Folk Horror from the World's Oldest Fears
Caspian Ventura writes horror drawn from world mythology — and a career spent reading the dead. The myths, it turns out, were warnings. Not stories.
The Debut
She reads the dead for a living. Her own blood is the one sample she can't let anyone run.
In Singapore's gleaming clinics, Marisol Salazar has built a life on control — a careful monster who kills clean, feeds quiet, and answers to no hunger she'll name aloud. She's the best medical laboratory scientist in the city, and no one knows why the dead give up their secrets so easily to her.
Then Madame Shen's people begin harvesting her kind for the marrow that keeps the rich forever young — and the only surgeon who can see what she truly is turns out to be the one person she cannot afford to love.
A folk-horror descent through Filipino aswang legend · First in a trilogyReleases August 3, 2026. Content note: graphic violence and body horror. A dark read.
Advance Readers
Advance copies of Severed Blood are available now to readers willing to leave an honest review. Not a favourable one — an honest one. The book is dark, and it isn't for everyone; there's a free sample on the request page so you can find out before you commit.
Available in EPUB, MOBI, and PDF.
Content note: graphic violence and body horror. A dark read. Goodreads reviews can be posted anytime; Amazon reviews on or after August 3.
What Comes Next
Severed Blood opens a trilogy — and beyond it, a body of horror drawn from the world's oldest mythologies, each book a different country, a different hunger. The next one is already taking shape in the dark.
The only way to know when it surfaces is to be on the list.
The Trailer
A cinematic descent into the world of Severed Blood — coming with launch.
Enter the Dark
New releases, cover reveals, and the occasional dispatch from the laboratory. No spam. Leave whenever the dark gets too close.
Opens your email, addressed to me. Your name goes on a list — nothing more sinister than that.