The Dirty Swallow: An Extreme Horror Novella

by Sam West

Eleven years ago, an inbred, cannibalistic family lived in the tiny hamlet of Hanow in West Cornwall, consisting of three tumbledown cottages and a pub. Nestled in the sprawling wild countryside before the cliff edge, miles away from the nearest village or town, the family dwelled in squalor, their properties in Hanow passed down from generation to generation.

The pub hadn’t been a pub for many years. Not officially, anyway. A cousin of the family who owned a B and B in the neighbouring town of Penzance occasionally sent tourists their way, especially if they were young and pretty. Those that tackled the fifteen-mile hike along the cliff path to Hanow were rewarded with a pub lunch and a pint.

Most of them ended up as the pub lunch.

But, that is all in the past. Hanow has since undergone a makeover, courtesy of ambitious couple Brian and Jenny Cartwright, the new landlord and landlady of the infamous pub, The Dirty Swallow. They have bought the entire hamlet and have big business plans.

Three old school friends are doing the fifteen-mile hike from Penzance to Hanow.

A father and his estranged teenaged daughter are also making the pilgrimage for a ploughman’s and a pint.
These five innocents are about to stumble straight into Hell.

Although The Dirty Swallow could be labelled a sequel to Suffer Hard, in that the events in this novella take place eleven years after those in Suffer Hard, it can absolutely be read as a standalone story.

Genres: Horror

102 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 22, 2025

Reviews

[Diane]

An absolutely filthy, gory and disgusting sequel of a book.
It's probably best if you read "SUFFER HARD" by Sam West before reading this as it will make the story more understandable...but it can be read as a standalone.

Sam West writes this book with a truly venomous attitude...the scenes are amazing and the details in the killings, slayings and sexual encounters make you sit up abruptly, brings bile up into your throat and makes you really want to vomit 🤢🤮

If you like your extreme horror raw and dripping with blood...then this one's for you...if you don't then stay away!!

Brutal...Nasty and Frightening...With An Unexpected Shocking Ending To Go With It!!

5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟's for more meat than you can handle...in more ways than one!!!

[Sea Caummisar]

Probably one of the best endings that I have ever read!!!!

[Lydia]

Goddamn! I thought it couldn't get any more brutal and disgusting as the first book, but I was sure proven wrong. Takes a lot to make me gag, but this book achieved it at about the 50% mark. Loved it!

[Nicola Cox]

I really liked this read it’s twisted and shocking and very gory but for a novella it was perfect i pictured the scenes probably not the best read before bed but Sam west just knows how to write horror novellas he gets it right most of the time I’ve read quite a few of his books and they’ve been really good if you want to read a gory twisted short story pick this up it’s on kindle unlimited another great novella

[Mellisa]

Summary: Years before the pub was known for being a place of the inbred family that ate humans. Now, a new couple have taken it over, and they have some guests. But the question is - are these thr guests they want?

Review: This wasn't as gory as my usual extreme horrors, which considering it is still disturbing and gory, probably says how extreme I am used to! This is a good story, with parts that had me rooting for the 'good' guys, and then a twist at the end which had me speechless.

[Kelley Stanforth]

This was a deeply depraved gore fest. I very much enjoyed the story, but there was one scene I don’t think was necessary. It has to do with the ugly sister and the male owner of the pub. This is why I gave it a 3⭐️ I LOVED the ending.

[§am I Am]

3.5

The dirty swallow has 5 new customers. The "owners" are actually cannibals. As the horrors ensue who will get out alive?

[K D Davies]

A series of travellers wind up at the inn, The Dirty Swallow caught in a storm. It’s inviting all old wood and roaring fires but something about the place just feels off. My alarm bells triggered early into this one. This one went from zero to a hundred very quickly. There were some truly brutal scenes and this one also included one of my favourite tropes! All in all a great read!

[Adam Wilson]

Ahhh Sam West. Its been a minute and a few thousand pages, but we meet again for another fun, hateful adventure into the dark and disturbing. Most memorable thing about this is probably the title, and it is the name of a bar, or pub rather, ya nasty britches, but, although this is just a thing that exists, with a very dark and silly conclusion, I always come back for more. This sort of thing isn’t going to raise the reputation of extreme horror though, as if it gives a damned disemboweled fetus. Its Sam West. As long as this isn’t your first read from them, it is what you expect. If it is, ummm, its a pretty stout example of extreme horror. If you read several hundred books a year, go for it here. If not, I don’t think it is worth the couple hours of your time it would take to read. I enjoyed it, but I’m a weird, hateful creature who enjoys pretty much anything I read unless it is murdering my few remaining family members or something.

[karen adams]

3.5 stars

[Justine Biddle]

Fantastic read for around 100 pages. Gore cannibals and bloody.