It has been a year since the brutal massacre at Mulder House. The survivors of the unfortunate event are uncomfortably aware that the anniversary is fast approaching. They thought they had finally seen the last of the horror, but as Halloween draws near, a chilling reality is emerging that the bloodshed is only the beginning. An ancient evil is back with a vengeance. It stirs once more, ready to complete its centuries-old mission. When the gates of hell open this time, they may never close again. Blending supernatural horror, slasher thrills, and psychological trauma, read the first volume of Something Evil by Miles Watson to find out more!

Something Evil by Miles Watson is divided into two parts: Book 1, Deadman’s Party, and Book 2, When Evil Walks the Earth. This book delves into the idea of evil having different sides to it. First, there is the obvious, almost horror-like version, the kind that lurks just out of sight, waiting in the dark. But what I find more bone-chilling is how evil can also turn inward, looking at the darker parts of human nature that people often don’t like to admit are there, and this is the type that is the hardest to fight. The plot is a bit unsettling in a good way, and it offers an interesting concept in horror fiction, blending elements of an archaeological thriller with supernatural suspense. Watson does a great job of building tension as the story unfolds. The mounting pressure kept me increasingly interested, and I was hooked from start to finish. This slow-burning horror focuses heavily on the characters' attempts to return to a sense of normalcy and the innocence they have lost through their struggles. I saw the trauma they have been through and how it shaped their lives afterward, making their struggles feel real, relatable, and terrifying. At the same time, this personal depth is matched by the unique tone, which blends historical, psychological, and supernatural horror in a way that will appeal to fans of folklore-inspired tales.

In Something Evil by Miles Watson, an inexplicably brutal mass murder that occurred on Halloween night in the university's student residence, Mulder House, a year earlier, weighs heavily on the townsfolk's minds and memories as they prepare for the next annual event. As the townsfolk and students try to erase those memories, they are completely unaware that an ancient malevolent entity has also returned to complete its four-hundred-year-old mission and open the gates of hell for all eternity. Students near and dear to the victims, believing the killer, a student like themselves, to be securely contained in a mental hospital, relive the past, unaware that the danger has returned, and only one of their own can prevent another bloodbath.

In Something Evil, author Miles Watson begins with a "flashback" to the mysterious and bloody murder during the Halloween events of the previous year. These feature some of the most explicitly descriptive scenes of horrific murder I've read since the once-popular slasher novels of the 60s and 70s or the brutally bloody visuals in the movies of the early 2000s. Watson displays a keen sense for maintaining high levels of verisimilitude across all facets of the story, from the opening horror to the impressively written seques from the mass murder to the discovery of a centuries-old female body, near perfectly intact, and back to present-day events. Something Evil is rightly listed in the horror genre for this first volume. However, Watson's move into the world of forensic archaeology places the story firmly in the paranormal, suspense, and religious history categories. Something Evil is the start of an outstanding series that I'm looking forward to reading.