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Hollow Folk
The night shift at the Holloway was supposed to be quiet. When grad student Ethan Ray clocks in as night auditor at the aging Holloway mountain resort, he expects paperwork, silence, and a paycheck. Instead, reddish-brown lights bleed across the Appalachian sky. Hard winds whip through the trees without making a sound, and mysterious owl gargoyles come to life.
At 3 a.m., every clock stops. Trapped inside with his co-workers, Kal and Teresa, Ethan realizes the hotel isn’t just old. It’s a boundary. Something ancient has been waiting and is now awake. To escape, they must uncover the Holloway’s secrets, even as unexpected love blossoms between Ethan and Teresa. The problem is, the visions haunting each of them carry the same someone in the hotel cannot be trusted. Gothic romance meets Appalachian folk horror, where the mountains are watching and the dark leaves marks.
At 3 a.m., every clock stops. Trapped inside with his co-workers, Kal and Teresa, Ethan realizes the hotel isn’t just old. It’s a boundary. Something ancient has been waiting and is now awake. To escape, they must uncover the Holloway’s secrets, even as unexpected love blossoms between Ethan and Teresa. The problem is, the visions haunting each of them carry the same someone in the hotel cannot be trusted. Gothic romance meets Appalachian folk horror, where the mountains are watching and the dark leaves marks.
- GenresHorrorRomanceParanormal
274 pages, Paperback
First published September 29, 2026
About the author
Andrew K. Clark
7 books100 followersAndrew K. Clark is a writer from Western North Carolina where his people settled before the Revolutionary War.
His debut novel, Where Dark Things Grow (Cowboy Jamboree Press) was a finalist for the Manly Wade Wellman Award, shortlisted for the Sir Walter Raleigh Fiction Award, and won an IPPY from the Independent Book Publishers Awards.
The sequel, Where Dark Things Rise (Quill and Crow Publishing House) won an IPPY, an IndieReader Discovery Award, and was a finalist for the Next Generation Indie Book Award.
Hollow Folk (Quill & Crow) is his third novel and received a "Get It" Verdict from Kirkus Indie Reviews.
His poetry collection, Jesus in the Trailer, was published by Main Street Rag Press. His work has appeared in The American Journal of Poetry, UCLA’s Out of Anonymity, Appalachian Review, Rappahannock Review, The Wrath Bearing Tree, and many other journals. He received his MFA from Converse University. Connect with him at andrewkclark.com.
His debut novel, Where Dark Things Grow (Cowboy Jamboree Press) was a finalist for the Manly Wade Wellman Award, shortlisted for the Sir Walter Raleigh Fiction Award, and won an IPPY from the Independent Book Publishers Awards.
The sequel, Where Dark Things Rise (Quill and Crow Publishing House) won an IPPY, an IndieReader Discovery Award, and was a finalist for the Next Generation Indie Book Award.
Hollow Folk (Quill & Crow) is his third novel and received a "Get It" Verdict from Kirkus Indie Reviews.
His poetry collection, Jesus in the Trailer, was published by Main Street Rag Press. His work has appeared in The American Journal of Poetry, UCLA’s Out of Anonymity, Appalachian Review, Rappahannock Review, The Wrath Bearing Tree, and many other journals. He received his MFA from Converse University. Connect with him at andrewkclark.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 93 reviews
September 18, 2026
🍄🟫Hollow Folk by Andrew K Clark 🍄🟫
Welcome to The Hotel Holloway. You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave. 🦉
Three night shift workers of The Holloway Hotel are trapped inside the building, stuck at 3am. At first, panic sets in and the group tries to figure out how to escape. But as the hotel provides them luxuries and temptations, they fall into a sense of complacency. Think Percy Jackson in The Lotus Hotel. They are plagued by visions of the past. Of horrific events that happened on the very property that the Hollaway sits on. And at the center of this is The Grey Man—the man responsible for the atrocities that took place on the grounds decades ago.
I loved the atmosphere. The first few chapters truly sucked me in, with the mysterious owl and the looming hotel. Once time stopped and Ethan entered the hotel’s bar, I got massive Shining vibes. Who doesn’t love a hotel with some dark history? I loved the way the hotel provided them with temptations and luxuries to lure them into complacency. I mean who wouldn’t want to forget about all their troubles and enjoy some quality down time in a place where time stand still? I mean imagine all the books you can read.
There were a few things I didn’t love. I understand that the characters get lulled by the hotel to forget that they need to escape, but I did feel that at times they didn’t have a sense of urgency to escape. Also, be forewarned if you have trypophobia, there are a LOT of descriptions of holes.
I will never look at fireflies the same 👀
Thank you again to the author for the gifted copy! I had a great stay at The Holloway!
Welcome to The Hotel Holloway. You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave. 🦉
Three night shift workers of The Holloway Hotel are trapped inside the building, stuck at 3am. At first, panic sets in and the group tries to figure out how to escape. But as the hotel provides them luxuries and temptations, they fall into a sense of complacency. Think Percy Jackson in The Lotus Hotel. They are plagued by visions of the past. Of horrific events that happened on the very property that the Hollaway sits on. And at the center of this is The Grey Man—the man responsible for the atrocities that took place on the grounds decades ago.
I loved the atmosphere. The first few chapters truly sucked me in, with the mysterious owl and the looming hotel. Once time stopped and Ethan entered the hotel’s bar, I got massive Shining vibes. Who doesn’t love a hotel with some dark history? I loved the way the hotel provided them with temptations and luxuries to lure them into complacency. I mean who wouldn’t want to forget about all their troubles and enjoy some quality down time in a place where time stand still? I mean imagine all the books you can read.
There were a few things I didn’t love. I understand that the characters get lulled by the hotel to forget that they need to escape, but I did feel that at times they didn’t have a sense of urgency to escape. Also, be forewarned if you have trypophobia, there are a LOT of descriptions of holes.
I will never look at fireflies the same 👀
Thank you again to the author for the gifted copy! I had a great stay at The Holloway!
September 9, 2026
If I were to condense my feelings into a single sentence it would be:
“Reading this book gave me trypophobia”.
“Reading this book gave me trypophobia”.
Review of advance copy
Ew, ew, ew, creepy. Perhaps this story was a little too gothic for me. So many mushrooms, and the holes in the woman’s skin creeped me out. The premise of the story, 3 hotel staff trapped in time at the hotel and trying to figure out what’s happening, is good. However, it got strange quickly and I had a hard time connecting with the characters.
Read
August 14, 2026In Andrew K. Clark’s Hollow Folk, three main characters—Ethan, Teresa, and Kal—live the fantasy many of us have had: that the world would stop for a while, giving us uninterrupted time for the pleasures of reading, of eating, drinking, and being merry, of having sex whenever and wherever. But these characters’ private utopia is not without an underlying anxiety of dystopia. Strangers and strange creatures also inhabit the perpetual 3:00 a.m. world of the Holloway Hotel, a place haunted by a horrific crime perpetrated years before and buried beneath it. With striking imagination and a patient willingness—like that of his characters—to suspend the impulse to confront the dystopic concerns on the periphery of their pleasures, Clark entrances readers in a surreal “Hotel California” of a novel with Hollow Folk.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
2,5 stars
Ew, just ew.
Hollow Folk is an eerie blend of Appalachian folklore, Gothic horror, supernatural mystery, and subtle magical realism. Set against the isolated backdrop of the Appalachian Mountains, the story transforms an ordinary overnight shift at the Holloway Resort into an increasingly unsettling nightmare, where time becomes distorted, strange lights illuminate the sky, and reality itself begins to unravel.
What initially drew me to this book was its setting. Appalachian folklore has always fascinated me—the countless legends, mysterious creatures, and the unsettling stories warning people about what should never be done in those mountains. There's something uniquely captivating about horror rooted in local myths, and this novel captured that atmosphere remarkably well. It perfectly evokes the feeling of stepping into a place where ancient secrets and unexplained phenomena are simply part of everyday life.
The only aspect that kept me from fully enjoying the novel was the body horror. The repeated imagery involving holes in the body was simply too uncomfortable for my personal taste. While I understand that it fits the unsettling tone the author was aiming for, it occasionally pulled me out of the story rather than drawing me deeper into it. Without that particular element, I believe I would have connected with the novel much more.
Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with an ARC.
Ew, just ew.
Hollow Folk is an eerie blend of Appalachian folklore, Gothic horror, supernatural mystery, and subtle magical realism. Set against the isolated backdrop of the Appalachian Mountains, the story transforms an ordinary overnight shift at the Holloway Resort into an increasingly unsettling nightmare, where time becomes distorted, strange lights illuminate the sky, and reality itself begins to unravel.
What initially drew me to this book was its setting. Appalachian folklore has always fascinated me—the countless legends, mysterious creatures, and the unsettling stories warning people about what should never be done in those mountains. There's something uniquely captivating about horror rooted in local myths, and this novel captured that atmosphere remarkably well. It perfectly evokes the feeling of stepping into a place where ancient secrets and unexplained phenomena are simply part of everyday life.
The only aspect that kept me from fully enjoying the novel was the body horror. The repeated imagery involving holes in the body was simply too uncomfortable for my personal taste. While I understand that it fits the unsettling tone the author was aiming for, it occasionally pulled me out of the story rather than drawing me deeper into it. Without that particular element, I believe I would have connected with the novel much more.
Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with an ARC.
September 25, 2026
⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ 3.5 STARS
Hollow Folk by Andrew Clark 🌲🏨🦉
This one was definitely a different kind of read, and I really enjoyed the eerie atmosphere! The combination of gothic romance and Appalachian folk horror immediately caught my attention, and the Holloway resort was such a creepy setting. There was something unsettling about the mountains, the strange lights, the silent winds, and those owl gargoyles coming to life. 👀
The premise was probably my favorite part. A hotel that is more than just an old building, a mysterious boundary, something ancient waking up, and a group of people trapped inside? YES. 🙌🏽 The story had plenty of moments that made me wonder what was actually happening and who could be trusted.
I also liked the relationship between Ethan and Teresa and how the romance developed alongside all the supernatural weirdness. It added another layer to the story without completely taking over the horror elements.
That said, the pacing was a little uneven for me, and there were moments where I felt like the story moved slower than I wanted it to. Some of the supernatural elements were intriguing but left me wanting a little more explanation and depth. I also think the story had an incredibly strong concept, but the execution didn’t always hit the same level for me.
Overall, Hollow Folk was an atmospheric, creepy, and unique read with a fascinating premise. It wasn’t a new favorite for me, but I’m glad I picked it up, and I can definitely see this being a great choice for readers who enjoy gothic settings, supernatural mysteries, Appalachian folklore, and a touch of romance. 🌲🖤
💬 Would you stay overnight at the Holloway if you knew something supernatural was waiting inside? Because I’m saying ABSOLUTELY NOT. 😂
#HollowFolk #AndrewClark #FolkHorror #GothicHorror #BookReview
Hollow Folk by Andrew Clark 🌲🏨🦉
This one was definitely a different kind of read, and I really enjoyed the eerie atmosphere! The combination of gothic romance and Appalachian folk horror immediately caught my attention, and the Holloway resort was such a creepy setting. There was something unsettling about the mountains, the strange lights, the silent winds, and those owl gargoyles coming to life. 👀
The premise was probably my favorite part. A hotel that is more than just an old building, a mysterious boundary, something ancient waking up, and a group of people trapped inside? YES. 🙌🏽 The story had plenty of moments that made me wonder what was actually happening and who could be trusted.
I also liked the relationship between Ethan and Teresa and how the romance developed alongside all the supernatural weirdness. It added another layer to the story without completely taking over the horror elements.
That said, the pacing was a little uneven for me, and there were moments where I felt like the story moved slower than I wanted it to. Some of the supernatural elements were intriguing but left me wanting a little more explanation and depth. I also think the story had an incredibly strong concept, but the execution didn’t always hit the same level for me.
Overall, Hollow Folk was an atmospheric, creepy, and unique read with a fascinating premise. It wasn’t a new favorite for me, but I’m glad I picked it up, and I can definitely see this being a great choice for readers who enjoy gothic settings, supernatural mysteries, Appalachian folklore, and a touch of romance. 🌲🖤
💬 Would you stay overnight at the Holloway if you knew something supernatural was waiting inside? Because I’m saying ABSOLUTELY NOT. 😂
#HollowFolk #AndrewClark #FolkHorror #GothicHorror #BookReview
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 29, 2026
I had the pleasure of receiving this as an ARC and voluntarily will be giving my honest review. Wow this book was creepy good!! Three night shift works get stuck at work in the Hotel Holloway and the time is stuck at 3am. They can’t leave and time is at a standstill still with eerie things happening. This book sucked me in from the very beginning to the very end!! Absolutely loved this book it is great for spooky season!! Just be far warned if you are trypophobia there is a lot of this in the story. The Holloway has deep dark ancient secrets and we also have an unexpected romance that develops! This is a Gothic Appalachian Horror Romance with mystery!! If you love atmospheric horror we’re everything feels alive and you feel like you’re there with them then you will love this book!! Absolutely loved!
“The night shift at the Holloway was supposed to be quiet. When grad student Ethan Ray clocks in as night auditor at the aging Holloway mountain resort, he expects paperwork, silence, and a paycheck. Instead, reddish-brown lights bleed across the Appalachian sky. Hard winds whip through the trees without making a sound, and mysterious owl gargoyles come to life.
At 3 a.m., every clock stops. Trapped inside with his co-workers, Kal and Teresa, Ethan realizes the hotel isn't just old. It's a boundary. Something ancient has been waiting and is now awake. To escape, they must uncover the Holloway's secrets, even as unexpected love blossoms between Ethan and Teresa. The problem is, the visions haunting each of them carry the same warning: someone in the hotel cannot be trusted. Gothic romance meets Appalachian folk horror, where the mountains are watching and the dark leaves marks.”
“The night shift at the Holloway was supposed to be quiet. When grad student Ethan Ray clocks in as night auditor at the aging Holloway mountain resort, he expects paperwork, silence, and a paycheck. Instead, reddish-brown lights bleed across the Appalachian sky. Hard winds whip through the trees without making a sound, and mysterious owl gargoyles come to life.
At 3 a.m., every clock stops. Trapped inside with his co-workers, Kal and Teresa, Ethan realizes the hotel isn't just old. It's a boundary. Something ancient has been waiting and is now awake. To escape, they must uncover the Holloway's secrets, even as unexpected love blossoms between Ethan and Teresa. The problem is, the visions haunting each of them carry the same warning: someone in the hotel cannot be trusted. Gothic romance meets Appalachian folk horror, where the mountains are watching and the dark leaves marks.”
September 22, 2026
Thank you NetGalley and Quill and Crow Publishing for giving me the chance to read this early, I’m so glad you did!! Solid 4 ⭐️. This is absolutely a great spooky season read, especially if Appalachian Horror is your thing!! I have many thoughts but mostly what I’d like to share is that after reading this, I am absolutely afraid of holes and mushrooms are kinda ruined for me.
The overall setting the story takes place, The Holloway Hotel, was described so well I felt like I could see all the architectural elements, hear all the creaks and groans of the old place, and smell all the woods nearby. I’m pretty sure I was stuck in that hotel too for who knows how long. I really liked the character development for Ethan, but I feel like I didn’t get as much for Teresa.
I’d like to note that this book has a fair amount of body horror, which I am totally okay with. That said, I feel like we didn’t need to ruin mushrooms 🍄🟫 👀 like that, even if they are ugly and known as the Devils Urn... If I meet the author while he is touring here in WNC I have some words for him. Anyways, the body horror was actually purposely which I appreciated and it added to the eeriness instead of being cheap. I also have a new fear unlocked —> holes many many holes with bugs… I will leave that there.
Overall, I really enjoyed the writing style, the plot and the general flow. I absolutely recommend this to anyone who is looking for a night odyssey, a creepy read, or an Appalachian gothic romance horror.
The overall setting the story takes place, The Holloway Hotel, was described so well I felt like I could see all the architectural elements, hear all the creaks and groans of the old place, and smell all the woods nearby. I’m pretty sure I was stuck in that hotel too for who knows how long. I really liked the character development for Ethan, but I feel like I didn’t get as much for Teresa.
I’d like to note that this book has a fair amount of body horror, which I am totally okay with. That said, I feel like we didn’t need to ruin mushrooms 🍄🟫 👀 like that, even if they are ugly and known as the Devils Urn... If I meet the author while he is touring here in WNC I have some words for him. Anyways, the body horror was actually purposely which I appreciated and it added to the eeriness instead of being cheap. I also have a new fear unlocked —> holes many many holes with bugs… I will leave that there.
Overall, I really enjoyed the writing style, the plot and the general flow. I absolutely recommend this to anyone who is looking for a night odyssey, a creepy read, or an Appalachian gothic romance horror.
September 29, 2026
Thank you to Netgalley and Quill and Crow Publishing House for the ARC.
What. The. Hell. Is. Happening? - me every few minutes reading this book.
This book is crazy, and that's not an understatement I PROMISE you.
Let's just say I don't have any phobia of holes and this was eeking ME out major style.
Ethan, Teresa, and Kal find themselves suspended in time at 3am at the Holloway Hotel and freaky things start to happen...
I actually do understand why they didn't have a huge amount of urgency at points, outside of the shenanigans the hotel is pulling, the idea that I could eat and drink and read books with no time passing appeals to me too 🤷🏻♀️
I actually don't want to go too much into this one, it's best served cold so you can experience it as intended but there are definitely some dread-filled moments (the shadows anyone?) and this really is a crazy little book.
TLDR - WTF, you should read this.
What. The. Hell. Is. Happening? - me every few minutes reading this book.
This book is crazy, and that's not an understatement I PROMISE you.
Let's just say I don't have any phobia of holes and this was eeking ME out major style.
Ethan, Teresa, and Kal find themselves suspended in time at 3am at the Holloway Hotel and freaky things start to happen...
I actually do understand why they didn't have a huge amount of urgency at points, outside of the shenanigans the hotel is pulling, the idea that I could eat and drink and read books with no time passing appeals to me too 🤷🏻♀️
I actually don't want to go too much into this one, it's best served cold so you can experience it as intended but there are definitely some dread-filled moments (the shadows anyone?) and this really is a crazy little book.
TLDR - WTF, you should read this.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I really liked the plot at first, but it got annoying at about halfway through. The characters were just way too annoying. And I stopped caring about the story.
September 10, 2026
Okay guys, I'm just going to be transparent about this because I really don't know how else to go about this at this point. At this time, I have been sitting here for a good 30 minutes staring at a blank screen and figuring out how to provide a review on the book, Hollow Folk by Andrew K. Clark, which was given to me as an ARC to read by NetGalley and Quill & Crow. The book releases SEPTEMBER 29 2026, but, if I'm being honest, I think we might need to bring this back to the drawing board and have this date extended rather than continue with the release date. It's not for the lack of the book being interesting, because the concept and plot with this is definitely something that can be worthy of a four or five star read - it's just the execution and path that it took to get this across doesn't seem to work as well as I think the author thought it might have. As I say with all my reviews, take whatever I say with a "grain of salt" because every reviewer and reader is different - what I might find as something great, someone might not like it and vice versa. So I wouldn't say to completely avoid reading this as I do think this is a great read for what it's purpose was trying to do. Just, for my sake at being honest, I want to provide truly how I felt with this one rather than struggle to find a way to review this with a more positive outlook than I think it deserves.
To start us off, let's talk a bit about the premise of the book, and one of the reasons I actually requested for this ARC to begin with on NetGalley. The story starts off with our first MC, Ethan, who is working the night shift at Holloway Hotel, along with the other two MCs, Kal and Teresa. Each of these characters are currently double upping on their roles as Night Auditor/Front Desk Clerk (Ethan), Valet/Security Guard (Kal), and Hospitality/Maid (Teresa) and actually enjoy the night shift due to the shift from chaos to comfort where you barely attend to any visitors or the day to day concerns that happen in the day shift. As they continue throughout their shift, the clock strikes 3:00 AM. While they each are going about their responsibilities, Ethan notices that the clock does not seem to be moving….what felt like at least 15 minutes, shows that no time was spent at all. He checks his watch and sees that the time remains 3:00 AM, and even checking various other clocks throughout the hotel, notices that those clocks appear to have stopped at 3:00 AM as well. He reaches out to Kal and Teresa, who also have found that the clocks, and time itself, seems to have stopped at 3:00 AM. While they contemplate on this bizarre realization, random events and what feels like supernatural occurrences happen, which makes them think that the 3:00 AM clock stopping is not the only thing that is causing a disturbance. In fact, many of these strange events have something in common with each other and if they do not stop to unravel the mystery of what is happening and why, they could be stuck in this 3:00 AM moment forever.
Sounds interesting, right? Something that could be pretty good and definitely a great mood read during these "BER" months where you are looking for something creepy and eerie to experience. When we look at the tropes involved, this still holds strong as something that sounds pretty good as well….
🏨 Paranormal x Supernatural Occurrences
🏨Mystery x Historical Lore
🏨Cursed Haunted Hotel
🏨Twilight Zone x Warped Time
🏨Gothic Romance
Tying these together, I was actually pretty excited to start my journey with this read. However, as I began and continued my journey through the end of this book, I found that even with the "Twilight Zone" inspired feel that was at times both shocking and completely insane, I just couldn't get myself to vibe with this book. I'm not sure if it's the dry choppy sentences, the flatline of the plot, and/or the lack of cohesion with each event, but whatever it was, this book was either just not for me or possible just not the right time for me.
Let me explain….
While I loved the concept and idea of the clock stopping at 3:00 AM, and the events that occurred did scale high on the "creepy" factor, the way it was executed just seemed wrong; almost as if I was definitely missing something. In a way, the events and what was happening didn't tie that much in together. At least half of the time I was asking myself "What is going on? Do they even want to escape this? What is wrong with them? For the love of god, figure out something!" So many mood shifts and decision making felt off for me like they were more in their "teen years" than the age they really were. And I couldn't for the life of me, figure out how any of them are still alive with how much they were smoking cigarettes. In fact, how were they even getting anything done if every hour they were smoking at least three cigarettes each. I mean, I get it, they smoke - but that shouldn't be marked as a huge plot point of the storyline like it was coming across as.
During my read, I also found myself actually not caring about anything with these characters. Teresa? Oh my god, can we just kill her off please? In fact, I was hoping they just never escape and would rot there for the rest of their lives. Kal had some (and I say "some" really loosely) redeeming qualities but Ethan and Teresa? Yeah, I could care less about them nor their relationship. I mean, by the 70% mark, things just went completely downhill for me….I mean, I get you wanted to add some spice but I'm not even sure what I was reading. I had to endure their consistent love making with disgusting holes (and a few times getting sick to my stomach reading it) for almost 10% of the book and when we get to 82%, I'm like FINALLY, SOME PLOT BEGINS AGAIN!!! But then 88%, we are back to where we were before with me disinterested and confused at what I was even reading; nor why I had to read it because it didn't really bring anything to the storyline, in my opinion. Once again, it was just filler that I felt was useless and unnecessary. I get it's a Gothic Romance, but I'm not sure if what I read is the true definition of what that trope really is…unless I've just been living under a rock; which maybe I have with my usual tastes in dark romances. I mean, it had me questioning whether this lust of holes was for the storyline or just some weird kink the author needed to release through the pages. I mean, if that's your thing, you do you….just for me, I don't want to see or hear about another mushroom or hole in my life after reading this.
While I do understand that this is an uncorrected proof, the amount of grammatical errors throughout was definitely an eyesore. I mean, look at my reviews…I'm definitely not a literary genius or anywhere close… but oh my god, the amount of errors and I saw, of having strange characters throughout (i.e. "FL" being replaced with "!" everywhere, letters being changed with a "$" or "#", words combined together in one long string, and uneven paragraphs), it sometimes became really hard to read and figure out the exact word that was trying to be shown on the page. I'm sure this will be resolved before it releases because this was an ARC and specifically stated as an uncorrected proof, but I sure hope some fine tooth combing is done on this because it was a blaring sore spot with the book.
Overall, I do want to state that while I feel like I’m constantly complaining about this book, it does actually have some qualities that would make a FANTASTIC read - the idea was interesting and the plot is what you would want to read when it comes to those creepy/absurd Twilight Zone thrills. However, the execution of this was just so off and I feel as though much of the book was filled with unnecessary filler that didn't help in tying the things together nor have you relate in any way to the characters like you should. As with any read, my opinions are just that, my personal opinion, and what I found flatlined and dry, another may actually love. The writing style and storyline has many people giving four to five stars on here so take a look at others' reviews here that did love it before choosing to just dismiss it after reading mine.
To start us off, let's talk a bit about the premise of the book, and one of the reasons I actually requested for this ARC to begin with on NetGalley. The story starts off with our first MC, Ethan, who is working the night shift at Holloway Hotel, along with the other two MCs, Kal and Teresa. Each of these characters are currently double upping on their roles as Night Auditor/Front Desk Clerk (Ethan), Valet/Security Guard (Kal), and Hospitality/Maid (Teresa) and actually enjoy the night shift due to the shift from chaos to comfort where you barely attend to any visitors or the day to day concerns that happen in the day shift. As they continue throughout their shift, the clock strikes 3:00 AM. While they each are going about their responsibilities, Ethan notices that the clock does not seem to be moving….what felt like at least 15 minutes, shows that no time was spent at all. He checks his watch and sees that the time remains 3:00 AM, and even checking various other clocks throughout the hotel, notices that those clocks appear to have stopped at 3:00 AM as well. He reaches out to Kal and Teresa, who also have found that the clocks, and time itself, seems to have stopped at 3:00 AM. While they contemplate on this bizarre realization, random events and what feels like supernatural occurrences happen, which makes them think that the 3:00 AM clock stopping is not the only thing that is causing a disturbance. In fact, many of these strange events have something in common with each other and if they do not stop to unravel the mystery of what is happening and why, they could be stuck in this 3:00 AM moment forever.
Sounds interesting, right? Something that could be pretty good and definitely a great mood read during these "BER" months where you are looking for something creepy and eerie to experience. When we look at the tropes involved, this still holds strong as something that sounds pretty good as well….
🏨 Paranormal x Supernatural Occurrences
🏨Mystery x Historical Lore
🏨Cursed Haunted Hotel
🏨Twilight Zone x Warped Time
🏨Gothic Romance
Tying these together, I was actually pretty excited to start my journey with this read. However, as I began and continued my journey through the end of this book, I found that even with the "Twilight Zone" inspired feel that was at times both shocking and completely insane, I just couldn't get myself to vibe with this book. I'm not sure if it's the dry choppy sentences, the flatline of the plot, and/or the lack of cohesion with each event, but whatever it was, this book was either just not for me or possible just not the right time for me.
Let me explain….
While I loved the concept and idea of the clock stopping at 3:00 AM, and the events that occurred did scale high on the "creepy" factor, the way it was executed just seemed wrong; almost as if I was definitely missing something. In a way, the events and what was happening didn't tie that much in together. At least half of the time I was asking myself "What is going on? Do they even want to escape this? What is wrong with them? For the love of god, figure out something!" So many mood shifts and decision making felt off for me like they were more in their "teen years" than the age they really were. And I couldn't for the life of me, figure out how any of them are still alive with how much they were smoking cigarettes. In fact, how were they even getting anything done if every hour they were smoking at least three cigarettes each. I mean, I get it, they smoke - but that shouldn't be marked as a huge plot point of the storyline like it was coming across as.
During my read, I also found myself actually not caring about anything with these characters. Teresa? Oh my god, can we just kill her off please? In fact, I was hoping they just never escape and would rot there for the rest of their lives. Kal had some (and I say "some" really loosely) redeeming qualities but Ethan and Teresa? Yeah, I could care less about them nor their relationship. I mean, by the 70% mark, things just went completely downhill for me….I mean, I get you wanted to add some spice but I'm not even sure what I was reading. I had to endure their consistent love making with disgusting holes (and a few times getting sick to my stomach reading it) for almost 10% of the book and when we get to 82%, I'm like FINALLY, SOME PLOT BEGINS AGAIN!!! But then 88%, we are back to where we were before with me disinterested and confused at what I was even reading; nor why I had to read it because it didn't really bring anything to the storyline, in my opinion. Once again, it was just filler that I felt was useless and unnecessary. I get it's a Gothic Romance, but I'm not sure if what I read is the true definition of what that trope really is…unless I've just been living under a rock; which maybe I have with my usual tastes in dark romances. I mean, it had me questioning whether this lust of holes was for the storyline or just some weird kink the author needed to release through the pages. I mean, if that's your thing, you do you….just for me, I don't want to see or hear about another mushroom or hole in my life after reading this.
While I do understand that this is an uncorrected proof, the amount of grammatical errors throughout was definitely an eyesore. I mean, look at my reviews…I'm definitely not a literary genius or anywhere close… but oh my god, the amount of errors and I saw, of having strange characters throughout (i.e. "FL" being replaced with "!" everywhere, letters being changed with a "$" or "#", words combined together in one long string, and uneven paragraphs), it sometimes became really hard to read and figure out the exact word that was trying to be shown on the page. I'm sure this will be resolved before it releases because this was an ARC and specifically stated as an uncorrected proof, but I sure hope some fine tooth combing is done on this because it was a blaring sore spot with the book.
Overall, I do want to state that while I feel like I’m constantly complaining about this book, it does actually have some qualities that would make a FANTASTIC read - the idea was interesting and the plot is what you would want to read when it comes to those creepy/absurd Twilight Zone thrills. However, the execution of this was just so off and I feel as though much of the book was filled with unnecessary filler that didn't help in tying the things together nor have you relate in any way to the characters like you should. As with any read, my opinions are just that, my personal opinion, and what I found flatlined and dry, another may actually love. The writing style and storyline has many people giving four to five stars on here so take a look at others' reviews here that did love it before choosing to just dismiss it after reading mine.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Hotels, by their very nature, represent a paradox. They’re extremely public buildings that, for a while, become a home-away-from-home refuge for visiting strangers. Innumerable lives are lived in hotel rooms: people sleep, and cry, have sex and drink and laugh; in some hotel rooms people have been born, in many others people have died. And every twenty-four hours these intimate areas are sanitized to look completely anonymous, awaiting the next traveler to rent their space. If only those walls could talk, indeed…
The horror genre has bequeathed the world its share of (in)famous hotels. A shy momma’s boy named Norman ran the Bates Motel in both the book and movie iterations of Psycho, and Stephen King gave us perhaps the most celebrated spooky hotel of all: the imposing, haunted Overlook of The Shining, where a writer is driven mad by the souls trapped within its grounds.
North Carolina native Andrew K. Clark’s new Quill & Crow Publishing House venture, Hollow Folk, now joins the ranks of great horror hotel novels, and its oft-hallucinatory, sometimes erotic escapades are sure to instill countless nightmares in readers everywhere.
In 1993, grad student Ethan Ray is midway through his shift as the night auditor at the aging Holloway mountain resort. The evening commences like any other, dull and quiet, but soon the Appalachian sky outside bleeds reddish-brown light, hard winds whip through the trees without making a sound, and the local wildlife exhibits strange behavior. Then, at 3 a.m., time itself literally stops.
Trapped inside the hotel, Ethan and his two on-duty co-workers—hardheaded rationalist Kal, an Indian immigrant who’s pure Southern Boy due to his upbringing, and snippy, sexy laundry room attendant Teresa, who seems to delight in making Ethan’s life miserable—must uncover the shameful secrets of the Holloway’s century-old founding in order to escape. As the unending night stretches into days, then weeks, then months, however, the trio fall prey to the hotel’s dark mystical energy; Ethan and Teresa’s long-simmering, unspoken feelings for one another consume them, while Kal takes off on his own, searching for a pathway to start the clocks ticking again. Yet the heady visions each of them experience keep drawing them back to one source—the enigmatic Gray Man—and keep telling Ethan that someone in the hotel can’t be trusted.
With its unconventional romance, macabre moodiness, and introspective, sometimes stream-of-consciousness narrative, Hollow Folk evolves as a very different work than Clark’s previous novels, the superb duology Where Dark Things Grow and Where Dark Things Rise. It's a smaller tale, more personal, more nuanced; where the Dark Things books wove a generational tale of overt Good vs Evil utilizing multiple points of view, Hollow Folk features a cast of just three people, and though the audience is given glimpses of other perspectives, this First Person story is firmly entrenched in Ethan’s outlook.
The burgeoning relationship between laid-back Ethan and prickly Teresa is by turns sweet, funny, and endearing; unlike many books where a love affair seems forced, the coupling here progresses so organically it’s impossible not to find charming, and their lively back-and-forth banter provides much of the novel’s best dialogue. As the primary supporting character, Teresa is Ethan’s polar opposite: she’s confident, brash, and caring, but she’s also tough beyond all measure.
That emphasis on romance doesn’t mean the story lacks potent doses terror, however. If anything, Hollow Folk is more chilling than either Grow or Rise; confining the action to one location induces a suffocating claustrophobia, and one harrowing sequence—in which Ethan, Teresa, and Kal attempt to uncover what’s happened to the hotel’s sleeping guests while the building is frozen in stasis—is rendered in such hair-raising, shadowy detail it will leave even the most jaded readers shaking.
Hollow Folk also underscores the ties that bind generations, how events long past can, and often do, reverberate through history, exemplified in the cause-and-effect repercussions the Machiavellian Gray Man (and one must wonder if he is somehow connected to the sinister Blue Man from Where Dark Things Grow) sets in motion with his greedy, land-grabbing schemes. With the Gray Man, Clark doubles down on one of his duology’s most prominent themes: like the aforementioned Blue Man, the Gray Man is misogyny personified, and the author uses him to hammer home how men—particularly powerful men—misuse their influence to control, exploit, and demean women.
Any fan of ghost stories, folklore, or even detective fiction won’t be disappointed by the intrigues present in Hollow Folk. As the novel progresses its narrative builds upon the framework of classic Gothic literature (an isolate rural locale, murderous secrets, madness, unearthly ills), and whether one opens this book for the spectral thrills or quirky romance, they will undoubtedly close it with much to ponder. Once again, Clark has skillfully provided one of the year’s most visceral and thought-provoking novels, and for that I am compelled to grant Hollow Folk a solid 4 (out of 5) here onGoodreads. With releases like this and many others, Quill & Crow Publishing House has become one of the best—if not the best—small press company out there. Take a bow, everyone. This is how it’s done.
The horror genre has bequeathed the world its share of (in)famous hotels. A shy momma’s boy named Norman ran the Bates Motel in both the book and movie iterations of Psycho, and Stephen King gave us perhaps the most celebrated spooky hotel of all: the imposing, haunted Overlook of The Shining, where a writer is driven mad by the souls trapped within its grounds.
North Carolina native Andrew K. Clark’s new Quill & Crow Publishing House venture, Hollow Folk, now joins the ranks of great horror hotel novels, and its oft-hallucinatory, sometimes erotic escapades are sure to instill countless nightmares in readers everywhere.
In 1993, grad student Ethan Ray is midway through his shift as the night auditor at the aging Holloway mountain resort. The evening commences like any other, dull and quiet, but soon the Appalachian sky outside bleeds reddish-brown light, hard winds whip through the trees without making a sound, and the local wildlife exhibits strange behavior. Then, at 3 a.m., time itself literally stops.
Trapped inside the hotel, Ethan and his two on-duty co-workers—hardheaded rationalist Kal, an Indian immigrant who’s pure Southern Boy due to his upbringing, and snippy, sexy laundry room attendant Teresa, who seems to delight in making Ethan’s life miserable—must uncover the shameful secrets of the Holloway’s century-old founding in order to escape. As the unending night stretches into days, then weeks, then months, however, the trio fall prey to the hotel’s dark mystical energy; Ethan and Teresa’s long-simmering, unspoken feelings for one another consume them, while Kal takes off on his own, searching for a pathway to start the clocks ticking again. Yet the heady visions each of them experience keep drawing them back to one source—the enigmatic Gray Man—and keep telling Ethan that someone in the hotel can’t be trusted.
With its unconventional romance, macabre moodiness, and introspective, sometimes stream-of-consciousness narrative, Hollow Folk evolves as a very different work than Clark’s previous novels, the superb duology Where Dark Things Grow and Where Dark Things Rise. It's a smaller tale, more personal, more nuanced; where the Dark Things books wove a generational tale of overt Good vs Evil utilizing multiple points of view, Hollow Folk features a cast of just three people, and though the audience is given glimpses of other perspectives, this First Person story is firmly entrenched in Ethan’s outlook.
The burgeoning relationship between laid-back Ethan and prickly Teresa is by turns sweet, funny, and endearing; unlike many books where a love affair seems forced, the coupling here progresses so organically it’s impossible not to find charming, and their lively back-and-forth banter provides much of the novel’s best dialogue. As the primary supporting character, Teresa is Ethan’s polar opposite: she’s confident, brash, and caring, but she’s also tough beyond all measure.
That emphasis on romance doesn’t mean the story lacks potent doses terror, however. If anything, Hollow Folk is more chilling than either Grow or Rise; confining the action to one location induces a suffocating claustrophobia, and one harrowing sequence—in which Ethan, Teresa, and Kal attempt to uncover what’s happened to the hotel’s sleeping guests while the building is frozen in stasis—is rendered in such hair-raising, shadowy detail it will leave even the most jaded readers shaking.
Hollow Folk also underscores the ties that bind generations, how events long past can, and often do, reverberate through history, exemplified in the cause-and-effect repercussions the Machiavellian Gray Man (and one must wonder if he is somehow connected to the sinister Blue Man from Where Dark Things Grow) sets in motion with his greedy, land-grabbing schemes. With the Gray Man, Clark doubles down on one of his duology’s most prominent themes: like the aforementioned Blue Man, the Gray Man is misogyny personified, and the author uses him to hammer home how men—particularly powerful men—misuse their influence to control, exploit, and demean women.
Any fan of ghost stories, folklore, or even detective fiction won’t be disappointed by the intrigues present in Hollow Folk. As the novel progresses its narrative builds upon the framework of classic Gothic literature (an isolate rural locale, murderous secrets, madness, unearthly ills), and whether one opens this book for the spectral thrills or quirky romance, they will undoubtedly close it with much to ponder. Once again, Clark has skillfully provided one of the year’s most visceral and thought-provoking novels, and for that I am compelled to grant Hollow Folk a solid 4 (out of 5) here onGoodreads. With releases like this and many others, Quill & Crow Publishing House has become one of the best—if not the best—small press company out there. Take a bow, everyone. This is how it’s done.
August 23, 2026
Hollow Folk by Andrew K. Clark — A trippy ride through a hotel trapped in time by the sins of the land’s past.
No, this is not some ripoff of The Shining by Stephen King, but it does share some common ideas. This is arguably the third book in Clark’s Dark Things series, although it’s billed as a standalone. The first two books are connected by family histories that overlap. You wouldn’t know there was a connection to the first two books here if you didn’t have the privilege of reading them, but there is, and that connection is the hotel’s location in the Hollow and a similar backstory involving a dreadful religious past.
Clark plays with a deeply flawed rural Christian history in these books, a history that intertwines with an evil backwoods folklore that creates some sexually charged creepy stuff relating to our fears, our inhibitions and our carnal desires. We are guilt ridden by what we are taught by the church, but it can fuel us into unconscionable acts that are worse than the sins we have been taught to feel bad about. …I’m speculating here, as I’m only halfway through the book at this point. But maybe I’ll leave this part in to prove this isn’t some stupid AI summarization and to prove I was right.
Anyway…yes. My speculation still feels spot on. The book has three Holloway employees trapped in time when the hotel’s grandfather clock—and every clock—stops ticking at 3 AM. The characters, Ethan (our narrator), Teresa and Kal, begin having weird experiences with ghosts and creatures who may or may not be real as they try to figure out what the hell is going on. The existing guests have essentially disappeared, and the hotel itself seems to be gradually overtaken by poisonous things and gothic creatures of menace.
Also, Ethan and Teresa are falling in love. It’s a weird and creepy developing relationship filled with bugs and body horror linked to a heartbreaking past buried deep underground. It’s an interesting read filled with creatively gross and erotic scenes that will evoke readers to say “what the hell..?”
The gothic nature of this book is more reminiscent of a Shirley Jackson piece, although there are plenty of nods to King’s Overlook Hotel.The hotel feeds the characters and makes them complacent in a way that is sometimes frustrating, because it doesn’t foster propelling the story forward at times. But there is a reason for this that makes sense. It’s not a book for everyone, but if you enjoy the weird and grotesque, and you’re not shy of explicit sexual scenes, there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy it.
Some of it was too much for me, because I was thinking, “guys, we get it. You’re mad hot for each other, and the weird stuff that’s happening during the sex doesn’t creep you out, but come on! Your buddy’s gone missing and this isn’t natural. Where’s the moment of freaking out?” But like I said, there is a definable reason…
It’s a solid piece of weird, dark romance/horror. But it is weird. It is dark. It is erotic. You have been warned.
No, this is not some ripoff of The Shining by Stephen King, but it does share some common ideas. This is arguably the third book in Clark’s Dark Things series, although it’s billed as a standalone. The first two books are connected by family histories that overlap. You wouldn’t know there was a connection to the first two books here if you didn’t have the privilege of reading them, but there is, and that connection is the hotel’s location in the Hollow and a similar backstory involving a dreadful religious past.
Clark plays with a deeply flawed rural Christian history in these books, a history that intertwines with an evil backwoods folklore that creates some sexually charged creepy stuff relating to our fears, our inhibitions and our carnal desires. We are guilt ridden by what we are taught by the church, but it can fuel us into unconscionable acts that are worse than the sins we have been taught to feel bad about. …I’m speculating here, as I’m only halfway through the book at this point. But maybe I’ll leave this part in to prove this isn’t some stupid AI summarization and to prove I was right.
Anyway…yes. My speculation still feels spot on. The book has three Holloway employees trapped in time when the hotel’s grandfather clock—and every clock—stops ticking at 3 AM. The characters, Ethan (our narrator), Teresa and Kal, begin having weird experiences with ghosts and creatures who may or may not be real as they try to figure out what the hell is going on. The existing guests have essentially disappeared, and the hotel itself seems to be gradually overtaken by poisonous things and gothic creatures of menace.
Also, Ethan and Teresa are falling in love. It’s a weird and creepy developing relationship filled with bugs and body horror linked to a heartbreaking past buried deep underground. It’s an interesting read filled with creatively gross and erotic scenes that will evoke readers to say “what the hell..?”
The gothic nature of this book is more reminiscent of a Shirley Jackson piece, although there are plenty of nods to King’s Overlook Hotel.The hotel feeds the characters and makes them complacent in a way that is sometimes frustrating, because it doesn’t foster propelling the story forward at times. But there is a reason for this that makes sense. It’s not a book for everyone, but if you enjoy the weird and grotesque, and you’re not shy of explicit sexual scenes, there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy it.
Some of it was too much for me, because I was thinking, “guys, we get it. You’re mad hot for each other, and the weird stuff that’s happening during the sex doesn’t creep you out, but come on! Your buddy’s gone missing and this isn’t natural. Where’s the moment of freaking out?” But like I said, there is a definable reason…
It’s a solid piece of weird, dark romance/horror. But it is weird. It is dark. It is erotic. You have been warned.
August 30, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley and Quill & Crow Publishing House for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
There’s a lot about Hollow Folk that I genuinely loved. Clark’s prose is strong, atmospheric, and frequently beautiful. More importantly, the Appalachian setting never feels like aesthetic window dressing. The novel is deeply rooted in the folklore, history, landscape, and cultural texture of Western North Carolina.
Having lived in North Carolina and maintained a longtime interest in Appalachian folklore and cryptozoology, I had an enormous amount of fun during the first third recognizing the breadcrumbs Clark was leaving behind. Before the book began naming some of its geographical influences more directly, the strange mountain lights, unnatural landscape, regional creatures, fungal imagery, and other details had already turned the setting into a puzzle I thoroughly enjoyed solving.
That authenticity remained one of the novel’s greatest strengths. Nothing about the folklore felt like an outsider grabbing Appalachian legends because they sounded spooky. Clark writes like someone who knows this landscape intimately, its stories, and the relationship between the people, history, and land. The historical material concerning displacement, exploitation, religious oppression, misogyny, grief, and generational suffering is similarly woven into the supernatural elements rather than simply placed beside them.
My biggest issue was the character development, particularly in the first half. The opening spends considerable time establishing the Holloway, its mysteries, and surrounding lore. With only three central human characters, I initially found it frustrating that it took so long to feel like I knew them. Their characterization comes in small pieces, with much of the deeper development arriving only after the groundwork is complete.
Kal is perhaps the character I still wanted to know better by the end. We get glimpses of his family, cultural background, and extraordinary experiences outside the Holloway that suggest an incredibly rich character, but those moments are often brief before he returns to his role as the practical problem-solver who fixes things, provides information, and keeps the plot moving.
Teresa’s characterization also complicated my response. The novel is clearly interested in misogyny, female sexuality, religious oppression, and the punishment of women, yet for much of the first half Teresa is presented primarily through Ethan’s desire for her. We learn far more about how Ethan perceives her and what she represents to him than about Teresa herself. This does become important to the plot, and the second half finally reveals more of the real Teresa as she becomes increasingly central to the mythology surrounding the Seven and the Holloway. I loved those revelations and understood why some were delayed, but I still wished we had met more of that Teresa sooner.
