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The Night Begins
Freshman, Darcy Mills, wants nothing more than to repair a strained relationship with her mother. When Darcy receives a letter from Althea asking for help with a downsizing move to Dallas, she is excited at the prospect of reconnecting.
Facing the frightening memories trapped in the walls of her childhood home, is daunting, but Darcy is determined to have Althea back.
Unfortunately, the past isn't the only thing to haunt Darcy. An evil lurks in the nearby woods, and It has noted her arrival.
A story of family rituals, southern folklore, and magic set in rural Texas.
Facing the frightening memories trapped in the walls of her childhood home, is daunting, but Darcy is determined to have Althea back.
Unfortunately, the past isn't the only thing to haunt Darcy. An evil lurks in the nearby woods, and It has noted her arrival.
A story of family rituals, southern folklore, and magic set in rural Texas.
- GenresHorror
104 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 7, 2023
8 people are currently reading
893 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
February 21, 2023
What Abigail F. Taylor created is…
So creepy, so good, and I’m going to check my doors again before going to bed. The story lures you in, shows you something, but maybe it’s just the way the light is hitting it, so it’s not scary, is it? I highly recommend this to people who like horror and for people who also like tales taken from pieces of folklore and wrapped in a novella.
So creepy, so good, and I’m going to check my doors again before going to bed. The story lures you in, shows you something, but maybe it’s just the way the light is hitting it, so it’s not scary, is it? I highly recommend this to people who like horror and for people who also like tales taken from pieces of folklore and wrapped in a novella.
June 6, 2024
A book which, until about half way through, I really wasn't at all sure where it was going to go. But the writing is so beautifully evocative (even in the most unpleasant moments) that I didn't mind and was happy to be carried along with it.
By the time you do understand what's really happening, it's too late to get off the train and you find yourself hurtling on, frantically turning the pages to find out where and how things end.
A quick read that's worth every last second of your time.
By the time you do understand what's really happening, it's too late to get off the train and you find yourself hurtling on, frantically turning the pages to find out where and how things end.
A quick read that's worth every last second of your time.
October 25, 2024
omg! the end! the last half! all of it, really!
the imagery throughout was also so descriptive and creepy in the best way!
the imagery throughout was also so descriptive and creepy in the best way!
October 20, 2024
Wtf!!!!!!
Omg it was a constant stress reading this!! I love it !!
Omg it was a constant stress reading this!! I love it !!
February 5, 2023
Darcy is a strong, self aware character. I love that she also has a working knowledge of stories which she received from her Father.
The descriptions are ready to get lost in, just like the woods, and the prose is mesmerizing like a lullaby.
The descriptions are ready to get lost in, just like the woods, and the prose is mesmerizing like a lullaby.
March 20, 2023
SCARY!!! loved this Indigenous gothic horror soaked in folklore and BLOOD.
April 17, 2024
Awesome Story, creepy with scenes that will stick with me. Im reccomending this to all my horror fan friends!
February 28, 2024
The ending was great!! I really enjoyed this book.
June 23, 2025
DNF on, like, page 20. Are her friends reviewing this? I know I personally reserve five stars for absolute classics-of-a-lifetime, and that's not everyone's method, but... five stars for this book? Really?!
Came off of Goldfinch (admittedly, an extremely tough act to follow, and an ACTUAL five-star book imo) and wanted a cute little scary page-turner. Reviews indicated this was so scary! Terrifying! Couldn't sleep without lights on! And etc. Absolutely not.
First off, I really *really* wish that authors of horror/suspense would stop having characters immediately catapult into the supernatural, no questions really asked. Just, "Welp -- okay! So there's a [vampire/ghost/beastie]. LFG!" BUILD a little, ffs.
I'm of the Fox Mulder school of "I want to believe" -- have had supernatural experiences myself; still question things; really love it when books build the suspense slowly. Have their protagonists analyze things the least bit, apply the scientific method *just a teence* -- in other words, that they appear intelligent. Questioning. Try and find other explanations for things. Question their sanity before accepting that "Mama and Daddy always said this stuff was in the woods -- okay then!"
Also - I guess the author is from Texas? Where the story is set. But the British spelling of "kerb" was really off-putting (just a nitpick, but what, was her "editor" from the UK...? It did not give "rural Texas," in that case...)
Sorry to the young author in case she reads this, but I had to counter the overwhemingly five-star reviews. This is NOT on par with A Tale of Two Cities, whatever these reviewers may have you believe.
Came off of Goldfinch (admittedly, an extremely tough act to follow, and an ACTUAL five-star book imo) and wanted a cute little scary page-turner. Reviews indicated this was so scary! Terrifying! Couldn't sleep without lights on! And etc. Absolutely not.
First off, I really *really* wish that authors of horror/suspense would stop having characters immediately catapult into the supernatural, no questions really asked. Just, "Welp -- okay! So there's a [vampire/ghost/beastie]. LFG!" BUILD a little, ffs.
