The Black Lord

Summary

New Weird Folk Horror intertwines with a troubled family history in the debut novella from Colin Hinckley!

Eddie's parents may be arguing about the disappearance of his infant brother Danny, but Eddie's facing a terror all of his own. There's a strange figure outside that claims it has Danny safe and sound—all Eddie needs to do to get his brother back is open that window. 

Eddie's father is filled with guilt over his relationship with his own lost brother. His mother has been abandoned to navigate her grief and terror alone. And his grandmother carries a disturbing, all-too-relevant truth about their shared family history. 

As minutes tick by and hope for Danny grows ever smaller, the very fabric of their world disintegrates, welcoming eldritch terrors of unspeakable provenance to their doorstep. The family is losing a decades- long struggle against an entity that is not of this world, and its hunger threatens to swallow them whole.

“Combine Shirley Jackson’s haunted claustrophobia, Stephen King’s nail-biting plots, and the cosmic otherworld-horror of Stranger Things, and you get one wholly original Colin Hinckley. Spend a few hours in [his] mind, and I guarantee you’ll be drawing the curtains tight for weeks.”

• 
  GennaRose Nethercott, author of Thistlefoot
  

“The Black Lord brings to mind a low-lit tavern; you there with your drink, overhearing the hushed talk from a nearby table. Start this book at dusk, within view of a tree line. Feel something stare back. This is my first Hinckley, but it won’t be my last.” 

• 
  Scott J. Moses, author of Our Own Unique Affliction