ITCH!: The darkly feminist horror novel crawling under your skin for Halloween 2025
Gemma Amor
Oct 2025 · Hodder & Stoughton · Narrated by Gemma Amor
headphones
Audiobook
9 hr 22 min
Unabridged
family_home
Eligible
info
infoThis book will become available on October 9, 2025. You will not be charged until it is released.
About this audiobook
READERS LOVE GEMMA's DARK WORLD
'If you are after something that is both shocking and horrifically beautiful then take a journey and discover this little atrocity for yourself'' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'I kept telling myself I really should turn off the light and get to bed now, eyes dry, head heavy, but every sentence in this book commands the reader keep turning the pages and press onward...' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Gemma pulled me in with this compelling tale. Each page turned yielded me to another. I couldn't stop. Seriously!' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Josie is at rock bottom. Burned out and recovering from an abusive relationship, she lives a haunted existence after returning to her isolated hometown on the edge of the Forest of Dean.
But the tall, dense pine trees are not the only things casting shadows across her skin.
When Josie stumbles across a dead woman's decaying, ant-infested body in the woods, she plummets into a downward spiral, facing uncomfortable truths about the victim and her own past - all whilst battling the swarming black ants that seem to have burrowed into her mind . . . and her flesh.
Struggling with infestations of all kinds, Josie scratches the surface of an age-old mystery - a masked predator stalks the forest around Ellwood, a place deeply gripped by folklore and strange customs. As the village prepares for its annual festival, Josie gets closer and closer to unveiling a monster, and begins to ask herself:
Are these dark crawling insects leading her to uncover the truth? Or is she their next victim?
'If you are after something that is both shocking and horrifically beautiful then take a journey and discover this little atrocity for yourself'' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'I kept telling myself I really should turn off the light and get to bed now, eyes dry, head heavy, but every sentence in this book commands the reader keep turning the pages and press onward...' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Gemma pulled me in with this compelling tale. Each page turned yielded me to another. I couldn't stop. Seriously!' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Josie is at rock bottom. Burned out and recovering from an abusive relationship, she lives a haunted existence after returning to her isolated hometown on the edge of the Forest of Dean.
But the tall, dense pine trees are not the only things casting shadows across her skin.
When Josie stumbles across a dead woman's decaying, ant-infested body in the woods, she plummets into a downward spiral, facing uncomfortable truths about the victim and her own past - all whilst battling the swarming black ants that seem to have burrowed into her mind . . . and her flesh.
Struggling with infestations of all kinds, Josie scratches the surface of an age-old mystery - a masked predator stalks the forest around Ellwood, a place deeply gripped by folklore and strange customs. As the village prepares for its annual festival, Josie gets closer and closer to unveiling a monster, and begins to ask herself:
Are these dark crawling insects leading her to uncover the truth? Or is she their next victim?
About the author
Gemma Amor is a Bram Stoker and British Fantasy Award-nominated horror author, editor, illustrator, and podcaster based in Bristol, UK. She was named one of Esquire's Writers Shaping Horror's Next Golden Age, and recently featured in Ellen Datlow's prestigious Best Horror of the Year anthology, Vol. 15.
Gemma loves to write about misunderstood monsters, both human and supernatural, as well as feminist horror. Itch! is her first novel with Hodder & Stoughton.
Gemma loves to write about misunderstood monsters, both human and supernatural, as well as feminist horror. Itch! is her first novel with Hodder & Stoughton.
Listening information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can read books purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
