Formulation

by Daniel Lorn

Are you searching for a dark, twisted psychological horror that will make your skin crawl? Look no further!

Trapped amidst the aftermath of inebriated and forgotten deeds, an unfaithful man promises himself that this will be the last time he betrays his family.

While struggling to untangle himself from a web of his own making, he notices that all is not what it seems. A lingering sense of unease haunts every conscious moment, as does the sensation of something monstrous creeping steadily closer.

From the dark and unwelcoming corners of existence, a creature observes him patiently, gathering shape with every desperate breath he takes.

WARNING: This book contains scenes of psychological and physical horror.

Genres: Horror

100 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 28, 2025

About the author

Daniel has been obsessed with horror since childhood and is particularly interested in the works of Edgar Allan Poe, Charles L Grant, H.P. Lovecraft, and M.R. James.

With his spine-chilling debut, Obsession, in 2022, Daniel marked his entry into the world of horror literature. The resounding acclaim for his unique brand of horror quickly fuelled his creative drive, leading to the release of PACT, See You Later, RED, Sins of the Wronged, and Formulation.

Daniel has been commended on his ability to transform the ordinary into the monstrous. While he has primarily delved into psychological horror, his true passion lies in supernatural horror. This genre will be the key focus of his future works, and Daniel promises many more spine-tingling tales to come.

Reviews

[Vicki Herbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Energy Can't be Destroyed...
It Just Shifts into Another Form

FORMULATION
by Daniel Lorn

5 stars. This story is about an unnamed man, an artist with a wife and child, fighting the demons of alcohol addiction as well as his lusts outside his marriage...

For the past few days, he has been trying to piece together the foggy memory of something bad...

Something he was responsible for, but he is unable to remember what it was...

Whatever he is guilty of...

He must set things right with his family, but going sober may mean losing his artistic creativity...

He's fighting the draw of a particular bar, a particular drink (whiskey), and a seductive barmaid working there...

If he could fantasize the perfect woman...

It is she. She disarms his anxieties, and he finds himself moving his wedding ring into his pocket while in the bar...

If all this weren't enough...

A malevolent entity enters his safe space with harmful intent...

His deep-seated phobia of spiders has him seeing one of the vile creatures in his home...

This potently precise translation of fear itself is called the formulation...

He could kill the beast, but energy can't be destroyed. It just shifts into another form...

Which sends him back to the bar and the barmaid, and the cycle seems to endlessly repeat...

He knows he must remove himself from this trap and go home to his family before the foundations of his universe collapse...

He really wants to get sober, but he just needs more time...

And whiskey...

Is this what sobriety feels like? Gazing into the abyss?

I anxiously awaited the release of this novella. I've read everything that this author has written to date, and IMHO, this is his most insightful story ever. The struggles of alcohol abuse, the spider (is it real, or is it a form of alcoholic DTs, or a figment of his guilt-ridden warring brain? This story is one of his best and was worth the wait! If you haven't tried Daniel Lorn yet, jump in with OBSESSION.

Recommended!

[Peter Topside · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can think of one word to best describe the feel of this story…dread. Pure, unfiltered dread. Our lead was trying to navigate his life without falling into temptation, revisiting his old ways. Twisted visions and blurred reality made it all continually more difficult. The style of the writing brought me back to Edgar Allan Poe. Strong writing, carefully chosen wording, and an incredibly slow burn, symbolism-heavy type of story. It boasted some incredible visuals and made the most of the horror elements. Much like Daniel Lorn’s other works that I’ve read, this was also a unique experience that fans of old school macabre will soak up.

[Daniel Lorn]

From the Author.

Formulation began as a completely different idea while I was writing myself out of a dark hole, and gradually evolved into two separate stories. It took me some time to realise this was happening, until one night I woke with a spider bite on my hand. The next day, after visiting the pharmacy, Formulation finally... ahem... formulated!

Daniel Lorn.

