The Cold House

by A.G. Slatter

When Everly's husband and young daughter die in a car crash she finds out nothing is quite what she thought… Secrets, lies and grief collide in this funny, tragic, intimate and utterly compelling horror novella.

Written by the acclaimed author of the Sourdough Universe novels and winner of multiple awards including the Shirley Jackson and World Fantasy, this searing tale is perfect for fans of Rachel Harrison, Delilah S. Dawson and Sarah-Maria Griffin.

Writer Everly Bainbridge's life is left in ruins when her husband takes their child to the supermarket one day and a lorry collides with their car. After the accident, a lawyer appears on her doorstep and tells her her husband was not who he said he was and she is a very rich widow. She retreats to a lonely house in the countryside to recover. But there's a well in the cellar, a spectacularly cold room, and one night, Everly wakes up with a foot hanging over the emptiness of the well and the echo of her daughter's voice in her ears…

A short, sharp, emotionally layered story of horrific secrets and dangerous lies, this dark, fierce gem of a novella will keep you turning the pages late into the night…

Genres: Horror, Novella, Fiction, Adult, Gothic, Audiobook, Paranormal

160 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 7, 2025

About the author

AKA Angela Slatter

Angela Slatter is the author of All The Murmuring Bones (Titan Books, purchase links below). That will be followed by The Path of Thorns in 2022. Both are gothic fantasies set in the world of the Sourdough and Bitterwood collections.

In February 2021, Tartarus Press published The Tallow-Wife and Other Tales, the third mosaic collection in the Sourdough world series. In March 2022, The Bone Lantern (a novella set in the Sourdough world) will be published by Absinthe Press (an imprint of PS Publishing).

Angela is also the author of the supernatural crime novels from Jo Fletcher Books/Hachette International: Vigil (2016), Corpselight (2017) and Restoration (2018), as well as ten other short story collections, including The Girl with No Hands and Other Tales, Sourdough and Other Stories, The Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings, A Feast of Sorrows: Stories, and The Heart is a Mirror for Sinners and Other Stories. Vigil was nominated for the Dublin Literary Award in 2018.

Angela is represented by Meg Davis of the Ki Agency in London: meg@ki-agency.co.uk

She has won a World Fantasy Award, a British Fantasy Award, a Ditmar, two Australian Shadows Awards and seven Aurealis Awards.

Angela’s short stories have appeared in Australian, UK and US Best Of anthologies such The Mammoth Book of New Horror, The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy and Horror, The Best Horror of the Year, The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy and Horror, and The Year’s Best YA Speculative Fiction. Her work has been translated into Bulgarian, Chinese, Russian, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Polish, French and Romanian. Victoria Madden of Sweet Potato Films (The Kettering Incident) has optioned the film rights to one of her short stories (“Finnegan’s Field”).

She has an MA and a PhD in Creative Writing, is a graduate of Clarion South 2009 and the Tin House Summer Writers Workshop 2006, and in 2013 she was awarded one of the inaugural Queensland Writers Fellowships. In 2016 Angela was the Established Writer-in-Residence at the Katharine Susannah Prichard Writers Centre in Perth. She has been awarded career development funding by Arts Queensland, the Copyright Agency and, in 2017/18, an Australia Council for the Arts grant. She teaches for the Australian Writers’ Centre.

She is also the author of the novellas, Of Sorrow and Such (Tor.com) and Ripper (in Horrorology: The Lexicon of Fear).

Reviews

[Ricarda · Rating 3 out of 5]

