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MAW: A haunting Autumnal horror novella
"A short page-turner that'll sit in the pit of your stomach like a stone in a loch. Highly recommend this one!"
Leigh Kenny, author of Hush, My Darling and Cursed
MAW is a haunting Autumnal horror novella set in the Scottish Highlands. It is a story about family, about the distances between us and the ties that bind us. Seasons pass...leaves fall...daylight fades...but family is forever.
When Maisie receives a call for help from her grandmother Cora, she returns reluctantly to the remote country house in which the woman she and her sister know as Maw raised them in their mother's absence. It's Oct 30th and it's bad enough she was back just a few weeks ago for Maw's birthday and wasn't planning on returning until Christmas - and only then if she couldn't come up with a good enough excuse - it also means she's probably going to miss the Halloween party she was looking forward to in Edinburgh.
With night closing in, she arrives to find Maw missing and her granduncle Jordie, Maw's older brother, bedridden and acting even more mental than usual. As she waits for Maw to return and explain just what the hell is going on, she finds Maw's phone, left behind, and also her journal, which contains some very worrying entries about the events unfolding in this house perched on the edge of the wilderness.
MAW features folk and cosmic horror, a little gore, a touch of humour, and a meditation app that is most definitely NOT user-friendly.
Leigh Kenny, author of Hush, My Darling and Cursed
MAW is a haunting Autumnal horror novella set in the Scottish Highlands. It is a story about family, about the distances between us and the ties that bind us. Seasons pass...leaves fall...daylight fades...but family is forever.
When Maisie receives a call for help from her grandmother Cora, she returns reluctantly to the remote country house in which the woman she and her sister know as Maw raised them in their mother's absence. It's Oct 30th and it's bad enough she was back just a few weeks ago for Maw's birthday and wasn't planning on returning until Christmas - and only then if she couldn't come up with a good enough excuse - it also means she's probably going to miss the Halloween party she was looking forward to in Edinburgh.
With night closing in, she arrives to find Maw missing and her granduncle Jordie, Maw's older brother, bedridden and acting even more mental than usual. As she waits for Maw to return and explain just what the hell is going on, she finds Maw's phone, left behind, and also her journal, which contains some very worrying entries about the events unfolding in this house perched on the edge of the wilderness.
MAW features folk and cosmic horror, a little gore, a touch of humour, and a meditation app that is most definitely NOT user-friendly.
60 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 6, 2026
1 person is currently reading
7 people want to read
About the author
Bryan Farrell
2 books15 followersMy new novel, HOW TO CONTACT THE LIVING, is out now!
Devoted reader, angry writer, and lifelong procrastinator. I grew up in Ireland, spent many years in Australia, and my twin passions are punk music and all things paranormal. I read all genres and write in some of them.
Feel free to Friend and/or Follow me on Goodreads where I maintain a (too) active presence and will mostly be found chatting in movie discussion group threads instead of doing anything vaguely productive. You can also visit www.bryanfarrellauthor.com for free stories and bonus content!
Devoted reader, angry writer, and lifelong procrastinator. I grew up in Ireland, spent many years in Australia, and my twin passions are punk music and all things paranormal. I read all genres and write in some of them.
Feel free to Friend and/or Follow me on Goodreads where I maintain a (too) active presence and will mostly be found chatting in movie discussion group threads instead of doing anything vaguely productive. You can also visit www.bryanfarrellauthor.com for free stories and bonus content!
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 20, 2025
This novella made me cry guilty tears and call my grandma.
Mysterious and unnerving. I particularly enjoyed the modem moment.
Mysterious and unnerving. I particularly enjoyed the modem moment.
October 24, 2025
Maisie returns home to the Highlands sooner than she'd hoped to. Her uncle Jordie is acting weird. Her grandmother, Maw, is nowhere to be found. Maybe Maw's journal has some answers.
A short page-turner that'll sit in the pit of your stomach like a stone in a loch. Farrell builds upon the isolated setting until the mystery culminates in a simple but spinechilling conclusion.
Highly recommend this one. An ideal appetite whetter as we roll closer to Halloween!
A short page-turner that'll sit in the pit of your stomach like a stone in a loch. Farrell builds upon the isolated setting until the mystery culminates in a simple but spinechilling conclusion.
Highly recommend this one. An ideal appetite whetter as we roll closer to Halloween!
October 10, 2025
An excellent start to my Halloween reading, I highly recommend this book 📖
January 5, 2026
This is such a great novella!
Gripped me from the start. Really cozy setting in rural Scotland with just the right amount of scary! Great story!
Gripped me from the start. Really cozy setting in rural Scotland with just the right amount of scary! Great story!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews