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Scott Thomas Returns With “Midwestern Gothic”
A review of Scott Thomas’s 2024 novella collection
I loved Scott Thomas’s previous two horror novels. His 2017 debut, Kill Creek, is one of my all-time favorites and a true love letter to the genre. In contrast, his sophomore effort, Violet, is a quieter, character-driven story that haunted me long after I finished it.
After not publishing anything for five years, I was thrilled when Midwestern Gothic was released last fall. Inspired by his hometown of Coffeyville, Kansas, and initially written during quarantine in 2020, Thomas’s third book delves into the darkness within the American heartland.
“When those proud farm folk stood in the doorways of humble houses built with their own hands, staring out at acres of waving wheat and corn that they planted, the land stared back. A pact had been made. An endless exchange. Misery for misery. Blood for blood.” — Scott Thomas, “Midwestern Gothic”
“The Door in the Field”
After a fight at work, construction worker Rayland Allen’s bad day takes a turn for the worse when his boss leads him to a shady bar deep in the woods, setting him on a bloody path.
Told by April, Rayland’s daughter, the intro hooked me, setting the stage for a story within a story…
