A Spectre is Haunting Greentree By Carson Winter

Horror Reads

Oh man, Carson Winter knows his way around a horror story. The Psychographist is excellent, his story, The Speakeasy, is one of my favorites in an upcoming anthology, and A Spectre Is Haunting Greentree is a blood curdling tale of abuse, grief, and bloody sacrifice.

Carina is an abused wife. When she leaves her husband and tries to make a life on her own, she suffers from panic attacks and paranoia. She decides to move to a small town in Oregon called Greentree with a collage friend and her friend's husband. A new start and a way to heal.

Well, good luck with that! This is a strange little town. The local video store is a big deal (remember those?) and everyone seems to either be well off or connected to success in some way. But there's something REALLY horrific here. Something that wants blood.

I'm not going to say what it is but, damn, I love this kind of stuff in my horror. And the author brings these things to life with a fresh unique take that is truly frightening.

There are other characters that will play a big part in the narrative, including a sixteen year old "goth" girl who is going to sort of befriend Carina. These other characters are fantastic and well written.

This is a fast paced book that you won't want to put down and I highly recommend it.

I received an ARC of this book through the publisher with no consideration. This review is voluntary and is my own personal opinion.

Ella

This horror novella follows Carina as she moves to Greentree in an attempt to escape from her abusive ex for good. However, when her lifelong friend dies under mysterious circumstances, Carina finds herself in the midst of a horrific conspiracy that is rooted in Greentree’s shady history. She’ll soon find that the only way out of Greentree requires her to face her past, which lies in the center of the cornfields.

What do you get when you combine a small-town cult, a suspiciously thriving video store, and bloodthirsty scarecrows? Aside from the holy trinity, you also get A Spectre is Haunting Greentree. The ambiance of this one was what really made it for me. The cultish small-town vibes served up an overwhelming sense of eeriness with a side of paranoia. Ever worried that there’s someone creeping around your house at night? That there’s some big conspiracy in your town you’re unaware of? Or that scarecrows will one day decide they should be paid a bit better for all their hard work (unfortunately, “cash or card” is a bit out of the question here. How about. . . bloodshed with a 100% tip of unimaginable chaos)? Luckily, after reading A Spectre is Haunting Greentree, you won’t feel so alone in your worries anymore!

Besides all the scare(crow) factors, there’s also a lot of heart in the story. We get to see Carina find and reconnect with herself again as she attempts to start anew. There’s grief. There’s reflection. There’s recovery. Did I mention there are also scarecrows? There’s scarecrows. The only reason why this was a four-star read for me was because I found the beginning a bit slow; but, once the pace picks up, it picks UP. Overall, this is the perfect read for the quickly approaching spooky season - you just might end up skipping out on the corn maze this year.

Books For Decaying Millennials

Notes from a Decaying Millennial:
i received an ARC of this book from the publisher as part of their advanced reader review team.
Please note that this forthcoming book has interior illustrations, these were not included in the Copy that I read.
This is not a paid review.
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I became aware of this book when the publisher posted about it on social media. A Horror novella with a title that is an homage to the opening lines of, that banger of a book, "The Communist Manifesto"?! Color me intrigued. Upon finally seeing the cover art by Stefan Koidl, my interest only intensified.

The Small Town, as a setting for events, ominous or strange, or not something new. Even so, in the greater American Psyche, Small Towns are still picturesque little hamlets, out of the locations where urban folk can go to relax, where simple values
Those who have spent even part of of their lives in small towns understand how very different the reality is. Bucolic and separated, as many are, from the greater hum of urban sprawl, Every small little town and village has its own shadows, its bodies buried denied through generations of active collective amnesia. The veiled xenophobia and distrust of outsiders, blending seamlessly with a enthusiastic embrace of gentrification, but only on terms of the locals.
Not born there? You'll never be a local, but perhaps, in time, you'll become accepted.
In A Spectre is Haunting GreenTree , Carson Winter probes the the uncomfortable shadows, only found in Horror, for the answers to the question "At what cost?".
Beyond the cost of acceptance, what is the cost to survive...to heal?
Unease and Fear build as the Sanguin rich soil of Greentree is prepared for Harvest. In Winter's writing the Heirloom Seeds of Folk Horror and Marxist literature take root and blossom with strange, chilling and ultimately delicious fruit.
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A Spectre is Haunting GreenTree will be available from Tenebrous Press August 15th.

