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    A Thousand Monstrous Forms

    A Novel

    Author Saratoga Schaefer On Tour
    Paperback
    $19.99 US
    Crooked Lane Books
    5-1/2"W x 8-1/4"H (14.0 x 21.0 cm) | 13 oz (369 g) | 24 per carton
    On sale Sep 15, 2026 | 336 Pages | 9798892427395
    Sales rights: World
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    Bluebeard gets a gothic horror and sapphic romance twist in this fairy-tale retelling from the author of Serial Killer Support Group and Trad Wife.

    A young ceramic artist moves into her new wife’s isolated manor and gets drawn into dark discoveries that stain her marriage—and her very soul.

    Artist Poppy Reed doesn’t care if others think her marriage to Celia Marie Fox, a wealthy art dealer, is impulsive. Sure, they’ve only known each other for six months, and Celia has an infamous romantic reputation, but Poppy is brimming with excitement when she moves across the country to Celia’s home: a formidable, isolated, and art-filled manor called Busirane.

    As Poppy tries to celebrate her first weeks of marriage and enjoy her new home, Busirane seems intent on rebuffing her every attempt to settle in. Strange noises and confounding occurrences lead Poppy to believe the house is haunted, a suspicion worsened by Celia’s insistence that Poppy avoid the locked basement.

    When Celia leaves for a work trip, Poppy is left alone in the house, then finds herself snowed in. Surrounded by secrets, stalked by faceless statues, and beset by bodiless whispers, she struggles to trust her wife—and her own mind. When Poppy is eventually drawn to the forbidden basement, dark truths shatter everything she thought she knew, throwing her into a desperate bid for survival.

    Drenched in dread, this contemporary gothic folktale retelling will have you checking all the locks. Twice.
    Praise for A Thousand Monstrous Forms:
    “Propulsive, haunting, and mythic, A Thousand Monstrous Forms wraps its bony fingers around your throat and refuses to let go. Schaefer is an undeniable master of the horror genre, and this foray into the Gothic solidifies their place in the pantheon of greats. A unputdownable retelling!”
    —Taylor Grothe, author of Lethal Kiss

    "This sapphic twist on the classic tale of Bluebeard takes us into the chill halls of a lonely mansion with a dark secret at its heart, blurring the line that separates hero and villain, home and cage. A Thousand Monstrous Forms is a captivating investigation of power, control, and the things we are willing to relinquish for love. Schaefer’s Celia is a dazzling invention, a smooth-talking lover who draws in both protagonist and reader against their better judgment with her charm and sophistication. Urgent and relentless, this novel will seduce you with its beauty, then shake you with its horror."
    —Elliott Gish, author of Grey Dog

