First published 1986
Jeremy Freirs arrives in Gilead, New Jersey to lose weight and catch up on Gothic literature coursework. The small village sits just ninety minutes from Manhattan but feels centuries removed with its old customs and insular community. Jeremy stays with Sarr and Deborah Poroth, young fundamentalists whose desires clash with their strict beliefs. Sarr's widowed mother possesses second sight and fears an approaching terror. In the city, aspiring dancer Carol Conklin takes work with an elderly man called Mr. Rosebottom, who hides behind the kindly facade. Rosebottom calls himself Rosie but carries the true name of the Old One. Ancient corruption stirs near the Poroth farm as summer heats up. The Old One alone recognizes the invisible pattern governing their lives as they move unknowingly toward catastrophe. The time approaches for monstrous rites called the Ceremonies, designed to bring apocalypse to a hated world. The scheme unfolds like a deadly bloom as nightmare becomes reality.
Genres: horror, supernatural, dark-fantasy, gothic
Vibes: atmospheric, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Gilead, New Jersey, Manhattan
Period: summer
Hardcover · Macmillan
Content warnings: violence