Happy release day to my new horror novel The Prettiest Girl in the Grave! To celebrate my 19th book, I’d like to tell you a little about it, including what inspired the story and what kind of book it is. I also have some creepy photos to share.
This is a very claustrophobic horror novel.
Most of the book takes place underground, or, more specifically, under an old, forgotten cemetery. I subject the reader to dusty tombs, gruesome ossuaries, clusters of spiders, dark passageways, and uncomfortably tight spaces. Though the book has its share of blood, it is not a splatterpunk novel like Full Brutal or Body Art, but more of a haunted tale that preys upon our deepest fears and anxieties. In that regard, it is more of a psychological horror story (and perhaps even a bit of a nightmarish fairytale), but I still consider it unconventional despite the tropes of ghosts and graveyards. This is because I always like to push through the boundaries of conventional horror on my way to transgressive fiction. Those of you who have read Gone to See the River Man will understand what I mean by that, and fans of that novel will likely enjoy The Prettiest Girl in the Grave for those same reasons.
Here is the synopsis:
Some girls are fearful, others are brave. One girl’s a princess, the next one, a slave. But all girls are equal, when they’re down in this cave, until just one is left standing—The Prettiest Girl in the Grave.
It was only supposed to be a game.
When Bella, Celeste, and Rose meet with new friends at a graveyard in the woods, they soon realize they’re unprepared for what’s planned. At twenty, Aubrey is older than the high schoolers, and she knows of a secret game that’s been played by local girls for decades.
It starts with personal questions, but quickly moves on to a test of courage as Aubrey guides them into an underground crypt. But even Aubrey doesn’t know what they’re really getting into. Bella’s mother, Holly, may be the only one who does.
As a teen, Holly and her friends also played the game, and Holly barely survived. When she discovers her daughter has gone to the graveyard, she fears Bella will get lost in the mysterious catacombs just as she had… and face the same sinister forces.
As the girls search for a way out, Holly must return to the dreadful crypt she swore she’d never come back to, and finally face her own dark secrets.
In the summer 2017, I took a trip to Europe. I saw many incredible things, including Stonehenge and The Cathedral of Notre Dame, but nothing was more thrilling than visiting the Catacombs of Paris. It was my fortieth birthday, and I spent it in these chilling underground ossuaries which hold the remains of more than six million people. Work on these tunnels began in 1774 in direct response to the city’s overflowing cemeteries during the time of plague. The Paris catacombs run all through the underbelly of the city, with walls made of bones stacked like fire logs and human skulls used as ornaments. The remains were also utilized to construct great pillars and other grim displays of gothic art. If ever you’re near Paris, I highly recommend taking a tour of the tunnels. Sure, the Louvre and The Eiffel Tower are also worth seeing, but they did not leave the lasting impression on me this subterraneous journey did.
As a horror writer, visiting the Catacombs of Paris was an inspiring adventure. I knew instantly that I had to use this experience in my work, and challenged myself to create a storyline that could capture the same consistent feeling of dread and suffocation the catacombs instilled in me.
So, I decided to write about a labyrinth of my own. In my mind, I created a similar ossuary, one known only to a select, vulnerable few.
Madeline Goldman’s tomb in The Prettiest Girl in the Grave was born.
I was also inspired by the many tiny, forgotten cemeteries that pepper old New England towns. There is one near me that is part of the ruins of a Connecticut village that was destroyed by fire over a hundred years ago. The remnants of the old carousel and lover’s lane, as well as the crumbling tombstones, can be found along the nature trails that run through town. For my story, I imagined the Catacombs of Paris beneath one of these forgotten New England graveyards, a labyrinthine death abyss that exists in supernatural form, only accessible to young girls who are willing to play a game that is sort of a mixture of Truth or Dare and Bloody Mary.
I also wanted the story to be one of legacy. So there is the main story, about a group of teenage girls going into the catacombs in present day, but there is also the secondary backstory of one of the character’s mothers, Holly, visiting the same place in the 1990s, when she was a teen (and when I was a teen).
Though the novel offers various forms of horror in its taut 190 pages, it also offers layered characters I grew very attached to, which almost makes me regret the terrible fates many of them met in that haunted tomb. In a way, Bella, Rose, Aubrey, and the rest of the girls in The Prettiest Girl in the Grave are my The Goonies, only their prize isn’t jewels—it’s staying alive.
I too was the black-clad outsider as a teen, so I identify with the story’s goth girls in ways people might not have expected, and hope readers will relate to them too. I mean, who among us didn’t do something incredibly dangerous when we were seventeen? And who among us doesn’t have deep, dark secrets they’ll carry to their own grave?
The Prettiest Girl in the Grave is now available in ebook and paperback wherever books are sold. An audiobook performed by Megan Meyer is currently in production. You can also preorder the limited, signed hardback of the novel directly through my website, while supplies last. This bundle comes with a button, homemade charm bracelet, bookmark, stickers, and more. And anyone who buys one of these hardbacks is automatically entered into a contest where three lucky winners will receive a t-shirt, a paperback copy of Growing Dark, and a free code for an audiobook of their choice!
To celebrate Mother’s Day, use discount code MOM at checkout on TRIANAHORROR.COM to receive 10% off any order of $60 or more! Code is good now through Monday the 15th at noon, EST.
If you’ve already preordered the hardback, I appreciate your patience as we wait for the printer to bind all the books and deliver the copies to me. As soon as I get them and sigh them, I will begin sending them out, and will announce it on social media.
If you’re looking for some music to accompany your trip into my catacombs, here is The Prettiest Girl in the Grave playlist I made, featuring Umberto, Wojciech Golczewski, Slasher Dave, Boy Harper, Occams Laser, and other synth composers whose music is delicious nightmare fuel for horror fans like us.
Until next time, keep reading, and try not to get buried alive.
Your pal,
Kris
About The Prettiest Girl in the Grave
Sounds great, looking forward to reading!
You had me at Catacombs. Just ordered. Hold my beer ... checking mailbox.