"Like Stephen King, Angelo Marcos knows that the scariest horror stories are about the people, not the ghosts." - Bookworm Cleo, Goodreads
Forget your dreams, what if your nightmares came true?
Ariadne is plagued by bad dreams - the unwilling victim of relentless nocturnal horrors.
The nightmares all feature the same imposing Shadow Man, a faceless - yet inexplicably grinning - creature pursuing Ariadne across the twisted landscape of her dreams. The sequence is merciless, and identical each time - the breathless pursuit, the inevitable capture, the sadistic slaughter.
And all the while, she senses his grin...
But now things have changed. She used to wake up covered in sweat, now she wakes up covered in blood.
The nightmares have begun leaching into reality, leaving Ariadne bruised, battered, and sure of only one thing - nowhere is safe.
Sleep deprived and desperate, she begins to doubt her own mind. Is there really a demonic creature intent on her destruction, or is she suffering from some undiagnosed psychosomatic disorder?
Either way she is in a deadly race against time, because the next time she falls asleep, she might not wake up again...
How do you fight a monster that may not even exist?
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(Very) Quick Author Q and A
What inspired you to write this story?
I've suffered from various parasomnia - sleep disorders - for years now, and so I know how terrifying they can be. At times you can genuinely feel like external forces are pulling your strings as if you were some kind of marionette.
There are so many different types of parasomnia - including sleepwalking, sleep paralysis and night terrors - and I wanted to explore some aspects of them along with the associated sleep deprivation that comes with these sleep disorders (which in itself can make matters worse).
Who will enjoy this book?
Anyone who likes psychological horror novels, paranormal suspense thrillers and sinister tales.
There is also a question over whether this is a paranormal horror story or a psychological thriller story, as I wanted to keep the reader guessing about what is actually going on.
Oh, and it might be best not to read this one in bed. Sleepless nights, tossing and turning, etc.
Don't say I didn't warn you.