Mormama

A postmodern Southern gothic tale of fractured familial relationships, combining elements of No Exit and Long Day's Journey into Night with the sensibilities of Joyce Carol Oates

You know boys are not welcome in this house.

Kit Reed's supernatural Florida noir has been compared to the work of Joyce Carol Oates and James M. Cain, and the ghost isn't the most frightening aspect.

Dell Duval has been living on the street since his accident. He can't remember who he was or where he came from. All he has is a tattered note in his pocket with an address for the Ellis house, a sprawling, ancient residence in Jacksonville. He sets up camp under the house in the basement, unknown to the residents upstairs. He just needs time to figure out why he's been sent here.

Lane and her son Theo have returned to the family home — their last resort after Lane's husband cleans out her bank account and leaves. The old house is ruled by an equally ancient trio of tyrannical aunts, who want to preserve everything. Nothing should leave the house, including Lane.

Something about the house isn't right. Things happen to the men and boys living there. There are forces at work, one of which visits Theo each night — Mormama, one mama too many.