The Haunting of Paynes Hollow by Kelley Armstrong: When family secrets won’t stay buried

When Kelley Armstrong writes horror, you know you’re in for a story that goes beyond simple scares—and The Haunting of Paynes Hollow (releasing October 14, 2025) is no exception. This chilling, supernatural thriller digs into the shadows of family history, twisted memory, and the things we inherit whether we want to or not. The book is available now for pre-order on Amazon.

Samantha Payne never expected to inherit anything from her grandfather, not after years of distance and the painful memory of her father’s alleged crime. Fourteen years earlier, Sam witnessed her father burying the body of a child—an image that convinced her he was guilty, despite his own father’s unshakable belief in his innocence. But at the reading of the will, Sam is shocked to discover she’s been left the family’s valuable lakefront property at Paynes Hollow, with one strange condition: she must stay in the cottage for a month and “face the fact she was wrong.”

That’s when the real terror begins.

The story unfolds with creeping dread as Sam returns to the lake, a place heavy with grief and suspicion. Her aunt vanishes within days of their arrival. The woods whisper with movement. The water hides unspeakable horrors. And the deeper Sam digs, the more she realizes that memory and truth aren’t always the same thing. Adults revise the stories children tell themselves, shaping memory to fit their needs—and in Sam’s case, those revisions concealed something much darker.

Armstrong adds another layer of myth to the setting: Sam’s grandfather always insisted that The Legend of Sleepy Hollow was inspired by a visit to Paynes Hollow. The connection feels fitting, as the novel pulls from folklore, ghost stories, and even zombie-like horrors that lurk just beyond the tree line and beneath the rippling water. If earlier generations knew what prowled these woods, why was the only warning passed down: stay out of the woods and water at night?

What makes The Haunting of Paynes Hollow so effective is that its horror is never just supernatural—it’s about people, too. Greed, betrayal, and the mental gymnastics of self-justification twist families into unrecognizable shapes. Childhood memories get distorted by half-truths and silences. And while the monsters in the woods are terrifying, it’s the choices made by human beings in the name of money and power that leave the deepest scars.

As a fan of magical realism, I loved the way Armstrong balances the eerie with the believable. The supernatural elements are woven in seamlessly, making it easy to suspend disbelief and surrender to the story’s eerie pull. That said, I found myself genuinely sad over the deaths of a couple of good characters. Personally, I prefer when horror reserves its most brutal fates for those who deserve it—but Armstrong doesn’t hold back, which adds to the tension and unpredictability of the novel.

The Haunting of Paynes Hollow is a gothic, unsettling tale about family legacies, haunted landscapes, and the dangers of believing the stories we’re told as children. If you’re looking for a fall release that combines folklore, family drama, and true supernatural dread, mark your calendar for October 14.

Have you read Kelley Armstrong before? I’d love to hear your thoughts—drop a comment below and let’s talk horror, folklore, and family secrets.

An advance reader copy of this book (ARC) was provided to me by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Related Content

• Writing Mr. Wrong by Kelley Armstrong (Smart Bitches, Trashy Books)
• Blog Tour: A Stranger in Town by Kelley Armstrong (Sarah O’Connor)
• Wonderful Writers: Kelley Armstrong (Life of a Female Bibliophile)
• Q&A with Kelley Armstrong, bestselling fantasy writer (Los Angeles Times)

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