
An unsettling and creepy story collection of literary horror set in the Renfield universe from “major new talent” (R.L. Stine) Sam Rebelein, author of Edenville. “I hope I get to go back to Renfield County again, before too long.” —LitHub on Edenville There’s something wrong in Renfield County. It’s in the water, the soil, the wood. But worst of all, it’s in the minds of the residents, slowly driving them mad. When Lawrence Renfield massacred his family and drew The Giant in his farmhouse with their blood, no one imagined the repercussions. At the very least, the bloodstained wood should have been set aflame, not chopped down and repurposed as furniture, décor, and heirlooms across the county. But that’s exactly what happened. Now regular people—like you and me—are sitting on… eating with… admiring… the cursed wood and reaping the consequences. These are their stories. In “My Name Is Ellie” a young girl uncovers disturbing secrets hiding in the walls of her beloved grandmother’s home. An unassuming box, built with reclaimed wood, connects a grieving widower with his late wife’s lingering spirit in “Hector Brim.” In “Detour” a father, desperate to return home, finds himself trapped in a dizzying maze, haunted by stories of lurking monsters that live off the remains of weary travelers. Playing with the uncanny to explore themes of loneliness and grief, Sam Rebelein returns upstate to unravel the mysteries of Renfield. But regardless of what started the trouble, there’s one thing of which we can be for those living here, the nightmare is far from over.
Author

Sam Rebelein holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College (with a focus on Horror and Memoir), a certificate of graduation from the Lubbock Area Square & Round Dance Federation, and that one trophy in The Last of Us Part II for when you beat the game on the hardest difficulty. Hard to say which of these is his greatest accomplishment. Sam's work has appeared in a number of speculative fiction publications, including Bourbon Penn, Coffin Bell Journal, The Dread Machine, Press Pause Press, Ellen Datlow's Best Horror of the Year, and elsewhere. His award-nominated story "Black Fanged Thing" was listed as a stand-out piece of 2018 on Barnes & Noble's "Sci-fi & Fantasy Blog." HarperCollins' horror and crime imprint William Morrow is publishing Sam's debut horror novel EDENVILLE on October 3rd, 2023, and his debut short story collection THE POORLY MADE AND OTHER THINGS in 2024. For more about Sam's writing (and pictures of his dogs), follow Sam on Twitter @HillaryScruff.