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Behind the Gate
Not yet published
Expected 3 Nov 26A sensationally creepy new selection of stories from the author of the cult phenomenon The Houseguest
Written in sharp, impressionistic prose steeped in horror, Amparo Dávila’s stories are tiny nightmares come to life. She is a writer obsessed with obsession, who shows, sometimes in just a few pages, that the narrow line between sanity and madness is even finer than it had seemed at first glance, and that anyone could be one false move away from their doom. Gothic, dark, surrealist, atmospheric, this newly translated selection from the author of the global sensation The Houseguest “casts a delightful and disconcerting spell” (Los Angeles Times).
Written in sharp, impressionistic prose steeped in horror, Amparo Dávila’s stories are tiny nightmares come to life. She is a writer obsessed with obsession, who shows, sometimes in just a few pages, that the narrow line between sanity and madness is even finer than it had seemed at first glance, and that anyone could be one false move away from their doom. Gothic, dark, surrealist, atmospheric, this newly translated selection from the author of the global sensation The Houseguest “casts a delightful and disconcerting spell” (Los Angeles Times).
112 pages, Paperback
Expected publication November 3, 2026
About the author
Amparo Dávila
41 books419 followersAmparo Dávila born 1928 in Zacatecas, Mexico is a Mexican author. Dávila was the sole surviving child of her parents. The oldest son died at childbirth. The next son died as a result of meningitis, and the last son died during his infancy. She learned to love reading at an early age from spending time in her father's library. Her childhood was marked by fear, a theme that appeared in a number of her future works as an author. Her first published work was Salmos bajo la luna in 1950. This was followed by Meditaciones a la orilla del sueno and Perfil de soledades. She then moved to Mexico City where she worked as Alfonso Reyes's Secretary. In 1966 she was a part of the Centro Mexicano de Escritores (Mexican Writer's Center) where she received a grant to continue writing. In 2008, Davila was recognized by el Palacio de Bellas Artes de Mexico (the palace of fine arts of Mexico).
Davila is known for her use themes of insanity, danger, and death, typically dealing with a female protagonist. Many of her protagonists appear to have mental disorders and lash out, often violently, against others. Many times the women are still unable to escape from their mental issues and live with the actions they have taken. She also plays with ideas of time. She uses time as a symbol of that which we cannot change.
Her other works include:
Salmos bajo la luna (1950)
Meditaciones a la orilla del sueño
Perfil de soledades (1954)
Tiempo destrozado (1959)
Música concreta (1964)
Árboles petrificados (1977)
Muerte en el bosque (1985)
Davila is known for her use themes of insanity, danger, and death, typically dealing with a female protagonist. Many of her protagonists appear to have mental disorders and lash out, often violently, against others. Many times the women are still unable to escape from their mental issues and live with the actions they have taken. She also plays with ideas of time. She uses time as a symbol of that which we cannot change.
Her other works include:
Salmos bajo la luna (1950)
Meditaciones a la orilla del sueño
Perfil de soledades (1954)
Tiempo destrozado (1959)
Música concreta (1964)
Árboles petrificados (1977)
Muerte en el bosque (1985)
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
July 28, 2026
Some tias just know how to spin a yarn…
The stories in this collection creep up on you. You feel safe, at the table after diner, sipping a coffee listening to your tia tell a story about someone she used to know and then.. you find you can’t sleep that night. The creaks of the floor you usually ignore feel louder, the shadows take on form, and suddenly you’re wondering if that story your tia told was true after all.
Firmly grounded in social and cultural trappings, Dávila writes perfectly creepy horror. If you haven’t had the pleasure of reading Dávila’s work yet, this is the place to start.
Recommended dose: one story per night.
The stories in this collection creep up on you. You feel safe, at the table after diner, sipping a coffee listening to your tia tell a story about someone she used to know and then.. you find you can’t sleep that night. The creaks of the floor you usually ignore feel louder, the shadows take on form, and suddenly you’re wondering if that story your tia told was true after all.
Firmly grounded in social and cultural trappings, Dávila writes perfectly creepy horror. If you haven’t had the pleasure of reading Dávila’s work yet, this is the place to start.
