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In This City, Where it Rains
In This City, Where it Rains is a gothic horror novella set in an alternative version of Edinburgh.
Maggie is haunted by ghosts that only appear in the rain - and it always rains in this city.
At the edge of town, stands Tair House - a house that remembers, in a city that forgets. The mansion is so damned, it scares the clouds themselves from breaking, and the man of the house, Xavier Logan, and his wife Lucia, are harbouring a dark secret there - something that connects to Maggie and her ghosts.
Soon all roads lead to Tair House, where Maggie hopes only to uncover more about her family's past and her muddled memories.
But the house is hungry, and something is waking deep within its roots...something that has been waiting a long time for Maggie.
Maggie is haunted by ghosts that only appear in the rain - and it always rains in this city.
At the edge of town, stands Tair House - a house that remembers, in a city that forgets. The mansion is so damned, it scares the clouds themselves from breaking, and the man of the house, Xavier Logan, and his wife Lucia, are harbouring a dark secret there - something that connects to Maggie and her ghosts.
Soon all roads lead to Tair House, where Maggie hopes only to uncover more about her family's past and her muddled memories.
But the house is hungry, and something is waking deep within its roots...something that has been waiting a long time for Maggie.
138 pages, Paperback
Published February 3, 2026
About the author
Lyndsey Croal
28 books52 followersLyndsey is a Scottish author of strange and speculative fiction. Her work has appeared in over eighty magazines and anthologies, including with Apex, Analog, Weird Tales, Flash Fiction Online, Shoreline of Infinity, and PseudoPod. She's a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Awardee, British Fantasy Award Finalist, and former Hawthornden Fellow. Her novelette Have You Decided on Your Question (2023) and collection Limelight and Other Stories (2024) are published with Shortwave Publishing. Her novelette The Girl With Barnacles for Eyes appeared in Tenebrous Press' Split Scream Volume Five, and her second collection of Scottish folklore-inspired tales Dark Crescent is forthcoming in 2025 from Luna Press. She lives in Edinburgh with her giant kitten Pippin and works in climate change comms in her day job. She's currently working on a number of longer projects in the sci fi, eco fiction, and horror space. Find out more about her and her work via www.lyndseycroal.co.uk.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 1, 2026
Isn't Xavier Logan the guy who runs the X-Men? What's he doing slumming it in this book?
March 1, 2026
Review originally on JamReads
In This City, Where It Rains is a gothic horror novella written by Lyndsey Croal, published by Luna Press Publishing. A dark and atmospheric proposal set in an alternative Edinburgh, going over the concept of haunted houses and family curses, paired with evocative prose that draws the reader from the very first sentence.
Maggie is haunted by ghosts that only appear when it rains, in a city where always rains; while working, she meets a young man called Jack. Somebody she has never met, but that she feels like she recognises him; they start sharing things in common, until Jack's father interrupts them abruptly, expressing his disapproval, but extending Maggie an invitation to Tair House. A place that she feels that she knows, and that is the key to the mystery behind everything happening.
Croal manages to wrap all in an atmosphere of mystery and uncanniness, as something seems to not be right, but nothing that we can directly point at it; it's the task of Maggie to help us tie together all the pieces, how all fits in this puzzle board. Making Tair House its own character, alternating its voice with Maggie's chapters, was a brilliant decision, reinforcing the gothic elements, and pointing the reader towards how the House is an integral part of the novella.
While this novella definitely is closer to being a slow burn in terms of how the tension is built, Croal's prose invites you to fly through the pages.
In This City, Where It Rains is an excellent novella, a perfect example of a modern Gothic proposal that combines a heavy atmosphere with an ability to convey feelings to the reader. Another remarkable piece by Lyndsey Croal.
In This City, Where It Rains is a gothic horror novella written by Lyndsey Croal, published by Luna Press Publishing. A dark and atmospheric proposal set in an alternative Edinburgh, going over the concept of haunted houses and family curses, paired with evocative prose that draws the reader from the very first sentence.
Maggie is haunted by ghosts that only appear when it rains, in a city where always rains; while working, she meets a young man called Jack. Somebody she has never met, but that she feels like she recognises him; they start sharing things in common, until Jack's father interrupts them abruptly, expressing his disapproval, but extending Maggie an invitation to Tair House. A place that she feels that she knows, and that is the key to the mystery behind everything happening.
Croal manages to wrap all in an atmosphere of mystery and uncanniness, as something seems to not be right, but nothing that we can directly point at it; it's the task of Maggie to help us tie together all the pieces, how all fits in this puzzle board. Making Tair House its own character, alternating its voice with Maggie's chapters, was a brilliant decision, reinforcing the gothic elements, and pointing the reader towards how the House is an integral part of the novella.
While this novella definitely is closer to being a slow burn in terms of how the tension is built, Croal's prose invites you to fly through the pages.
In This City, Where It Rains is an excellent novella, a perfect example of a modern Gothic proposal that combines a heavy atmosphere with an ability to convey feelings to the reader. Another remarkable piece by Lyndsey Croal.
February 10, 2026
Lyndsey Croal's writing and concepts never fail to stir emotions inside me. This small gothic/death horror story reminds me so much of the city I've fallen in love with as a traveller, Edinburgh, that, along with the sensitivity and poetics of Lyndsey's ideas, it felt like the best weekend read. Slow-burning and at the same time fast-paced, it's the story of a girl who sees ghosts only when it rains. It's a story of saying goodbye and parting ways. A story about family burdens and inescapable fantasies. Should be hailed as the perfect book for a ghost pyjama party reading marathon!
April 3, 2026
this was brill! 👏
April 11, 2026
This is a book of two halves. I really liked the main half in which Maggie meets Jack, but I really didn't like the sections in italics which felt baggy and told me too much. For me, they spoiled the tension rather than enhancing it.
February 17, 2026
This is a very dark and atmospheric ghost story about haunted houses and family curses.
May 18, 2026
Loved this gothic creepy story. Nice quick read
December 29, 2025
Gormemghast vibes in modern day Edinburgh.
In This City, Where it Rains had me breathless from the first sentence: 'Tair House sits at the edge of the city's memory on a cobbled street by an ancient cemetery where dead leaves rustle, and the only birds that speak their secrets to the stillness are crows, rooks, and magpies.'
Evocative, mesmerising, and mysterious, this is a novella that will live rent free in my brain for a long time. The mystery elements are handled perfectly to feed just enough information to set your brain spinning.
Maggie, the main character, is a bit of a loner, hardworking, sweet, and happens to be able to see ghosts. Her horrifying story arc had me curious to start with and finished with my heart in my throat.
If you enjoy Gothic settings with supernatural mysteries and a main character with a hidden past, you have to pick up this book.
In This City, Where it Rains had me breathless from the first sentence: 'Tair House sits at the edge of the city's memory on a cobbled street by an ancient cemetery where dead leaves rustle, and the only birds that speak their secrets to the stillness are crows, rooks, and magpies.'
Evocative, mesmerising, and mysterious, this is a novella that will live rent free in my brain for a long time. The mystery elements are handled perfectly to feed just enough information to set your brain spinning.
Maggie, the main character, is a bit of a loner, hardworking, sweet, and happens to be able to see ghosts. Her horrifying story arc had me curious to start with and finished with my heart in my throat.
If you enjoy Gothic settings with supernatural mysteries and a main character with a hidden past, you have to pick up this book.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews