Girl in the Creek

Erin’s brother went into the Clackamas National Forest, in the shadow of Mt. Hood, and never came out—and he’s not the only one. The small town at the forest’s edge is plastered with missing-person posters. The lush green hiking trails leading to natural hot springs and fascinating hotel ruins hide a dangerous, sentient fungus—the Strangeness—and it has been spreading, learning, and gathering strength for years. Now that it has found a dead girl in the creek, this invasive species makes the leap from creepy nuisance to terrifying threat. Told from the perspective of Erin and the Strangeness itself as it unfurls across the landscape, creating a network of living creatures, what begins as an atmospheric Scooby-Doo–esque investigation by a group of well-meaning twentysomethings quickly devolves into violent chaos, as monsters both human and supernatural are revealed and the true terror emerges. A tightly written master class in horror, this is a short, well-paced novel where every detail matters.