Recommended dose: one story per night.
Review of advance copy
Amparo Dávila knows how thin and precarious the line is between rationality and insanity. She just knows the ways that something that began as an interest piqued can turn into obsession and become something monstrous. Another amazing collection.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to New Directions and NetGalley for the ARC.
I expected Behind the Gate to be much creepier than it was. Dávila often gets filed under horror, but this collection fits more naturally into the gothic tradition because it is atmospheric, surreal, psychologically intense, and fixated on what happens when ordinary life starts to feel corrupted or unbearable.
Dávila is remarkable at capturing how completely people can be overtaken by a feeling, whether it's anxiety, grief, loneliness, obsession or the plain monotony of daily life. Her characters drift toward some breaking point, and the immediate prose makes those inner states feel physical. I highlighted a lot.
She often takes something ideal (a relationship, a home, a person's view of the world) and lets it warp. But it isn't all misery. There are flashes of wonder too, such as a character seeing the beauty of the world as if for the first time, and another longing to reach up and grab the clouds.
One thing she excels at is playing with structure. In one story, she moves between the present and an old journal, and the two timelines start to answer, interrupt and bleed into each other. My favorite was the last story, "Death in the Forest," where a man's desire to escape into the woods builds into an overwhelming stream-of-consciousness passage. For me, it's the most memorable writing in the book.
Now, a few endings here threw me off. Dávila loves an abrupt finish, and when it works, it lands like a final blow. Other times the story just stops before it has earned its conclusion. That inconsistency took away a little from the overall impact of the collection, but it's still an enjoyable read.
If you want traditional horror, you will likely be disappointed by Behind the Gate. But if you like dark, surreal character studies where the dread comes from inside, it's worth picking up. I'm looking forward to reading more Dávila soon. 3.75/5
I expected Behind the Gate to be much creepier than it was. Dávila often gets filed under horror, but this collection fits more naturally into the gothic tradition because it is atmospheric, surreal, psychologically intense, and fixated on what happens when ordinary life starts to feel corrupted or unbearable.
Dávila is remarkable at capturing how completely people can be overtaken by a feeling, whether it's anxiety, grief, loneliness, obsession or the plain monotony of daily life. Her characters drift toward some breaking point, and the immediate prose makes those inner states feel physical. I highlighted a lot.
She often takes something ideal (a relationship, a home, a person's view of the world) and lets it warp. But it isn't all misery. There are flashes of wonder too, such as a character seeing the beauty of the world as if for the first time, and another longing to reach up and grab the clouds.
One thing she excels at is playing with structure. In one story, she moves between the present and an old journal, and the two timelines start to answer, interrupt and bleed into each other. My favorite was the last story, "Death in the Forest," where a man's desire to escape into the woods builds into an overwhelming stream-of-consciousness passage. For me, it's the most memorable writing in the book.
Now, a few endings here threw me off. Dávila loves an abrupt finish, and when it works, it lands like a final blow. Other times the story just stops before it has earned its conclusion. That inconsistency took away a little from the overall impact of the collection, but it's still an enjoyable read.
If you want traditional horror, you will likely be disappointed by Behind the Gate. But if you like dark, surreal character studies where the dread comes from inside, it's worth picking up. I'm looking forward to reading more Dávila soon. 3.75/5
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This collection of short stories is a good one for want-to-be writers in any genre.
I am not a Want-to-be writer in any sense, but I know what's good... and what offers a unique perspective and shows a reader and a writer a different way to approach things.
I'm a little sad to find out the author is deceased, but I am thrilled that her work is getting translated into English! Davila is a Mexican author and her work is so interesting to me as it was created and published from 1950's through the 1970's and beyond. Such a different time than today, and I think her writing reflects that a bit , but is also somewhat timeless in the way that most great writing can be.
Behind the gate is a short collection of stories. Each one is a master class in how to create and build tension without chainsaws, extreme gore or jump scares. It's a great volume for a reader who wants to start to read horror but is not interested in engaging with some of the more familiar tropes.
Each of these stories was uniquely written in the third person. At first I was a bit confused because the third person is so rarely used. Eventually I got used to it and rather enjoyed the idea that the narrator was telling it as it was, rather than a protagonist telling us their version. Secondly, Davila really economizes with her text. There's nothing flowery, or fluffy about her stories, they get to the meat of the matter, but don't leave a reader feeling like they were missing anything. The atmosphere that these stories create is gothic, creepy and so unsettling. I felt like it was a master class in getting maximal impact from minimal words.
I am not a Want-to-be writer in any sense, but I know what's good... and what offers a unique perspective and shows a reader and a writer a different way to approach things.
I'm a little sad to find out the author is deceased, but I am thrilled that her work is getting translated into English! Davila is a Mexican author and her work is so interesting to me as it was created and published from 1950's through the 1970's and beyond. Such a different time than today, and I think her writing reflects that a bit , but is also somewhat timeless in the way that most great writing can be.
Behind the gate is a short collection of stories. Each one is a master class in how to create and build tension without chainsaws, extreme gore or jump scares. It's a great volume for a reader who wants to start to read horror but is not interested in engaging with some of the more familiar tropes.
Each of these stories was uniquely written in the third person. At first I was a bit confused because the third person is so rarely used. Eventually I got used to it and rather enjoyed the idea that the narrator was telling it as it was, rather than a protagonist telling us their version. Secondly, Davila really economizes with her text. There's nothing flowery, or fluffy about her stories, they get to the meat of the matter, but don't leave a reader feeling like they were missing anything. The atmosphere that these stories create is gothic, creepy and so unsettling. I felt like it was a master class in getting maximal impact from minimal words.
June 24, 2026
Thank you New Directions for the early copy!
🐦⬛Out october 13!! 🐦⬛
This is a small book, but dare I say it is the best short collection I have read this year. Dávila's writing is flawless, and it's captivating how quickly she sets and details each story. Every story is between five and ten pages long, and each one is more terrifying than the last. "Griselda," one of my favorites, was six pages long, and I'm still not sure how she managed to make my skin crawl by page four. This collection made me feel a wide range of emotions at once. I can see myself going back to reread these stories.
My top five (for now): Griselda, Matilde Espejo, The Mirror Behind the Gate, and Señorita Julia.
These are my top five, but each story in this collection is a strong contender for the top five. I feel like I'll be switching them as I reread them.
10/10; this is my new favorite short story collection. These stories are nightmares, but they are everything you need them to be: thrilling, frightening, moving, and insane. Absolutely amazing! It is my absolute favorite.
🐦⬛Out october 13!! 🐦⬛
This is a small book, but dare I say it is the best short collection I have read this year. Dávila's writing is flawless, and it's captivating how quickly she sets and details each story. Every story is between five and ten pages long, and each one is more terrifying than the last. "Griselda," one of my favorites, was six pages long, and I'm still not sure how she managed to make my skin crawl by page four. This collection made me feel a wide range of emotions at once. I can see myself going back to reread these stories.
My top five (for now): Griselda, Matilde Espejo, The Mirror Behind the Gate, and Señorita Julia.
These are my top five, but each story in this collection is a strong contender for the top five. I feel like I'll be switching them as I reread them.
10/10; this is my new favorite short story collection. These stories are nightmares, but they are everything you need them to be: thrilling, frightening, moving, and insane. Absolutely amazing! It is my absolute favorite.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
What a strange, uncanny collection of short stories. The variety of horror present in Behind the Gate is very mild, almost delicate. Perhaps it would be more apt to call it unsettling, rather than scary or terrifying. Still, there is a nebulous quality to each story, something hazy and sinister. Unfortunately, I think that contributed to feeling like there was something just out of reach to me while parsing through this work—something that was missing, something that I couldn’t exactly place.
Despite that, I do think two stories in particular were extremely compelling: “The Rest Pavilion” and “Death in the Forest.” I would consider them the strongest of the collection, and my personal favorites. The rest were to me middling to adequate; nothing truly extraordinary. But that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy reading through these stories—I genuinely did. However, I think that those who enjoy a more refined, reserved style of horror would appreciate Behind the Gate even better.
Despite that, I do think two stories in particular were extremely compelling: “The Rest Pavilion” and “Death in the Forest.” I would consider them the strongest of the collection, and my personal favorites. The rest were to me middling to adequate; nothing truly extraordinary. But that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy reading through these stories—I genuinely did. However, I think that those who enjoy a more refined, reserved style of horror would appreciate Behind the Gate even better.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
What an unsettling, eerie, and wonderfully written set of horror stories. A novella anthology that will terrify you to your core. Everything that is lurking in the shadows is right before you. Never forget to hold your mouth while you scream kind of scares. Each story has an uncanny ending that forces you to think about the elements that make horror; a critique of society in the scariest fashion of hyperbole. These are the stories that will haunt you and are worth reading this Halloween / Samhain season. It is difficult to summarize these stories without giving too much away. So, I leave you with this, think about the way folklore would come across your home by the average person. All opinions are my own. All I wanted was a bit more power and pacing to really make these stories delightfully terrifying. Thank you Netgalley and New Directions for this advanced digital copy.
For more reviews, recommendations, and tarot reads, visit my blog, https://brujerialibrary.wordpress.com/
For more reviews, recommendations, and tarot reads, visit my blog, https://brujerialibrary.wordpress.com/
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This book was advertised as a collection of horror short stories. As a lover of horror from a young age, I was excited to see what was inside. I was hoping it would elicit the same thrilling fear that Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark did when I was a child. Sadly, this fell flat. I would not consider this horror at all. It was neither scary nor creepy. I saw one thing saying it was unsettling, and I would say that’s the best way to describe every story in this book. It was well written, and they were all pretty decent stories. But I felt misled by the genre. Overall, worth the read. But know what to expect beforehand.
This appears to be a translation of the author’s original work. I felt that the translation was done well, and maintained a literary feel.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This appears to be a translation of the author’s original work. I felt that the translation was done well, and maintained a literary feel.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Behind the Gate is a collection of unsettling short stories by Amparo Dávila. This was my first time reading her work, and I really enjoyed the surreal, almost nightmarish quality of her prose. The first few stories in particular lean towards this style, while the latter half have a Hitchcockian vibe, atmospheric and tense. I was left thinking about many of the stories well after having read them, considering the implications of the endings and what was left unsaid. If you’re looking for an autumn read that leans towards the unsettling and atmospheric, this is a great collection.
Perfect for readers who want a dark and haunting vibe that’s chilling but not too scary or grotesque.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance review copy. This review was written voluntarily, and all opinions are my own.
Perfect for readers who want a dark and haunting vibe that’s chilling but not too scary or grotesque.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance review copy. This review was written voluntarily, and all opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
First off, many thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this short story collection as an eARC! I greatly appreciate it!
Like any short story collection, there are some that a great and some that are meh. None were flat-out bad, though, and that's more than I can say for a lot of the collections I've been reading lately. Overall, I had a good time, especially with The Mirror, Señorita Julia, and my personal favorite, The Square Patio. You like subtle spooky? Read this!
Four stars out of five to Behind The Gate!
Like any short story collection, there are some that a great and some that are meh. None were flat-out bad, though, and that's more than I can say for a lot of the collections I've been reading lately. Overall, I had a good time, especially with The Mirror, Señorita Julia, and my personal favorite, The Square Patio. You like subtle spooky? Read this!
Four stars out of five to Behind The Gate!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Unfortunately, I’m giving this book 2.5 stars (rounding up to 3). This collection of short stories was marketed as Horror, but unfortunately I don’t agree with that categorization for majority of the stories (minus The Mirror).
Most of these short stories left me wanting more or weren’t very interesting to read. The few I enjoyed were Matilde Espej, Behind the Gate, and Death in the Forest.
While I didn’t love this collection, I will say it is a quick read and the writing was enjoyable.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
Most of these short stories left me wanting more or weren’t very interesting to read. The few I enjoyed were Matilde Espej, Behind the Gate, and Death in the Forest.
While I didn’t love this collection, I will say it is a quick read and the writing was enjoyable.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
September 29, 2026
thank you to netgalley for the arc!
i love a good collection of short stories, and this one was incredibly atmospheric and at times deeply unsettling. normally i can easily choose a stand out story, but so many of these were 5 stars for me. the run of matilde espej, the rest pavillion, and behind the gate are incredible. one of the reviews that caught my eye said "mexico's answer to shirley jackson," and i wholly agree.
i love a good collection of short stories, and this one was incredibly atmospheric and at times deeply unsettling. normally i can easily choose a stand out story, but so many of these were 5 stars for me. the run of matilde espej, the rest pavillion, and behind the gate are incredible. one of the reviews that caught my eye said "mexico's answer to shirley jackson," and i wholly agree.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
Es difícil tener una colección de cuentos donde todos son buenisimos y esta colección me voló la cabeza. Tensa, tenebrosa, cuentos que son espejos donde el reflejo nunca es uno mismo, si no una sombra pasada, un deseo de desaparecer en el bosque, un jardín que es un laberinto de especulaciones en el terror del diario vivir. Mi pana no quería que se acabara
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
These were certainly well written but it is advertised as a horror collection. These were more quietly unsettling. I can appreciate that but the advertising should be more accurate. The stories were fine but nothing overly impressive.
Thank you to NetGalley for a review copy
Thank you to NetGalley for a review copy
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July 30, 2026Widows and orphans
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
3.5 ⭐️
These short stories were easy to get through, and unsettling. I wouldn’t say they are overly scary, but definitely a bit creepy! Some were better than others, but overall they were all fun to read.
Thank you to the publisher & NetGalley for the arc.
These short stories were easy to get through, and unsettling. I wouldn’t say they are overly scary, but definitely a bit creepy! Some were better than others, but overall they were all fun to read.
Thank you to the publisher & NetGalley for the arc.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Some part of me kept waiting for the “horror” aspect to really hit, if you can even call it that. This felt much more like a collection of creepy, unsettling tales than something genuinely horrifying, and while I enjoyed my time with it, it never fully grabbed my attention. There are some really interesting stories and genuinely eerie moments, but it was missing that extra something that would’ve made me unable to put it down.
The writing definitely influenced my experience, as it almost always does. There’s a very particular style to these stories that works beautifully for the atmosphere, but ironically, for such a short collection, there were moments where it felt much longer than it actually was. You understand the feelings, the undertones, and what some of these stories are trying to say, but I still never felt completely absorbed by this strange little world I was briefly stepping into.
Still, it was enjoyable and short enough that I always wanted to keep going and see what the next story had to offer. More than anything, it gave me those cozy, creepy horror vibes, almost like a little warm-up for Halloween season.
Thanks to the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
3.25⭐️
The writing definitely influenced my experience, as it almost always does. There’s a very particular style to these stories that works beautifully for the atmosphere, but ironically, for such a short collection, there were moments where it felt much longer than it actually was. You understand the feelings, the undertones, and what some of these stories are trying to say, but I still never felt completely absorbed by this strange little world I was briefly stepping into.
Still, it was enjoyable and short enough that I always wanted to keep going and see what the next story had to offer. More than anything, it gave me those cozy, creepy horror vibes, almost like a little warm-up for Halloween season.
Thanks to the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
3.25⭐️
September 8, 2026
Behind the Gate consists of 9 short horror stories that I found to be an easy and quick read with only 128 pages.
I grew up reading Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark, so whenever I see a book of horror stories I get excited to feel some nostalgia.
This book gave me the creeps at times reading about someone sitting at the end of your bed watching you at night or trying to reach for something only to fall short and be trapped with nowhere to go.
Release Date: October 13th, 2026
Thank you NetGalley and W. W. Norton & Company for an opportunity to read an eARC copy for an honest review!
I grew up reading Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark, so whenever I see a book of horror stories I get excited to feel some nostalgia.
This book gave me the creeps at times reading about someone sitting at the end of your bed watching you at night or trying to reach for something only to fall short and be trapped with nowhere to go.
Release Date: October 13th, 2026
Thank you NetGalley and W. W. Norton & Company for an opportunity to read an eARC copy for an honest review!
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews