The Ghostkeeper

With an alchemical mix of horror, humor, drama, and romance, this gothic YA graphic novel is a hauntingly good ghost story and a heartfelt meditation on mental health, grief, and loss.

Dorian Leith has an unusual gift—and what most people might even call a curse—he can see ghosts. It’s an ability he’s had since a near-death experience as a child, and one which he now uses to help ghosts move on to the afterlife. Before he came to town, most people turned to exorcists to rid their homes of specters but now Dorian helps them deal with their unfinished business and develop the coping skills they need to get out of limbo. Although it’s a job that’s made him somewhat of an outcast, it’s also a fulfilling one that’s given him a bigger purpose.

But then one day, the key to Death’s Door goes missing, and traps all of the ghosts in the living world. Since he’s seemingly the only person who can see them (and certainly one of the only people who cares about their plight), the ghosts lean on Dorian to help find the key before they are lost to a ghostly rot that begins to plague them.

Of course, Dorian wants to help, but there’s only one of him and more ghosts popping up by the day. As the rot continues to spread, the ghosts become more and more desperate, haunting Dorian’s every waking hour. Soon he's barely able to keep his head above water, neglecting both his burgeoning relationship with cute bookshop owner Brody and his own ghostly grandmother. Will Dorian be able to return the key to Death’s Door and bring the ghosts peace, or will the cracks in his physical and mental wellbeing spell doom not only for the ghosts but his own life as well?