64. Come to Castlemoor – Beatrice Parker

Ruins, secret ceremonies, a brother who studies exactly that kind of thing and dies in an unfortunate “walking on the moors” kind of accident… exactly the kind of thing that inspires a very beautiful sister to travel north and decide she’s going to finish the book her brother started because that was very important to him. Even if there are “ghosts” around and the family next door in the castle is very weird and the dudes from said castle are ignoring everyone but her, Kathy will succeed. She does have a very sassy romance-minded maid after all. And gumption.

Kathy, of course, becomes trapped between the two dudes who live at Castlemoor and enveloped in a bit of a mystery about who is really dead and who might be just locked in a dungeon, who is wearing those white ghosty outfits, and what exactly is happening in those ruins that seem to be rather haunted. Kathy’s main questions end up being how involved in whatever’s going on is the broody dude versus how involved is the one who can’t stop collecting folk songs – are either of them actually marriage material when she pretends she doesn’t want to even date either of them, but secretly wants to date both of them? Unfortunately, there is more to that part than the whole “secret ceremonies and ancient rites” part, which is the part I was keen on, but this is a fun story nonetheless. There’s even a festival scene. Every folk horror adjacent work needs a town festival scene.

Wisting just asked Dagmar if she wants to hear his folk song collection. She’s reeling in disinterest.