A queer paranormal horror novel in the style of showrunner Mike Flannagan, showing the complex real-life terror inherent in grief and mental illness

After the tragic death of their father and surviving a life-threatening eating disorder, 18-year-old Ellis moves with their mother to the small town of Black Stone, seeking a simpler life and some space to recover. But Black Stone feels off; it’s a disquieting place surrounded by towns with some of the highest death rates in the country. It doesn’t help that everyone says Ellis’s new house is haunted — everyone including Quinn, a local girl who has quickly captured Ellis's attention. And Ellis has started to believe what people are saying: they see pulsing veins in their bedroom walls and specters in dark corners of the cellar. Together, Ellis and Quinn dig deep into Black Stone’s past and soon discover that their town, and Ellis’s house in particular, is the battleground in a decades-long spectral war, one that will claim their family — and the town — if it’s allowed to continue.

Withered is queer psychological horror, a compelling tale of heartache, loss, and revenge that tackles important issues of mental health in the way that only horror can: by delving deep into them, cracking them open, and exposing their gruesome entrails.

A.G.A. Wilmot's profile page

A.G.A Wilmot (BFA, MPub) is an award-winning writer and editor based out of Toronto. Their credits include myriad online and in-print publications and anthologies, and their first book, The Death Scene Artist, was published by Buckrider Books in 2018. Find them online at AndrewWilmot.ca.

“Ellis’s recovery from their eating disorder cunningly intertwines with the ghost story as Wilmot interrogates the human desire for control over one’s body, natural forces, and even life and death.” — Publishers Weekly

“Wilmot’s fast-paced psychological-horror novel offers a fresh spin on the haunted-house trope, with well-drawn queer and trans representation at its center. This thought-provoking blend of psychological and supernatural horror will appeal to fans of Stranger Things and allegorical haunted-house novels like Carissa Orlando’s The September House.” — Booklist

“Withered is a slow burn psychological horror that will consume its readers through its exploration of the toxicity and timelessness of grief and the way it chokes all those it touches. The time-paused town of Black Stone reveals to readers what it means to conquer death and what it means to be alive. Wilmot elegantly illuminates the power of art and its impact on identity and memory, while painting a vivid definition of a ghost town with their prose.” — Ai Jiang, Nebula finalist and author of Linghun and I Am Ai

“Withered is a compassionate exploration of mental health, hauntings, and the way grief can pull, stretch, or erode our sense of self. Told with wit and warmth, it is a triumph of love in the face of heartache and death.” — Suzan Palumbo, Nebula and World Fantasy Award finalist

“Unwinding like a bandage from an old wound, Withered explores the cost of living with ourselves and our fragile histories. Wilmot deconstructs the haunted house and finds a home worth saving.” — Andrew F. Sullivan, author of The Marigold and The Handyman Method

“Withered is the very best kind of horror novel, a book that makes visible the challenges of mental illness and grief, and gives them a story that deeply acknowledges that pain and trauma. Ellis, the teen protagonist, is one of the most compelling characters I have ever read, someone I knew I had to root for from the very beginning. Withered is beautiful, sad, and scary, and I couldn’t have asked for anything more.” — Jen Sookfong Lee, author of Superfan

“In this clever mix of The Haunting of Hill House, Stranger Things, and Death with Interruptions, A.G.A. Wilmot has created a narrative that digs beyond the abyss and provides something entirely new, merely by asking a simple question: What if we just said ‘no’ to Death? It's a beautiful examination not just of grief, but of the will to live — something we sorely need.” — Adam Pottle, award-winning author of Apparitions