Mother Suspiria

A SPECTRE IS HAUNTING GREENTREE is an ideal "ramp up" read to start off Spooky Season. Carson Winter has created an engrossing, autumnal tale that combines a real world nightmare with elements of folk and supernatural horror in a pulpy pastiche of modern, macabre mayhem and creepy creatures.

Lexi Denee

For a story of this length, my Kindle highlighter saw a surprising amount of action. On the surface, A Spectre is Haunting Greentree is about escape and rebranding after years of abuse. After digging into this one though the horror is scaryyyy.

When Carina flees her abusive ex to a remote town in Oregon to live in a creepy (haunted?!) barn owned by a college friend - she thinks she has left her problems behind her. Unfortunately for her, autumn is approaching and the scythes are being readied for harvest.

I don’t want to give too much away on this one but I will say that the reason I found this one so scary is that it served up Children Of The Corn vibes. I watched a lot of horror as a kid (thanks Mom,) and that is the one movie I still won’t watch to this day. My mom texts me every time she watches it and says “guess what I’m watching?!” So yeah - scary af.

I’ve never read anything from Winter before but definitely will be checking out more of his work. Every character in this book was incredibly well done and I absolutely adored Hazel, a 16 year old goth girl who loves scary movies.

I read an ARC version of this story and these quotes may not be as is in the final version, but I loved them so here you go:

💭 “We only know what it’s like to grow up while we’re doing it..”

💭 “‘I am,’ said Carina, remembering something she loved so long ago. ‘I am I am I am.’”

💭 “I’m a mold that other people pour themselves into..”

**Thank you to Tenebrous Press for the eARC of this title!**

Check this one out if you like abandoned farmhouses, corn, fall festivals, and small towns.

Jamedi

Review originally on JamReads

A Spectre is Haunting Greentree is a clever and twisted horror novella written by Carson Winter, published by Tenebrous Press. Picking a classic horror icon such as the scarecrow, Winter not only has written an interesting piece which encloses a furious anticapitalist message, but also creating a multilayered horror that, outside of the main plot, explores another scary situation that sadly is too read nowadays.

Carina has arrived Greentree, an isolated town in Oregon, trying to start a new life far from her abusive husband after the invitation from a college friend; a way to recover and heal from the wounds. Moving into a creepy barn won't help deal with the paranoia and the fear she has developed; and the nights on Greentree are specially scary. Carina's arc is part of what introduces us to the secrets behind the incredible wealth associated with this place.
If all starts with a more intimate horror that explores the human nature, later Winter introduces us to the secrets behind those inexplicable wealth, going deep into some of the classic tropes associated with the folk horror genre including cults and nature spirits incarnated into inanimate objects; creating a multilayered horror that goes from the human to the supernatural, but returning to the human as the cause.

Winter makes an excellent job of using Carina's paranoia to play with the elements associated with fear; but later it goes even further, imbuing the story with an anticapitalism message that, despite overshadowing a bit Carina's arc, gifts us some of the best scenes of the novella.
In the style of what we could have seen in other Winter's books, he has a talent to write excellent gory and violent scenes, and once all is unleashed, I can assure you that you will absolutely love it.

A Spectre is Haunting Greentree is another example of how brilliant can be Carson Winter when he's given freedom, fitting perfectly that weird seal that defines Tenebrous Press. Folk horror fans, you will love this novel!

Leo Otherland

Special thanks to Tenebrous Press for the ARC copy they provided.

Here we are again with another 10p ARC review! Tenebrous Press’s choices in literature never get old, and I have to say, after reading Carson Winter’s Soft Targets some time back, I am here for whatever Mr. Winter comes up with next. I don’t think anything will ever rival Soft Targets in my mind and heart, but each new release is a new adventure, and Carson takes us on a twisting, turning one in A Spectre is Haunting Greentree.

Starting out, this book feels like an exploration into that well-known troupe ‘a woman flees from a possessive partner,’ but A Spectre is Haunting Greentree becomes so much more than that in a short space. The fleeing isn’t the focus, rather it is the becoming.

Anytime we as people walk away from something that leaves us feeling like “...a mold that other people pour themselves into,” to use Carson’s words, there is a time of becoming that follows. We relearn what it is to be ourselves, and that time of relearning is what struck me most reading this book.

It’s subtle, the way Carson describes and presents this aspect of A Spectre is Haunting Greentree, and it’s quite possible this wasn’t even meant to be the center of the book, but it is what stood out to me most while reading. Carson shows this depth of a person struggling to learn themself through his words, and leaves off where I feel many of us find ourselves, still in the middle of this learning curve.

We never truly learn ourselves, after all, because we are all still becoming.

And in the midst of the horror and disgust of what is rotting in Greentree, Carson’s main character learns herself and finds enough of herself that she can continue on after the horror ends. Carson has a way with words, and this book will not disappoint.

Matt

Scary scarecrows, rich people doing awful things, terrible small town, and a video store, what more do you want?! But seriously, this is a great book. There's a level of tension throughout the whole thing, building until you just can't stop reading. A lot of great commentary on workers and those that exploit them. I really loved how Carson built the layers of this story, giving us bits of a broader picture and also keeping us focused on the immediate action, teasing you and bringing you along while letting you use your imagination to picture what happened in this town. A great read that's going to stick with me for a while.

David Swisher

It's anxiety, it's cultish, it's killer scarecrows!

I love me some Carson Winter, and this is no exception.

We start with our MC suffering panic attacks related to her abusive ex. We are treated to some POV of said piece of garbage that alerts you to just why our MC is so panic stricken.

MC contacts a friend who says some stay with me in the middle of nowhere Oregon in this grand B&B I renovated with my husband.

MC goes to Oregon to stay with friend, and realizes something is off with this quaint little town....

There is a thriving video rental store (with an adults only section that is being visited way too frequently)...

Everyone is super rich...

There are scarecrows everywhere...

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Perfect read for now and then again for the spooky season, and then again just because!

Paul Preston

I think I set my expectations too high. I really felt like it took half the book to get going and then the major side plot just fizzled.
This is a book about a cultish community that involves creatures and it just sounded like so many others that I’ve read. I’m so disappointed because I was looking forward to a fun autumn theme and it wasn’t here.

Laurel

A dark and appealing premise, with seasonal appeal - there's nothing like curling up with a good autumnal spooky book as the seasons start to change (or as you will them to by stubbornly wearing cardigans in August and pumpkin spicing everything) and Winter's latest fits the bill. Fields of corn, eerie scarecrows and a new beginning for his protagonist, Carina. Even if that were all this book offered, it'd be more than enough - a thoughtful, well paced, atmospheric and chilling read. But beyond that, Winter has a gift for empathy, for weaving bone deep truths into his narrative that often made me stop and reassess. An excellent story, I'll be recommending it for spooky season reads.

Noah Micah

Thank you to Tenebrous Press for providing me with an Advanced Review Copy of this book!

Carson Winter’s A Spectre is Haunting Greentree is a folk horror novel about Carina, a middle-aged half-Filipino woman that escapes her abusive husband Steve when her college friend Emily offers to let her stay in her soon to be opened bed and breakfast in Greentree, Oregon, a bizarrely wealthy small town considering no one really has business ventures outside it. As months go by, Carina begins to suspect that someone is watching her and even breaking into her house at night, but is unsure if she can trust herself due to the paranoia from her PTSD. After her friend is found dead the night of a town party, Carina and Emily’s daughter, Hazel, begin a journey to uncover the sinister secrets of Greentree.

I will confess, I am not the greatest fan of folk horror. They tend to hit the same plot beats as one another, almost always involve a cult, and tend to simplify poor people in small towns a little too much. They blur and blend together for me since so few stories in the genre take a lot of strides or risks to stand out from each other, aside from how gory or explicit they are in portraying the cult’s depravity.

This is all to say that I have never been so pleasantly surprised by a novel before.

Yes there is still a cult, but I appreciate how Winter focuses on the insular nature and superiority complex that the generationally wealthy are raised in and groomed into worshiping. Wealth is amassed through exploitation and blood, and Winter explored this with skill and expertise. The confrontation with Larry Dell is a perfect culmination of all of these topics and themes. It is chilling and disturbing to read how he doesn’t really understand the point of sacrificing people during autumn and has never cared to understand beyond it giving him more wealth he doesn’t need. This lack of caring combined with him twisting the ritual to have a sexual connotation in choosing only young women he lusts after as victims and allowing people to rent their murders as porn soured something in my stomach in the best way possible.

For a story that explores the evil of class systems, Carina is a perfect protagonist. She is a well developed character, but more than that she is a well thought out avatar of everything that our society dismisses, abuses, and outright hates. She is the child of an immigrant, mixed race with darker skin, an abuse survivor, and a fat middle-aged woman. Everyone in Greentree treats her as Emily’s pet, and Carina seems all too willing to allow Emily and eventually Hazel control of her. She is someone that was raised to understand that the world is not meant for her to be a person but a tool. She is someone that was groomed into depersonalizing herself to the point that she takes orders from a white teenager. It is incredibly heartbreaking to read, especially in the instances where she trusts the judgment of white people calling her insane. Their minds can be trusted, hers can’t because she has been trained to follow and permit.

Winter’s exploration of these ideas are only given further nuance and depth in the prose. Details are carefully chosen to be shown or concealed in a way that ratchets the tension and atmosphere of isolation and paranoia beautifully. The unique imagery and metaphors Winter uses to describe not only the setting but Carina and her state of mind are so wholly realized and uniform that it makes the story feel lived in. Greentree and Carina both have a long and painful history, and I feel the weight of that history in the prose.

There is a lot to admire about this novel, and it’s unfortunate that all of those wonderful things get hamstrung by strange decisions I still cannot fully fathom. The frequent changes of point of view seem pointless at best and actively destroys the tension and atmosphere at most. What was the point of every single chapter from Steve’s point of view, other than to read how he gets murdered later on? What was gained from learning that an abusive man is a piece of shit that has horrible thoughts about women? What did learning about this and seeing his perspective add to the themes and topics in the story? I truly do not understand the ultimate point in reading from his perspective other than to build some tension from his stalking and to reveal the murderers are scarecrow people. The tension that comes from him tracking Carina could have been achieved in so many other ways that could have increased her feelings of paranoia in compelling ways. However, the reveal of the scarecrows this way killed all tension and mystery. Carina wants to reveal the mystery of Emily’s death and if there is someone watching her, but as the reader I already know the answer. Everything relating to the mystery she and Hazel were trying to uncover up until the confrontation with Larry was incredibly boring to read and felt like the story moved at a snail’s pace as a result.

Every single perspective switch had this issue. Steve’s point of view showing that Larry is involved took all the tension of Hazel and Carina finding him breaking into the house on the cameras. The scarecrows narrating their murders took the surprise out of the reveal that the Knights and their families were being murdered to the point that their sections felt like pure padding for page length. The prose in their sections was fantastic, but it felt like pointless beautiful prose. Hazel’s point of view change showed how, even though she and Carina are both powerless figures in the system of capitalism, she still clings to whatever power she has by thinking of Carina as a genuinely pathetic creature. This is a great idea to explore, but it is also a couple of pages that could have easily been replaced by dialogue that could have fleshed out her and Carina’s relationship more when she talks about her dad telling her to leave.

A Spectre is Haunting Greentree is, overall, a solid novel with fantastic ideas. It is a genuinely unique story in the subgenre of folk horror with wonderful prose that builds upon its themes ideas, but is bogged down by pointless perspective changes that end up paying nothing off and dragging down the story’s pace to a crawl. Also the scarecrows were genuinely really cool, I loved them.

Ed Crocker

Scarecrows are absolutely terrifying, and if you find that statement ridiculous then you are not standing in the right fields. In A Spectre is Haunting Greentree, Carson Winter takes this horror icon and squeezes all the terror he can get out of it till the straw pops out, but still finds time to weave in a darkly furious anti-capitalist message and a thread of overcoming your fears.

