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Peripheral: A Psychological Horror Novella
Magdalene “Lena” Black has always seen them—figures that linger in the corners of her vision, watching with eyes that don’t belong. She learned young to ignore them. To never speak to them. To never, ever look directly at them. Because once, she did. And it almost destroyed her. When her estranged mother dies, Lena returns to the house where the watchers first appeared. But they’ve changed. They’re closer now. Bolder. No longer content to lurk unseen. Inside the crumbling walls of her childhood home, Lena uncovers burned journal pages she doesn’t remember writing, mirrors that don’t reflect her movements, and shadows that know her name. The deeper she digs into her past, the more distorted her reality becomes—until she’s forced to face the terrifying truth of what really happened when she was a child. Because something answered when she called. And it never left. Peripheral is a chilling psychological horror story about memory, identity, and the monsters waiting just out of sight.
230 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 17, 2025
2 people are currently reading
26 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
August 12, 2025
An eerie and poetic horror novella that feels like House of Leaves as written by Shirley Jackson. Recommend for horror fans looking for something dreamlike and different.
August 4, 2025
never looking in a mirror again???
Loved this novella!
It was creepy, eerie, and kept me wanting to know what would happen next.
Not my normal read but I really enjoyed it and it freaked me out so I would say MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. 😂
Excited to read more from this author!
Loved this novella!
It was creepy, eerie, and kept me wanting to know what would happen next.
Not my normal read but I really enjoyed it and it freaked me out so I would say MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. 😂
Excited to read more from this author!
October 30, 2025
A chilling account of a haunting, claustrophobic nightmare.
Following the death of her mother, Lena finds herself returning to her childhood home.
Memories she believed long since forgotten await her in the shadows, reflected in the mirrors and surfaces she can see out of the corner of her eye.
Something has waited a long time for her to return. Now, its patience is about to be rewarded, Lena ensnared in its grasp of madness.
'Peripheral' is the debut novella by Spring Leighman, a tale of psychological horror that hooks its claws under your skin and burrows into your mind, refusing to loosen its grip from the opening line to the very last. Vividly written and deliciously atmospheric, its visual, percussive, and visceral language perfectly evokes an untethering, the intense sensation of being observed and persecuted, a descent into insanity and oblivion.
We follow Magdalene “Lena” Black back to her old home following her mother’s death, a place which brings many disturbing memories back to the surface – the abuse she endured, the trauma she suffered, the haunting she has tried hard to repress in the intervening years. But back home, it takes little time to unmoor her life once again and leave her questioning her reality. Epistolary elements, through fragments of childhood journal entries and drawings, embellish the narrative, taking us back with Lena into her childhood experiences. Isolated and paranoid, she is slowly losing herself, memory and time becoming untethered and untrustworthy.
Leighman has crafted a sublime narrative, woven in an ambiguous beauty – never are we quite sure if the horror is due to supernatural influence or the character’s own state of mind. There are shades of a variety of mental health conditions, amongst them schizophrenia, PTSD, anxiety disorders, parasomnia – yet beneath potential delusion and hallucination is something seeping with malign intent, a potent, and yet amoral, evil. Within Lena’s story is a warning for all who encounter it – beware the shadows that lurk in your peripheral vision, or just out of reach in your reflection, for they may be more than they seem.
Creepy and immersive, ‘Peripheral’ is a sharp slice of terror to haunt your vision, waking and dreaming alike.
Following the death of her mother, Lena finds herself returning to her childhood home.
Memories she believed long since forgotten await her in the shadows, reflected in the mirrors and surfaces she can see out of the corner of her eye.
Something has waited a long time for her to return. Now, its patience is about to be rewarded, Lena ensnared in its grasp of madness.
'Peripheral' is the debut novella by Spring Leighman, a tale of psychological horror that hooks its claws under your skin and burrows into your mind, refusing to loosen its grip from the opening line to the very last. Vividly written and deliciously atmospheric, its visual, percussive, and visceral language perfectly evokes an untethering, the intense sensation of being observed and persecuted, a descent into insanity and oblivion.
We follow Magdalene “Lena” Black back to her old home following her mother’s death, a place which brings many disturbing memories back to the surface – the abuse she endured, the trauma she suffered, the haunting she has tried hard to repress in the intervening years. But back home, it takes little time to unmoor her life once again and leave her questioning her reality. Epistolary elements, through fragments of childhood journal entries and drawings, embellish the narrative, taking us back with Lena into her childhood experiences. Isolated and paranoid, she is slowly losing herself, memory and time becoming untethered and untrustworthy.
Leighman has crafted a sublime narrative, woven in an ambiguous beauty – never are we quite sure if the horror is due to supernatural influence or the character’s own state of mind. There are shades of a variety of mental health conditions, amongst them schizophrenia, PTSD, anxiety disorders, parasomnia – yet beneath potential delusion and hallucination is something seeping with malign intent, a potent, and yet amoral, evil. Within Lena’s story is a warning for all who encounter it – beware the shadows that lurk in your peripheral vision, or just out of reach in your reflection, for they may be more than they seem.
Creepy and immersive, ‘Peripheral’ is a sharp slice of terror to haunt your vision, waking and dreaming alike.
August 9, 2025
I test the mirror at night—often. My mom is schizophrenic and has always been weird about mirrors, and that stuck with me. So when I picked up this debut horror novella, it felt like, “Oh… thanks for validating one of my biggest fears—that the mirror me might blink first.”
I was a reader long before I ever started watching horror movies, and I love to be afraid, whether it’s trauma-fueled or just for fun. This book nailed that creeping, skin-prickling dread I crave. Unique, unsettling, and chilling in a way that burrows under your skin—exactly what I want from horror.
I was a reader long before I ever started watching horror movies, and I love to be afraid, whether it’s trauma-fueled or just for fun. This book nailed that creeping, skin-prickling dread I crave. Unique, unsettling, and chilling in a way that burrows under your skin—exactly what I want from horror.
July 23, 2025
I was so excited to receive an ARC of this book. I’ve been so excited for its release. This was deeply unsettling. It will have you second guessing every noise you hear. It will make you stare at your reflection longer than normal. I don’t want to say too much because I do not want to give anything away, but if you love a good unsettling psychological horror, you need to run and get this book! Easy 5 ⭐️’s
July 24, 2025
This book was so unsettling and creepy!
I absolutely loved it! I don’t think I’ll be able to look at a mirror again 😅 at least not for prolonged periods of time anymore!
From the moment I read the prologue I had goosebumps all over! I couldn’t imagine having to go through all that!! The ending definitely bumped this up to 5 stars cause I’m glad it didn’t end the way I thought it was going to!
I absolutely loved it! I don’t think I’ll be able to look at a mirror again 😅 at least not for prolonged periods of time anymore!
From the moment I read the prologue I had goosebumps all over! I couldn’t imagine having to go through all that!! The ending definitely bumped this up to 5 stars cause I’m glad it didn’t end the way I thought it was going to!
August 6, 2025
What is reality really? Am I me? I can’t tell. Don’t look in the mirror. It’s not you looking back.
Fast paced and all consuming. Peripheral is packed with eerie suspense and mind bending horrors. So hauntingly unhinged it will sink in its teeth and never let you go.
Thank you @infinite_ink_society for allowing me to live in the shadows with you.
August 3, 2025
I’m so glad I got my hands on this ARC of Peripheral by indie author Spring Leighman. The opening wasted no time pulling me in. I almost didn’t want to dive in too fast lol but I had to. It felt like Lena was constantly being challenged by everything inside her childhood home which kept me turning the page.
There were a few spots where the pacing dipped and Lena’s character lost me for a moment. With a tighter edit, I think the emotional punches could’ve landed even harder. But the vision? Still clear. The emotion was there. The vulnerability was real. And that’s something I’ll always respect in indie work.
Spring’s voice has serious potential, and I’ll definitely be watching for what she puts out next❤️🔥
There were a few spots where the pacing dipped and Lena’s character lost me for a moment. With a tighter edit, I think the emotional punches could’ve landed even harder. But the vision? Still clear. The emotion was there. The vulnerability was real. And that’s something I’ll always respect in indie work.
Spring’s voice has serious potential, and I’ll definitely be watching for what she puts out next❤️🔥
August 3, 2025
I went through a lot of thoughts while reading Peripheral, and not all of them were immediately positive. I didn’t get it at first. But then I realized it wasn’t really asking to be “gotten” in the traditional sense. It’s not a puzzle, it’s a feeling. And once I stopped trying to make it fit into a conventional narrative box, it opened up in a strange way. The closest comparison I can think of is the movie Skinamarink, not because the stories are similar, but because both are more about mood than mechanics. Both feel like memory trying to reconstruct trauma with pieces missing.
On paper, the plot is simple: Lena returns to her childhood home after her estranged mother’s death. The house is full of strange journals she doesn’t remember writing and “watchers”—dark, shifting figures that hover just outside her vision, sometimes in mirrors, sometimes in corners. Sometimes they even look like her. And they want something.
What Peripheral does better than almost anything I’ve read is build a dense atmosphere. Like, thick-enough-to-drown-in dense. The book insists on being read in a dimly lit room just before midnight, when everything’s a little too quiet.
It’s not without flaws, like nearly all books. The scenes inside the house sometimes loop on themselves a pinch too often, and not all of the five epilogues feel necessary. But the feeling this book gives? That’s rare. That’s special. It’s something I may not have appreciated when I was younger, but I sure as hell do now.
On paper, the plot is simple: Lena returns to her childhood home after her estranged mother’s death. The house is full of strange journals she doesn’t remember writing and “watchers”—dark, shifting figures that hover just outside her vision, sometimes in mirrors, sometimes in corners. Sometimes they even look like her. And they want something.
What Peripheral does better than almost anything I’ve read is build a dense atmosphere. Like, thick-enough-to-drown-in dense. The book insists on being read in a dimly lit room just before midnight, when everything’s a little too quiet.
It’s not without flaws, like nearly all books. The scenes inside the house sometimes loop on themselves a pinch too often, and not all of the five epilogues feel necessary. But the feeling this book gives? That’s rare. That’s special. It’s something I may not have appreciated when I was younger, but I sure as hell do now.
August 5, 2025
Peripheral by Spring Leighman wastes no time pulling you into its eerie spiral. From the first page, you're drawn into Lena’s dread, eager to understand what she’s been running from, and what might be waiting for her inside the crumbling walls of her childhood home.
The tension in the house thickens like fog, seeping into every corner. The atmosphere is heavy—claustrophobic, shadowy, and humming with a low, persistent unease. At first, the story feels familiar, echoing the beats of classic psychological horror. But just when you think you know where it’s going… it turns. And what’s waiting in that turn is wholly its own.
The watchers aren’t your typical demons … or if they are, they wear new skins. There’s something deeply unsettling about them, and the book smartly avoids over-explaining. They don’t chase. They watch. They wait. And they know.
That said, some of the house scenes begin to feel repetitive. Not ineffective, but at times more dizzying than purposeful, as if the spiral of Lena’s unraveling spins a few too many times. And the ending, while bold, stretches beyond its natural conclusion. The extra epilogues end up blurring what was already satisfyingly unclear.
Still, Peripheral delivers a haunting, original experience. It’s a uniquely spooky read with a thick, immersive ambiance that leaves you questioning not just reality, but whether the tea you’ve brewed was really your idea.
Sleep with the lights on. Actually, no. Maybe keep them off.
The tension in the house thickens like fog, seeping into every corner. The atmosphere is heavy—claustrophobic, shadowy, and humming with a low, persistent unease. At first, the story feels familiar, echoing the beats of classic psychological horror. But just when you think you know where it’s going… it turns. And what’s waiting in that turn is wholly its own.
The watchers aren’t your typical demons … or if they are, they wear new skins. There’s something deeply unsettling about them, and the book smartly avoids over-explaining. They don’t chase. They watch. They wait. And they know.
That said, some of the house scenes begin to feel repetitive. Not ineffective, but at times more dizzying than purposeful, as if the spiral of Lena’s unraveling spins a few too many times. And the ending, while bold, stretches beyond its natural conclusion. The extra epilogues end up blurring what was already satisfyingly unclear.
Still, Peripheral delivers a haunting, original experience. It’s a uniquely spooky read with a thick, immersive ambiance that leaves you questioning not just reality, but whether the tea you’ve brewed was really your idea.
Sleep with the lights on. Actually, no. Maybe keep them off.
August 16, 2025
I was able to get an ARC from the author and I’m so honored!
I don’t fully know how to describe this book. As it’s a novella, it wasted no time getting the creepy party started. Immediately from the first chapter you know that something isn’t right, and that feeling of dread and tension not only lingers but continues to grow.
I admit at times i was wondering if this was a metaphor for something else, perhaps i had to wait till the end to find out? I don’t think my interpretation was wrong in the end, and i was very curious to see was going to happen in the end.
While very creepy and unsettling, there was a lot going on in the house that kind of got slightly repetitive. I felt like I was getting lost in that weird house myself, looking for a way out. For such a short novel, this was effectively creepy. I would bet many readers are now feeling wary of the mirrors in their homes, or any shiny smooth surface that can reflect their faces. Thank god I don’t spend too much time in front of mirrors.
The writing style in this novella was pretty unique in my opinion. Most of it is comprised of short but effective sentences. Makes it feel very impactful and immediate.
This is a YES author for me, and I’m looking forward to reading future works from this author!
I don’t fully know how to describe this book. As it’s a novella, it wasted no time getting the creepy party started. Immediately from the first chapter you know that something isn’t right, and that feeling of dread and tension not only lingers but continues to grow.
I admit at times i was wondering if this was a metaphor for something else, perhaps i had to wait till the end to find out? I don’t think my interpretation was wrong in the end, and i was very curious to see was going to happen in the end.
While very creepy and unsettling, there was a lot going on in the house that kind of got slightly repetitive. I felt like I was getting lost in that weird house myself, looking for a way out. For such a short novel, this was effectively creepy. I would bet many readers are now feeling wary of the mirrors in their homes, or any shiny smooth surface that can reflect their faces. Thank god I don’t spend too much time in front of mirrors.
The writing style in this novella was pretty unique in my opinion. Most of it is comprised of short but effective sentences. Makes it feel very impactful and immediate.
This is a YES author for me, and I’m looking forward to reading future works from this author!
July 28, 2025
Halloween came early this year! Peripheral by Spring Leighman is a psychological horror novella you'll definitely want to read.
This story gripped me from the first chapter and never let go. Peripheral is spell-binding, and curiosity will get the better of you.
Experience the horror right along with Lena as she returns to her childhood home following her mother’s death. In this terrifying place, the mirrors do more than just reflect her reflection.
If you enjoy horror, thrillers, or just the plain creepy, then I recommend Peripheral. Just be sure you cover the mirrors first!
This story gripped me from the first chapter and never let go. Peripheral is spell-binding, and curiosity will get the better of you.
Experience the horror right along with Lena as she returns to her childhood home following her mother’s death. In this terrifying place, the mirrors do more than just reflect her reflection.
If you enjoy horror, thrillers, or just the plain creepy, then I recommend Peripheral. Just be sure you cover the mirrors first!
July 31, 2025
⭐⭐⭐✨
Unnerving, spine-chilling and psychologically mind bending!
If you like a read that will give you the creeps, will raise the hair on your arms then this book is for you.
Not only that, this book makes your mind wonder, gets you thinking and crawls under your skin.
After reading this, I don't think I can look at myself in the mirror the same again 😶🌫️
Unnerving, spine-chilling and psychologically mind bending!
If you like a read that will give you the creeps, will raise the hair on your arms then this book is for you.
Not only that, this book makes your mind wonder, gets you thinking and crawls under your skin.
After reading this, I don't think I can look at myself in the mirror the same again 😶🌫️
July 25, 2025
I absolutely loved this! It was so creepy and eerie. Really made you question everything you might catch from the corner of your eye. I made the mistake of starting this book at night while on the bus, but it was so worth being so on edge. highly recommend.
August 28, 2025
Eerie and unsettling, makes you feel confused and lost in the best way. I loved this novella and it’s everything I want in a horror book!
October 6, 2025
3.5 stars!
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews