Usher's Passing

Usher's Passing is a gothic novel set in the North Carolina mountains that draws inspiration from Edgar Allan Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher." The Usher family has long lived under the shadow of Poe's story, which was based on their ancestral secrets, making their legacy a burden for generations of descendants. Horror novelist Rix Usher escaped the isolated family estate of Usherland years ago to build his writing career, vowing never to return. When his father's death approaches, Rix is forced back home to become the Usher patriarch and face the fears he left behind. Upon arrival, he must confront a manipulative family and witness his sister's descent into mental illness. Memories surface of dark folktales from the surrounding Briartop Mountains and legends of vanished children. In the shadowed halls of Usherland, Rix realizes that something sinister he witnessed in childhood remains—ancient, persistent, and far more disturbing than anything Poe imagined.