Bona Ossuaria: A Home Renovation Horror Story

By Danielle Williams

They thought they were making changes to the house. But the house was making changes to them.

 

When their construction team discovers a hidden shaft while renovating a clients' home, mother-daughter design duo Evelyn and Erika Ellsworth need an idea, quick.

 

But to Erika's dismay, her flighty mom doesn't just turn the shaft into her pet project: she refuses to let anyone else in on what she's doing.

 

This isn't the first time her mom's gotten obsessive over a reno. And clients always love what she comes up with. So Erika decides to humor her.

 

That decision will prove fatal.

 

BONA OSSUARIA is a slow-burning morsel of surreal, psychological horror.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pixelvania Publishing
• Release date: Oct 3, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223069232

Book preview

They thought they were making changes to the house. But the house was making changes to them.

When their construction team discovers a hidden shaft while renovating a clients' home, mother-daughter design duo Evelyn and Erika Ellsworth need an idea, quick.

But to Erika's dismay, her flighty mom doesn't just turn the shaft into her pet project: she refuses to let anyone else in on what she's doing.

This isn't the first time her mom's gotten obsessive over a reno. And clients always love what she comes up with. So Erika decides to humor her.

That decision will prove fatal.

Bona Ossuaria is a slow-burning morsel of surreal, psychological horror.

Bona Ossuaria

by Danielle Williams

Published 2023

Copyright © 2023 Danielle Williams

This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously to convey a sense of realism. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Cover design by GetCovers

Published by Pixelvania Publishing

Bona Ossuaria

Call. Suzanne. Haynes. Erika Ellsworth dialed the client on the hands-free system. Voicemail. After the beep, she spoke, aiming her chin at the microphone embedded above her head in the truck’s roof. "Hey, Suzanne, good news about your reno. Ends up that extra-thick wall wasn’t load-bearing at all‌—‌and when we demo’d it, we discovered an alcove inside it. Weird, right? The former owners must’ve walled it up for some reason. Anyway, it adds some extra square footage to your guys’ house. Lucky you!" Erika turned the white Ford truck onto Captain’s Way and parked half a block from the single-story Craftsman cottage.

She kept the engine running to finish her message. I’ll talk with Evelyn and Randy about how we can use this surprise space in your home. Talk later‌—‌mmbye.

Erika hung up. She grabbed her thermos of tea, got out of the truck, zipped her heather gray hoodie up to her neck against the January wind, and jogged towards the Haynes House.

She followed the smells of dust, paint, and breakfast burritos inside, past the living room on her right, the open dining room on her left…‌then past the kitchen…‌and the basement door…‌to where the workers stood, surrounding Mom‌—‌Evelyn‌—‌, who was watching Randy, their contractor.

Randy was at the back of the Surprise Space, shining a light down a chest-high recess in the wall. There seemed to be a hole built into the bottom of it, a deep one. That