The Bone Church by Jerusha CrowboneSome transformations are necessary. Twelve-year-old Della Mae Turner can see the snakes no one else can-black serpents of inherited trauma that wind through her Appalachian holler, growing thicker with each generation. When her church's ancient ritual of "handling" generational pain goes catastrophically wrong, the congregation begins a transformation that will challenge everything it means to be human.
As people dissolve into the church walls, their bones becoming architecture, their consciousness merging into something unprecedented, Della Mae must choose: flee like her friend Rosie, or surrender to becoming the voice of something far older and stranger than she ever imagined. Written as testimony pressed into the walls of an abandoned church and discovered by an anthropologist whose research assistant disappeared after viewing the footage, "The Bone Church" is a haunting exploration of how communities process collective trauma-and what they might become if they could truly share the burden.
This literary horror novel weaves Appalachian folklore, body horror, and generational trauma into an unforgettable tale that will leave you checking your peripheral vision for snakes and wondering if some pain is too heavy for any one bloodline to carry alone."Genuinely disturbing... A story that works as regional fiction, body horror, cosmic horror, and literary metaphor simultaneously."Perfect for readers of Jeff VanderMeer's ecological weird fiction, Brian Evenson's literary body horror, and Stephen Graham Jones's culturally grounded horror.
"The Bone Church" offers a wholly original vision of transformation that's both terrifying and strangely beautiful. Are you hollow enough to be filled with something better?Content Note: Contains body horror, transformation, and themes of generational trauma.
The Bone Church by Jerusha CrowboneSome transformations are necessary. Twelve-year-old Della Mae Turner can see the snakes no one else can-black serpents of inherited trauma that wind through her Appalachian holler, growing thicker with each generation. When her church's ancient ritual of "handling" generational pain goes catastrophically wrong, the congregation begins a transformation that will challenge everything it means to be human.
As people dissolve into the church walls, their bones becoming architecture, their consciousness merging into something unprecedented, Della Mae must choose: flee like her friend Rosie, or surrender to becoming the voice of something far older and stranger than she ever imagined. Written as testimony pressed into the walls of an abandoned church and discovered by an anthropologist whose research assistant disappeared after viewing the footage, "The Bone Church" is a haunting exploration of how communities process collective trauma-and what they might become if they could truly share the burden.
This literary horror novel weaves Appalachian folklore, body horror, and generational trauma into an unforgettable tale that will leave you checking your peripheral vision for snakes and wondering if some pain is too heavy for any one bloodline to carry alone."Genuinely disturbing... A story that works as regional fiction, body horror, cosmic horror, and literary metaphor simultaneously."Perfect for readers of Jeff VanderMeer's ecological weird fiction, Brian Evenson's literary body horror, and Stephen Graham Jones's culturally grounded horror.
"The Bone Church" offers a wholly original vision of transformation that's both terrifying and strangely beautiful. Are you hollow enough to be filled with something better?Content Note: Contains body horror, transformation, and themes of generational trauma.