Follow the Rites...

Nothing less than the survival of humanity is at stake.

From Marcus Kliewer, a new ‘titan of the macabre and unsettling’ (Erin A. Craig, #1 New York Times bestselling author), comes a supernatural horror about a young woman who accepts a caretaking job from Craigslist, only to discover the position has consequences far greater—and more dangerous—than she ever could have imagined.

EXCITING OPPORTUNITY:
Caretaker urgently needed. Three days of work. Competitive pay. Serious applicants ONLY.

Macy Mullins can’t say why the job posting grabbed her attention—it had the pull of a fisherman’s lure, barbed hook and all—vaguely ominous. But after an endless string of failed job interviews, she's not exactly in the position to be picky. She has rent to pay, groceries to buy, and a younger sister to provide for.

Besides, it’s only three days’ work…

Three days, cooped up in a stranger’s house, surrounded by Oregon Coast wilderness.

What starts as a peculiar side gig soon becomes a waking nightmare. An incomprehensible evil may dwell on this property—and Macy Mullins might just be the only thing standing between it, and the rest of humanity.

Follow the Rites...

Follow the Rites...

Follow the Rites...

..--- / ..... / ---..

A no-brakes plummet into madness. -- ALMA KATSU * award winning author of Fiend *
Disturbing and propulsive, THE CARETAKER is a gem of visually inspired Gothic storytelling. Marcus Kliewer takes a familiar horror premise and makes it his own, drawing you into a lucid nightmare of a novel. Keep the light on! -- SCOTT CARSON * nationally bestselling author of Departure 37 *
The homes Marcus Kliewer haunts aren't merely filled with phantoms, but cerebral spirits and broken-hearted ghosts. THE CARETAKER is quite possibly the ultimate “don't go in there” novel, offering up an apocalyptic final girl for the ages. This is a breakneck book, filled with razor-wire tension, where the reader runs the risk of losing their mind with every flip of the page. -- CLAY MCLEOD CHAPMAN * author of Wake Up and Open Your Eyes *
Absolutely terrifying. Marcus Kliewer's THE CARETAKER gripped me from the first page and didn't let go. I couldn't put it down. -- BRANDON ELDRIDGE * author of The Establishment *
Praise for Marcus Kliewer's WE USED TO LIVE HERE: * : *
One of the creepiest stories I've ever read! This twisted tale will haunt my nightmares for a long time to come! * FREIDA McFADDEN, No.1 New York Times bestselling author of The Housemaid *
Inventive and genuinely scary, We Used to Live Here is the most impressive horror debut I've read in a long time. Marcus Kliewer is a talent to watch. * ALMA KATSU, bestselling author of The Hunger *
There is a feeling that a small number of books conjure. It can be distilled to: Oh god, something ain’t right here. Their hallmark is a creeping, unaccountable, jangly dread that seeps into their pages until you almost wish you could stop reading—but of course, it’s too late. You’re in its grip. We Used to Live Here is one of those rare books. * NICK CUTTER, bestselling author of The Troop *
Full of unease and stomach-churning dread, We Used to Live Here creeps up to you like a sly shadow. I wanted to look away. I absolutely could not. Marcus Kliewer is destined to become a titan of the macabre and unsettling. Read this with every single light on. * ERIN A. CRAIG, No. 1 bestselling author of House of Salt and Sorrows *
This book is like quicksand: the further you delve into its pages, the more immobilized you become by the spiral of terror that takes over you when you know nothing seems what it is . . . Is a family really a family? Can a house be something else? We Used to Live Here is going to haunt you even after you have finished it. This is what I call a great book. * AGUSTINA BAZTERRICA, bestselling author of Tender Is the Flesh *

Marcus Kliewer is a writer and stop-motion animator. His debut novel We Used to Live Here began life as a serialized short story on Reddit, where it won the Scariest Story of 2021 Award on the NoSleep forum (eighteen million members). Film rights were snapped up by Netflix, and it was acquired for publication even before it had been extended into a full-length novel. His second novel, The Caretaker, is coming in Spring 2026. Marcus Kliewer lives in Vancouver, Canada.