A Thousand Monstrous Forms by Schaefer, Saratoga

Bluebeard gets a gothic horror and sapphic romance twist in this fairy-tale retelling from the author of Serial Killer Support Group and Trad Wife.

Artist Poppy Reed doesn't care if others think her marriage to Celia Marie Fox, a wealthy art dealer, is impulsive. Sure, they've only known each other for six months, and Celia has an infamous romantic reputation, but Poppy is brimming with excitement when she moves across the country to Celia's home: a formidable, isolated, and art-filled manor called Busirane.

As Poppy tries to celebrate her first weeks of marriage and enjoy her new home, Busirane seems intent on rebuffing her every attempt to settle in. Strange noises and confounding occurrences lead Poppy to believe the house is haunted, a suspicion worsened by Celia's insistence that Poppy avoid the locked basement.

When Celia leaves for a work trip, Poppy is left alone in the house, then finds herself snowed in. Surrounded by secrets, stalked by faceless statues, and beset by bodiless whispers, she struggles to trust her wife--and her own mind. When Poppy is eventually drawn to the forbidden basement, dark truths shatter everything she thought she knew, throwing her into a desperate bid for survival.

Author: Saratoga Schaefer
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Published: 09/15/2026
Pages: 336
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.70lbs
Size: 8.20h x 5.40w x 1.00d
ISBN: 9798892427395

Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 07/03/2026 pg. 1
Booklist 08/01/2026
Publishers Weekly 08/10/2026

About the Author
Saratoga Schaefer (they/them) is the USA Today bestselling and Indie Press bestselling author of Serial Killer Support Group, Trad Wife, The Last Time We Drowned, and A Thousand Monstrous Forms. Their books have been featured in Variety, People, Cosmopolitan, and Glamour, and their writing has appeared in Writer's Digest, CrimeReads, and more. Originally from Brooklyn, Saratoga now lives upstate with several needy animals and a haunted clown table.