The Borderlands: A Folk Horror Novella

by Brian Dorsey

In the early nineteenth century, three Catholic sisters are escorted by a detachment of Royal Marines through the unforgiving wilderness of the Pacific Northwest toward a remote trading post on the edge of empire.
Disease has taken hold in the outpost, and both the Hudson Bay Company and the Church believe mercy can bring relief.
The land disagrees.
As sickness spreads and isolation tightens its grip, faith is tested as mercy takes on a dark doctrine.
The Borderlands is a slow-burning work of folk horror in which the true danger is not the wilderness, nor the presence of something dark and ancient, but the unwavering conviction that one is acting in the name of righteousness.
Atmospheric, unsettling, and morally unflinching, The Borderlands explores how rigid doctrine and blind faith in fragile systems become a road to sanctioned cruelty when humanity is lost and only obedience remains.

143 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 27, 2026

Reviews

[Rick Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rousing, historically accurate very cool

Unique and different subject. No borrowed native American tropes. Good fast page Turner. Great combination of primitive forest fear coupled with the paranormal.

[Desirea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brian never disappoints.