The Vessel

Jess McMachen is raising her daughter Izzy on her own. Money is short, and a violent ex keeps trying to push his way back into their lives. When a job comes up caring for an elderly woman, she accepts it.

The client is Flo Gardner, who has dementia and lives in Nerthus House. The once-grand home is now dark and cluttered, and pagan artefacts fill its rooms. Flo is abusive and unpredictable, and she takes an unsettling liking to Izzy.

As the days at the house pass, Jess begins to suspect that it is hiding a secret. The question is what Flo's attachment to a child has to do with it, and how far Jess can go to protect Izzy while she still needs the wages.

This is folk horror in novella form, about 160 pages, published by Ritual Limited in 2022. The book began as a screenplay and keeps a spare, scene-by-scene style, so it moves in short, sharp pieces.