A Cosmology of Monsters

“Your heroes’ nightmares will become your nightmares.”

Monsters are hunting the Turner family. Noah, the youngest, tells the story of the family: how at the end of the 1960s his book-loving mother, against all common sense, married Harry, a fan of Lovecraft. They had two daughters, so different—Sidney and Eunice. There’s no money; nightmares torment Margaret and Eunice; and Harry begins behaving strangely. He’s obsessed with building an elaborate amusement attraction called “The Wandering Darkness,” a haunted house he referred to by that name. The family tries to protect Noah from fake horrors, but they don’t know he’s being visited by a real monster—a shaggy creature with bright eyes. A creature his mother and sister only saw for a moment.

Noah decides to let the creature in…

The family story moves toward an ending, and it becomes obvious that Noah has only one way to make it all stop…

A literary horror novel. An elegant blend of family drama and terrifying fantasy. Goodreads Prize finalist. “Best Book of Autumn 2019” by Esquire. Translated into 5 languages.

“Exquisitely written, ‘Cosmology of Monsters’ is at once beautiful and mesmerizing. Sean Hamill created the best horror story: full of love and fear that will make you rethink what a monster is.” — Jennifer McMahon

“A very scary coming-of-age fairy tale that lives in the same space as ‘Stranger Things,’ ‘Stand by Me,’ and Stephen King’s ‘It’… The way Hamill skillfully navigates between the phantasmagorical elements and everyday dramas reminds you of King… A finished, chilling horror saga and a promising novel from a new writer with a rich imagination.” — KIRKUS REVIEWS