Carina has arrived at Greentree, an isolated Oregon rural town, to try and rebuild her life away from her abusive ex. Her fear of noises in the night is not helped by staying in a farmhouse near to fields of scarecrows. Meanwhile, Greentree itself is a bizarrely wealthy place, with an unusually busy video store. And then the killing starts…

The immediate thing that jumped out at me here like a dark figure in a cornfield was Winter’s knack for creating a sense of dread and genuine terror at an unexplained noise. The terror that comes from supposedly inanimate objects coming to life is always the sense they might be near rather than the actual reveal, and there are some genuinely terrifying “something in the night scenes” here. I am rarely scared by horror these days – desensitized brain, or is horror fiction rarely meant to be scary, we’ll settle that debate in the field later – but I was genuinely creeped out by this tale.

But besides the shivers, Carson also dovetails Carina’s character arc nicely with the idea of building tension. Her instinct as someone who’s fled her abusive ex to a new town is to be scared of every noise; sensing intruders everywhere. We are never sure whether there is something round the corner of if it is her paranoia; it is that classic melding of psychological trauma and real supernatural terror that makes the opening scenes so electric. Her fears also make for a rousing journey as she slowly learns how to live again as others most definitely learn to start dying all around her.

However this is a book ultimately more interested in the message rather than the character as the perils of capitalism – particularly a strange, animalistic, blood-fuelled kind – is a strong theme here. A deal has been struck in Greentree and boy is it about to go wrong. Little more can be said without entering the perilous cornfields of spoilers, but the idea of the working class finally twigging that they can reap the profits themselves rather than simply reap the lands is a strong one here, and the wild nature that lurks below capitalism – there is a reason that modern economists speak of “animal spirits” when they discuss the stock market – is explored in intriguing ways, not least through a bold and effective choice of POV.

And ultimately, when the revolution comes, it is as terrifying and bloody as you’d hope for, though in all honesty the great joy of this book was in the build-up. Winter writes unease and building dread beautifully, and I guarantee you you’ll be as wary of these scarecrows as the birds that leave them well alone.

Mindy Rose

after a long overdue split from her abusive piece of shit husband, carina moves across the country to start her life over in the tiny, flawless town where her best friend's family resides; the illusion of perfection is shattered fairly quickly however in a shitstorm of death, violence, and occult bullshit. this started out promising but ended up disappointing me. i had... higher hopes for the protag's personal journey than i should have, i guess? throughout the book she's very much shit on (by herself as well as others) for being a fat brown woman with low self esteem and a panic disorder, and i was assuming that at the very least she herself would fuckin pick up some self worth along the way, and i didn't really feel like that happened in a significant way, which in turn made me feel gross about the amount of shit she was given? i dunno man i had just thought that there was going to have been A Point to that piece of it all so that's my bad maybe for feeling that way, but it's also how i felt about all of the women-specific violence, murder, and rape the story contained. like, "ugh, okay, there's all of this awful shit happening to women, but there must be an EXTREMELY satisfying and vicious comeuppance on the horizon that will make it worthwhile" and i did not at all get the payoff i was hoping for. there WAS.. technically a comeuppance? but like. so anyway i was super bummed and frustrated! listen, i'm probably extra sensitive about all of that shit so, you know, don't let my feelings discourage you from reading this if it sounds like your jam, it just wasn't for me. 2/5.

George Dunn

QOTD: what's the most unique creature feature you've ever read?

Read my full review here:
https://fanfiaddict.com/review-a-spec...

"“A Spectre Is Haunting Greentree,” by Carson Winter is a black-mirror-esque, fever dream, in which an idyllic town, (as they often do) turns out to have a grisly secret. An unearthing of violence and mystery, “A Spectre Is Haunting Greentree,” is a paranormal escapade that is a quick, easy and unsettling read. It’s not quite a young adult novel, with some gory scenes, but shouldn’t terrorise readers- if you’re looking to dip your toes into the murky horror waters, give this one a go. I waited until the cover had been revealed to post this review, but worth the wait it was, Stefan Koidl did a fantastic job… feast your eyes. With secrets, suspense and scarecrows aplenty, “A Spectre Is Haunting Greentree,” is coming from Tenebrous August 15th."

I LOVE Tenebrous Press, so when this ARC arrived in my inbox I was pretty sure I'd find the time to get to it anyway, but when I saw the cover, read the synopsis and heard it was anti-capitalist, I was sold.

Ivy Grimes

This book surprised me the whole way through! The characters and the town of Greentree felt so vivid, and I could have stayed with them all for a long time. It's definitely a classic Halloween horror novel with fun and fright, and it's also a meditation on wealth and violence. In the beginning, there's really only a faint hint of something being wrong in this relatively wealthy rural community (and with idyllic modest wealth in general), and for me, that was the scariest part of all because it felt so real. Rather than being presented as a simple solution to everyone's problems, retaliatory violence is shown in all its complexity and darkness.

Overall, A Spectre is Haunting Greentree is a truly engaging, thought-provoking, and entertaining horror story!

Yannai

** Thank you to Tenebrous Press for the eARC!**

'A spectre is Haunting Greentree" is a quick, easy and written in a way conveying a rather wonderful sense of unsettling horror. It is not a gory kind of horror, it's more subtle and so a good entryway to the genre if gore isn't your thing!

The characters, especially Carina, were interesting, exploring grief and abuse and how life is lifelong process of getting to know yourself. It's a tale of becoming after fleeing, of finding a new self, even when confronted with horrific events. It is subtle but definitely there, and it stood out for me.

If you are looking for a story about power, violence and becoming, keep an eye for this book !

My Bookish Ways

RATING: After a second reading, I’ve decided to round my 3.5 rating up to 4 because I feel like I didn’t fully grasp Winter’s main point the first time around.

Second Read:
Carson Winter’s 𝘈 𝘚𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘏𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦 delivers a unique blend of folk horror, cultish intrigue, and supernatural elements, all set in a small town with a dark and mysterious past. While it didn’t entirely match the high expectations set by its striking cover, the novella offers a slow-burn horror story that ultimately rewards patient readers with a brutally haunting and poetic narrative. The FMC, Carina, is a deeply compelling character whose poignant journey through trauma and self-discovery adds a powerful emotional layer to the story. Despite the story’s slow pacing and my desire for more depth in the monsters' backstory, the eerie atmosphere and elegant prose make this a compelling read for horror enthusiasts looking for something unique and thought-provoking.

(Thank you, Tenebrous Press, for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!)

Sam

Disclaimer: I received an e-book ARC in exchange for my review by Tenebrous Press.

This story follows a woman escaping from her abusive ex-husband when a friend invites her to move to their small town and start a new life. As the summary states there is something spectacularly wrong with that place though and our main character will soon figure out what exactly.
This novel collects a lot of things I enjoy: Weird small towns, the dangers of corn fields (they are so tall and so wide and so easy to get lost in!), women recovering from abuse and finding their voice, scary scarecrows, cultists and most importantly truly unsettling videotapes from the lokal video store.
This book also beautifully dismantles the romanticised notion of the small town as a picturesque place and instead reveals the rotten xenophobic underbelly that hides in these rural places way too often. I also really adored the characters, especially Carina and Hazel (a 16 year old goth girl who loves scary movies) and they are definitely two characters you just cant help but root for despite the overwhelming odds standing against them. I also really enjoyed the way the novel explored fatphobia and the way Carina is treated due to being a mixed race dark-skin fat woman. And there is some (wonderfully gorey and gruesome!) murders in this novel, which I read gleefully. Finally, I also really adored the atmopshere this novel builds, painting a very vivid picture of this town without ever letting the plot get bogged down in unnecessary descriptions.
My only qualm with the book is that I think for the reader the reveal of the murderous beings stalking this small town is revealed a bit too early as we then still spend quite some time with the other characters who don't know what's going on and I think I might have enjoyed it a bit more if I had been able to be kept in suspense as well.
All in all this was a really great horror novel with an unsettling atmosphere, a really immersive writing style, a heartwrenching look into abuse and a great twist on folk horror. I do think this one that might lend itself to a reread for me once October rolls around.

TW: sexual violence, rape, domestic abuse, murder, rich white men

Title	:	A Spectre is Haunting Greentree
Author	:	Carson Winter
Rating	:
ISBN	:	1959790056
ISBN-10	:	9781959790051
Language	:	English
Format Type	:	Kindle Edition
Number of Pages	:	182
Publication	:	First published August 15, 2024

A Spectre is Haunting Greentree by Carson Winter

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