Hollowed & Worn - william haddix

In this collection of unsettling tales, the boundaries between the physical world and something far more patient begin to dissolve.

In an aging prewar walk-up, a woman tracks the precise, heavy footsteps of a tenant who shouldn't exist-until the ceiling above her bed begins to soften like dough under the pressure of a descending hand. In the frozen silence of Vinterfjord, a reindeer herder watches his flock vanish one by one, replaced by cherished tokens from a past he thought was buried deep beneath the snow. Meanwhile, a high-end plastic surgeon discovers that his surgical "corrections" are being mirrored by the faces of strangers, as though the universe is ruthlessly balancing the books of symmetry.

From a suitcase that grows heavier with the weight of a man's own soul to a reflection that stops mimicking its owner and starts making its own moves, Hollowed & Worn explores the terrifying moment when we realize we are not alone in the spaces we inhabit.

The things under the floorboards, behind the glass, and beneath the skin aren't just watching-they are waiting for you to notice they've always been there.