Torment by Greg Chapman

Jessica Newman returns to the derelict Scottish mansion where she spent her early years to sort out her late father’s estate. She is forced to confront the legacy of her mother’s death during an exorcism ritual, and what role her father might have played in it. But what she finds in the house, in its basement, is more horrifying than she could ever expect, and may claim her as well.

Greg Chapman tells a gripping story that starts out slow and creepy while introducing and fleshing out the characters. It then grows violent and intense, with several bloody, visceral passages that are all the more gripping due to the care taken early on with the character development. (There are a number of movies and books that I wish would take such care!) It’s a short novella that can easily be devoured in a single sitting, one I think fans of supernatural horror will enjoy.

***Gary W. Olson is the author of the dark fantasy novel Brutal Light and several previously published and forthcoming short stories. He can be found via his website, his blog A Taste of Strange, as @gwox on Twitter, and in many other far-flung places on the Internet.