Description

A sinister folk horror debut about one family’s devastating loss and their remaining daughter’s fascination with dark practices, perfect for fans of Shirley Jackson and Andrew Michael Hurley.
Summer, 1976.

Following the accidental drowning of her sister, sixteen-year-old Nif and her family move to a small village on the Welsh borders to escape their grief, but rural seclusion offers little relief from their pain and the villagers are far from welcoming.

As her family unravels, Nif finds solitude in collecting talismans from the surrounding countryside, her very own form of witchcraft. That is, until she meets Mally, a local teenager who shares her morbid obsessions. As the oppressive heat shows no sign of relenting, Mally reveals his own secret rites, and Nif risks being consumed by his darkness.

Set against the backdrop of sun-soaked English countryside and steeped in folk horror heritage, Water Shall Refuse Them is an atmospheric coming-of-age novel simmering with unsettling violence that will keep you hooked to the very last page.

“Expertly juxtaposing folk horror and everyday reality, this impressive debut conveys an atmosphere of imminent menace.” – The Guardian

Publisher Review

“A coming of age story where the threat of violence shimmers like a heat haze.” – Andrew Michael Hurley, The Loney ;”Something strong, vivid and disquieting grows tall from Folk Horror soil in this novel.” – Aliya Whiteley, The Arrival of Missives