I'm of the Fox Mulder school of "I want to believe" -- have had supernatural experiences myself; still question things; really love it when books build the suspense slowly. Have their protagonists analyze things the least bit, apply the scientific method *just a teence* -- in other words, that they appear intelligent. Questioning. Try and find other explanations for things. Question their sanity before accepting that "Mama and Daddy always said this stuff was in the woods -- okay then!"
Also - I guess the author is from Texas? Where the story is set. But the British spelling of "kerb" was really off-putting (just a nitpick, but what, was her "editor" from the UK...? It did not give "rural Texas," in that case...)
Sorry to the young author in case she reads this, but I had to counter the overwhemingly five-star reviews. This is NOT on par with A Tale of Two Cities, whatever these reviewers may have you believe.
January 27, 2024
“Bad things come out at night” has been the premise of scary stories for all of human history. When done right, that concept is as terrifying today as ever.
Take, for example, Abigail Taylor’s “The Night Begins”. This novella brings the terror—and a whole lot more. Taylor starts by introducing a compelling protagonist, college student Darcy Mills, who returns to her rural Texas home hoping to make amends with her mother. But she uncovers some dark secrets—some related to her family and some involving the legends of the nearby woods.
The second half of “The Night Begins” is a heart-pounding thrill ride. But the set-up, while slower, is just as interesting—and that makes the action scenes that much more effective. In the early chapters, Darcy must grapple with the fact her mother allegedly has committed a terrible crime. It raises an interesting question: How would we react if society viewed someone we loved as a monster?
Take, for example, Abigail Taylor’s “The Night Begins”. This novella brings the terror—and a whole lot more. Taylor starts by introducing a compelling protagonist, college student Darcy Mills, who returns to her rural Texas home hoping to make amends with her mother. But she uncovers some dark secrets—some related to her family and some involving the legends of the nearby woods.
The second half of “The Night Begins” is a heart-pounding thrill ride. But the set-up, while slower, is just as interesting—and that makes the action scenes that much more effective. In the early chapters, Darcy must grapple with the fact her mother allegedly has committed a terrible crime. It raises an interesting question: How would we react if society viewed someone we loved as a monster?
February 4, 2025
The Night Begins is one of the best novellas I’ve read in quite some time, in any genre. Taylor does an excellent job building an engaging premise, while at the same filling the reader with an unnamed dread. There is a certain “slow burn” (in a good way, of course) leading to a hair-raising climax. Abigail’s gift for prose carries the thing along effortlessly, but when it gets to the hair-raising part, it is positively visceral. Where it really shines is the chapter that deals with the father and the hunt he must engage in – while becoming the hunted. So good! The concept of an ancient, timeless evil lurking in the world, or the cosmos, al la Lovecraft, has always intrigued me, and The Night Begins delivers, big time. Looking forward to more from Abigail Taylor.
April 3, 2023
I knew very little about this novella going into it, and that made this one all the more delicious, so I’m going to try not to spoil much here. Suffice to say, Darcy is a freshman estranged from mother who killed her father with an axe and is now on her way home to reunite with her again.
The first page opens with subtle simplicity - and at the end of the short few paragraphs, you find your hair standing on end as if in anticipation of a lightning storm. From there things just get weirder and wilder. THE NIGHT BEGINS is excellent horror, lyrically drawn, with moments of odd humor.
Fantastic.
The first page opens with subtle simplicity - and at the end of the short few paragraphs, you find your hair standing on end as if in anticipation of a lightning storm. From there things just get weirder and wilder. THE NIGHT BEGINS is excellent horror, lyrically drawn, with moments of odd humor.
Fantastic.
April 5, 2023
The Night Begins is an excellent short read. Chilling, spooky, unsettling. It follows the story of Darcy and her mother, their uncomfortable relationship that has soured since Darcy's father's death and a truly dreadful family secret. Delving into the folklore of rural Texas, the prose is beautiful and offers the best of folklore horror: thrills and chills, a bit of gore, and a deeply unsettling ending. Highly recommended!
November 27, 2025
My rating : 4.5 of 5 stars
Another great read from the Luna Press novellas, this time a modern take on a classic fairy tale (but no spoilers, you have to read it to find out which one). It's creepy, and full of that deliciously disturbing horror that a fairy tale should have, and if you like that sort of thing it will have you hooked from page one.
Another great read from the Luna Press novellas, this time a modern take on a classic fairy tale (but no spoilers, you have to read it to find out which one). It's creepy, and full of that deliciously disturbing horror that a fairy tale should have, and if you like that sort of thing it will have you hooked from page one.
May 7, 2024
The writing and pacing is so good and sets up the creepy setting. Love the characters and the inclusion of the convenience store owner. The ending was so good—subtle but horrific.
April 9, 2025
Old gods and humanity meet, tinging the woodland with horror. An interesting piece of folklore that becomes way too entangled by its very, very stream of consciousness narrative. The ending was very satisfying though.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews