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Dakota J. Miller is an emerging voice in horror fiction with the upcoming release of his debut, The Curses We Keep.
A U.S. Army veteran with a PhD in Health Sciences, Dakota brings a distinctive perspective to his writing. When he’s not working, he’s preoccupied with unraveling the human condition—a fixation that seeps into every page he writes.
Raised in the Carolinas and shaped by military moves across the country, he now pours his Southern roots into dark, psychologically charged tales.
The Curses We Keep is a haunting Southern Gothic horror story about a family who fled the Salem Witch Trials, only to settle in 17th-century Charleston—where the past refuses to stay buried. Told with such authenticity and timeless dread, it feels like a lost classic pulled from a locked archive.
Beyond his debut, Dakota has written a chilling short story from which the characters will be seamlessly interwoven into another author’s upcoming novel, Moon Goddess by Faye Hollidaye, releasing in early 2026.
Though new to fiction, Dakota writes with a voice we thought we’d lost—one we desperately need back.
Reviewed by Gaius Konstantine for Readers' Favorite
“She knew she was good. And it appears the good are not rewarded. The good are damned.” This statement rings true in The Curses We Keep, a novella by Dakota J. Miller. The story begins in darkness as an old hag drags a rope behind her, searching for a tree to end her own damnation. But what led her to such despair? Set in the antebellum South, the answer is surprising, as the old woman is not what she appears to be. Hunted by a creature from folklore and haunted by an unexplained specter, a family struggles to survive in a time when superstition and ignorance prevail. However, their survival becomes precarious when betrayal enters the picture, and a man who should be a keeper of souls turns out to be just another kind of evil.
Dark, atmospheric, and mesmerizing, The Curses We Keep by Dakota J. Miller is a Gothic tale reminiscent of Edgar Allan Poe. The plot weaves together the struggles of a family trying to survive in a harsh environment while facing both supernatural elements and the bigotry of narrow-minded individuals. Throughout the narrative, themes of ignorance and superstition play significant roles, but it is the age-old question of destiny versus free will that has the greatest impact. Character development is impressive for such a short story, and the intriguing cast stands out as a notable strength. Although the pacing is brisk, it is the writing style that deserves particular attention, as the narrative reads like a manuscript from the 1850s that has only recently been discovered. Overall, this is an excellent story for fans of classical Gothic tales and anyone interested in American folklore.
