The Keeper of the Key: A YA Gothic Horror Novel by Nicole Willson

The Keeper of the Key: A Gothic Horror Novel
by Nicole Willson
Nov 12, 2024
Genre: YA Gothic Horror/ Haunting
Pub: Parliament House 

Tropes:
- Gothic
- Haunted House
- Family drama
- Who done it
- Secret history
- Creepy small town
- Ghosts

There are a thousand things sixteen-year-old Rachel would rather do than upend her life to move into Morgan House, an old, run-down mansion owned by her mom’s boyfriend, Geoff.

But when her mother announces they’re relocating to St. Mary, Virginia to live with him, Rachel’s cut off from her friends and life as she knows it. St. Mary is a remote, lonely place, and the best thing about it is Nick, a guy she knows is worth keeping when he takes her to a cemetery on their first date.

Rachel struggles to get along with Geoff and his mile-long list of annoying house rules—in particular, his bizarre insistence that she stay out of the basement. But something in Morgan House plays by its own rules. At night, an unknown force pulls Rachel down to that forbidden cellar, showing her harrowing visions of a strangely familiar man lurking in the shadows. When a sudden tragedy strikes her family, those visions become more frequent—and more violent.

The dead issue urgent warnings, and if Rachel doesn’t heed them, she’ll become part of Morgan House forever.

From the author of the Bram Stoker Award-nominated Tidepool comes a chilling new gothic horror novel that will sink into your bones.

“"...fans of the gothic and Guillermo del Toro’s Crimson Peak (2015) will enjoy this haunted-house horror about toxic love."
— Booklist

“Nicole Willson’s The Keeper of the Key is a tense and twisty contemporary Gothic that kept me reading late into the night. Supernatural and domestic terrors combine to propel this story, focused on themes of trust and control. I found the imagery and situations truly frightening!”
— Christi Nogle, author of the Bram Stoker Award® winning novel Beulah

“Nicole Willson has crafted a riveting story with a fierce protagonist. Brave and honest, Rachel stands strong in the face of terror and is unafraid to speak truth to power. An inspiring YA heroine.The Keeper of the Key is gripping gothic horror you won't want to put down.”
— Meghan Arcuri, Bram Stoker Award-nominated author

“The Keeper of the Key is a suspenseful YA horror that subverts familiar horror tropes in ways that will surely keep readers turning pages in a rush to uncover the terrifying secret of Morgan House. I loved every moment of this unexpected story!”
— Katya de Becerra, Aurealis-winning author of When Ghosts Call Us Home

Amazon

About the Author:
Website
Nicole Willson has been a frequent visitor to small coastal towns located along the Eastern seaboard but has yet to see anything truly alarming emerge from those waters, much to her disappointment. She’s hopeful that her lifelong aversion to eating fish or seafood might earn her a little mercy when the hungry ocean gods finally start coming ashore.

Her debut horror novel TIDEPOOL is a Bram Stoker Award nominee for Superior Achievement in a First Novel and is out with Parliament House Press. A Spanish translation of the novel is available from Dilatando Mentes Editorial. Her novella THE SHADOW DANCERS OF BRIXTON HILL is coming out from Cemetery Gates Media in 2023. Her YA horror novel THE KEEPER OF THE KEY is forthcoming in Fall 2024.

Her short fiction has appeared in anthologies published by Cemetery Gates Media. She is a regular contributor to Hinged, a prompt-based writing challenge on Medium.com. She also writes and runs her own Medium publication "50-Word Horror Stories."

Visit http://www.nicolewillson.com to learn more about Nicole's work.