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What Lies Unseen: A Horror Novel
A chilling psychological horror novel filled with twists about the connection between our world and the beyond.
Sam Avery sees things no one else can...
Gruesome spirits have haunted and plagued Sam since childhood. He believes he is alone in this terrifying ability, until he meets beautiful Amanda Foster, who can hear the voices of the dead.
Amanda tells Sam there are even more like them, a group she calls her spirit circle, comprised of powerful individuals endowed with the abilities to seek out and commune with the dead.
At first, Sam eagerly accepts the invitation to join this circle but slowly begins to grow suspicious about it—and Amanda’s—true purpose.
Does she really want to use Sam's power to help free unfortunate spirits trapped in the physical world? Or is there something more sinister Amanda has planned, a darker, more twisted truth that lies unseen?
Experience a harrowing psychological horror novel filled with dark twists as Sam digs into the truth behind the connection between our world and the supernatural.
Grab your copy today and read if you dare!
Sam Avery sees things no one else can...
Gruesome spirits have haunted and plagued Sam since childhood. He believes he is alone in this terrifying ability, until he meets beautiful Amanda Foster, who can hear the voices of the dead.
Amanda tells Sam there are even more like them, a group she calls her spirit circle, comprised of powerful individuals endowed with the abilities to seek out and commune with the dead.
At first, Sam eagerly accepts the invitation to join this circle but slowly begins to grow suspicious about it—and Amanda’s—true purpose.
Does she really want to use Sam's power to help free unfortunate spirits trapped in the physical world? Or is there something more sinister Amanda has planned, a darker, more twisted truth that lies unseen?
Experience a harrowing psychological horror novel filled with dark twists as Sam digs into the truth behind the connection between our world and the supernatural.
Grab your copy today and read if you dare!
- GenresHorror
310 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 17, 2026
77 people are currently reading
4829 people want to read
About the author
S.E. Howard
19 books47 followersS.E. Howard lives in Kentucky where she works as a registered nurse, certified in toxicology (a fitting field given her side-hustle writing horror stories). Her work has appeared in numerous anthologies, and her short story “You’ve Been Saved” was also adapted for the screen in the 2022 GenreBlast film anthology Worst Laid Plans. Her horror novels The Vessel and What Lies Unseen are available now through Aethon Books / Wicked House. For more information, visit online at www.sehoward.com.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
March 14, 2026
I did pretty much like this book. The plot was good and well researched. The main character, Sam, was not very likable, IMHO. He was rather annoying, actually. The character of Amanda was overdone, I think. The ending was fine; everything tied up with no cliffhanger. I might pick up something else by this author.
January 12, 2026
Sam can see spirits and interact with them. Too often they become threatening to Sam. Throughout his childhood he relied his older brother to keep him safe. This poor kid had such a terrifying time as a kid. He seemed to be a magnet for all manor of spirits. As he became an adult Sam did what he could to avoid spirits. Unfortunately he returned to the place that as a child, he experienced true terror by a spirit that did not want him at all historic mansion. Because he was so powerful a nefarious group of people decided they needed him to bring forth an ancient entity. What they did not know was; Sam had no intention of being a vessel for anyone. This book was really terrifying. Not only that I was angry at how Amanda used Sam. Sam was an easy target because until Amanda, Sam knew no one that could see spirits. She needed a naive person to participate in the ritual and Sam fit that bill. I sympathized with Sam as his heart broke. I was glad to see Cole finally came around. He had been used also then quickly discarded. The author did an amazing job at keeping things frightful as well as emotional. I could not help but feel empathy toward Sam because he really had a rough time of things.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Title: What Lies Unseen
By: S.E. Howard
Publisher: AETHON: Wicked House
Published Date: March 10, 2026
ASIN: B0G4WZWV9F
Page Count: 283
Triggers: Spirits, psychological manipulation, betrayal, supernatural violence, possession themes
Star Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Skull Dread Rating: ☠️☠️☠️
What Did I Just Walk Into?
Sam Avery has spent his entire life seeing spirits that would rather torment him than politely haunt someone else. Childhood was less “imaginary friends” and more “why is that ghost trying to crawl through the wall at me?” Then along comes Amanda Foster, who hears the dead and introduces Sam to her cozy little spirit circle. Sounds supportive, right? Wrong. Turns out when a secret paranormal club invites you in, there is usually a ritual, a hidden agenda, and someone planning to use you as the supernatural battery for something ancient and very, very bad.
Here’s What Slapped:
The tension in this book is fantastic. S.E. Howard knows exactly how to build dread and then twist the knife when you least expect it. The supernatural elements feel creepy without being over the top, and the mystery surrounding Amanda and her spirit circle keeps tightening like a noose. Sam is also an easy character to root for because the poor guy has basically been ghost bait his entire life. The emotional punches land just as hard as the horror. You feel his fear, his loneliness, and especially the betrayal when things start unraveling.
What Could’ve Been Better:
Amanda will absolutely make your blood pressure rise. She is the kind of character that makes you want to throw the book across the room and yell at fictional people for making terrible life choices. Which, honestly, might have been the point. Some readers may also wish we got even deeper backstory on certain characters like Cole because there is clearly more story there waiting to explode.
Perfect for Readers Who Love:
Supernatural horror
Ghost stories with psychological tension
Secret occult groups with bad intentions
Haunted locations and rituals gone sideways
Characters who discover the hard way that trust is dangerous
Sum It Up:
What Lies Unseen crawls under your skin with creeping dread, emotional gut punches, and the constant feeling that something terrible is waiting just outside the light. By the time the truth surfaces, you realize the real horror was never the ghosts. It was the people standing next to Sam the whole time.
Reviewed by Robin for Robin’s Review 💀📚
By: S.E. Howard
Publisher: AETHON: Wicked House
Published Date: March 10, 2026
ASIN: B0G4WZWV9F
Page Count: 283
Triggers: Spirits, psychological manipulation, betrayal, supernatural violence, possession themes
Star Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Skull Dread Rating: ☠️☠️☠️
What Did I Just Walk Into?
Sam Avery has spent his entire life seeing spirits that would rather torment him than politely haunt someone else. Childhood was less “imaginary friends” and more “why is that ghost trying to crawl through the wall at me?” Then along comes Amanda Foster, who hears the dead and introduces Sam to her cozy little spirit circle. Sounds supportive, right? Wrong. Turns out when a secret paranormal club invites you in, there is usually a ritual, a hidden agenda, and someone planning to use you as the supernatural battery for something ancient and very, very bad.
Here’s What Slapped:
The tension in this book is fantastic. S.E. Howard knows exactly how to build dread and then twist the knife when you least expect it. The supernatural elements feel creepy without being over the top, and the mystery surrounding Amanda and her spirit circle keeps tightening like a noose. Sam is also an easy character to root for because the poor guy has basically been ghost bait his entire life. The emotional punches land just as hard as the horror. You feel his fear, his loneliness, and especially the betrayal when things start unraveling.
What Could’ve Been Better:
Amanda will absolutely make your blood pressure rise. She is the kind of character that makes you want to throw the book across the room and yell at fictional people for making terrible life choices. Which, honestly, might have been the point. Some readers may also wish we got even deeper backstory on certain characters like Cole because there is clearly more story there waiting to explode.
Perfect for Readers Who Love:
Supernatural horror
Ghost stories with psychological tension
Secret occult groups with bad intentions
Haunted locations and rituals gone sideways
Characters who discover the hard way that trust is dangerous
Sum It Up:
What Lies Unseen crawls under your skin with creeping dread, emotional gut punches, and the constant feeling that something terrible is waiting just outside the light. By the time the truth surfaces, you realize the real horror was never the ghosts. It was the people standing next to Sam the whole time.
Reviewed by Robin for Robin’s Review 💀📚
Review of advance copy received from Author
This is a fine supernatural thriller by S.E. Howard, who's proven time and again to exceed all expectations when it comes to horror stories with a heart, complex plotting, and relatable characters. In fact, "What Lies Unseen" is an emotional rollercoaster, touching on themes of grief, loss, and family, as well as romantic love, betrayal, and complicated friendships. The supernatural elements, revolving around ghosts or spirits, range from paranormal to cult and archeological horror: people with abilities of seeing, hearing or feeling ghosts are drawn into a harrowing tale of epic proportions, involving an unearthed ancient artifact and the entity housed within.
The main character, Sam, a young man who's been seeing spirits all his life, finds himself right in the middle of things when he's offered the job of a security employee in a mansion-turned-museum - a place where he, as a child, first saw the ghost of a burnt woman, Rosemary, the victim of a past disaster involving a séance gone wrong. Archaeological work in the mansion has revealed several disturbing details. Sam, to his surprise, soon hooks up with the director of the dig, Amanda, who can hear ghosts. It seems like a match made in heaven; is it though?
Sam's family dynamics are perfectly integrated into the story, at the same time his relationship with Amanda grows deeper and more demanding. What follows is a fast-paced dive into cult horror, with several twists and surprising reveals about Sam, Amanda, and the history of the mansion. But what makes this a fascinating horror story is the mystery about what lies underneath the place, not only what lies unseen. The last third of the book offers one revelation after another, balanced with psychological insight, emotional depth, and thrilling suspense about Sam's fate.
When it comes to horror, Howard keeps getting it just right! I highly recommend the book to fans of the paranormal and readers who love their horror cleverly executed and solidly anchored in emotionally authentic experience!
The main character, Sam, a young man who's been seeing spirits all his life, finds himself right in the middle of things when he's offered the job of a security employee in a mansion-turned-museum - a place where he, as a child, first saw the ghost of a burnt woman, Rosemary, the victim of a past disaster involving a séance gone wrong. Archaeological work in the mansion has revealed several disturbing details. Sam, to his surprise, soon hooks up with the director of the dig, Amanda, who can hear ghosts. It seems like a match made in heaven; is it though?
Sam's family dynamics are perfectly integrated into the story, at the same time his relationship with Amanda grows deeper and more demanding. What follows is a fast-paced dive into cult horror, with several twists and surprising reveals about Sam, Amanda, and the history of the mansion. But what makes this a fascinating horror story is the mystery about what lies underneath the place, not only what lies unseen. The last third of the book offers one revelation after another, balanced with psychological insight, emotional depth, and thrilling suspense about Sam's fate.
When it comes to horror, Howard keeps getting it just right! I highly recommend the book to fans of the paranormal and readers who love their horror cleverly executed and solidly anchored in emotionally authentic experience!
Review of advance copy received from Author
What Lies Unseen is a book that will scratch a lot of itches for the avid horror reader. On it's surface, what lies seen, if you will, is deceptively simple. From a young age, Sam Avery has been plagued with visions of ghosts. He seems to be tempting fate when he accepts a security job at mansion where he first discovered his ability to see the dead. After meeting Amanda Foster and her circle of like-minded spiritualists, he is given a chance to foster what he thought was a curse into what his new acquaintances assure him is a gift.
What unfolds from this jumping off point is creeping, crawling ghost story filled with left turns that will constantly have the reader turning the page for more. S.E. Howard is a pro when it comes to pacing, knowing just when to leave the scares at a hair-raising creep, and when to turn the scare level to full, white-knuckle terror. We also get a full cast of characters that we get to know well, familiar faces that we root for and cross our fingers that they get through the end of the book relatively unscathed.
What Lies Unseen is a great time, well written, and sure to satiate any horror reader with the good stuff.
Thank you to the author for a chance to get an early read on this one!
What unfolds from this jumping off point is creeping, crawling ghost story filled with left turns that will constantly have the reader turning the page for more. S.E. Howard is a pro when it comes to pacing, knowing just when to leave the scares at a hair-raising creep, and when to turn the scare level to full, white-knuckle terror. We also get a full cast of characters that we get to know well, familiar faces that we root for and cross our fingers that they get through the end of the book relatively unscathed.
What Lies Unseen is a great time, well written, and sure to satiate any horror reader with the good stuff.
Thank you to the author for a chance to get an early read on this one!
Review of advance copy received from Author
Truly foreboding horror builds tension and dread through the things we cannot see, the evil that lurks in the dark, the monster that hides in the shadows, barely there, stygian and insubstantial – just beyond the edge of vision, yet menacingly, terrifyingly, real. And, in ‘What Lies Unseen’, S.E. Howard wields this idea like a weapon. In this brilliant read, nothing, and no one, is truly what they seem. There are grave-deep secrets and ancient mysteries. There is subterfuge and betrayal. Friends can be found in enemies, charity and assistance in the most nightmarish of entities. Even the leading characters struggle to understand their own hidden pasts and traumas. Howard has buried a terrible truth deep inside this story, and it will force every reader to dig, dig, and keep on digging until they uncover it. Great stuff. A dark, mesmeric story about the secrets we keep and the evils we hide away.
Jeff Clulow – author of ‘Veil’ and ‘The Leper’s Garden and Other Contagions’.
Jeff Clulow – author of ‘Veil’ and ‘The Leper’s Garden and Other Contagions’.
Review of advance copy received from Author
If you're looking for a tale that will keep you on the edge of your seat and make you want to keep the lights on, this is the one. S. E. has done it again by introducing us to Sam, who can see spirits and they torment him. He meets Amanda, who can hear the voices of the dead. She invites him to her spirit group, and the story jumps off with a bang from there. The cast of characters are drawn great, and it makes you want to see who will survive this night as they try to raise an ancient spirit, and who can you trust. The pacing is spot on, and the tension keeps you turning the pages. I can't wait to see what S. E. has in store for us next.
January 31, 2026
“What Lies Unseen” by S.E. Howard is a thrilling, twisty book that you will not want to put down. Howard has expertly crafted a narrative that combines supernatural horror and mystery, and introduces you to characters you will love to get to know. I was completely hooked on this story and had to pick my jaw off the floor as it unfolded. This was my introduction to Howard’s writing and I cannot wait to get whisked away by her storytelling again. If you haven’t already, give this one a pre-order! You’ll be thankful you did! Thank you to the author for allowing me to get an early glimpse with an ARC. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Review of advance copy received from Author
What Lies Unseen by S.E. Howard
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
This is a dark, creepy, and exciting psychological/supernatural horror story. This book has it all, scares, haunts, ghosts, rituals, twists, grief, emotions, and so much more!!
Sam lives his life seeing images of the dead. It’s a very powerful gift he has… or is it a curse? Sam meets Amanda at work and they hit it off. He learns about a whole spirit world from Amanda and great horrors ensure!
This book is a mysterious and spooky read! I love how the author told this story. It drew me in immediately!!
Thank you to S.E. Howard for an arc of this fantastic book!!
*I highly recommend the creepy read!! It comes out March 17th!!*
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
This is a dark, creepy, and exciting psychological/supernatural horror story. This book has it all, scares, haunts, ghosts, rituals, twists, grief, emotions, and so much more!!
Sam lives his life seeing images of the dead. It’s a very powerful gift he has… or is it a curse? Sam meets Amanda at work and they hit it off. He learns about a whole spirit world from Amanda and great horrors ensure!
This book is a mysterious and spooky read! I love how the author told this story. It drew me in immediately!!
Thank you to S.E. Howard for an arc of this fantastic book!!
*I highly recommend the creepy read!! It comes out March 17th!!*
Review of advance copy received from Author
In What Lies Unseen, Howard has created an intensely human story of grief, desperation, and horror. With thriller-worthy twists, frustratingly real characters, and sinister as hell scenes, What Lies Unseen promises to live on in your mind long after you've finished reading.
March 17, 2026
WHAT LIES UNSEEN is a seamlessly plotted, high-octane ride where the terror is just as psychological as it is supernatural. S.E. Howard delivers a refreshing twist on the haunted house story that will keep you riveted until the very last sentence!
March 17, 2026
This was a good read! I loved the different kinds of lore that was thrown in. From ghosts to ancient beings, this story is a fun ride. Moral of the story is people are nuts 🤣
Review of advance copy received from Author
Tension drips from these pages. SE Howard weaves a compelling web of conspiracy and leaves you questioning everything long after the last page.
Sam has the ability to see spirits, whether he wants to or not. When he meets Amanda, he falls hard and fast but that’s not all there is to their story.
The tension, mystery, and spiderweb of questions is fantastic!
Sam has the ability to see spirits, whether he wants to or not. When he meets Amanda, he falls hard and fast but that’s not all there is to their story.
The tension, mystery, and spiderweb of questions is fantastic!
Review of advance copy received from Author
What Lies Unseen: A Horror Novel by S. E. Howard is a supernatural tale with horror mixed in. The intro grabbed me right away and it reminded me a little of Rick Riordan's The Lightning Thief story (when Percy saw monsters on a field trip that no one else saw), yet in a more supernatural horror way. The rest of it reminds me of a cross between Annabelle and Poltergeist, mixed with House on Haunted Hill. I absolutely need a Cole backstory book after reading this story. Then maybe Sam and Cole could team up to rid the world of demons. Yes, as you can see I am totally invested in this world and these characters. I'd even be interested in the backstory of the institute and how it was created. I can see a whole bunch of books in the series and a whole movie enterprise as this story has a great mix of characters and plot. S.E. Howard is quickly becoming a must read author for me.
Thanks to the author and publisher for the advanced copy.
Thanks to the author and publisher for the advanced copy.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews