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Under the Influence at Motel Styx
Not yet published
Expected 17 Nov 26Desperate to combat flagging room bookings, the owner of America's First Necrotel agrees to a bold plan: to welcome non-members to the motel for an exclusive Influencer Weekend.
Paranormal investigators Hunter and Chase join a horde of unique and outrageous content creators to secure an audience for their fledgling podcast - and maybe even evidence of the supernatural.
Tag your friends, ready your hashtags, and prepare for a series of live/dead streams.
Under the Influence at Motel Styx is a morbid, playful and often disgusting novella about the risks and payoffs of seeking popularity at any price.
Paranormal investigators Hunter and Chase join a horde of unique and outrageous content creators to secure an audience for their fledgling podcast - and maybe even evidence of the supernatural.
Tag your friends, ready your hashtags, and prepare for a series of live/dead streams.
Under the Influence at Motel Styx is a morbid, playful and often disgusting novella about the risks and payoffs of seeking popularity at any price.
112 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication November 17, 2026
About the author
Michelle von Eschen
15 books106 followersMichelle von Eschen (early works written as Michelle Kilmer) is an American author of quiet, literary horror.
She is a lover of the macabre who prefers Earl Grey tea, October, people who say goodbye on the phone, and her dreams are so real she can’t figure out what has really happened to her. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys weightlifting, dark beer, web design, singing and playing guitar, camping and hiking, and watching horror movies. She lives in England with her husband, horror author Jonathan Butcher.
She is a lover of the macabre who prefers Earl Grey tea, October, people who say goodbye on the phone, and her dreams are so real she can’t figure out what has really happened to her. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys weightlifting, dark beer, web design, singing and playing guitar, camping and hiking, and watching horror movies. She lives in England with her husband, horror author Jonathan Butcher.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 5, 2026
I read this novella in 2 days and I didn’t want it to end!
If you’ve read Motel Styx, you already know what type of services this motel provides: cold bodies for one’s entertainment. But now they’re in need of some promo and decide to invite a bunch of influencers to spend a weekend there and show the world what this motel is all about.
From ghost hunters to cam girls, true crime podcasters and even a prank duo, these influencers are ready for mayhem and to get their follower counts up.
Motel Styx is one of my favourites, so I might be biased when I say that this novella is a breath of fresh air, even if sometimes it comes contaminated with a putrid smell.
The change of POV, from people who are into necro to influencers who are only there for the likes, is just brilliant! …and let’s face it, a very current theme!
So expect madness, a bit of supernatural, bizarre scenes and a lot of body parts. After all, even the dead join the party, whether they want to or not!
5 stars and I cannot wait for the next instalment.
📝 This review and more here:
Instagram | Tiktok | Youtube | Facebook
If you’ve read Motel Styx, you already know what type of services this motel provides: cold bodies for one’s entertainment. But now they’re in need of some promo and decide to invite a bunch of influencers to spend a weekend there and show the world what this motel is all about.
From ghost hunters to cam girls, true crime podcasters and even a prank duo, these influencers are ready for mayhem and to get their follower counts up.
Motel Styx is one of my favourites, so I might be biased when I say that this novella is a breath of fresh air, even if sometimes it comes contaminated with a putrid smell.
The change of POV, from people who are into necro to influencers who are only there for the likes, is just brilliant! …and let’s face it, a very current theme!
So expect madness, a bit of supernatural, bizarre scenes and a lot of body parts. After all, even the dead join the party, whether they want to or not!
5 stars and I cannot wait for the next instalment.
📝 This review and more here:
Instagram | Tiktok | Youtube | Facebook
November 3, 2026
Under The Influence @ #MotelStyx ⚰️💀🤎
You know this series has me in the biggest chokehold!! I CANNOT get enough!!! I LOVE it so much 👏🏼
After all the deaths at Motel Styx Merl is struggling to keep business open, if it carries on going under the way it is then he won’t be able to afford to keep it going let alone any more bodies for future guests!
Veronika comes up with the best idea! Let’s throw an influencer weekend, invite all the top TikTok influencers & get them back in a positive limelight! The guests will soon come rolling back in!
So we have a bunch of influencers in a motel specifically for the dead preferences, blogging & having backstage access for the weekend…we already know Motel Styx makes those true colours come out to play!!
Let the influencer weekend begin 🎉
This was INCREDIBLE!! I could honestly have this as a 10 book series & still never tire of it! Michelle & Jonathan absolutely kill it every time, the best duet in all senses 😌
Thank you both so much for the ARC I’m extremely blessed to have gotten this series early each time & will continue to shout about it from the rooftops 🎉
Releasing 17th November, I cannot WAIT to have this on my shelf 🫶🏻🤎
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
You know this series has me in the biggest chokehold!! I CANNOT get enough!!! I LOVE it so much 👏🏼
After all the deaths at Motel Styx Merl is struggling to keep business open, if it carries on going under the way it is then he won’t be able to afford to keep it going let alone any more bodies for future guests!
Veronika comes up with the best idea! Let’s throw an influencer weekend, invite all the top TikTok influencers & get them back in a positive limelight! The guests will soon come rolling back in!
So we have a bunch of influencers in a motel specifically for the dead preferences, blogging & having backstage access for the weekend…we already know Motel Styx makes those true colours come out to play!!
Let the influencer weekend begin 🎉
This was INCREDIBLE!! I could honestly have this as a 10 book series & still never tire of it! Michelle & Jonathan absolutely kill it every time, the best duet in all senses 😌
Thank you both so much for the ARC I’m extremely blessed to have gotten this series early each time & will continue to shout about it from the rooftops 🎉
Releasing 17th November, I cannot WAIT to have this on my shelf 🫶🏻🤎
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
November 5, 2026
In this season of Motel Styx we meet a series of influencers and internet sensations Veronica has bought in to market the hotel! Let’s just say what lies between these pages is an influencer weekend you will never forget!
I absolutely loved this installment from The Motel Styx saga! Jonathan and Michelle have created a really rich world with some awesome characters and I cannot wait to see what they get up to next!
I absolutely loved this installment from The Motel Styx saga! Jonathan and Michelle have created a really rich world with some awesome characters and I cannot wait to see what they get up to next!
Review of advance copy received from Author
Whoever invited the bash bros to this influencer weekend deserves to be fired x
Under The Influence at Motel Styx is the newest addition to the Motel Styx series. After the events of the original Motel Styx book, the motel is struggling. Veronika, beloved bartender, has a brilliant idea: an influencer weekend!
... and then she invites the prank guys? it's like she wants the motel to close! /j
This was an absolute chaos-fest, and so so gross at some points - as always, I mean, it's Motel Styx. I really liked the different areas of influencing that were shown in this - Veronika really got a wide range of folks! As always though, Michelle von Eschen and Jonathan Butcher deliver a very well-written romp into some of humanity's darkest edges. The balance of gross things, the horror, and the humour are always just right.
Anyway - DUDE FIGHT!!
Under The Influence at Motel Styx is the newest addition to the Motel Styx series. After the events of the original Motel Styx book, the motel is struggling. Veronika, beloved bartender, has a brilliant idea: an influencer weekend!
... and then she invites the prank guys? it's like she wants the motel to close! /j
This was an absolute chaos-fest, and so so gross at some points - as always, I mean, it's Motel Styx. I really liked the different areas of influencing that were shown in this - Veronika really got a wide range of folks! As always though, Michelle von Eschen and Jonathan Butcher deliver a very well-written romp into some of humanity's darkest edges. The balance of gross things, the horror, and the humour are always just right.
Anyway - DUDE FIGHT!!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews