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Disproving Kilvane
They went to Kilvane House to disprove the haunting. None of them were seen again.
For generations, the brooding estate has been the subject of local superstition, dark historical memories, and whispered stories of the supernatural. But Dr. Rhys Maddox sees the infamous old house for what it an opportunity.
He assembles a research team and moves them into the house. But this is no paranormal investigation. Maddox's objective is to expose the mechanisms behind belief—to strip the supernatural down to psychology, environment, and suggestion.
The study is never completed. After a month, the team disappears without a trace.
Years later, a fragmented archive of journals, transcripts, and recordings surfaces—the last vestiges of an academic inquiry that ended without explanation, leaving an unnerving mystery in its wake.
Compiled and annotated by an anonymous editor, Disproving Kilvane invites readers into a chilling reconstruction of the investigation as it unfolded. What the collection reveals is a reality rooted in uncertainty, where perception and belief fracture and the line between the psychological and the supernatural begins to erode.
For generations, the brooding estate has been the subject of local superstition, dark historical memories, and whispered stories of the supernatural. But Dr. Rhys Maddox sees the infamous old house for what it an opportunity.
He assembles a research team and moves them into the house. But this is no paranormal investigation. Maddox's objective is to expose the mechanisms behind belief—to strip the supernatural down to psychology, environment, and suggestion.
The study is never completed. After a month, the team disappears without a trace.
Years later, a fragmented archive of journals, transcripts, and recordings surfaces—the last vestiges of an academic inquiry that ended without explanation, leaving an unnerving mystery in its wake.
Compiled and annotated by an anonymous editor, Disproving Kilvane invites readers into a chilling reconstruction of the investigation as it unfolded. What the collection reveals is a reality rooted in uncertainty, where perception and belief fracture and the line between the psychological and the supernatural begins to erode.
- GenresHorror
376 pages, Hardcover
Published May 27, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 21, 2026
I have loved Avian's storytelling for quite some time and this début novel did not disappoint! Told through both historical records and modern day "found footage", the story of Kilvane and the missing Kilvane Seven is an intoxicating recipe to embark upon. A dash of history, a scoop of paranormal, a cup of psychological, all stirred together with a researcher's spoon. I ate it up.
August 11, 2026
It has been with some difficulty that I decide how I was going to talk about “Disproving Kilvane” [DK] and what I would say. It would be too easy for me to trespass the story with my own but the two are, from my point of view, too intertwined to separate. I have decided to let some things go unsaid, unexplained, and just hope one understands DK was a fully visceral experience for me.
.
It was a pleasant coincidence that DK is, like most of what I’ve been reading for the past three years, related to my ancestors. Three French Norman families owned Kilvane: de Lacy, Hewitt, and St.Clair.
My de Lacy and St. Clair ancestors fought under Duke William II of Normandy to take England and begin the conquest of Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. No doubt, in my mind, this is how the aforementioned families ended up in Kilvane’s County Wexford, Ireland.
.
In learning more about my ancestors, I have read stories of them in which recurring themes of a mystical nature seem to occur more often than one would expect. Some of my great-grandparents were executed as a result of the accusations. I understand how some natural things can be misunderstood and feared.
I believe science will, eventually, explain the nature of things we now refer to as “hauntings”, “curses”, “omens”, and “psychic abilities”. Until then I keep an open mind.
.
The above explains, to some extent, the context of my reading of “Disproving Kilvane”.
.
I understand, and would expect, certain identification details may have needed to be fictionalized or omitted for publication under the circumstances. This, in no way, impacts the story.
.
In order to fully understand what happens, having an empathetic nature would be most helpful. Also, it’s no spoiler to warn that every detail, particularly the ones that seem incidental, can be significant.
.
Reading reprints of original documents were my favourite part of the story. I love reading old diary entries, newspaper articles, and letters.
[As a genealogist, finding the full story through multiple sources of partial information energizes my analytical thought processes.]
.
Halfway through DK the various source materials started to create an understanding of what might have been happening. There’s so much information, so many hints, so much apparent ambiguity that I was driven to keep reading in order to keep putting the whole picture together.
But, at the same time, I started feeling I was becoming too empathetic with the characters and too immersed in what they were experiencing.
.
A few days after finishing DK, and recovering fully from its impact on me, I started re-reading it, marking passages with sticky-notes, and jotting down things I now knew might matter. It’s one thing to come to the end of a story. It’s another to re-examine the story to better appreciate how well constructed it was and to see, maybe for the first time, hints and explanations that would lead one to anticipate how the story might end.
.
My greatest disappointment was that I wasn’t reading DK as part of a book club. There were so many times I would have liked to discuss things with others for a different perspective or to fully flesh out a possible meaning to things.
.
I honestly can’t remember the last time I was so invested in a mystery.
I am dying to visit Kilvane myself.
[I still have questions; even if those questions matter to no one but for my own satisfaction.]
.
It was a pleasant coincidence that DK is, like most of what I’ve been reading for the past three years, related to my ancestors. Three French Norman families owned Kilvane: de Lacy, Hewitt, and St.Clair.
My de Lacy and St. Clair ancestors fought under Duke William II of Normandy to take England and begin the conquest of Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. No doubt, in my mind, this is how the aforementioned families ended up in Kilvane’s County Wexford, Ireland.
.
In learning more about my ancestors, I have read stories of them in which recurring themes of a mystical nature seem to occur more often than one would expect. Some of my great-grandparents were executed as a result of the accusations. I understand how some natural things can be misunderstood and feared.
I believe science will, eventually, explain the nature of things we now refer to as “hauntings”, “curses”, “omens”, and “psychic abilities”. Until then I keep an open mind.
.
The above explains, to some extent, the context of my reading of “Disproving Kilvane”.
.