    "There’s a reason you’re seeing Schaefer’s name everywhere: their work is setting the bar for smart, propulsive horror. A Thousand Monstrous Forms is delightfully scary, beautifully crafted, and heartbreaking in the best way.”—Erika T. Wurth, author of White Horse and The Haunting of Room 904
    Saratoga Schaefer (they/them) is the USA Today bestselling and Indie Press bestselling author of Serial Killer Support Group, Trad Wife, The Last Time We Drowned, and A Thousand Monstrous Forms. Their books have been featured in Variety, People, Cosmopolitan, and Glamour, and their writing has appeared in Writer’s Digest, CrimeReads, and more. Originally from Brooklyn, Saratoga now lives upstate with several needy animals and a haunted clown table.
    Saratoga Schaefer View titles by Saratoga Schaefer
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    •     Belize
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    •     Bouvet Island
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    •     Brunei
    •     Bulgaria
    •     Burkina Faso
    •     Burundi
    •     Cambodia
    •     Cameroon
    •     Canada
    •     Cape Verde
    •     Cayman Islands
    •     Centr.Afr.Rep.
    •     Chad
    •     Chile
    •     China
    •     Christmas Islnd
    •     Cocos Islands
    •     Colombia
    •     Comoro Is.
    •     Congo
    •     Cook Islands
    •     Costa Rica
    •     Croatia
    •     Cuba
    •     Curacao
    •     Cyprus
    •     Czech Republic
    •     Dem. Rep. Congo
    •     Denmark
    •     Djibouti
    •     Dominica
    •     Dominican Rep.
    •     Ecuador
    •     Egypt
    •     El Salvador
    •     Equatorial Gui.
    •     Eritrea
    •     Estonia
    •     Ethiopia
    •     Falkland Islnds
    •     Faroe Islands
    •     Fiji
    •     Finland
    •     France
    •     Fren.Polynesia
    •     French Guinea
    •     Gabon
    •     Gambia
    •     Georgia
    •     Germany
    •     Ghana
    •     Gibraltar
    •     Greece
    •     Greenland
    •     Grenada
    •     Guadeloupe
    •     Guam
    •     Guatemala
    •     Guernsey
    •     Guinea Republic
    •     Guinea-Bissau
    •     Guyana
    •     Haiti
    •     Heard/McDon.Isl
    •     Honduras
    •     Hong Kong
    •     Hungary
    •     Iceland
    •     India
    •     Indonesia
    •     Iran
    •     Iraq
    •     Ireland
    •     Isle of Man
    •     Israel
    •     Italy
    •     Ivory Coast
    •     Jamaica
    •     Japan
    •     Jersey
    •     Jordan
    •     Kazakhstan
    •     Kenya
    •     Kiribati
    •     Kuwait
    •     Kyrgyzstan
    •     Laos
    •     Latvia
    •     Lebanon
    •     Lesotho
    •     Liberia
    •     Libya
    •     Liechtenstein
    •     Lithuania
    •     Luxembourg
    •     Macau
    •     Macedonia
    •     Madagascar
    •     Malawi
    •     Malaysia
    •     Maldives
    •     Mali
    •     Malta
    •     Marshall island
    •     Martinique
    •     Mauritania
    •     Mauritius
    •     Mayotte
    •     Mexico
    •     Micronesia
    •     Minor Outl.Ins.
    •     Moldavia
    •     Monaco
    •     Mongolia
    •     Montenegro
    •     Montserrat
    •     Morocco
    •     Mozambique
    •     Myanmar
    •     Namibia
    •     Nauru
    •     Nepal
    •     Netherlands
    •     New Caledonia
    •     New Zealand
    •     Nicaragua
    •     Niger
    •     Nigeria
    •     Niue
    •     Norfolk Island
    •     North Korea
    •     North Mariana
    •     Norway
    •     Oman
    •     Pakistan
    •     Palau
    •     Palestinian Ter
    •     Panama
    •     PapuaNewGuinea
    •     Paraguay
    •     Peru
    •     Philippines
    •     Pitcairn Islnds
    •     Poland
    •     Portugal
    •     Puerto Rico
    •     Qatar
    •     Reunion Island
    •     Romania
    •     Russian Fed.
    •     Rwanda
    •     S. Sandwich Ins
    •     Saint Martin
    •     Samoa,American
    •     San Marino
    •     SaoTome Princip
    •     Saudi Arabia
    •     Senegal
    •     Serbia
    •     Seychelles
    •     Sierra Leone
    •     Singapore
    •     Sint Maarten
    •     Slovakia
    •     Slovenia
    •     Solomon Islands
    •     Somalia
    •     South Africa
    •     South Korea
    •     South Sudan
    •     Spain
    •     Sri Lanka
    •     St Barthelemy
    •     St. Helena
    •     St. Lucia
    •     St. Vincent
    •     St.Chr.,Nevis
    •     St.Pier,Miquel.
    •     Sth Terr. Franc
    •     Sudan
    •     Suriname
    •     Svalbard
    •     Swaziland
    •     Sweden
    •     Switzerland
    •     Syria
    •     Tadschikistan
    •     Taiwan
    •     Tanzania
    •     Thailand
    •     Timor-Leste
    •     Togo
    •     Tokelau Islands
    •     Tonga
    •     Trinidad,Tobago
    •     Tunisia
    •     Turkey
    •     Turkmenistan
    •     Turks&Caicos Is
    •     Tuvalu
    •     US Virgin Is.
    •     USA
    •     Uganda
    •     Ukraine
    •     Unit.Arab Emir.
    •     United Kingdom
    •     Uruguay
    •     Uzbekistan
    •     Vanuatu
    •     Vatican City
    •     Venezuela
    •     Vietnam
    •     Wallis,Futuna
    •     West Saharan
    •     Western Samoa
    •     Yemen
    •     Zambia
    •     Zimbabwe

    About

    Bluebeard gets a gothic horror and sapphic romance twist in this fairy-tale retelling from the author of Serial Killer Support Group and Trad Wife.

    A young ceramic artist moves into her new wife’s isolated manor and gets drawn into dark discoveries that stain her marriage—and her very soul.

    Artist Poppy Reed doesn’t care if others think her marriage to Celia Marie Fox, a wealthy art dealer, is impulsive. Sure, they’ve only known each other for six months, and Celia has an infamous romantic reputation, but Poppy is brimming with excitement when she moves across the country to Celia’s home: a formidable, isolated, and art-filled manor called Busirane.

    As Poppy tries to celebrate her first weeks of marriage and enjoy her new home, Busirane seems intent on rebuffing her every attempt to settle in. Strange noises and confounding occurrences lead Poppy to believe the house is haunted, a suspicion worsened by Celia’s insistence that Poppy avoid the locked basement.

    When Celia leaves for a work trip, Poppy is left alone in the house, then finds herself snowed in. Surrounded by secrets, stalked by faceless statues, and beset by bodiless whispers, she struggles to trust her wife—and her own mind. When Poppy is eventually drawn to the forbidden basement, dark truths shatter everything she thought she knew, throwing her into a desperate bid for survival.

    Drenched in dread, this contemporary gothic folktale retelling will have you checking all the locks. Twice.

    Praise

    Praise for A Thousand Monstrous Forms:
    “Propulsive, haunting, and mythic, A Thousand Monstrous Forms wraps its bony fingers around your throat and refuses to let go. Schaefer is an undeniable master of the horror genre, and this foray into the Gothic solidifies their place in the pantheon of greats. A unputdownable retelling!”
    —Taylor Grothe, author of Lethal Kiss

    "This sapphic twist on the classic tale of Bluebeard takes us into the chill halls of a lonely mansion with a dark secret at its heart, blurring the line that separates hero and villain, home and cage. A Thousand Monstrous Forms is a captivating investigation of power, control, and the things we are willing to relinquish for love. Schaefer’s Celia is a dazzling invention, a smooth-talking lover who draws in both protagonist and reader against their better judgment with her charm and sophistication. Urgent and relentless, this novel will seduce you with its beauty, then shake you with its horror."
    —Elliott Gish, author of Grey Dog

    "There’s a reason you’re seeing Schaefer’s name everywhere: their work is setting the bar for smart, propulsive horror. A Thousand Monstrous Forms is delightfully scary, beautifully crafted, and heartbreaking in the best way.”—Erika T. Wurth, author of White Horse and The Haunting of Room 904

    Author

    Saratoga Schaefer (they/them) is the USA Today bestselling and Indie Press bestselling author of Serial Killer Support Group, Trad Wife, The Last Time We Drowned, and A Thousand Monstrous Forms. Their books have been featured in Variety, People, Cosmopolitan, and Glamour, and their writing has appeared in Writer’s Digest, CrimeReads, and more. Originally from Brooklyn, Saratoga now lives upstate with several needy animals and a haunted clown table.
    Saratoga Schaefer View titles by Saratoga Schaefer

