S.H. Cooper always knows how to bring the scary. A man haunted and a cousin trying to help makes up this nice tale of supernatural that keeps you involved and on the edge of your seat.
The characters are the strong point for this one. You get invested quick.
Recommended.

This was a great little gothic ghost story!

The vibes were spooky and I was initially drawn in by the promise of ghosts, but there ended up being so much heart to the story! My favorite aspects were the gothic setting and Eudora and her canine companions! I would have loved to see more of Eudora in this story, but alas, a short story can only be so long!

I do think the ending felt a little rushed. Coming up to the ending, we have already learned much about what is truly going on with these ghosts, but the resolution felt a bit incomplete.

Overall, this was a very solid gothic read!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Raw Dog Screaming Press for the arc!

S.H. Cooper has written an intriguing Gothic mystery, about a man being haunted by strangely acting spectres, and his female cousin coming back home and trying to save him. Although it goes full supernatural very fast, it never degenerates into a typical story of this sort. The author makes it very difficult to put the book down, especially towards the last third, when we're on the verge of discovering what's causing the weird events transpiring. That said, the tale's strength is not so much plot as characterization: the man tormented by guilt, seeking to find solace in alcohol, occasionally behaving totally irrational and violent, the female cousin, a widow who's still mourning her husband's loss, who loves her cousin and never backs down from conflict, no matter how frustrated or threatened she may feel; they're all portrayed with such great empathy and attention to psychological detail, it sometimes felt like the story was filled with cruel honesty and cold sincerity to the point of despair. That said, I found the supernatural elements very much underwhelming, and wouldn't have been surprised if they'd all turned to be solely the product of hereditary mental issues or an overactive imagination. In fact, I'm convinced the supernatural was mostly a pretext to introduce another interesting character in the story, namely Eudora, some sort of witch or psychic with a very mysterious past. Perhaps the author will return to her in due time.

This is an excellent novella about how ghosts can attach themselves to a person that has extra sensitivity or has experienced trauma. The setting, characters, and situations are all beautifully written and have a lot of depth for the length of the novella.

The finale, especially was both unnerving and beautiful in a way.

''𝑯𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝑫𝒂𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒎𝒆 𝒔𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔."

Thank you to Netgalley, Raw Dog Screaming Press and S. H. Cooper for the ARC. 🖤

A gothic victorian setting with ghost? I was deeply in from the very start.

Having read nothing from S. H. Cooper previously, I didn't know what to expect going in but I'll absolutely be on the lookout for anything and everything they publish in the future - I'll read their shopping list if need be.

"Bottling His Ghosts" was a gorgeous victorian horror novella that explored the themes of guilt, grief and the toxic societal expectations of men beautifully.

I loved the cast of characters, specifically Eudora and her two faithful canine companions, and I loved to finally meet Thorn properly towards the end of the novella.

My only gripe with this book was that I wished the ending sequence was a bit more fleshed out, it felt a bit rushed at times. But that could also be just me yearning for more time with these characters.

Bravo Cooper, bravo!

This one had such a strong setup, a grieving widow returning to a haunted family home, a cousin drowning in guilt and alcohol, and ghosts with unclear intentions? I was in. The writing was atmospheric, and the grief was portrayed in a heavy, honest way that stuck with me.

That said, it didn’t fully grip me. The pacing dragged a bit, and I found myself wanting more from the supernatural side. The ghosts were spooky but not as menacing or mysterious as I hoped, and some of the emotional beats didn’t quite hit as hard as they were set up to.