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The Hospitality
They come to dinner. They have come to dinner for three hundred years.
The Lambert family has hosted Edmund and Hester Harrison every Saturday evening for twenty-six years. The candles are lit at seven. The roast is served at quarter past. No one has ever cancelled. No one has ever been late. And no one — not Robert, not his wife Ruth, who sets the table with hands that no longer quite belong to her — can remember what the Harrisons look like. When Samuel Lambert returns home after three years away, he expects the usual strained silence and the usual impeccable Saturday. What he doesn't expect is the gap in his own memory: a lifetime of dinners with guests he cannot picture, cannot name, cannot draw. A locked door in the east wing. A sixth place set at the table for no one. And the family ledger that records, in the same red ink, every Saturday since 1693 — the year an Edmund Lambert bought this land and built this house. The closer Samuel looks, the more wrong everything becomes. His mother is unravelling under a courtesy she has carried alone for decades. His father has chosen, deliberately, not to know. And the guests — patient, polite, three centuries patient — are no longer interested in waiting.
Some debts are inherited. Some appetites never end. And some houses have been keeping their bargain for longer than anyone alive can remember.
A literary gothic horror novella about courtesy, complicity, and the things we feed to the people we invite in. For readers of Shirley Jackson, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and Sarah Waters.
★★★★★ Reedsy Discovery Must Read ·
The Lambert family has hosted Edmund and Hester Harrison every Saturday evening for twenty-six years. The candles are lit at seven. The roast is served at quarter past. No one has ever cancelled. No one has ever been late. And no one — not Robert, not his wife Ruth, who sets the table with hands that no longer quite belong to her — can remember what the Harrisons look like. When Samuel Lambert returns home after three years away, he expects the usual strained silence and the usual impeccable Saturday. What he doesn't expect is the gap in his own memory: a lifetime of dinners with guests he cannot picture, cannot name, cannot draw. A locked door in the east wing. A sixth place set at the table for no one. And the family ledger that records, in the same red ink, every Saturday since 1693 — the year an Edmund Lambert bought this land and built this house. The closer Samuel looks, the more wrong everything becomes. His mother is unravelling under a courtesy she has carried alone for decades. His father has chosen, deliberately, not to know. And the guests — patient, polite, three centuries patient — are no longer interested in waiting.
Some debts are inherited. Some appetites never end. And some houses have been keeping their bargain for longer than anyone alive can remember.
A literary gothic horror novella about courtesy, complicity, and the things we feed to the people we invite in. For readers of Shirley Jackson, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and Sarah Waters.
★★★★★ Reedsy Discovery Must Read ·
141 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 20, 2026
About the author
Luna Asli Kolcu
8 books104 followersI write nightmares people can enjoy and dreams with teeth.
Horror, fantasy, and whatever lives where they blur. Stories about grief, memory, identity, and love that refuses to die quietly.
I grew up between Anatolia, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and the steppes. Old places. My writing comes from there too. Myths and half-remembered legends.
Born and raised in Istanbul, studied in London. Now I live in a 17th-century stone farmhouse in rural Catalonia with the love of my life (who is an amazing artist), my kids, five dogs, a deeply judgmental cat named Galadriel who supervises every draft.
Horror, fantasy, and whatever lives where they blur. Stories about grief, memory, identity, and love that refuses to die quietly.
I grew up between Anatolia, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and the steppes. Old places. My writing comes from there too. Myths and half-remembered legends.
Born and raised in Istanbul, studied in London. Now I live in a 17th-century stone farmhouse in rural Catalonia with the love of my life (who is an amazing artist), my kids, five dogs, a deeply judgmental cat named Galadriel who supervises every draft.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
March 10, 2026
3.5☆
The tension and suspense were definitely there...but what? What happened? What happens now? What are the "guests," really? Luna Asli Kolcu has a writing technique that certainly draws you in and keeps your attention.
I enjoyed the hunt with Marcus for answers. I was with him every step of the way, but there were so many questions that he didn't ask and I wanted answers! Kolcu has a way of creating tension through the little breadcrumbs of answers that she leaves. It is the trail that kept me turning the pages.
The genealogy was off just enough to get under my skin, but not enough to keep me from reading. I am still not able to figure out how the hospitality presence flowed from one generation to the next? Was it through the Ashford paternal line or the Ashford daughter-in-law line. I am confused. Bottom line, centuries of dread never ended.
And, what in the world were the guests? Were they ancient spirits, alien beings, what?!
Despite my continued confusion I still enjoyed this novella. I will continue to read what Kolcu prints.
Favorite Quote:
'"That's the thing about not-knowing, Marcus. It's not really ignorance. It's just a choice about what to acknowledge.'"
Robert Ashford
The tension and suspense were definitely there...but what? What happened? What happens now? What are the "guests," really? Luna Asli Kolcu has a writing technique that certainly draws you in and keeps your attention.
I enjoyed the hunt with Marcus for answers. I was with him every step of the way, but there were so many questions that he didn't ask and I wanted answers! Kolcu has a way of creating tension through the little breadcrumbs of answers that she leaves. It is the trail that kept me turning the pages.
The genealogy was off just enough to get under my skin, but not enough to keep me from reading. I am still not able to figure out how the hospitality presence flowed from one generation to the next? Was it through the Ashford paternal line or the Ashford daughter-in-law line. I am confused. Bottom line, centuries of dread never ended.
And, what in the world were the guests? Were they ancient spirits, alien beings, what?!
Despite my continued confusion I still enjoyed this novella. I will continue to read what Kolcu prints.
Favorite Quote:
'"That's the thing about not-knowing, Marcus. It's not really ignorance. It's just a choice about what to acknowledge.'"
Robert Ashford
April 26, 2026
There were some interesting ideas here, especially around the true nature of the guests, but this felt like an unedited first draft. There were a lot of formatting errors (unintended indent or loss of indent, italics errors) and weird sentences that made things hard to understand (misused commas, people simultaneously holding a hand up and down, or sitting and standing), and some sections were repeated almost verbatim less than a chapter later. The genealogy made no sense to me (this curse is matrilineal but every generation has the same surname?) and the conclusion was confusing to me. It seemed like a thing they'd made a decision specifically to avoid was going to happen anyway and they'd realized this the whole time.
January 28, 2026
One of the quiet gifts of Substack is the way it reveals extraordinary writers before the wider world catches on. Luna Asli Kolchu was one of the first voices I discovered there who truly held my attention. Her gothic fiction novella, The Hospitality, marks a striking debut—one that lingers well after the final page.
At its heart, The Hospitality revolves around a ritual as precise as it is unsettling. Every Saturday night at exactly 7:03 p.m., mysterious guests arrive at the home of Eleanor and Robert. They have been doing so for three hundred years. For the past twenty-six years, Eleanor has carried the burden of hosting them.
Their son Marcus returns home from London after three years away to find the house unchanged, preserved in a kind of domestic stasis. Yet his mother feels altered in ways he cannot quite articulate. He remembers the Saturday dinners, the table set for six, and the persistent absence of one expected guest. What he cannot remember are the guests themselves.
Drawn home by something he cannot name, Marcus begins to notice the subtle wrongness threaded through the household. Edmund and Clara Harrison, the regular dinner guests, feel both familiar and unknowable. As Marcus probes deeper, he is compelled toward truths that have been carefully buried—truths that resist being uncovered.
Kolchu explores themes of memory and its slipperiness, the inescapable cost of past actions, and the cyclical nature of history. The novella suggests that the past does not merely haunt—it repeats, insists, and collects its due. Ghosts here are not always literal, but they are persistent.
The cover art is exquisite, perfectly echoing the formal elegance and underlying menace of the weekly dinners. Kolchu’s command of tone is awe-inspiring. Her use of foreshadowing builds tension with a patient, deliberate hand, allowing unease to bloom rather than erupt.
The emotional unravelling of the characters is rendered with care, making the novella difficult to put down. While the narrative grows slightly repetitive in places, Kolchu’s instincts for gothic storytelling are sharp. The singing of the entities recalls the haunting pull of siren folklore and brings to mind elements of The Nevers TV series. The supernatural aspects remain abstract—perhaps intentionally so—though this ambiguity left me lingering on an unanswered question concerning the grandmother who lived in the house.
Ultimately, The Hospitality is a swift and deeply atmospheric read. Available in paperback and digital formats on Amazon, it will especially appeal to readers who enjoy speculative fiction that values mood, implication, and moral consequence. If you appreciate gothic stories that whisper rather than shout, this novella deserves a place on your list. Following Luna Asli Kolchu on Substack is well worth your time—you will want to read what she writes next.
At its heart, The Hospitality revolves around a ritual as precise as it is unsettling. Every Saturday night at exactly 7:03 p.m., mysterious guests arrive at the home of Eleanor and Robert. They have been doing so for three hundred years. For the past twenty-six years, Eleanor has carried the burden of hosting them.
Their son Marcus returns home from London after three years away to find the house unchanged, preserved in a kind of domestic stasis. Yet his mother feels altered in ways he cannot quite articulate. He remembers the Saturday dinners, the table set for six, and the persistent absence of one expected guest. What he cannot remember are the guests themselves.
Drawn home by something he cannot name, Marcus begins to notice the subtle wrongness threaded through the household. Edmund and Clara Harrison, the regular dinner guests, feel both familiar and unknowable. As Marcus probes deeper, he is compelled toward truths that have been carefully buried—truths that resist being uncovered.
Kolchu explores themes of memory and its slipperiness, the inescapable cost of past actions, and the cyclical nature of history. The novella suggests that the past does not merely haunt—it repeats, insists, and collects its due. Ghosts here are not always literal, but they are persistent.
The cover art is exquisite, perfectly echoing the formal elegance and underlying menace of the weekly dinners. Kolchu’s command of tone is awe-inspiring. Her use of foreshadowing builds tension with a patient, deliberate hand, allowing unease to bloom rather than erupt.
The emotional unravelling of the characters is rendered with care, making the novella difficult to put down. While the narrative grows slightly repetitive in places, Kolchu’s instincts for gothic storytelling are sharp. The singing of the entities recalls the haunting pull of siren folklore and brings to mind elements of The Nevers TV series. The supernatural aspects remain abstract—perhaps intentionally so—though this ambiguity left me lingering on an unanswered question concerning the grandmother who lived in the house.
Ultimately, The Hospitality is a swift and deeply atmospheric read. Available in paperback and digital formats on Amazon, it will especially appeal to readers who enjoy speculative fiction that values mood, implication, and moral consequence. If you appreciate gothic stories that whisper rather than shout, this novella deserves a place on your list. Following Luna Asli Kolchu on Substack is well worth your time—you will want to read what she writes next.
May 12, 2026
Luna Asli Kolcu crafts a fascinating, slightly surreal atmosphere that stays with you long after you finish. The story plays beautifully with the concept of "hospitality," turning something that should feel warm and welcoming into something far more complex and layered. The pacing has a deliberate, almost hypnotic quality to it, drawing you into the setting and making the characters' interactions feel charged with unspoken meaning.
April 6, 2026
This book felt so eerie and quiet and unsettling in a way I really loved 🕯️📖 It is one of those stories where nothing feels loud but everything feels wrong.
From the start there is this strange tense atmosphere around the house and the family dinners. Everything looks normal on the surface but you can feel something is off in small details. Little moments that made me feel uncomfortable without even knowing why. That slow creepy feeling really worked for me.
Marcus was such an interesting character to follow. He feels different from everyone around him because he actually notices things and cannot just pretend everything is fine. I liked how observant he is and how you slowly see him realise things are not as normal as he was told.
The family dynamics are honestly the most disturbing part. The silence, the rules, the things nobody talks about. It felt heavy and sad especially around the women in the family and what they seem forced to carry. That part really stayed with me 💔
The writing is very calm and simple but also very atmospheric. It builds tension slowly and makes you feel watched almost. It is not fast or action heavy but it pulls you in if you like quiet creepy stories 🖤
The only reason it is not five stars for me is because I wanted just a little bit more emotional depth at certain points. But overall it was such a unique and haunting read.Creepy, thoughtful and perfect if you like gothic family secrets and slow tension ✨
From the start there is this strange tense atmosphere around the house and the family dinners. Everything looks normal on the surface but you can feel something is off in small details. Little moments that made me feel uncomfortable without even knowing why. That slow creepy feeling really worked for me.
Marcus was such an interesting character to follow. He feels different from everyone around him because he actually notices things and cannot just pretend everything is fine. I liked how observant he is and how you slowly see him realise things are not as normal as he was told.
The family dynamics are honestly the most disturbing part. The silence, the rules, the things nobody talks about. It felt heavy and sad especially around the women in the family and what they seem forced to carry. That part really stayed with me 💔
The writing is very calm and simple but also very atmospheric. It builds tension slowly and makes you feel watched almost. It is not fast or action heavy but it pulls you in if you like quiet creepy stories 🖤
The only reason it is not five stars for me is because I wanted just a little bit more emotional depth at certain points. But overall it was such a unique and haunting read.Creepy, thoughtful and perfect if you like gothic family secrets and slow tension ✨
Read
January 25, 2026Innovative and disturbing
What a great novella. Well-written characters, an atmospheric setting, and great pacing.
Who would have thought dinner parties could be so scary?
What a great novella. Well-written characters, an atmospheric setting, and great pacing.
Who would have thought dinner parties could be so scary?
January 21, 2026
Fantastic read
I could not put it down from start to finish I just loved 🥰 it looking forward to reading more of your books 📚 please continue this wonderful series xx 😘
I could not put it down from start to finish I just loved 🥰 it looking forward to reading more of your books 📚 please continue this wonderful series xx 😘
May 23, 2026
I believe I have read the unedited first draft of the book, likely because I received it in my email from the author's newsletter. I say this partly because the Goodreads blurb talks about the Lambert family hosting Edmund and Hester, the guests who have been visiting the house every Saturday for three hundred years, only to be actually seen by "Samuel Lambert", who, after three years away at university, comes back home and realizes that he has no memory of what these guests look like.
In the version of the book I read, and from the other reviews, the version that others have read too, it's the Ashford family who host Edmund and Clara, and the son Marcus, who notices the gaps in his memory and sees that these guests are very uncanny valley, and ultimately,
It's a great concept, and the writing was eerie for sure. But it was also rather insufferable. There were several formatting errors, and some repeated sentences/passages across the book, which is the other reason this book reads like a first draft.
Luna Asli Kolcu has a distinct voice. However, the occasional elegant adjective/metaphor aside, the descriptions of events, people and moods are consistently overused, repetitive (copy-pasted in a way that I didn't get the intention of), redundant and almost robotic, trying rather hard to be evocative of dread, but falling flat, ending up over explaining things instead. Several times over, too, such that it reads like Netflix series written for an audience who isn't paying attention. The sentence fragmenting is overdone, and not very well either, and as a result, was irksome for me. Needless to mention the innumerable "not x, not y, but z" statements. Too much.
It did take me into the world and premise seamlessly, but I struggled to stay there. The house seemed to be "settling" a lot lol. I struggled to relate to the characters and their fears. I get that this was intended to be Gothic, but I get the feeling that the author was repeatedly saying, "hey look at how gothic this is", while failing to achieve the intended effect.
Overall a great idea with a far from perfect execution. However there is potential and I'd look out for more from this author. I'm also subscribed to her newsletter (she's doing a folklore/fairytale series called Forgotten Truths which I'm excited for).
In the version of the book I read, and from the other reviews, the version that others have read too, it's the Ashford family who host Edmund and Clara, and the son Marcus, who notices the gaps in his memory and sees that these guests are very uncanny valley, and ultimately,
It's a great concept, and the writing was eerie for sure. But it was also rather insufferable. There were several formatting errors, and some repeated sentences/passages across the book, which is the other reason this book reads like a first draft.
Luna Asli Kolcu has a distinct voice. However, the occasional elegant adjective/metaphor aside, the descriptions of events, people and moods are consistently overused, repetitive (copy-pasted in a way that I didn't get the intention of), redundant and almost robotic, trying rather hard to be evocative of dread, but falling flat, ending up over explaining things instead. Several times over, too, such that it reads like Netflix series written for an audience who isn't paying attention. The sentence fragmenting is overdone, and not very well either, and as a result, was irksome for me. Needless to mention the innumerable "not x, not y, but z" statements. Too much.
It did take me into the world and premise seamlessly, but I struggled to stay there. The house seemed to be "settling" a lot lol. I struggled to relate to the characters and their fears. I get that this was intended to be Gothic, but I get the feeling that the author was repeatedly saying, "hey look at how gothic this is", while failing to achieve the intended effect.
Overall a great idea with a far from perfect execution. However there is potential and I'd look out for more from this author. I'm also subscribed to her newsletter (she's doing a folklore/fairytale series called Forgotten Truths which I'm excited for).
February 2, 2026
The Hospitality is a very creepy, unsettling gothic novel of secrets, a centuries old tradition, mysterious dinner guests and consequences. Written without a flourish of darkened description but with a delf simplicity that quickly draws the reader into a deepening sense of dread, Luna Asli Kolcu's novel is a chilling read of otherness. Even shorn of menacing imagery The Hospitality has an oppressive atmosphere that unfolds as the protagonist unravels the history of his family. For once you can by a book for its cover; the evocative picture is quite representative of the novel's contents. Even though the ending has a minor structural awkwardness, this novel is well worth reading. I look forward to the author's future work.
April 24, 2026
Every Saturday at exactly 7:03pm they arrive for dinner. But nobody can remember who they are or why they come. An interesting debut novel from an author I'll be keeping an eye on. The book does a good job of building up suspense, although I didn't feel the ending quite paid off. The book moved along a bit too briskly and at around 150 pages long I felt like I wanted a bit more. An enjoyable read though, I liked it. I'd rate this at 3.5 stars, but 3 feels too low, so 4 it is then!
March 20, 2026
Ashford House is haunting, tense, and utterly mesmerizing. Marcus’s return unveils a centuries-old family ritual that is as chilling as it is elegant. The secret at 7:03 will leave you breathless, and the quiet, uncanny horror lingers long after the last page. A must-read for fans of atmospheric literary thrillers.
April 22, 2026
When I first started reading this, I wasn't sure, felt a bit detached from the main character due to the writing style. But it seems the style perfectly suited the story, the narrative and the subtle elements of horror throughout. Definitely one to read, I struggled to put it down. Thank you and looking forward to the next!
January 28, 2026
A Delightful Fantasy Adventure
This book offers an entertaining and easy-to-enjoy adventure. I loved it and would definitely recommend it. I can’t wait to read more from this author.
This book offers an entertaining and easy-to-enjoy adventure. I loved it and would definitely recommend it. I can’t wait to read more from this author.
February 4, 2026
a new kind of horror story
Imagine a contract where someone else pays for your questions. Someone you love dearly.
I read this fascinating book all in one sitting.
If someone unexpected shows up for dinner, I might just suggest the pizza shop on the corner.
Imagine a contract where someone else pays for your questions. Someone you love dearly.
I read this fascinating book all in one sitting.
If someone unexpected shows up for dinner, I might just suggest the pizza shop on the corner.
February 26, 2026
A book with its own history
I found this book to be so intriguing I just could not put it down. I wanted to know what in the world was going on. Really good with a twist. I will read more by this author for sure.
I found this book to be so intriguing I just could not put it down. I wanted to know what in the world was going on. Really good with a twist. I will read more by this author for sure.
March 3, 2026
received a free copy of this book via Hidden Gem books and I am voluntarily leaving a review.
LIKE THE BOOK
slow start
It's an interesting mystery
This is where I say the author gives enough information.
So, I do not give anything away
LIKE THE BOOK
slow start
It's an interesting mystery
This is where I say the author gives enough information.
So, I do not give anything away
March 3, 2026
A 300 year tradition is happening again but he does not remember the guests name. There is a reason it all happens but will he ever find tat reason out. Follow him to see how he gets on
I received an advance copy from hidden gems and an interesting read
I received an advance copy from hidden gems and an interesting read
March 16, 2026
Luna Asli Kolcu’s The Hospitality proves that you don't need purple prose to be terrifying. It simplicity pulls you into a world of centuries-old secrets and unsettling dinner guests, building an spooky atmosphere through psychological tension rather than cheap scares. While the ending stumbles slightly in its structure, the journey into the protagonist's family history is deeply rewarding.
April 21, 2026
A gothic classic.
A very easy five stars for a superb novella. I was gripped from the first chapter. The horror is palpable but understated and the foreboding and psychological tension never lets up. Highly recommended for anyone who likes ominous gothic horror.
A very easy five stars for a superb novella. I was gripped from the first chapter. The horror is palpable but understated and the foreboding and psychological tension never lets up. Highly recommended for anyone who likes ominous gothic horror.
April 30, 2026
This was ok and was short enough but it feel like it really dragged on. Some parts were repetitive and I thought I had accidentally read the same page twice but hadn’t. It didn’t have a happy ending. It was a very odd book and not what I expected.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 7, 2026
Well done
A great debut novella….could easily see this as a base for a film.
Looking forward to future works from this author!
A great debut novella….could easily see this as a base for a film.
Looking forward to future works from this author!
February 19, 2026
The exploration of memory is fantastic, and the deep atmospheric feeling you get while reading is incredible. And who doesn’t love an unraveling of family history?
March 4, 2026
I enjoyed reading this book and recommend for those who like fantasy horror. Very well written and imaginative with lots of mystery. Recommend highly.
March 14, 2026
Just the right creepy
It wasn't what I'd expected, and I would have thought the unanswered questions would bother me more. It was a different sort of spooky
It wasn't what I'd expected, and I would have thought the unanswered questions would bother me more. It was a different sort of spooky
May 15, 2026
An excellent ghost story
February 27, 2026
I am always looking for horror writers who are able to keep me interested and guessing.
Luna Asli Kolcu fits the bill! The Hospitality kept me enthralled. I thought I knew what was happening but I was wrong. Her imagination and writing was able to trap me until I could reach the end and her ending satisfied me. That does not happen often.
Come and enjoy her Hospitality; I promise it will not disappoint.
Luna Asli Kolcu fits the bill! The Hospitality kept me enthralled. I thought I knew what was happening but I was wrong. Her imagination and writing was able to trap me until I could reach the end and her ending satisfied me. That does not happen often.
Come and enjoy her Hospitality; I promise it will not disappoint.
March 22, 2026
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