- Format
- Paperback
- Pages
- 156
- ISBN
- 978-1-951971-03-8
- Price
- $16
- Publication Date
- March 30, 2021
Goddess of Filth
V. Castro
“Five of us sat in a circle doing our best to emulate the girls in The Craft, hoping to unleash some power to take us all away from our home to the place of our dreams. But we weren’t witches. We were five Chicanas living in San Antonio, Texas, one year out of high school.”
One hot summer night, best friends Lourdes, Fernanda, Ana, Perla, and Pauline hold a séance. It’s all fun and games at first, but their tipsy laughter turns to terror when the flames burn straight through their prayer candles and Fernanda starts crawling toward her friends and chanting in Nahuatl, the language of their Aztec ancestors.
Over the next few weeks, shy, modest Fernanda starts acting strangely—smearing herself in black makeup, shredding her hands on rose thorns, sucking sin out of the mouths of the guilty. The local priest is convinced it’s a demon, but Lourdes begins to suspect it’s something else—something far more ancient and powerful.
As Father Moreno’s obsession with Fernanda grows, Lourdes enlists the help of her “bruja Craft crew” and a professor, Dr. Camacho, to understand what is happening to her friend in this unholy tale of possession-gone-right.
Praise for Goddess of Filth
“Castro’s compelling and immersive novella displays exhilarating talent, and will appeal to fans of both Paul Tremblay’s A Head Full of Ghosts (2015) and Carmen Maria Machado’s Her Body and Other Parties (2017).” —ALA Booklist (starred review)
“Horror can be simultaneously pulpy and profound, and Goddess of Filth sits comfortably between those two qualities. This is a novel about integrity, family, an ancient language, and growing up. However, it’s also about people getting their sins sucked out of them before quickly burning to death and young women discovering their sexuality in a truck with a young man they plan on leaving behind. This book is serious and fun, and that combination makes it a must-read for horror fans who want a little something extra, a spicy serving of social commentary, with their monsters, awful deaths, and possessions.” —Gabino Iglesias, Tor Nightfire
“A reclamation of history and women’s sexuality, Goddess of Filth takes unexpected turns at every page, rewriting the myths of sin and holiness, lust and innocence. This story holds a mirror to countless horrors and doesn’t flinch.” —Natalia Sylvester, author of Everyone Knows You Go Home and Running
“Timely, important, and packing more literary gut punches than anything I’ve read in a long time. Goddess of Filth is fantastic. Do not miss this one!” —Brian Keene, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Rising
“Goddess of Filth is a dark, haunting story that I couldn’t let go of—and that wouldn’t let go of me. Castro blends Aztec mythology, her own unique life experiences, and a collection of memorable characters together to create something wholly unique, disturbing, and mesmerizing. Sometimes possessions aren’t all bad, and Goddess of Filth tells that story with verve.” —Alex Segura, author of Blackout and Miami Midnight