The most horrific part of this story happened before the book even began and I'm not sure if that is a good thing for a horror novella. Don't get me wrong, the grief-heavy beginning is one of the strongest parts of this book and it was both emotional and blunt how everything started with a mother who mourns the death of her husband and daughter. Everly is struggling in every possible way and it doesn't help that her husband kept more secrets from her than she ever expected. She really needs a change of scenery and through some weird circumstances she is able to stay in an old, huge mansion on a little island all by herself, and everyone knows that nothing bad ever happened in such a place, so she sure will be fine. She tries to rest, but the house is rather restless and has a grim history. But so does Everly. Her character unfolded as the story went on and it was impressive how many layers were added to her in such a short book. She also begins to see and hear things that may or may not be there, and she learns about some local folklore involving a straw witch, so she's really dealing with a lot. I must say that it was a bit too much for 160 pages. I think the story could have worked if it was a book of medium length. Then there would have been room to include longer chapters set in the past, which would have been great, because many things stayed pretty vague. The folklore part also came very short in my opinion. The straw witch tale didn't lead to anything really and I thought that it would play a bigger role in the story with the straw doll on the cover and everything. But the book went in a completely different direction. I didn't dislike the plot that I got and I even think that the ending was great, but overall the structure wasn't my favorite and I'm questioning some plot elements. The story easily held my attention, but I'm not sure if it will stay on my mind for much longer. I'm still glad that I've read this book, because it did put A.G. Slatter fully on my radar. I'm very keen on finding out how she mixes darker themes and fantasy in her other novels (and many of her books are set in the Sourdough Universe and please that sounds awesome.) I would rate this one 3.5 stars, but I'm honestly indecisive if I should round it up or down on Goodreads.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Titan Books for providing a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Sadie Hartmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fans of Slatter's dark fantasy/horror/magical novels in the Sourdough Universe will be excited to know that this folk/grief horror novella is a flex of Slatter's versatility as a storyteller
“The Cold House is a unique blend of folk and grief horror—emotionally raw, captivating, and a twisting, winding descent into darkness. No one does it like Slatter. I’m a fan for life!”
Sadie Hartmann ‘Mother Horror’, Bram Stoker Award®-winning author of 101 Horror Books to Read Before You’re Murdered

Title/Author: The Cold House by A. G. Slatter
Format Read: Digital galley
Pub date: October. 7th, 2025
Publisher: TITAN
Page Count: 160
Affiliate Link: https://bookshop.org/a/7576/978183541...
Recommended for readers who enjoy:
- Grief and Folk Horror
- Widow/Tragedy
- Secrets & Lies
- Buried past
- Isolation & Writer's Block
-Sourdough Easter Eggs
-Witchy shit
__
Minor complaints:
- More! Having read all 4 books in the Sourdough Universe, I just wanted a little more--the Straw Witch folklore was a tiny bit of a tease

Final recommendation: 
The Cold House is a gothic folk horror that delivers atmosphere in a tight little package for horror fans. There's lush, evocative prose infused with Slatter's signature wit and charm. As a feminist reimagining of the haunted house tale, I appreciated its powerful exploration of loss, guilt, and legacy. At the same time, the story feels a little cramped in its 160 pages, leaving some of the folklore underdeveloped and certain plot threads vague but there’s no denying the book’s haunting pull or the way it wrestles with the weight of grief and loss, secrets & lies.
Comps: It Will Just Be Us by Jo Kaplan, This House Isn't Haunted by We Are by Stephen Howard

[Vivian · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a chill that seeps from the very first page of The Cold House, a gothic folk horror that is as much about grief and betrayal as it is about shadows and hauntings. Slatter’s prose winds like ivy around crumbling stone, lush and evocative, creating an atmosphere thick with secrets, lies, and the weight of generations.

What struck me most was the portrayal of grief - raw, layered with guilt, denial, and the impossible contradictions of love and loss. It is, without exaggeration, the most realistic rendering of grief I have ever encountered on the page and it will resonate deeply with anyone who has ever had to carry the silence of mourning - especially when that silence is complicated by deception.

Woven into this is a feminist reimagining of the familiar tale: the isolated house, the author retreating into solitude, the whisper of the supernatural. Instead of well worn tropes, we find something empowered, something that interrogates legacy and the burdens we inherit from family, bloodlines, and the past.

This is not just a ghost story - it is a story of love and responsibility, of what truths we choose to bury and which ones we dare to unearth, of what we owe the dead, the living, and most of all ourselves. Haunting and gripping, The Cold House lingers like a chill in the bones on a frosty winter's night.