[lucky 13 · Rating 5 out of 5]

A penny for my thoughts . Dark and twisted and freaking great!! I think i would read the phone book if Mr Lorn wrote it. 5 big stars!

[Iseult Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark and immersive

I couldn’t put this book down. Lorn’s writing is so lush and evocative, it is a pleasure to read. This was a nightmare that I felt I was trapped within and I had to keep on reading until the end.

Even though I’d a good idea of the events underpinning this physiological horror, I couldn’t stop reading as the protagonist barreled towards his fate.

The imagery of the spider was so clever. I loved how it was used.

I highly recommend this dark delight.

[Janelle Schiecke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second book I’ve read by Daniel Lorn, and I love his writing style so much. It has such an artistic quality, and reminds me of Edgar Allan Poe. Both beautiful and dreadful.

And this story is full of dread.

What a page turner, and I always found myself so excited to dive back into this tale to experience the murky depths of madness. It’s so intriguing and nightmarish, almost reads like e fever dream. And that ending, goodness!! I was speeding through with anticipation and shock.

If you love unique stories that really creep in, I definitely recommend this one!

[Milt Theo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daniel Lorn's "Formulation" is a novelette full of ambiguity, loss, and frustration. Narrated in first person, it chronicles the psychological torment of a father and husband as he keeps trying to understand the feeling of wrongness possessing him and disturbing his daily life. An alcoholic, most probably a cheater as well, he promises to discipline himself and never betray his family again. But his thinking is irreparably marred by self-doubt and guilt, without being able to grasp what he has to be guilty about. And then, he starts seeing spiders...

The hallucinatory realism and the confessional though ultimately subversive writing style of the author fits this story perfectly; it manages to portray a man's self-undermining relationship to his family in exactly the right colors such a tale needs: a blast of white, slowly shot through with dark holes, out of which the nightmarish truth can break through. The explanation of the title's meaning was also a nice touch, chipping away on male self-confidence, assigning responsibility exactly where it belongs.

This is a gripping though emotionally too upsetting story to read in one sitting. Remarkably, it feels repetitive and claustrophobic, but there's nothing really to justify this impression: every turn adds a new detail, till the awful reveal. What an achievement! Highly recommended!

[Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well. Ok. Well.
Don’t even know where to start.
Nightmare stuff, of the great kind.
Daniel Lorn is now in my top 10 for horrors because of this. I will be reading all his other things now. Coz this just horrified, entertained & twisted my head.
So thanks….i think!

[Gerald Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a genuinly spine tingling read. Although I do not share a fear of spiders, the heavy atmosphere of this story genuinly caused me to feel uneasy at times.
I do not want to give too much away here, but hell.......this is one you dont want to miss! What a finale!
I have recieved this book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Onyx Codex · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a bloody, grotesque and spooky read. I still have the heebie jeebies from this story. Everything about the slow progression to absolute carnage made so much sense yet none at all. A fever dream I still cannot get out of. Brilliant writing.

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

For some reason I couldn't put my finger on, overall I didn't find this quite as engaging as the author's previous works. But it deserves a high score for the atmosphere alone; I can't say I've ever read a book that gives off an aura like this one. It feels as if the story itself is closing in on you as you read, an oppressive, almost suffocating air of impending doom oozing from each page. Yet again Daniel Lorn shows his talent for weaving dark, intense tales which suck you into their depths. Definitely a writer every fan of horror should check out

[Horromantasy Book Mom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is filled with psychological horror that dives deep into guilt, temptation, and internal collapse. The main character is a recovering alcoholic trying to resist destructive urges, but it’s clear from the start that something sinister is lurking beneath his self sabotage.

What begins as a story of infidelity and shame quickly twists into something darker. The mounting paranoia and creeping dread are brilliantly executed. When the full picture is revealed, the emotional weight hits hard 🥴🫠

This one has heavy internal dread, sharp guilt themes, and unsettling imagery that slowly builds until you’re suffocating right along with him. Highly recommend for fans of a quick, but slow burn psychological horror that ends with a nasty twist ☠️

[William Beck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everything you'd come to expect from a Lorn novella; evocative, unsettling and thoroughly gripping. Daniel Lorn could write nightmares in his sleep, and this is no exception. One can only hope you see no spiders when you go to bed after reading this eerie tale...

[Linzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had no idea what was going on whatsoever throughout this entire book, not a clue! but I also couldn't stop reading it! 🙌🏻 We follow our male MC, who's name is unknown, as he fights his demons - alcohol and infidelity. He has a strong feeling he has done something wrong but can't remember what. When he tries to get himself sorted and back to his family, his reality gets twisted when he sees a spider.. What I liked about this book was the fact I didn't know what was happening, I just had this feeling of total unease throughout, a pure ball of dread in the pit of my stomach while reading along! It's a short novella, which can be easily read in one sitting, but it feels a heavy one when you reach the end. It's not the first I've read from Mr Lorn and it certainly won't be the last.

[Ben Haverson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, this was brilliant.
What an eeire and nasty read this was, and packed into very few pages.
Dark, tragic, brutal stuff!

[C.K. Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Formulation is like an eight-legged splinter that crawls under your skin. The more you read, the deeper it burrows. This one dug right through me.

[Tony splatterpunk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great psychological horror a man loses his job and his life goes downhill very dark and twisted.a great read.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[§am I Am · Rating 2 out of 5]

I dont think this is an author for me. Book is beautifully written but its not for me.

An alcoholic artist keeps seeing spiders everywhere but are they real?

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Formulation' by Daniel Lorn is a short sharp shock into great horror writing.

This novella tells you the story of a an struggling with alcohol addiction and guilt of things he has done.

This is a descriptive and chilling novella and will have you gripped.

The language is what grips you in this story. The language adds to the sense of dread you feel until its explosive final moments.

Well written and very frightening! Highly recommended to fans of horror writing.

Thanks to the author in sharing the book in return for a review.

[Chiara Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn’t expect how good this novella would be from the synopsis, and I can say that it surpassed all my expectations, both from the story point of view and the delivery!

It is psychological/body horror and I have lapped it up like I breath air. Whilst reading it, the whole story felt like an out of body experience, a nightmare fuelled trip, where the reader is placed into the main character’s skin, with the same life’s perception and the same fogged brain by alcohol and guilt.
It was actually sad at times, upsetting and enraging at others, and overall just a nightmare, in the best possible way! There is a lot unpacked in this novella and the internal garbled monologue is so well written, it pierced my brain, and its sensation still lingers.

This is my first book by this author, although I’ve been eyeing his books for a while. I now regret not having started reading him sooner!
If you want a short read that feels like a wholesome hallucinogenic experience, this is a great one!

Thanks to the author, Silver Thistle Press and Booksprout for a copy and this is my honest opinion.

[Michael Shotter · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the strongest elements of "Formulation" is the slow burn of creeping dread that begins on page one as the reader is introduced to a man struggling to recall one or more horrible things he believes he has done. The man is an alcoholic, apparently equally struggling to remain sober, if only to help him piece together the fragments taunting him with glimpses of those past deeds and the seemingly-perfect life they may have jeopardized.

Those familiar with Lorn's previous tale of psychological horror "PACT" will likely recognize many of the themes and literary mechanisms at play in "Formulation," though the author does add a few noteworthy wrinkles to this tale, taking advantage of its extra length to briefly explore concepts such as the intersections of art, philosophy, and science as they relate to the struggling man's predicament. Unfortunately, I did find myself a bit less engaged by this story than the others of his I've read. There's no way for me to explain why without a bit of a spoiler, so skip to the next paragraph if you'd prefer to avoid that. In brief, my issue with "Formulation" is that the man's true nature became apparent a little too early in the proceedings, making it a bit too obvious how things were likely to play out. Thus, watching the back half of the story unfold felt less like an "ah-ha" revelation and more like dwelling on a foregone conclusion. Still, even with that early tip of the hand, things remained interesting enough to hold my attention and keep me turning pages. I also suspect that, if I'd never experienced a similar tale from the author before, I might have enjoyed this one more, though I'm fairly certain I still wouldn't have been "surprised" by it due to the aforementioned early reveal.

