Deaths, and a ‘semi-celebrity’ chef out of Philly) into an immersive, bingeable, and rewarding tale. The reader is heavily invested in the cast before the book’s 10% mark. The horror of the tale, which is unsettling, creepy, and satisfying, stems from The Grey Lady and Her cult followers, but I’ll leave that pleasure of discovery for your own reading experience.
Neal deconstructs the tropes of folk horror with The Cursed Earth. The town of Lynchburg embraces and embellishes the idea of its rural and insular nature. This is the countryside viewed through the lens of a neon Shroom Room sign, self-aware and commercialized, and there’s a message there that landed with me (I won’t force feed it, but I hope the message sticks with other fans of the genre, as well).
The Cursed Earth is an everyday epic and brilliant storytelling.”
RELICT:
“Relict by D.T. Neal is a full-blown creature feature. Focusing mainly on the unknown, giving brief glimpses to the creature stalking just below the surface. Very similar to Jaws where your imagination does the majority of the damage with Neal pushing you in the right direction.
The second novella of Neal’s that I’ve read. And once again it is a fast-paced, anxiety-inducing read. I wasn’t a big fan of deep, open water before but the chances of me taking a leisure cruise now are extremely slim, in fact, there’s not a heard of wild horses that could usher me on a boat.
Novellas are great and Neal is definitely a master of the craft. Anyone who likes the creature feature horror genre will lap this up. It’s completely worth the heart murmurs.”
SUMMERVILLE:
“…Neal is a compelling and imaginative storyteller whose tales are richly evocative and leave the reader wondering about the story well after it’s read…Neal explores larger questions of knowledge and morality but creates stories that nevertheless compel readers who love the genres he works in and doesn’t approach his tales analytically. He has an easy way with dialogue, and there is a lovely symmetry of detail in this novella. I will be reading more of Neal’s longer works.”
SUCKAGE:
“…One of the most compelling components of this novel is the way in which the story is delivered. The reader sees the action through the eyes of the irreverent, snarky Nathan. With such dry commentary as, “Nobody just walks up and says “Hey, I’m a vampire. Want to go somewhere?’” Nathan gives the reader a brutally frank view of the underworld. By infusing humor into an otherwise dark story, Neal creates a compelling read on many levels
NORM:
“The finale of the Wolfshadow Trilogy is a good time—it’s more of a horror-thriller than outright horror, which traces the evolution of the series. The first book was very much a horror novel. The middle book was somewhere between horror and thriller. NORM is squarely horror-thriller in conception. The titular character (wryly named “Norm”) is part of an elite werewolf-hunting team in a world (or maybe just country) transformed by the fictional lycanthropy outbreak that was central to THE HAPPENING (Book 2). Anyway, there’s werewolf politics as factions scheme, a rift between born lycanthropes & infectives, and the reappearance of characters from the other books, including Ansel Rupino (arguably indirectly responsible for the outbreak in the first place!), Polly Drinkwater (who’s a mom, now, which adds an interesting character wrinkle), as well as the Synowie Srebra—the secretive Polish underground of werewolf hunters, who are some of my favorites in the series. The Wolfshadow Trilogy is an intriguing riff on werewolf fiction—and it’s hard to not see parallels with the COVID-19 pandemic in how a society can be disrupted by a massive outbreak. The difference is that the lycanthropes are decidedly more powerful than the uninfected norms, and it makes everyday life very dangerous. This book does what would have seemed impossible in Books 1 & 2, which is to tie things all up and attain a satisfying, even strangely moving conclusion.”
THE CURSED EARTH:
“This book is amazing. A folk horror with a cult, an evil clown, black magic, and lots of mushrooms!
D. T. Neal does know quite a bit about mushrooms and it shows in this story. Neal is fantastic with visualizing in words the atmosphere, the scenery, and the characters emotions and actions. Fans of Ronald Malfi will enjoy this book.
In a little town called Lynchburg in Pennsylvania, there is a huge mushroom business. This family-owned business shares their success by hosting a yearly Fungus Festival. This year is the 50th anniversary of the festival; and it falls on Friday the 13th. This story follows the story of a chef, a group of college friends, a gang, industrial spies and lots of festival goers.
While it may seem that following so many views of the festival can be difficult to follow, Neal has the skills to make this easy to keep up. I never got confused as to who is who and what their role is in the story.
The narration between all the characters flowed easily and smoothly. I enjoyed the banter and learning about the different types of mushrooms.
The action scenes were also easy to follow. I found myself so engrossed and speed reading because I was so involved in what happens to each character. I came to care about what happens to all of the people in this story.
Overall, I found this book immersive, engaging, and fun. I would definitely put this book as one of the best books I have read in 2022.”
RELICT:
“I loved this one so much! The dread and danger just drip off the page.”
“If you want bloody, visceral horror, look no further. The is brutality here that should satisfy true fans of the genre. And the creepy, unexpected end will have you wanting more, and make you think twice about walking your dog in the city.”
CHOSEN:
“I could easily see this book becoming a Netflix series! This book delivers a gripping and gritty tale.”
THE DAY OF THE NIGHTFISH:
“Bloody brilliant…a short, sharp-as-nails story. Loved it, more please!”
RELICT:
“So horrifying, and yet so plausible. As an author who has written a book about a giant sea creature, I take my hat off to Neal—this guy takes us all to school in showing what it would be liked to be trapped somewhere remote by something with a monstrous size, appetite, and intelligence. Great work—now to see what else he’s got!”
THE DAY OF THE NIGHTFISH:
“D.T. Neal has a tremendous writing voice that is so enjoyable to read I wouldn’t even care if monsters didn’t show up.”
CHOSEN:
“At the most basic level, Chosen is a zombie book. It contains all of the familiar story elements of the genre—the random event that creates the first monster, the unwitting initial victims, the gradual realization by the heroes of what is happening, and the climactic Final Battle. On this level of storytelling, Mr. Neal provides terrific pacing and some beautifully rendered scenes. My two favorites both take place on the local riverboat casino. In the first, some fantastically gruesome things happen to the patrons outside in the river under blinking neon lights. The writing here is so visual you can see in your mind’s eye exactly the vision the author sees as the lights go on. And off. And on. And off. In the second, Mr. Neal recreates one of my favorite scenes, the classic “gambling with the devil”, ironically set in an actual casino this time. Everything about it is both completely unsettling and completely enjoyable (for the reader, at least).
But there’s a twist. The zombies of Chosen aren’t the classic mindless ghouls that inhabit the worlds of The Walking Dead, 28 Days Later, or most recently World War Z. The zombies of Chosen are actually self-aware to a certain degree. And this is why Chosen can be read at a level beyond that of a simple zombie book. Mr. Neal posits a world populated by creatures who have self-awareness but lack self-actualization, a world where the ability to self-actualize has been forcibly and violently stripped from them. And as he spins out the implications of this world, he finds that “. . . there would be a final regression, the very darkest of Dark Ages, when all of the vanities of old would crumble and molder and fall by the wayside, while the world’s multitudes would look skyward with the blackest, deadest eyes, gazing at the uncaring stars with pale faces, blank and empty as the void itself, and wait for the world to end.”
Chosen is not only a terrifically fun read, but also a commentary on the control of the powerless many by the powerful few, the fragility of individuality and freedom in a world of invasive intrusion, and the roles that iconoclasts and misfits have in keeping it real. These themes are far more relevant to me (and others I presume) living in 21st-century America than I ever thought they would or could be and this novel explores them in an honest and engaging way. If you are looking for something new and interesting to read this summer on (or off) the beach, I cannot recommend CHOSEN highly enough.”
AEGIS:
“In second place Ian [Watson] chose “Aegis” by D. T. Neal, which he described as ‘wonderfully descriptive and powerful and “