My thanks to Titan Books for the arc

[Chewable Orb · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Cold House by A.G. Slatter
3.8 rounded up to 4 🔮🔮🔮🔮orbs

How well do we know our loved ones? Those with whom we entrust our life, our future. We have deemed them worthy; they fulfill all of our lofty criteria. However, there are still mysteries, skeletons in their closet, so to speak. Those crucial foundational pieces were laid brick by brick, with just enough holes to create an imbalance, waiting for a gust of wind to flatten the house and everyone within.

Everly Bainbridge, widow, mother of her deceased child, and above all, lost in life. She wanders around in her Notting Hill flat, stoking the memories like a roaring fire amongst her loved, forgotten family, Nick and Ruby. Unable to move on from the torment, fate comes knocking in the form of one Albert Lowen.

Albert, a lawyer, has proposed a getaway from Notting Hill might help her to clear her mind. He also holds a secret that sheds some light on her relationship with her ex, Nick. Upon arriving at what could only be described as a mansion, Everly immediately starts to feel a sudden eeriness in the surrounding community. Families of a past time, with superior social standing, inhabited this place, and as you can imagine, dear reader, they were not against wielding their power in the most heinous ways.

In this provocative novella, the reader experiences a sense of loss and discovery. A whole gamut of emotions provides a fracas in one's mind. Plenty of atmosphere holds our hand through dark places with their own horrific story. A.G. Slatter, our author, slowly spoonfeeds us a delectable bite of dreadfulness.

Packed with punch and sure to coax a shiver or two, Slatter delivers a solid story. The prose was engaging throughout, and I ran through this story as if being chased by an apparition. This deserves your attention, especially for those who love that old-world feel within modern times.

Recommended!

Many thanks to Titan Books for the ARC through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

[Adrienne L · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty standard and ho-hum in a filled-with-tropes-yet-entertaining-enough sort of way, until the ending went off the rails and became a lot messier, but more enjoyable. I'll read a follow-up if there is one.

[Natalie all_books_great_and_small · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via the publishers Titan Books.

The Cold House is an unsettling yet compelling short horror novel about grief, how well you know somebody, secrets, and lies.
Everly is struggling after the loss of her daughter and husband, who tragically dies in a car accident after he took their daughter out to get out from under her feet as she attempted to write a book. The guilt has been eating at her ever since, and when she's offered some respite away at a country house, she takes it. But as soon as she arrives, unease fills her. When she begins to find herself awaking next to an ancient well in a locked room she has no key for and hearing her deceased daughters voice, she doesn't know if she's losing her mind or something far sinister.
The twist in this book was one I really didn't see coming, and I never foresaw the direction the book would take.
Fans of American Horror Story will absolutely love this book.

[Kurryreads (Kerry) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars - thank you titan books for the early copy. Great little spooky novella

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTMPRju1c/

[Books_the_Magical_Fruit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everly is mourning the loss of her husband and daughter when she finds out that her partner was not quite so forthcoming about his upbringing. She heads to the countryside for a change of scenery in a very…unusual place. The longer she stays, the more bizarre things get.

It’s better that I don’t give anything away, but I will say that the story is perfect for October, so the release date is on point. It’s a fast read, and trust me, you will not guess the twists. My jaw hit the floor!

Thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for an eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars — While I enjoyed this novella-length folk horror story, it could have used some more meat on its bones. THE COLD HOUSE is about a woman who loses her husband and young daughter in a car accident, and afterwards she moves into an old, possibly haunted, manor house for respite. Its portrayal of loss and grief was spot on, and though it wasn't scary, there was always a simmering layer of uneasiness just below the surface. It ended up going in a completely different direction than expected, which was a fun twist. I feel like there were many interesting plot points introduced that needed fleshing out, and a couple of compelling side characters need another book.

[Me, My Shelf, & I · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite having previously loved AG Slatter's books, I was a bit trepidacious going into this one. Contemporary settings aren't really my fav, but mostly I was nervous about any triggers from the main character's immense grief.

Luckily I ended up loving this.

