For readers of Shirley Jackson, Mark Z. Danielewski, and the Sarah Water podcast.
They went to Kilvane House to disprove the haunting.
None of them were seen again.
The mysterious affair of the Kilvane Seven has become the stuff of urban legend. From the opening of the police investigation to its gradual relegation to the cold case files, the story has tormented and titillated those familiar with it for nearly thirty years.
The unequivocal facts of the matter are these: On the seventh of November 1998, Dr. Rhys Maddox, professor of psychology at the University of ██, opened an experimental field study at Kilvane House, Wexford. With six colleagues he entered the property to investigate centuries of reported anomalous phenomena. None of the seven were ever seen again.
For years the case has been hindered by an absence of evidence. Until now. Through means I will elucidate in due course, I have at last managed to locate the long-lost cache of documentary material produced by the team during their stay. What follows is a chilling reconstruction of the investigation as it unfolded — assembled from journals, transcripts, recovered audio, and other artifacts.
I trust the discerning reader will draw their own conclusions.
From Chapter 1 of Disproving Kilvane. The first words written by anyone inside the house.
We are all assembled. Max has put together quite a diverse crew. The group dynamics are already a bit electric. It certainly should be an interesting few weeks.
And the house — my god, the house! It's old and eerie and unsettling and utterly fascinating. All those months of research had made me feel as if we were already intimately acquainted, yet nothing could have prepared me for Kilvane in the flesh. Or mortar, I suppose. No, flesh seems more appropriate. This house pulsates with energy, like a living thing. The air feels ancient. Not musty or stale as you might expect in such an old building, but heavy — as if laden with centuries of trace emotions and memories. Max may be a skeptic, but if ever a house were haunted, Kilvane would certainly fit the bill.
Yes, Max is just as cynical as I remember. I still find it incredible that someone so sharp, so attuned to the inner workings of the human psyche, can walk through life with his eyes closed to virtually everything else around him. Everything, that is, which does not pertain to the grand objectives of his research. He misses nothing, yet sees so little.
"Are you excited, Aines?" he asked me tonight. "This study is going to make my career. Our careers. We're going to debunk the legends surrounding one of the most infamous haunted houses in the country with science — indisputable, empirically based science. These ridiculous superstitions have persisted for far too long. Everything has a rational explanation."
Does it? I'm not so sure anymore.
The next thirty chapters will not reassure her.
Order the Book — From $4.99Seven names. Seven dossiers. Seven tally marks scratched into the wall.
Cognitive Psychologist · Principal Investigator
Folkloric Anthropologist · Co-Investigator
Graduate Intern · Doctoral Candidate
Garda Sergeant (on leave) · Skeptic
Psychic Medium · Spiritualist
Volunteer · Disposition: Convivial
Volunteer · Bartender
[Placeholder for reader / reviewer quote — pull a strong line of 1–3 sentences from a beta reader, writing group, or early reviewer here.]
— Reviewer name · Publication or context
[Placeholder for second reader / reviewer quote. Keep these short and visceral — emotional reactions, not plot summaries.]
— Reviewer name · Publication or context
Your review
could be here.
Recommended for readers of Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House, Mark Z. Danielewski's House of Leaves, and the Sarah Waters podcast.
A single fragment, drawn from cassette 2A, side B. Source attribution: unknown.
Use headphones. Lower your volume. There is something in the room with you.
Order direct from Avian for a signed copy, or pick your preferred retailer below.
Trade paperback. Ships from Avian's home via USPS Media Mail.
$24.99 + $4.99 shipping
Order PaperbackSigned and personalized by Avian. Hardcover edition. Free shipping included.
$38.99 incl. shipping
Order Signed HardcoverKindle edition. Read on any Kindle device or the Kindle app.
$4.99
Find on Amazon Kindle →Or order from a retailer
New videos, behind-the-scenes from the book, and updates on what's coming next. No spam — just the occasional dispatch.
No spam · Unsubscribe at any time
Avian is a writer and historian with a background in European history. A former academic, she now tells stories that blend rigorous historical research with gothic, psychologically driven horror.
Disproving Kilvane is her debut novel. Find her on TikTok unpacking history's most unsettling mysteries.