    Rights

    Available for sale exclusive:
    •     Afghanistan
    •     Aland Islands
    •     Albania
    •     Algeria
    •     Andorra
    •     Angola
    •     Anguilla
    •     Antarctica
    •     Antigua/Barbuda
    •     Argentina
    •     Armenia
    •     Aruba
    •     Australia
    •     Austria
    •     Azerbaijan
    •     Bahamas
    •     Bahrain
    •     Bangladesh
    •     Barbados
    •     Belarus
    •     Belgium
    •     Belize
    •     Benin
    •     Bermuda
    •     Bhutan
    •     Bolivia
    •     Bonaire, Saba
    •     Bosnia Herzeg.
    •     Botswana
    •     Bouvet Island
    •     Brazil
    •     Brit.Ind.Oc.Ter
    •     Brit.Virgin Is.
    •     Brunei
    •     Bulgaria
    •     Burkina Faso
    •     Burundi
    •     Cambodia
    •     Cameroon
    •     Canada
    •     Cape Verde
    •     Cayman Islands
    •     Centr.Afr.Rep.
    •     Chad
    •     Chile
    •     China
    •     Christmas Islnd
    •     Cocos Islands
    •     Colombia
    •     Comoro Is.
    •     Congo
    •     Cook Islands
    •     Costa Rica
    •     Croatia
    •     Cuba
    •     Curacao
    •     Cyprus
    •     Czech Republic
    •     Dem. Rep. Congo
    •     Denmark
    •     Djibouti
    •     Dominica
    •     Dominican Rep.
    •     Ecuador
    •     Egypt
    •     El Salvador
    •     Equatorial Gui.
    •     Eritrea
    •     Estonia
    •     Ethiopia
    •     Falkland Islnds
    •     Faroe Islands
    •     Fiji
    •     Finland
    •     France
    •     Fren.Polynesia
    •     French Guinea
    •     Gabon
    •     Gambia
    •     Georgia
    •     Germany
    •     Ghana
    •     Gibraltar
    •     Greece
    •     Greenland
    •     Grenada
    •     Guadeloupe
    •     Guam
    •     Guatemala
    •     Guernsey
    •     Guinea Republic
    •     Guinea-Bissau
    •     Guyana
    •     Haiti
    •     Heard/McDon.Isl
    •     Honduras
    •     Hong Kong
    •     Hungary
    •     Iceland
    •     India
    •     Indonesia
    •     Iran
    •     Iraq
    •     Ireland
    •     Isle of Man
    •     Israel
    •     Italy
    •     Ivory Coast
    •     Jamaica
    •     Japan
    •     Jersey
    •     Jordan
    •     Kazakhstan
    •     Kenya
    •     Kiribati
    •     Kuwait
    •     Kyrgyzstan
    •     Laos
    •     Latvia
    •     Lebanon
    •     Lesotho
    •     Liberia
    •     Libya
    •     Liechtenstein
    •     Lithuania
    •     Luxembourg
    •     Macau
    •     Macedonia
    •     Madagascar
    •     Malawi
    •     Malaysia
    •     Maldives
    •     Mali
    •     Malta
    •     Marshall island
    •     Martinique
    •     Mauritania
    •     Mauritius
    •     Mayotte
    •     Mexico
    •     Micronesia
    •     Minor Outl.Ins.
    •     Moldavia
    •     Monaco
    •     Mongolia
    •     Montenegro
    •     Montserrat
    •     Morocco
    •     Mozambique
    •     Myanmar
    •     Namibia
    •     Nauru
    •     Nepal
    •     Netherlands
    •     New Caledonia
    •     New Zealand
    •     Nicaragua
    •     Niger
    •     Nigeria
    •     Niue
    •     Norfolk Island
    •     North Korea
    •     North Mariana
    •     Norway
    •     Oman
    •     Pakistan
    •     Palau
    •     Palestinian Ter
    •     Panama
    •     PapuaNewGuinea
    •     Paraguay
    •     Peru
    •     Philippines
    •     Pitcairn Islnds
    •     Poland
    •     Portugal
    •     Puerto Rico
    •     Qatar
    •     Reunion Island
    •     Romania
    •     Russian Fed.
    •     Rwanda
    •     S. Sandwich Ins
    •     Saint Martin
    •     Samoa,American
    •     San Marino
    •     SaoTome Princip
    •     Saudi Arabia
    •     Senegal
    •     Serbia
    •     Seychelles
    •     Sierra Leone
    •     Singapore
    •     Sint Maarten
    •     Slovakia
    •     Slovenia
    •     Solomon Islands
    •     Somalia
    •     South Africa
    •     South Korea
    •     South Sudan
    •     Spain
    •     Sri Lanka
    •     St Barthelemy
    •     St. Helena
    •     St. Lucia
    •     St. Vincent
    •     St.Chr.,Nevis
    •     St.Pier,Miquel.
    •     Sth Terr. Franc
    •     Sudan
    •     Suriname
    •     Svalbard
    •     Swaziland
    •     Sweden
    •     Switzerland
    •     Syria
    •     Tadschikistan
    •     Taiwan
    •     Tanzania
    •     Thailand
    •     Timor-Leste
    •     Togo
    •     Tokelau Islands
    •     Tonga
    •     Trinidad,Tobago
    •     Tunisia
    •     Turkey
    •     Turkmenistan
    •     Turks&Caicos Is
    •     Tuvalu
    •     US Virgin Is.
    •     USA
    •     Uganda
    •     Ukraine
    •     Unit.Arab Emir.
    •     United Kingdom
    •     Uruguay
    •     Uzbekistan
    •     Vanuatu
    •     Vatican City
    •     Venezuela
    •     Vietnam
    •     Wallis,Futuna
    •     West Saharan
    •     Western Samoa
    •     Yemen
    •     Zambia
    •     Zimbabwe

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