This protagonist is immediately voicey and sassy and so entirely fed up with the world in a way that I truly ate up. The way the author drip feeds us background on both her early life and her recent tragedy felt honest and gripping and not just drawn out to try to create intrigue. As the story develops, I found it taking on more and more resemblance to some of my favourite Horror films and became much less triggering.

The only thing I would've slightly tweaked is a bit bigger of an action sequence at the end to really clinch the climax, but I otherwise really loved this book. A perfectly haunted sort of read for spooky season with great atmosphere.

Thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for providing me with an ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Renee Godding · Rating 4 out of 5]

Synopsis:
After a tragic car-accident takes the lives of her husband and daughter, Everly Bainbridge’s life is unmoored in an instant. Lost, grieving, and struggling to put a single word to paper towards her latest novel, she jumps on an opportunity to escape her current situation. That opportunity presents itself in the shape of a layer, revealing that her husband wasn’t quite the man she knew him to be, and she is now the (very wealthy) beneficiary to a large isolated manor in the countryside. Retreating into the manor to gather her wits and process how to move forward, she is soon confronted by strange occurrences around the house. Occurrences that lead her to unearth the dark and unspoken secrets from her husband, the local community, and her own past in turn.

My Thoughts:
In under 200 pages, Slatter manages to write a layered and gripping tale of loss, survival, the lies we tell the ones we love and the lengths we’d go to, in order to keep those same loved ones safe. Part modern gothic, part folk horror, and sprinkled with a dash of humor from a cynical protagonist (that doesn’t feel out of place amidst the horror!); this was a joy to read. My only critique would be that the ending felt a little rushed, and could’ve benefited from maybe 20 extra pages to even out the pacing.

Thanks to Titan Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

[ThatBookish_deviant · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

[Richard Cripps · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paint by numbers horror, but the last 15 pages or so paid off. An easy holiday read.

[Patty (IheartYA311) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this as a traveling book in LiterALLy BOOKiSh Book Club. It was just ok and nothing stood out.

[Emma Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fabulous read for spooky season
The book feels like your watching a horror movie it’s fast paced and hooked me in from the start It’s atmospheric and a host of creepy characters who had me second guessing and wondering who to trust.

[Runalong · Rating 4 out of 5]

A stunningly good novella that grabs us by our main character’s torment and then plunges her into a strange folk horror setting that doesn’t quite go where I expected strongly recommended

Full review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...

[natália ✿ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to A.G. Slatter, Titan and NetGalley for this ARC!

The Cold House had me for the get go! The novella follows Dr. Everly Bainbridge dealing with the aftermath of the deaths of her husband and daughter; she’s also trying to write her new story but she’s not having much luck with the words, her solution to deal with writer’s block and grief? Treating herself to a stay at a house in the countryside.

I loved it, even more so when, at the very end of Slatter’s acknowledgements, she says that a specific character bore a striking resemblance to Lee Pace, and, boy oh boy, did I giggle at that!

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novella was very easy to read, as soon as I started reading it I knew I would love it. For a book with such a sad subject matter, it had humour throughout which I enjoyed.

I really liked the main character who was really going through it. There were some poignant and sad moments in relation to their grief, but they weren’t overwhelming.

The overall pacing was really good and I didn’t see the story taking the turn it did. I was glad for it though and the ending was great.

Thank you NetGalley and Titan Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Megan Magee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This almost reminds me of Neil Gaiman, who I know we all hate now but STILL- this tiny novella was very surprising to me. For so few pages, there is an amalgamation of genres spliced in- and they actually all make sense. A touch of fantasy, folklore, whimsy, and gutting grief, The Cold House is a stunning tale of a mother's love. I think everyone should give it a go. Thanks so much to the author and Titan Books for the chance early read and review an eARC!

[Lydia ☽︎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️ 4.5 stars

A haunting short story that explores grief and sacrifice.
Oh and has “eat the rich” vibes too, what more could you want?

I almost gave this 5 stars but I felt the MC made a couple of really stupid decisions towards the end (why eat the soup? we all knew what was going to be in that soup!).

[Keith Gears · Rating 3 out of 5]

Idk how i feel about this book while it kinda felt slow at first I did enjoy the first half of this peak and I also loved the middle part when we started learning more about Everly past and just everything that happened. However though I thought it was gonna go one way but it literally just went all fucking crazy in maybe a bad way I literally just don't know. The last like 5 chapters went from a 0 to 100 literally so quick and it felt weird random and rushed like it has no build no payoff literally nothing. That being said though if this book was longer and had more build or more explanation I think I could see myself really liking this book. Overall I would give this book a 3.5 stars but since I can't I believe this book is more of a 3 than a 4 so like a low 3.5 and not a high 3.5.

[reva · Rating 1 out of 5]

what even is that ending? the author is just goofing around at this point

the 1 star is for how unserious the mc was i loved her icl but the rest of the book is so stupid to me #SorryNotSorry

[Geertje · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well plotted, very satisfying.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great start to the year - a 5 star book. I don't tend to read Horror but this novella caught my attention and had me gripped from start to finish. The author uses a great blend of emotion and suspense with interesting characters and a depth to the story lines.

[Samantha (Reading_Against_Noise) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really need to go back and read more of A.G. Slatter’s work because this was beautifully done. The blend of horror, folklore, and fantasy added so much depth, and it completely pulled me in until the very last page.

This isn’t a light or happy story. We follow a woman grieving the loss of her husband and child. Her grief is complicated when she discovers her husband was not the man she thought he was, and it becomes even more unsettling when she starts hearing her daughter’s voice calling, “Mummy!” despite knowing her child is gone.

Slatter balances the unsettling and the emotional so well, creating a story that’s chilling, heartbreaking, and impossible to look away from.

I’d absolutely recommend this for a cold winter night or a rainy day when you want to be swept into a haunting and emotional read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Titan Books for this arc

[Lexi Denee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This a one-sitting little nightmare that will have you pulling your blanket up around you like a cloak before you even realize what is happening. While I would consider this a bit of a slow-burn, the darkness at the edge of every page had me LOCKED IN.

When Everly loses both her husband and young daughter in a terrible accident, her life is thrown upside down in more ways than one. With The Cold House landing around 160 pages I don’t want to say too much more about the plot other than buckle up and lock your doors.

This is my first book by this author but will absolutely not be my last. The dread in this story was captured so perfectly and the end had me hollering. Check this one out if you love creepy mansions, religious horror, and complex family dynamics.

**Thank you to Titan Books for the eARC of this haunting title!**

[Alyssa Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Titan Books for my gifted copy!

“For the longest time life interferes with all thought.”

I want to fold The Cold House into my heart and keep it close forever. I opened this book, dropped down a well, and didn’t resurface until I finished. And now I sit here, ears feeling like they’re stuffed with cotton, trying to readjust to bring present in my own world again.

How can such a tiny book be so damn powerful? How can it pack so much punch? These 150 pages summed grief and the love of a mother in its entirety. I felt this entire book in my soul. What an utterly brilliant writer A.G. Slater is to have achieved this in such a short number of pages.

I’m still floored.

Please pick this up, read it until you can’t breathe anymore.

[AitziST · Rating 5 out of 5]

(I received this book from the editor and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)

I am pretty sure the atmosphere of this novel is a completely independent entity, and that it has been chasing me around the house even after I finished with my reading. In other words, I loved this novel. The writing was superb, the characters truly interesting and mischievous and the mixture between grief and legends just perfect for me.
And did I mention there is a mansion with a spooky ambient, a family name people dare not mention and a closed door?
Perfect, just perfect.

[Staceywh_17 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had absolutely no idea that Slatter's books were all part of what's known as the Sourdough Universe. Did you?

Falling under the grief horror genre it's a fairly short read. What it lacks in pages it makes up for with an incredibly creepy story that unsettles in ways where you can feel the chill seeping under your skin.

It's not without several twists along the way and that ending just blew me away!

[Hannah Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short and sweet and filled with the haunting and gothic atmosphere Slatter does so well. Not quite as enthralling as her Sourdough universe but still an engaging and creepy read. I enjoyed that the ghostly elements were helpful and that the characters felt believable