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Supernatural and Gothic Horror
Supernatural and Gothic Horror
Weaving elements of the supernatural, Folk Horror and Gothic Horror in a uniquely modern blend.
Latest works
Latest works
The Followers of the Moon (in progress)
The Followers of the Moon (in progress)
It’s a foggy November in 1895. Working covertly as a ‘stunt’ reporter and publishing shocking exposés of hospitals, asylums, and profiteering slum clearances, 26-year-old journalist Sidonie Dobis has made powerful enemies back in Chicago.
Now Sidonie's in Westminster, reflecting on her father's death and wondering where she can get a story, when an explosion obliterates a dynamite factory in the depths of the nearby Devil’s Acre rookery , and body parts are flung as far as the Houses of Parliament.
When Detective Sergeant Icarus Challenger and earnest new constable Marmaduke Potts arrive on the scene, Sid is already at work. Icarus and Potts are part of the newly formed Special Branch and are working for the future spymaster William Melville. London is being flooded with anarchists and anti-capitalists as European authorities respond ruthlessly to recent atrocities. Europe’s most wanted anarchist, known only as ‘The Magister’ and rumoured to have occult powers, is taking control in the city, and Sidonie, a Lithanian, is immediately under suspicion. Meanwhile, something else is murdering people in the streets. And it doesn’t appear to be human…
The Shading
The Shading
Wounded at the massacre of Sherpur in Afghanistan (1879) and shamed by his psychological trauma, veteran Captain Harry Davis of the Queen's Own Corps of Guides is shown a letter by his uncle, John Davis, the noted Liberal M.P. The letter is from controversial author and women’s rights protagonist Georgia King, and strait-laced Harry is shocked to read she’s been having an affair with his uncle.
Now she’s apparently travelling to Yorkshire with companion and studious assistant Lucy Jones, investigating female working conditions in the mining industry. Harry dutifully agrees to find them in order to prevent further scandal and embarrassment to the family. Having recently read an article about Georgia in the London Society magazine in which she spoke out against the British invasion of Afghanistan and warned of dire consequences, Harry’s a secret admirer. A founder member of the Rational Dress Society, Georgia’s also well known for wearing men’s clothes and even riding a bicycle. She also published 'The Modern Woman' under the alias ‘George Rex’, a shamefully torrid guide about amorous congress amongst other unsuitable things.
Harry and manservant Percy have little idea of what lies ahead. Vionsholt is a remote, dank, unfriendly mining village in the heart of the fog-shrouded North Yorks moors. It’s mid-November, a week before the local pagan festival Dísablót. Soon, Harry, Percy and Georgia will be fighting for their lives as they encounter cannibalism, ancient rituals and cold-blooded murder.
Gate of the Shrine – Gothic Horror Novel (with publishers)
Gate of the Shrine – Gothic Horror Novel (with publishers)
Local guide and hunter Tor Eiríksdóttir reluctantly agrees to help his cousin, 29-year-old divorcee Jasmine, set up a New Age commune on Tyrblod Island, in the Norwegian Archipelago. There’s a forest and a mountain, and a Viking longhouse where something terrible once happened. A dream location for a commune and rebirth. A perfect place for murder in this dark gothic horror novel.
Warm and enthusiastic Jasmine brings together six old friends from university, who also feel that life has not turned out as they hoped. Theirs will be a new way, combining online business with traditional crafts and eco-tourism, getting closer to nature through ancient beliefs and rituals, but there’s a stranger on the island…
Old Norse beliefs about the mystical relationship between people and nature come to life as a harmless adventure becomes much darker. The friends start to relive ancient lives, human sacrifice and murder, as they discover that nature is not benign at all - in fact, nature wants to kill them.
Artwork – Freidedia, Pixabay
While You Were Sleeping – A Psychological Mystery
While You Were Sleeping – A Psychological Mystery
Successful sculptress Kate Dawlin is young, talented, and troubled. The blackout came out of nowhere, and when Kate wakes up on the floor of her Exeter studio, a stranger is helping her. He says his name is Tom, and he’s her fiancé. He says they’re getting married in six months – but Kate’s also hearing voices, and she thinks a man in a fedora hat is following her.
Two weeks before the wedding, Kate murders her stepfather when he tries to assault her. A week before the wedding, the Fedora Man breaks into her studio and stabs her repeatedly.
When she recovers consciousness in hospital, the nightmare is just beginning. Kate wasn't stabbed. She was found at the family home and there is no studio, and no one has seen her father since he walked out on them years earlier. There’s no one she can trust, unless she can find Tom. Artwork – Amrulqays Maarof, Pixabay.
Langley Hall – a Gothic Horror Novel…
Langley Hall – a Gothic Horror Novel…
23-year-old addict Laura Mortlock has just killed her sadistic minder with a bottle of Smirnoff when she discovers she is the new owner of Langley Hall. Located on Dartmoor.The old house is mired in slavery and dark magic.
As events unfold, Lady Laura discovers the history of the house is replaying. She and her new friends are at the centre of witchcraft, murder and reincarnation. Laura discovers she is pregnant, and the reincarnated lord and lady of Langley Hall want her unborn child. Only her determination, obdurate housekeeper Mrs Gibby and the Witchfinder can save her.
Gothic horror novel Langley Hall is a tribute to the writings of M. R. James and Daphne du Maurier, combining the classic ingredients of James with the romantic, intense style of Du Maurier. The novel has a contemporary setting whilst creating a sense of isolation, evoking the 1930s. Artwork – Stacy Stephens, Pixabay
Trilogy ‘Where Giants Sleep’
Trilogy ‘Where Giants Sleep’
Tread gently where giants sleep.’ City 5 Holy Book SSG1005, Volume 6.2.
Living in a magical post-apocalyptic Eden isn’t enough for 23-year-old Caia Esvane. Then she awakens a warlike, high-tech city living under the sea with unimaginable consequences in EMERGENCE, the first book of the gripping fantasy trilogy ‘Where Giants Sleep‘.
"This was a great start to the Where Giants Sleep series, it had what I enjoyed about the fantasy genre. It had everything that I wanted when reading this and I was invested in the characters. It does a great job in introducing us to the world and people in this world. I enjoyed what I read and can’t wait for the sequel." Goodreads review, Nov 13, 2023
"This was a great start to the Where Giants Sleep series, it had what I enjoyed about the fantasy genre. It had everything that I wanted when reading this and I was invested in the characters. It does a great job in introducing us to the world and people in this world. I enjoyed what I read and can’t wait for the sequel." Goodreads review, Nov 13, 2023
The trilogy is set against the backdrop of an extraordinary post-apocalyptic world with its own unique cultures, beliefs and environments.
23-year-old Caia Esvane and her sisterhood are capable of mind-join, and yet this same unrealised power attracts City 5 to the surface, hungry for new resources. Lucas Venn is unique in the city; a gladiator set free by the Empress herself, yet he chooses to become a humble Lawkeeper, and the first city dweller to set foot on land. It’s no coincidence that Caia is the first inhabitant he meets; she is destined to become the witch-queen of the forests, but Lucas is blinded and enslaved. Together, they must find a way to unite the two societies.
Emergence shatters preconceptions, religions, and values in both societies, threatening the peaceful ways of the Rift and leading inexorably to a deadly war between City 5 and the forces of Eco itself. Caia would rather die than see her precious world destroyed, and eventually there will be no other option…
About John Frank Marshall
About John Frank Marshall
I write supernatural, Folk and Gothic Horror novels and genre-twisting fantasy with the John Jarrold Literary Agency. I started writing novels and short stories whilst commuting into London, before freelancing to provide more time for writing, family and horses. I’ve been with the John Jarrold Literary Agency for some years and love the creative challenge and excitement of each new novel and short story. I live in a Hampshire village with Sarah, my wife, psychologist and prizewinning author, and we have three children, two horses and lots of family.
Amazon author profile – amazon.com/author/johnfrankmarshall
Books on Amazon
Books on Amazon
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements
A special thank you to The Pixelman for the cover image, adapted with Google Gemini for this site. I also thank Friededia, Enrique Meseguer and other artists on Pixabay for the artwork on this page and other images. Original header artwork on this page by an unknown artist, courtesy of Pixabay. Artist acknowledgements are on all web pages where possible. All images copyright resides with the original artists. Thanks also to John Jarrold for guiding and advising, and Sarah for proofreading and editing. This site is built with Google Sites. Other acknowledgements and further details here.
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