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.

102 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 22, 2025

Reviews

[Sea Caummisar · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[Nicola Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[Kelley Stanforth · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Adam Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.