Ethan receives the overwhelming majority of the novel’s interior attention. Clark develops him into a believable character who genuinely sees himself as a good guy while remaining deeply self-centered and frequently unpleasant. His fixation on Teresa was one of the areas where I found him least likable. At times it feels less like genuine intimacy and more like an obsession with a version of her he has constructed for himself. The novel does recognize that contradiction, and Teresa directly challenges his behavior, but the uncertainty surrounding the foundation of their relationship left me unsure how to feel about it until the end.
By the second half, however, I became much more invested in the characters and the small pieces of development that made them feel like people I cared about. The novel continued delivering imaginative supernatural developments, memorable body horror, historical revelations, and intriguing mythology. I did occasionally feel that events were happening to the characters more often than fundamentally changing them, so Ethan’s later moments of self-reflection were especially welcome.
The ending cemented my overall take. There are fascinating ideas here about transformation, autonomy, desire, the supernatural, and real local lore. I initially expected the conclusion to lean closer to a good-for-her horror ending, but it did not, and the final resolution ultimately fit the story well.
I was also lucky enough to chat with Clark afterward about the novel, including the inspiration behind the Holloway’s location and an area we are both familiar with. The extra context immediately prompted a reread so I could catch some of the hidden gems I had missed the first time.
Hollow Folk has excellent atmosphere, strong prose, memorable imagery, and some of the most authentic Appalachian folklore I’ve encountered in recent horror. I had early issues with the character development, but overall I still thought this was a fantastic read, and the world Clark created is going to stick with me for a while.
There’s a lot about Hollow Folk that I genuinely loved. Clark’s prose is strong, atmospheric, and frequently beautiful. More importantly, the Appalachian setting never feels like aesthetic window dressing. The novel is deeply rooted in the folklore, history, landscape, and cultural texture of Western North Carolina.
Having lived in North Carolina and maintained a longtime interest in Appalachian folklore and cryptozoology, I had an enormous amount of fun during the first third recognizing the breadcrumbs Clark was leaving behind. Before the book began naming some of its geographical influences more directly, the strange mountain lights, unnatural landscape, regional creatures, fungal imagery, and other details had already turned the setting into a puzzle I thoroughly enjoyed solving.
That authenticity remained one of the novel’s greatest strengths. Nothing about the folklore felt like an outsider grabbing Appalachian legends because they sounded spooky. Clark writes like someone who knows this landscape intimately, its stories, and the relationship between the people, history, and land. The historical material concerning displacement, exploitation, religious oppression, misogyny, grief, and generational suffering is similarly woven into the supernatural elements rather than simply placed beside them.
My biggest issue was the character development, particularly in the first half. The opening spends considerable time establishing the Holloway, its mysteries, and surrounding lore. With only three central human characters, I initially found it frustrating that it took so long to feel like I knew them. Their characterization comes in small pieces, with much of the deeper development arriving only after the groundwork is complete.
Kal is perhaps the character I still wanted to know better by the end. We get glimpses of his family, cultural background, and extraordinary experiences outside the Holloway that suggest an incredibly rich character, but those moments are often brief before he returns to his role as the practical problem-solver who fixes things, provides information, and keeps the plot moving.
Teresa’s characterization also complicated my response. The novel is clearly interested in misogyny, female sexuality, religious oppression, and the punishment of women, yet for much of the first half Teresa is presented primarily through Ethan’s desire for her. We learn far more about how Ethan perceives her and what she represents to him than about Teresa herself. This does become important to the plot, and the second half finally reveals more of the real Teresa as she becomes increasingly central to the mythology surrounding the Seven and the Holloway. I loved those revelations and understood why some were delayed, but I still wished we had met more of that Teresa sooner.
Ethan receives the overwhelming majority of the novel’s interior attention. Clark develops him into a believable character who genuinely sees himself as a good guy while remaining deeply self-centered and frequently unpleasant. His fixation on Teresa was one of the areas where I found him least likable. At times it feels less like genuine intimacy and more like an obsession with a version of her he has constructed for himself. The novel does recognize that contradiction, and Teresa directly challenges his behavior, but the uncertainty surrounding the foundation of their relationship left me unsure how to feel about it until the end.
By the second half, however, I became much more invested in the characters and the small pieces of development that made them feel like people I cared about. The novel continued delivering imaginative supernatural developments, memorable body horror, historical revelations, and intriguing mythology. I did occasionally feel that events were happening to the characters more often than fundamentally changing them, so Ethan’s later moments of self-reflection were especially welcome.
The ending cemented my overall take. There are fascinating ideas here about transformation, autonomy, desire, the supernatural, and real local lore. I initially expected the conclusion to lean closer to a good-for-her horror ending, but it did not, and the final resolution ultimately fit the story well.
I was also lucky enough to chat with Clark afterward about the novel, including the inspiration behind the Holloway’s location and an area we are both familiar with. The extra context immediately prompted a reread so I could catch some of the hidden gems I had missed the first time.
Hollow Folk has excellent atmosphere, strong prose, memorable imagery, and some of the most authentic Appalachian folklore I’ve encountered in recent horror. I had early issues with the character development, but overall I still thought this was a fantastic read, and the world Clark created is going to stick with me for a while.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
🌲 Some hotels have secrets. Holloway has something much, much worse.
Hollow Folk by Andrew K. Clark pulled me into an eerie, atmospheric world where the Appalachian mountains feel just as alive and just as dangerous as anything lurking inside the walls.
Ethan Ray expects his night shift at the aging Holloway mountain resort to be boring. Instead, he witnesses reddish-brown lights bleeding across the sky, silent winds tearing through the trees, and owl gargoyles that mysteriously come to life. Then, at exactly 3 a.m., every clock stops.
That was the moment I knew this was going to be a very different kind of hotel story. 👀
What I loved most was the atmosphere. Clark creates this slow-burning sense of dread where I constantly felt like something was watching from just beyond the edge of the page. The Holloway itself becomes a character ancient, unsettling, and full of secrets, and the surrounding Appalachian landscape adds another layer of haunting beauty.
I was completely immersed in the mystery as Ethan, Kal, and Teresa tried to understand what was happening and, more importantly, figure out who they could trust. The visions they experience, the supernatural elements, and the feeling that something ancient has awakened kept me turning pages because I needed to know what was waiting for them in the dark.
And then there’s the romance. ❤️🔥 The unexpected connection between Ethan and Teresa adds an emotional thread to all the supernatural tension, giving the story moments of vulnerability amid the creeping dread.
Hollow Folk blends Gothic romance, Appalachian folk horror, supernatural mystery, and an incredibly atmospheric setting into a story that left me with that deliciously unsettling feeling that the darkness might be closer than I think.
If you love atmospheric horror where the setting feels alive, secrets unfold slowly, and the mountains seem to be watching…add this one to your TBR. 🌲👁️
📚 Thank you to Get Red PR, Quill & Crow Publishing House, and Andrew K. Clark for sharing Hollow Folk with me!
Hollow Folk by Andrew K. Clark pulled me into an eerie, atmospheric world where the Appalachian mountains feel just as alive and just as dangerous as anything lurking inside the walls.
Ethan Ray expects his night shift at the aging Holloway mountain resort to be boring. Instead, he witnesses reddish-brown lights bleeding across the sky, silent winds tearing through the trees, and owl gargoyles that mysteriously come to life. Then, at exactly 3 a.m., every clock stops.
That was the moment I knew this was going to be a very different kind of hotel story. 👀
What I loved most was the atmosphere. Clark creates this slow-burning sense of dread where I constantly felt like something was watching from just beyond the edge of the page. The Holloway itself becomes a character ancient, unsettling, and full of secrets, and the surrounding Appalachian landscape adds another layer of haunting beauty.
I was completely immersed in the mystery as Ethan, Kal, and Teresa tried to understand what was happening and, more importantly, figure out who they could trust. The visions they experience, the supernatural elements, and the feeling that something ancient has awakened kept me turning pages because I needed to know what was waiting for them in the dark.
And then there’s the romance. ❤️🔥 The unexpected connection between Ethan and Teresa adds an emotional thread to all the supernatural tension, giving the story moments of vulnerability amid the creeping dread.
Hollow Folk blends Gothic romance, Appalachian folk horror, supernatural mystery, and an incredibly atmospheric setting into a story that left me with that deliciously unsettling feeling that the darkness might be closer than I think.
If you love atmospheric horror where the setting feels alive, secrets unfold slowly, and the mountains seem to be watching…add this one to your TBR. 🌲👁️
📚 Thank you to Get Red PR, Quill & Crow Publishing House, and Andrew K. Clark for sharing Hollow Folk with me!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Ethan Ray is just looking to get through his graveyard shift as a night auditor at the isolated Holloway Mountain Resort. But at precisely 3:00 AM, everything goes wrong: a silent gale whips through the trees, strange reddish-brown lights fill the sky, time stops on every clock, and the hotel's stone owl gargoyles suddenly don't look so static anymore. Trapped alongside his co-workers Kal and Teresa, Ethan realizes the resort has become the focal point for something ancient and vengeful in the surrounding mountains—and visions warning that one of them can’t be trusted threaten to tear the survivors apart from the inside.
What I Liked:
- Setting & Atmosphere: Clark writes nature and physical space with incredible vividness. The resort feels genuinely ancient and hostile, and the silent mountain storm creates an eerie, surreal atmosphere that sets it apart from standard haunted hotel stories.
- Tight Pacing: At 274 pages, there’s zero fluff. The plot moves rapidly from the initial 3:00 AM anomaly straight into a tense, closed-door survival scenario.
- Folk Horror Lore: Grounding the horror in regional Appalachian lore rather than generic ghosts gives the book a distinct flavor and a tangible sense of place.
What Could Be Improved:
Ensemble Paranoia: The "one of us is hiding something" tension relies on a few well-worn misdirection tropes common to trapped-group thrillers, which makes certain character turns slightly predictable.
Hollow Folk by Andrew K. Clark delivers a deeply atmospheric, claustrophobic dose of Appalachian folk horror that hits the ground running and rarely lets up. It is a fast, moody, and thoroughly creepy read that will appeal to fans of small-cast supernatural thrillers, gothic atmosphere, and Appalachian lore.
My thanks to Quill & Crow Publishing House and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
What I Liked:
- Setting & Atmosphere: Clark writes nature and physical space with incredible vividness. The resort feels genuinely ancient and hostile, and the silent mountain storm creates an eerie, surreal atmosphere that sets it apart from standard haunted hotel stories.
- Tight Pacing: At 274 pages, there’s zero fluff. The plot moves rapidly from the initial 3:00 AM anomaly straight into a tense, closed-door survival scenario.
- Folk Horror Lore: Grounding the horror in regional Appalachian lore rather than generic ghosts gives the book a distinct flavor and a tangible sense of place.
What Could Be Improved:
Ensemble Paranoia: The "one of us is hiding something" tension relies on a few well-worn misdirection tropes common to trapped-group thrillers, which makes certain character turns slightly predictable.
Hollow Folk by Andrew K. Clark delivers a deeply atmospheric, claustrophobic dose of Appalachian folk horror that hits the ground running and rarely lets up. It is a fast, moody, and thoroughly creepy read that will appeal to fans of small-cast supernatural thrillers, gothic atmosphere, and Appalachian lore.
My thanks to Quill & Crow Publishing House and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
September 29, 2026
I am a fan of being unsettled by the deeply gothic, and Andrew K. Clark definitely captured that. 🌲🖤
When you blend folk legends and the Appalachian setting with deep woods, ancient magicks, Celtic mythology, and dark fairy tales, I know a story will hold me deep into the night.
But please understand walking into this: the use of body horror here is not metaphoric or light. There is a lot here that is true, visceral horror. It will make you wince, cringe, and peek between your fingers. It is creepy, spooky, and will have you 100% ready for October! 🪵🍂
With mushrooms, haunted hotels, owl gargoyles coming to life, and intense physical body changes, you will never look at the boundaries between places as just the area between X and Y. Instead, you'll see them truly as a liminal space where anything can—and just might—happen to you.
The setting itself—not just the Holloway hotel, but the dark, old-growth Appalachian forest—takes on a massive role. The physical space is as much a character as the people. It carries an uneasiness and uncertainty; that almost Grimm-style Black Forest disorientation that made Hansel and Gretel or Snow White’s flight feel life-threatening and otherworldly. It’s a world where trees have eyes, animals are waiting to pounce, and the wind speaks a language all its own. 🌬️👁️
Needless to say, my final takeaway is that this book will find its ideal audience in anyone who wants to get swept up in pure atmosphere. There is a romance to heighten the drama and increase the stakes, but at its heart, this is a dark, gothic fairytale. It will leave you staring into the mirror questioning what is real, what is not, and wondering if anything is real at all. 🪞🩸
When you blend folk legends and the Appalachian setting with deep woods, ancient magicks, Celtic mythology, and dark fairy tales, I know a story will hold me deep into the night.
But please understand walking into this: the use of body horror here is not metaphoric or light. There is a lot here that is true, visceral horror. It will make you wince, cringe, and peek between your fingers. It is creepy, spooky, and will have you 100% ready for October! 🪵🍂
With mushrooms, haunted hotels, owl gargoyles coming to life, and intense physical body changes, you will never look at the boundaries between places as just the area between X and Y. Instead, you'll see them truly as a liminal space where anything can—and just might—happen to you.
The setting itself—not just the Holloway hotel, but the dark, old-growth Appalachian forest—takes on a massive role. The physical space is as much a character as the people. It carries an uneasiness and uncertainty; that almost Grimm-style Black Forest disorientation that made Hansel and Gretel or Snow White’s flight feel life-threatening and otherworldly. It’s a world where trees have eyes, animals are waiting to pounce, and the wind speaks a language all its own. 🌬️👁️
Needless to say, my final takeaway is that this book will find its ideal audience in anyone who wants to get swept up in pure atmosphere. There is a romance to heighten the drama and increase the stakes, but at its heart, this is a dark, gothic fairytale. It will leave you staring into the mirror questioning what is real, what is not, and wondering if anything is real at all. 🪞🩸
September 29, 2026
Ever wonder what the witching hour is like inside a hotel? How about a hotel that was built on secrets and murder? I’m pretty sure spirits are required to haunt places like that. When time stops at The Holloway, the night shift gets to have all the fun.
Hollow Folk is a spooky story with infinite time. The three staff members that are stuck in the time pause barely know each other and are might have to spend eternity together. After a while, time becomes irrelevant to them as they get caught up in themselves. There is something in the air, or maybe it’s the hotel that has them hypnotized. It’s almost like a spirit haze has taken over, trying to make them forget.
There is a dark backstory to the hotel that is revealed in snippets by the haunting. It’s very dark and disturbing, but really fits the story. But that’s not the most disturbing part of the story. The sex scenes will have you asking questions and getting vivid visuals. It’s a very strange sort of release, but it totally goes with the odd occurrences in the hotel. The author has an excellent imagination, and came up with some strange stuff. I dig it.
Hollow Folk is a spooky story with infinite time. The three staff members that are stuck in the time pause barely know each other and are might have to spend eternity together. After a while, time becomes irrelevant to them as they get caught up in themselves. There is something in the air, or maybe it’s the hotel that has them hypnotized. It’s almost like a spirit haze has taken over, trying to make them forget.
There is a dark backstory to the hotel that is revealed in snippets by the haunting. It’s very dark and disturbing, but really fits the story. But that’s not the most disturbing part of the story. The sex scenes will have you asking questions and getting vivid visuals. It’s a very strange sort of release, but it totally goes with the odd occurrences in the hotel. The author has an excellent imagination, and came up with some strange stuff. I dig it.
September 25, 2026
I'm going to start off by admitting that i didn't finish this book. it was just way too much for me to continue reading. i was expecting body horror and gothic monsters and i got a whole lot of trauma, sex horror, and deeply uncomfortable reminders of my childhood. meaning it did a damn good job at freaking me out! while this wasn't a book for me personally, i think it really reaches into the horrors of both modern, and early settling life. it was creepy, it was dark, it was laced with an intense sexual theme that made me deeply, deeply uncomfortable (and i think it's supposed to do that). this book will leave you haunted in ways you never expected, and will leave you questioning a good many things about your life. so even though i didn't finish it because of my own anxiety and past, i know it's going to be an amazing book for someone more into the twisty mind games the hotel is playing on those trapped withing. so i'm still giving it 5 stars.
thank you to Quill & Crow Publishing House and netgalley for this ARC
thank you to Quill & Crow Publishing House and netgalley for this ARC
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
This was such a creepy and completely unique read that I couldn’t get enough of it! Imagine being trapped inside the hotel you work for, with time permanently stuck at 3 AM.
The Holloway hotel has a way of tempting the characters and making them forget that they’re trapped inside. As visions of the horrific past tied to the land begin to surface, things get stranger, darker, and more unsettling. There were so many “what on earth?!” moments that had me questioning what was actually happening.
The atmosphere in this book was everything. It was eerie, unsettling, and had this constant feeling that there was no way to escape. There were definitely moments that made me go EW, and plenty of times I wanted to look away but absolutely couldn’t.
Andrew K. Clark created an atmosphere that crawls under your skin and keeps you trapped right alongside the characters. If you enjoy creepy, atmospheric horror with strange twists, disturbing moments, and a story that keeps you guessing, definitely check this one out!
The Holloway hotel has a way of tempting the characters and making them forget that they’re trapped inside. As visions of the horrific past tied to the land begin to surface, things get stranger, darker, and more unsettling. There were so many “what on earth?!” moments that had me questioning what was actually happening.
The atmosphere in this book was everything. It was eerie, unsettling, and had this constant feeling that there was no way to escape. There were definitely moments that made me go EW, and plenty of times I wanted to look away but absolutely couldn’t.
Andrew K. Clark created an atmosphere that crawls under your skin and keeps you trapped right alongside the characters. If you enjoy creepy, atmospheric horror with strange twists, disturbing moments, and a story that keeps you guessing, definitely check this one out!
August 21, 2026
If you are looking for a story that will get you into the holiday spirit a little bit early this year then I would highly recommend checking out this fabulous book. I have to admit I wasn't sure what to expect before I started reading this book but I will admit I was quite impressed with what I ended up reading. This book ended up being a very epic tale that will keep any reader obsessed from beginning to end.
We are intro to grad student Ethan who ends up getting a job at an old hotel. Working the nightshift strange things are bound to happen. However, this hotel is filled with secrets and sometimes those secrets can open up a world that was completely forgotten. With the help of some coworkers Ethan will try his best to uncover a mystery that could possibly be lost if not solved in time.
We are intro to grad student Ethan who ends up getting a job at an old hotel. Working the nightshift strange things are bound to happen. However, this hotel is filled with secrets and sometimes those secrets can open up a world that was completely forgotten. With the help of some coworkers Ethan will try his best to uncover a mystery that could possibly be lost if not solved in time.
August 31, 2026
Thank you Quill & Crow Publishing House and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
When I read this was an Appalachian Gothic book, I said sign me up!
This story takes place in an old hotel, Holloway Hotel, nestled in the backwoods of Appalachia. Three night shift hotel employees join forces to figure out why time has stopped one night at 3am. Ethan, Teresa, and Kal start to have odd visions that are different from each other but are hauntingly tied together. Weird happenings progress with each of them while a romance blooms (extra spicy) between Ethan & Teresa. Their race against “time” lies in the history of the land.
I enjoyed reading Hollow Folk. At times, I was like, what the hell did I just read?!? It was a wild ride and I did not expect the extra spice and body horror, but it weirdly worked in this story. I loved the friendship between the three main characters. They were from different walks of life and yet emotionally fit together There were some things that happened to Teresa that I needed explained more, but I think it was symbolic to her and Ethan’s growing relationship. The ending brought everything together.
When I read this was an Appalachian Gothic book, I said sign me up!
This story takes place in an old hotel, Holloway Hotel, nestled in the backwoods of Appalachia. Three night shift hotel employees join forces to figure out why time has stopped one night at 3am. Ethan, Teresa, and Kal start to have odd visions that are different from each other but are hauntingly tied together. Weird happenings progress with each of them while a romance blooms (extra spicy) between Ethan & Teresa. Their race against “time” lies in the history of the land.
I enjoyed reading Hollow Folk. At times, I was like, what the hell did I just read?!? It was a wild ride and I did not expect the extra spice and body horror, but it weirdly worked in this story. I loved the friendship between the three main characters. They were from different walks of life and yet emotionally fit together There were some things that happened to Teresa that I needed explained more, but I think it was symbolic to her and Ethan’s growing relationship. The ending brought everything together.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Hollow Folk is a fantastically unhinged gothic love story with an Appalachian hotel setting fueled by nightmares and horror, and I was there for every word of every page. I was also sad to get to the last one because I was sucked into this story and the characters very early on. I don't want to put any spoilers in this review, so imagine if you will three members of the hotel staff that discover a much darker/tragic side to their workplace than they could ever have imagined. Then, imagine that staff having to combat a dark evil unlike any they could ever dream of over and over again in a time loop where even beauty hides something sinister. Add in a surprising love story, and that my friends, is Hollow Folk!
If you are looking for a fast-paced folk horror with a side of unsuspecting gothic romance and can handle some unhinged "gross factor" from time to time, you will certainly enjoy this book. Fair warning, be wary when the clock turns to 3:00 AM. Aside from that, enjoy!
If you are looking for a fast-paced folk horror with a side of unsuspecting gothic romance and can handle some unhinged "gross factor" from time to time, you will certainly enjoy this book. Fair warning, be wary when the clock turns to 3:00 AM. Aside from that, enjoy!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
If you’re looking for an actual scary book, look no further!!
This book genuinely freaked me out! And that’s saying a lot since I love horror novels.
This book follows Ethan, our MMC who is working an overnight shift at an Appalachian resort. When all the sudden something weird starts happening.
It’s only him and two other co workers working the night shift.
At 3:00 AM everything stops. Their clocks, the front doors lock, and almost everything outside is completely still. But the weirdness is only getting started!! This book is one scene after another of just pure gross and weird horror.
Although I reallllly enjoyed this story, I’m giving it a 4 stars because I was left with several questions unanswered.
But if you’re looking for a spooky read this fall, definitely check this one out!
This book genuinely freaked me out! And that’s saying a lot since I love horror novels.
This book follows Ethan, our MMC who is working an overnight shift at an Appalachian resort. When all the sudden something weird starts happening.
It’s only him and two other co workers working the night shift.
At 3:00 AM everything stops. Their clocks, the front doors lock, and almost everything outside is completely still. But the weirdness is only getting started!! This book is one scene after another of just pure gross and weird horror.
Although I reallllly enjoyed this story, I’m giving it a 4 stars because I was left with several questions unanswered.
But if you’re looking for a spooky read this fall, definitely check this one out!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
*Skip this one if you have trypophobia!
This one did not disappoint in the dark and eerie environment, and I really liked the plot of the clock stopping at 3am and trying to figure out what caused it, and learning about the history of this property. That I really enjoyed. Where I struggled with this one was how slow going the characters were with wanting to solve things, and how quickly they would move on. I also did not care for the love story happening in this one. Outside of that I enjoyed figuring out what was happening, and finally getting some answers.
Thank you GetRedPR and the author for my advanced reader copy in return for my honest review! This one gave the spooky vibes to kick off my spooky reads!
This one did not disappoint in the dark and eerie environment, and I really liked the plot of the clock stopping at 3am and trying to figure out what caused it, and learning about the history of this property. That I really enjoyed. Where I struggled with this one was how slow going the characters were with wanting to solve things, and how quickly they would move on. I also did not care for the love story happening in this one. Outside of that I enjoyed figuring out what was happening, and finally getting some answers.
Thank you GetRedPR and the author for my advanced reader copy in return for my honest review! This one gave the spooky vibes to kick off my spooky reads!
Review of advance copy
3.5 ⭐️
Thank you to BookSparks and Andrew Clark for my copy of Hollow Folk!
this book was insane lol. It's gothic horror, but be warned, it gets really gory and there's some genuinely nasty stuff in here. There's also a lot going on with holes, and I'm not going to say more than that, but it was so weird (in a good way?). If you have a weak stomach, maybe sit this one out. If you don't, buckle up.
My favorite part was the setting. It takes place in the Appalachian mountains, and since I'm super familiar with that area and the culture, it felt so close to home. Clark nails that eerie, isolated mountain feeling. And at one point Cheerwine gets mentioned and I literally said "omg" out loud. It's the little things!
Thank you to BookSparks and Andrew Clark for my copy of Hollow Folk!
this book was insane lol. It's gothic horror, but be warned, it gets really gory and there's some genuinely nasty stuff in here. There's also a lot going on with holes, and I'm not going to say more than that, but it was so weird (in a good way?). If you have a weak stomach, maybe sit this one out. If you don't, buckle up.
My favorite part was the setting. It takes place in the Appalachian mountains, and since I'm super familiar with that area and the culture, it felt so close to home. Clark nails that eerie, isolated mountain feeling. And at one point Cheerwine gets mentioned and I literally said "omg" out loud. It's the little things!
September 28, 2026
📖 Book Review 📖 There are two words that will win me over every fall and those are gothic and Appalachia. Hollow Folk is the perfect atmospheric read to enjoy with windows open but I will be honest, the minute I heard birds singing some pretty intense songs…I got really spooked. Andrew K. Clark brings the spirit of Appalachia to readers in his latest novel, channeling the mysterious folklore of the region. Weird stuff happens all along this ancient chain of land and Hollow Folk captures it all in a delightfully spooky mash-up in this wild, throwback genre-blending read.
September 29, 2026
Two words: APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS
It is (forever) my favourite place of creepiness and I wouldn't get tired of all the inspirations (and fiction!) associated with this massive land area.
This novel was as haunting as it could be, very much intriguing, it's unsettling vibes' althroughout, and the horror of the late night occurrences were well done. I absolutely got weirded out, for sure.
I enjoyed this novel and I'm looking forward to reading more of Andrew's in the future! Recommended! ✨️
It is (forever) my favourite place of creepiness and I wouldn't get tired of all the inspirations (and fiction!) associated with this massive land area.
This novel was as haunting as it could be, very much intriguing, it's unsettling vibes' althroughout, and the horror of the late night occurrences were well done. I absolutely got weirded out, for sure.
I enjoyed this novel and I'm looking forward to reading more of Andrew's in the future! Recommended! ✨️
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Review of Advanced Copy Recieved by Author thank you for the opportunity
Hollow Folk said a quiet mountain resort job is easy and then its followed by Appalachian gothic chaos, demonic dread, and emotional damage instead. I came for the creepy vibes and stayed because apparently peace, sanity, and a normal night shift were never on the itinerary.
Hollow Folk said a quiet mountain resort job is easy and then its followed by Appalachian gothic chaos, demonic dread, and emotional damage instead. I came for the creepy vibes and stayed because apparently peace, sanity, and a normal night shift were never on the itinerary.
Review of advance copy received from Author
As with all of Andrew's books, I turned page after page wondering what unusual dark Appalachian shiver would be delivered next. Andrew's writing never disappoints and his stories are always surprising.
Hollow Folk serves up myriad dark delights as his characters face a weird and terrifying "night" in a bizarre old hotel deep in the Appalachian woods. The twists and turns and sensory spookiness made for a fascinating and unique read.
Hollow Folk serves up myriad dark delights as his characters face a weird and terrifying "night" in a bizarre old hotel deep in the Appalachian woods. The twists and turns and sensory spookiness made for a fascinating and unique read.
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