I understand, and would expect, certain identification details may have needed to be fictionalized or omitted for publication under the circumstances. This, in no way, impacts the story.
.
In order to fully understand what happens, having an empathetic nature would be most helpful. Also, it’s no spoiler to warn that every detail, particularly the ones that seem incidental, can be significant.
.
Reading reprints of original documents were my favourite part of the story. I love reading old diary entries, newspaper articles, and letters.
[As a genealogist, finding the full story through multiple sources of partial information energizes my analytical thought processes.]
.
Halfway through DK the various source materials started to create an understanding of what might have been happening. There’s so much information, so many hints, so much apparent ambiguity that I was driven to keep reading in order to keep putting the whole picture together.
But, at the same time, I started feeling I was becoming too empathetic with the characters and too immersed in what they were experiencing.
.
A few days after finishing DK, and recovering fully from its impact on me, I started re-reading it, marking passages with sticky-notes, and jotting down things I now knew might matter. It’s one thing to come to the end of a story. It’s another to re-examine the story to better appreciate how well constructed it was and to see, maybe for the first time, hints and explanations that would lead one to anticipate how the story might end.
.
My greatest disappointment was that I wasn’t reading DK as part of a book club. There were so many times I would have liked to discuss things with others for a different perspective or to fully flesh out a possible meaning to things.
.
I honestly can’t remember the last time I was so invested in a mystery.
I am dying to visit Kilvane myself.
[I still have questions; even if those questions matter to no one but for my own satisfaction.]
August 18, 2026
I ordered this after following Avian on TikTok. I knew it would be a haunted house story but it was SO much more than that! The research in it was so cleverly thought out and the variety of "recovered documents" (journals, cassette transcripts, field notes, etc) kept all the detailed information from feeling heavy.
The atmospheric writing is what sold me. It's 19990s rural Ireland and it feels genuinely researched (Johnson is a historian!), and Kilvane House is so intimately described it itself becomes a character. The dread builds slowly through small moments rather than big jump scares. By the time the seven researchers start noticing things they can't explain(!!!), you're already on edge.
There are a lot of POVs but they are distinct enough that I never had to flip back to remember whose journal I was reading (i DID flip back to see the house map at the beginning... I love a map!).
Highly recommend, and I'll be looking for whatever Johnson writes next.
The atmospheric writing is what sold me. It's 19990s rural Ireland and it feels genuinely researched (Johnson is a historian!), and Kilvane House is so intimately described it itself becomes a character. The dread builds slowly through small moments rather than big jump scares. By the time the seven researchers start noticing things they can't explain(!!!), you're already on edge.
There are a lot of POVs but they are distinct enough that I never had to flip back to remember whose journal I was reading (i DID flip back to see the house map at the beginning... I love a map!).
Highly recommend, and I'll be looking for whatever Johnson writes next.
July 26, 2026
This book is, simply put, amazing! I wholeheartedly recommend it to all horror and mistery lovers who like to piece together what is actually happening.
What makes this book so good are the characters. The Kilvane Seven is a spread of oddities, clashing personalities and backstories that make you wonder what are their true intentions.
The house is a character by itself. Eerie and haunted, there is a sadness to it that stayed with me though the whole book. Also I think there are many more secrets not yet unravelled and hidden within its walls.
The narrator, a mistery in themtself, keeps you on your toes, scrambling for breadcrumbs, comparing notes and questioning what you are presented with.
Really an amazing read and I am so happy to have found it!
What makes this book so good are the characters. The Kilvane Seven is a spread of oddities, clashing personalities and backstories that make you wonder what are their true intentions.
The house is a character by itself. Eerie and haunted, there is a sadness to it that stayed with me though the whole book. Also I think there are many more secrets not yet unravelled and hidden within its walls.
The narrator, a mistery in themtself, keeps you on your toes, scrambling for breadcrumbs, comparing notes and questioning what you are presented with.
Really an amazing read and I am so happy to have found it!
September 15, 2026
This book was so creepy, I even had a nightmare after reading! It sucks you in, and there is no one big thing, just many, MANY things. I have not been able to lately just sit and read a book and not want to put it down. I did not want to put this book down at all. I loved the history, the slow decline, and especially the afterword. Honestly this book should more reviews, it was an incredible and perfect for scary season!
July 2, 2026
Well now I know that a true gothic horror featuring a haunted house NEEDS to be written by a historian! I stumbled upon Avian Johnson on Tik Tok and quickly became a big fan of her historical stories, especially the ones that include Victorian horrors and murders. When she spoke about her book I knew I was going to love it. As a devoted Horror novel reader (It's all I read!) I was in love with this novel from the jump. I adored the way that Avian has the book written out and the inclusion of the house's history and also individual Journal entries of the Kilvane Seven. It's an interesting narrative but it keeps you invested and waiting the next tid-bit of information in the long, horrid history of Kilvane. I felt a strong vibe of the made for TV Short Series Rose Red in this novel, one of my favorites which I also recently re-watched a few weeks back. I was also in love with this book as someone who has traveled to Ireland and stayed at a Haunted inn as well as took an incredible ghost tour in Dublin. There is so much enriching haunted history in Ireland and the Kilvane House fits in perfectly. I want to go and glimpse it myself although I know it's inspired by many other incredible Haunted Inns and Manor Homes within Ireland. The characters felt real and fleshed out, I would have loved to have hung out with Nic and Oliver personally. Simon as well is someone that I felt an affinity for. I will also call out an incredible afterword in this book. Here I thought I was done and then went headfirst into the Afterword and HO BOY! I was ecstatic. This is truly an incredible book and one of my favorite horror novels I have read this year. For sure in my top 5! I early await another book from Avian, she has an incredible voice in Horror and can't wait to see more of her!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews