What if the monster haunting you isn’t a supernatural creature at all, but the hatred of ordinary people—and what if the only way to fight it is to become one of them? That question sits at the heart of Kelly McWilliams’s American Nightmare, a haunting historical thriller inspired by the life and work of civil rights activist Walter F. White.
Releasing September 15, 2026, American Nightmare follows Clark Wendell White, a light-skinned Black man who first encounters what he calls the Nightmare as a child during the 1906 Atlanta Race Riot. As Clark and his father stand guard over their family home, a white boy named Sam Cahill tries to redirect the mob toward them. When Clark and Sam lock eyes, Clark sees something in Sam that frightens him even more than the mob itself. He sees what he believes is an evil presence, something that wasn’t there before. From that moment forward, the Nightmare becomes a presence in Clark’s life, although he is never entirely certain whether it is something supernatural or a manifestation of the trauma he experienced as a child.
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