Mark of the Beast

In the shadowed heart of New Orleans, an insidious family legacy claims a young woman's body and soul for a terrifying, predestined birth.

Élodie has always been haunted by unsettling dreams—a goat-man in the mountains, a primal pull she can't explain. But when inexplicable physical changes begin to manifest, the line between nightmare and reality blurs, thrusting her into the chilling legacy of the Chavis family, New Orleans' most secretive Creole dynasty.

From the opulent, decaying grandeur of the Garden District to the mist-shrouded depths of the bayou, Élodie is ensnared in a web of ancient secrets. She must unravel the truth of her mother, Clarisse—a woman whose life ended in madness after giving birth to Élodie, entangled in the very same ancient rituals that now claim her daughter. As Élodie's own body betrays her with burgeoning fur, heightened senses, and unsettling instincts, she finds herself drawn deeper into the "Akelarre," a primal inheritance stretching back to the mythical Basajaun.

Navigating this terrifying transformation, Élodie finds a fragile connection with Aaron, a man whose own distant family ties to the Chavis secrets give him an unsettling, yet grounding, perspective. But even his presence cannot avert the inevitable: a predestined ritual where Élodie must surrender to the wild beast within her, securing the future of a powerful, ancient bloodline.

The Mark of the Beast is a visceral, atmospheric journey into Southern Gothic folk horror, blending the lyrical prose of Toni Morrison with the creeping dread of Stephen King, and the insidious, inescapable conspiracy of Rosemary's Baby. It's a story of inherited destiny, of the beautiful and grotesque merging, as Élodie confronts the terrifying truth of who she is, and the profound, primal power she is destined to unleash. Parental discretion is advised.