An unsettling horror story with a mysterious twist from a celebrated voice in horror. Perfect for fans of Paul Tremblay's A Head Full of Ghosts.
The Martins need a new home for their growing family. For Alison, Nathan, daughter Dru, and foster child Lailah, it’s love at first sight when they see the house in Tumbling Hills. It even has a cozy attic, which is great for Lailah: she needs a quiet place to be alone when her intrusive thoughts creep in.
(crack an egg into the coffee machine)
The family gets settled. The house is perfect, and so is the timing – Lailah’s adoption will soon be finalized. But as the date approaches, her intrusive thoughts become worse, and bad things start to happen. Lailah fears she’s losing control.
(push your sister down the stairs)
The family is on edge, pointing fingers and taking sides. And even though they love each other very much, the cracks begin to show. Something has got to give.
(burn them alive in their beds)
“Panatier’s Worry Box remodels the haunted house trope into a sharply written, emotionally charged trap that leaks horror from its drywall like sweat from pores. With a strong emotional foundation, and an attic full of secrets, Panatier has constructed something uniquely haunting." – William Sterling, Editor of PUNK Goes Horror
“Sinister, intimate, and deeply unsettling. Worry Box stakes its place among the pantheon of iconic family-centered suburban hauntings. It descends into the fragile space where love becomes denial with suffocating tension. “Buckle up,” sure, but I promise you: it won’t be enough.” – Peter Rosch, author of What The Dead Can Do
“Chris Panatier will be a household name before long. Too bad all of those houses are haunted. Worry Box may just be his best yet, building up from the Spielbergian blueprints of Poltergeist, annexing Mike Flanagan's Bly Manor, then expanding upon Richard Mattheson's most heartfelt haunts to create a cursed house unlike any other, while still leaving plenty of room for his own preternaturally talented voice to flourish. Some books settle into your psyche after you read them. Worry Box moves into your mind and makes itself right at home. It's never leaving.” – Clay McLeod Chapman, author of Wake Up and Open Your Eyes
“Chris Panatier's Worry Box is a suburban, white-picket dream turned nightmare and a fresh take on what it means to haunt and be haunted. This book crept under my skin and preyed on my most maternal instincts. I was scared, sad, hopeful, and sick to my stomach by turn — sometimes all in the same chapter. I couldn't put it down.” – Lora Senf, Bram Stoker Award winner and author ofThe Clackity
“This house is not what it seems.” – Jess Hagemann, author of Mother-Eating
Chris Panatier lives in Dallas, Texas, with his wife, daughter, and a fluctuating herd of animals resembling dogs (one is almost certainly a goat). He writes short stories and novels, “plays” the drums, and draws album covers for metal bands. Plays himself on twitter @chrisjpanatier.
An unsettling horror story with a mysterious twist from a celebrated voice in horror. Perfect for fans of Paul Tremblay's A Head Full of Ghosts.
The Martins need a new home for their growing family. For Alison, Nathan, daughter Dru, and foster child Lailah, it’s love at first sight when they see the house in Tumbling Hills. It even has a cozy attic, which is great for Lailah: she needs a quiet place to be alone when her intrusive thoughts creep in.
(crack an egg into the coffee machine)
The family gets settled. The house is perfect, and so is the timing – Lailah’s adoption will soon be finalized. But as the date approaches, her intrusive thoughts become worse, and bad things start to happen. Lailah fears she’s losing control.
(push your sister down the stairs)
The family is on edge, pointing fingers and taking sides. And even though they love each other very much, the cracks begin to show. Something has got to give.
(burn them alive in their beds)
Reviews
“Panatier’s Worry Box remodels the haunted house trope into a sharply written, emotionally charged trap that leaks horror from its drywall like sweat from pores. With a strong emotional foundation, and an attic full of secrets, Panatier has constructed something uniquely haunting." – William Sterling, Editor of PUNK Goes Horror
“Sinister, intimate, and deeply unsettling. Worry Box stakes its place among the pantheon of iconic family-centered suburban hauntings. It descends into the fragile space where love becomes denial with suffocating tension. “Buckle up,” sure, but I promise you: it won’t be enough.” – Peter Rosch, author of What The Dead Can Do
“Chris Panatier will be a household name before long. Too bad all of those houses are haunted. Worry Box may just be his best yet, building up from the Spielbergian blueprints of Poltergeist, annexing Mike Flanagan's Bly Manor, then expanding upon Richard Mattheson's most heartfelt haunts to create a cursed house unlike any other, while still leaving plenty of room for his own preternaturally talented voice to flourish. Some books settle into your psyche after you read them. Worry Box moves into your mind and makes itself right at home. It's never leaving.” – Clay McLeod Chapman, author of Wake Up and Open Your Eyes
“Chris Panatier's Worry Box is a suburban, white-picket dream turned nightmare and a fresh take on what it means to haunt and be haunted. This book crept under my skin and preyed on my most maternal instincts. I was scared, sad, hopeful, and sick to my stomach by turn — sometimes all in the same chapter. I couldn't put it down.” – Lora Senf, Bram Stoker Award winner and author ofThe Clackity
“This house is not what it seems.” – Jess Hagemann, author of Mother-Eating
Author
Chris Panatier lives in Dallas, Texas, with his wife, daughter, and a fluctuating herd of animals resembling dogs (one is almost certainly a goat). He writes short stories and novels, “plays” the drums, and draws album covers for metal bands. Plays himself on twitter @chrisjpanatier.
