The Drowning Bride
A Folk Horror Novel
By Prasanth N.M.

Every tide takes something. This one demands a bride.

Travel writer Aarav Menon arrives on the storm-battered island of Vaerra to document the fading rituals of its seafaring people. But what begins as a cultural study quickly turns into something far more sinister. The villagers are preparing for the Tide Union, a haunting ceremony in which a chosen woman is married to the Sea God, an offering cast adrift into the violent sea in a coffin-like boat.

This year, the chosen bride is Maari, a defiant, sharp-eyed young woman with secrets as deep as the ocean itself. As the storm clouds gather and the ritual draws near, Aarav finds himself drawn to Maari, even as the island's ancient traditions begin to rot from within.

But the sea is not a symbol. The Sea God is real. And beneath the crashing waves, something ancient stirs, something that wears the drowned faces of past brides and hungers for more.

Dark, atmospheric, and disturbingly lyrical, The Drowning Bride is a folk horror descent into forgotten rites, monstrous love, and the price of defiance.