All things considered, I would enthusiastically recommend "Formulation" to any fan of tales focusing on intense, unyielding psychological terror, and actually think it might be the best starting point of the three Daniel Lorn stories I've read so far, perhaps only second to "See You Later," for those interested in exploring his works. It simply didn't completely land for me in the way I was hoping it might. 4.25 stars, rounded up so as not to underrate it.

[Horror Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

You WILL have feelings of dread after you finish this novella. It's inevitable because it is a dark, twisted psychological horror with certain...creatures...as a focal point and, fair warning, they'll have your skin crawling.

The main character is a man who lost his job and dove into a lifestyle of alcoholism and extramarital affairs. His wife and two year old son love him very much and his feelings of regret, guilt, and remorse are themes throughout the book. He's vowed to do better, stop drinking, and be the father and husband his family deserves. If only he could remember the things he's done while intoxicated. There are parts of him missing. Being sober brings some side effects. Like a strange loud buzzing sound only he can hear, a particular bar calls to him along with a sensual bartender, yet he tries to resist alcohol and other women.

But when these aforementioned creatures show up, well, let's just say some very horrific things are going to transpire.

Bleak, dark, and absolutely crawling with dread this is a must read novella and I highly recommend it.

I received an ARC of this book from the author. This review is voluntary and is my own personal opinion.

[Huw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Formulation by Daniel Lorn depicts one man's rapid descent into a nightmare world infused with arachnophobic references and a terrifying quantity of the the eight legged creatures themselves.

Reality and this dark nether-existence melt together in a confusing, dizzying mess as the protagonist fights to maintain a grip on a chronology that keeps eluding him. As a reader, you question just which character interactions are real and which are imagined.

Time slips and skips, details erode. Horrific visions take form in the flesh. The unreal becomes real.

This is not a long book, but what Daniel Lorn achieves here is remarkable. Rarely have I seen denial, madness, and a loss of a grip on reality so compelling and brilliantly written.

Formulation is chilling, and definitely worth your time.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a brilliantly weird cover. Reason enough to pick it up. Inside we'll meet a dried up alcoholic, his wife, son and a mysterious barmaid he screws in the end. But where's the horror? Our alcoholic sees spider like creatures. Are they real or just cold turkey fantasies? Anyway, his mind snaps and his addiction leads him to hell. The main character isn't particularly sympathetic but well drawn and the creatures he sees terrifying. Very good psychological horror. I would have read more about the mysterious barmaid and her change though. Really recommended!

[Kaytlen Kidney · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was okay for me. I really liked the description of the gore and most of the downward mental spiral, but it felt like some things were missing, especially the ending climax with his family. There was that guilty, dreadful type feeling all the way up until the physical horror went to out weigh it. Definitely interesting, dark, and gross though.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

When i recieved the arc for this today, i counted the hours until my lunch break then marched straight to COsta with my kindle. Even In broad daylight, this terrifying story got under my skin!!

With Daneil Lorn i can always rely on the writing quality and imagery and this is no exception!!!
Could just be my new favourite from the author!!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Lou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whether this guy was hallucinating from alcohol withdrawal, or he was suffering from a severe guilty conscious, or both, what a disturbing way to suffer at the hands of his own self destructive choices. Terrific story, and well written.

[VinGirl · Rating 1 out of 5]

“Her expression evokes a perilous fragility that makes me discern that things are on the verge of collapse, as if her centre can't hold the burden of the axis.”

I hated this. Every word is an attempt to be eloquent, and it just ends up being ridiculous and convoluted.

[Smutty Demi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, this was pretty disturbing. But I really liked it. It was a good horror book and I would definitly recommend!.

I

[Catastrophe Queen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is why men shouldn't cheat.