In
the 1930s, several members of a close-knit family purchased summer homes in a
village not far from Moscow. A series of mystifying events took place in the
life of one of the sisters. She couldn't have anticipated that one day I, her
Russian-American great-granddaughter, would make the decision to write a novel
based on the family mythology, a story so strange that only the Dark Fantasy
genre could accommodate its eerie vibe.
Vishenky's Legends and Ghost Stories: Are you brave enough to experience them?
Posing
as a folklore-tour guide, Valya Svetlova takes a group of American college
students and their professor, Chris Waller, to her summer home in the Russian village
of Vishenky for a few nights of supernatural phenomena. Personable, attentive
to her guests’ needs, she works hard to appear a perfect hostess. Valya doesn’t
want anyone to discover she harbors selfish motives when it comes to one
participant, the only person who can refute a wicked tale declaring her a
stillborn resurrected by a paranormal entity, a puppet in someone’s horror show
destined to perish in the otherworldly dimension.
Within
hours of their arrival, Valya learns that the students, too, foster some
dangerous agendas. Her nascent feelings toward the handsome professor inhibit
her ability to control the supernatural manifestations and her inquisitive
guests. When her unforeseen affection turns Chris into a target of
the malevolent forces, Valya faces the excruciating reality. It’s no longer in
her human power to ensure her guests’ safety. But to keep Chris and the
students alive, Valya must brush off her humanity and become something she
fights so desperately to prove she is not. A soulless monster.
