Vesper Doom, Award-Winning SFFH Author Logo

Category: The Valley

  • Broodmother

    Broodmother

    Cover of Broodmother by Vesper Doom, a story of The Valley. Cover is a dark green pattern.

    The Valley – Short Story
    Cozy Fantasy/Folk Horror – June 7, 2024

    Broodmother is a free/pay-what-you-want 2.5k folk horror short story set within the setting for The Binding of Bloom Mountain, The Valley.

    Itch.io
    Ko-fi

    Content Warnings

    • Bugs (cicadas) – in singles and in swarms, being crushed beneath skin and boots, crawling on characters, a large bug monster
    • Hunter/Prey dynamics
    • Mention of past violent assault
    • Semi-graphic depiction of a person being eaten
    • Mention of alcohol
  • The Binding of Bloom Mountain

    The Binding of Bloom Mountain

    Cover of The Binding of Bloom Mountain by Vesper Doom with a dark illustration of a woman, the main character, on the cover, holding a candle in the dark woods.

    The Valley #1
    Cozy Fantasy/Folk Horror – February 3, 2023

    The Binding of Bloom Mountain is a sapphic cozy folk horror novel featuring an autistic lesbian climbing a cursed mountain to save a town from destruction.

    Itch.io
    Other Retailers

    Synopsis

    After losing her job with the US Forestry Service, Celeste Foster makes a desperate gamble. She answers an ad for a job in rural Virginia, but doesn’t anticipate sliding into an alternate version of the Appalachian mountains.

    Before Celeste understands what’s happening, she’s agreed to hike up a cursed mountain to save a town from complete annihilation. And in the days leading up to the ritual, she learns that gods and monsters live alongside humans in the Valley. Here magic runs in every family and her connection to the Valley runs deep.

    Armed with a bag of ritual items, a recording, and the hopes of the pretty barista who helped her, Celeste starts up Bloom Mountain. The ritual will test Celeste to her core, and push her autistic boundaries to their fullest.

    Content Warnings

    autistic shutdowns, meltdowns, overstimulation; vomiting; drowning; death: of children, of animals (both off-page); alcohol use; swearing; family traumas; family secrets;mental and emotional manipulation; body horror; illness: cancer, unspecified wasting illness