Sign-In
Cart
The Washer of Dunquin
Paperback
Publisher: Black Bell Books
Published: May 6 2026
Pages: 186
Weight: 0.56
Height: 0.43 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
At the western edge of Ireland, where the land falls into the Atlantic and old names refuse to stay buried, a woman hears washing after midnight.
Nora Devlin has stayed away from Dunquin for sixteen years. She left behind the cliff roads, the salt wind, the old family house, and the childhood memory of a woman kneeling by the stream beneath the moon, washing a cloth that dripped dark into the water.
When her great aunt dies and leaves her a ruined wash house near the cliffs, Nora returns to settle the inheritance and escape again. But inside the stone building she finds bundles of linen, each tied with thread, each marked with a name, a date, and a death. Among them is one bearing the name of her brother, Cillian.
The old people know what it means. The washer has begun her work again.
As the nights deepen and the water rises, Nora is drawn into a family history of silence, stolen names, hidden grief, and a woman called Sorcha NÃ Laoghaire, whose fate was cut from the record more than a century before. To save Cillian, Nora must uncover the truth before the third washing is finished.
But some dead do not want revenge.
Some want to be named.
The Washer of Dunquin is a dark Irish gothic folk horror novel of coastal dread, old folklore, family secrets, death omens, and the terrifying power of memory. Set against the wind battered beauty of west Kerry, it is a haunting story for readers who love atmospheric horror, Celtic myth, literary gothic fiction, and supernatural tales rooted in place.
1 different editions
Also available
Also from
Kelly, Róisín R.
Also in
Horror
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Stories (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)
Stevenson, Robert Louis
Paperback
Japanese Gothic: A Folk Horror Novel of Japanese Mythology, Murder, and Family Duty Across Two Timelines
Baker, Kylie Lee
Hardcover
Incidents Around the House: A Novel: The Inspiration for the Movie Other Mommy
Malerman, Josh
Paperback
The Amalfi Curse: A Bewitching Tale of Sunken Treasure, Forbidden Love, and Ancient Magic on the Amalfi Coast
Penner, Sarah
Paperback
Frankenstein, Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Stevenson, Robert Louis
Stoker, Bram
Shelley, Mary
Paperback
THE GIRLS IN THE CABIN an absolutely unputdownable psychological thriller packed with heart-stopping twists
Stephens, Caleb
Paperback