A psychological horror novel
The Call of the Void
It starts with a thought.
A dare. A death ruled suicide. An abandoned asylum that doesn't let go. When Liv goes looking for answers inside Black Vale, something follows her friends home: thoughts that aren't theirs, impulses they can't stop.
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About the Book
It starts with a thought.
In 1956, a lonely girl named Evelyn Harrow is locked away inside Black Vale Asylum, where no one comes looking for her.
Decades later, a dare sends a teenage boy into Black Vale's abandoned halls. Days later, he's dead, ruled a suicide.
Liv doesn't believe it. She and her friends go back inside for answers, and something follows them home.
Thoughts that aren't hers begin slipping out loud. Dark impulses spread through the group like a contagion. As the line between thought and action collapses, paranoia takes hold and no one can trust their own mind. Every answer leads deeper into Black Vale's buried history and the girl it locked away.
Now the curse is loose again. And once it starts... it doesn't let go.
A slow-burn, atmospheric psychological horror novel about intrusive thoughts, grief, and a close-knit group of teens coming apart. It's built on creeping dread more than gore, for readers who love creepy asylums, rich small-town lore, and stories that make you question what's real.
The cows came first. Read Chapter One free.
Some thoughts sound better with music. Listen to the book's soundtrack.
What Readers Are Saying
THIS is the kind of psychological horror I've been craving.
"A sense of dread just stays draped over you like a heavy blanket throughout the entire book."
"Instead of relying solely on jump scares or gore, the story creates psychological horror that gets under your skin and stays with you long after you've finished reading."
"With each page turn you knew something was off."
"I felt the sadness, loneliness, and dread of the place deep in my bones."
"I stared at the wall for a solid ten minutes."
About the Author
J. Allen House is the pen name of Josh House, a U.S. Navy veteran and writer of psychological horror. He served 11 years in the Navy, four of them on active duty, including island duty, time aboard two ships, and a deployment to the Persian Gulf.
He grew up moving between Alabama, Ohio and Georgia, and today lives in Vermilion, Ohio, on the shore of Lake Erie. The Call of the Void is set in Cold Hollow, a fictional Midwestern town, and in the abandoned Black Vale Asylum that holds its darkest secrets.
- ServiceU.S. Navy veteran, 11 years
- HomeVermilion, Ohio, on Lake Erie
- WritesSlow-burn psychological horror
Where to Buy
Any Bookstore
Ask your local bookstore to order it. It's distributed through Ingram, so any store can order the hardcover with the ISBN:
9798182758901
On the Shelf
Find it at Clintonville Books in Columbus, Ohio.
Press Kit
Book Details
- Title
- The Call of the Void
- Author
- J. Allen House
- Genre
- Psychological horror
- Published
- June 2026
- Formats
- Hardcover $24.99, paperback $15.99, ebook $2.99
- ISBN (hardcover)
- 9798182758901
- Distribution
- Ingram
For Media & Reviewers
Available on request by email:
- Review copies (EPUB or PDF)
- High-resolution author photo
- High-resolution cover image
Short bio: J. Allen House is a U.S. Navy veteran and psychological horror writer who lives in Vermilion, Ohio, on Lake Erie. The Call of the Void is out now.
Contact
For readers, booksellers, reviewers and media, email is the best way to reach me.