When Edward Burgoyne, the arrogant head of one of Britain’s largest water companies, visits the forgotten town of Dillingford, he expects little more than an awkward apology, a few photographs and an easy press release.

Instead, he enters the home of Ethel Jackson.

Officially, Ethel is 105 years old. In truth, she has lived on the same patch of land for a lot longer than that, guarding something ancient beneath her house. Now the land is dry, and Ethel’s bones are beginning to crumble. She and her daughter Sally know that time is running out.

As strange noises rise through the floorboards and buried memories torment the visitors, Edward’s carefully staged publicity stunt descends into something far darker. The water beneath Dillingford is waking. It remembers every body buried in the earth, every secret whispered over its surface and every wrong it has ever suffered.

And it’s ready to restore the balance. Whatever the cost.

Dry Her Bones is a folk horror novella about ancient magic, modern tragedies and the terrible things that wait beneath the earth.

First published: June 2026
Genre: Ghost / Horror
Series or Standalone: Standalone novella