Welcome to The American Bottom
Some family trees have roots in hell. A geology professor uncovers a terrifying conspiracy beneath the floodplains of Southern Illinois in The American Bottom, an atmospheric folk horror novella. The Smithsonian didn’t just hide the history—they curated a bloodline to protect it.
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GET NOTIFIED ON RELEASE EXPLORE THE ARCHIVESThe soil of The American Bottom remembers what history forgot.
They call the region “Little Egypt.” Sandwiched between the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, the land known as The American Bottom is a place of floodplains, ancient mounds, and towns with names like Cairo, Thebes, and Karnak. For geology professor Charley Laveau, it was supposed to be a fresh start—a pastoral haven for himself, his young daughter Marie, and his new wife, Nellie.
But the soil here does not behave as it should.
It starts with the animals. Cows found drained of blood in the fields. Vultures that watch the house like a committee in session. And then, the terrifying changes in Marie. A sudden, unnatural growth spurt. A fascination with dead languages. And a blind devotion to her stepmother, who seems less interested in raising the girl than in ripening her.
As Charley digs into the local lore of The American Bottom, he uncovers a conspiracy stretching from the dusty basements of the public library to the redacted archives of the Smithsonian Institution. He discovers that the “Cato” lineage didn’t die out a century ago—it went underground.
They aren’t looking for a new home. They are preparing a vessel.
Explore the Lore of The American Bottom
Some files were never meant to be declassified. Dive into the restricted archives before the book drops.
ARCHIVE 93: CLOSED. An 1893 Bureau of Ethnology report detailing the excavation of Mound 4B. The truth about the giants was deemed a “risk of public hysteria.”
The Cato Lineage. An 1820 census record exposing the dark history of the original settlers in Little Egypt.
Patient C. Laveau. Is it a descent into madness, or is the land itself driving the apophenia?
What to Expect
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A Slow-Burn Folk Horror
No cheap jump scares. Just a suffocating, atmospheric dread that builds page by page in the isolated Shawnee Hills of The American Bottom.
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The Cosmic Conspiracy
Blends meticulous historical research of the real mounds in The American Bottom with a terrifying, bureaucratic occult conspiracy.
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The Stepmother Reimagined
A chilling, grounded take on the classic wicked stepmother trope. She isn’t abusive—she’s clinical, calculating, and preparing for the harvest.
About Willy Martinez
Willy Martinez is an author of dark fiction and folk horror, including the acclaimed Folklore and Flesh, and the founder of Mind on Fire Books. A longtime resident of the Midwest, he has spent years exploring the backroads, waterways, and forgotten libraries of Southern Illinois. His work blends historical fact with the esoteric, drawing on studies of Thelemic traditions, deep geology, and local legends. When he isn’t writing, he can be found kayaking the Cache River wetlands or hiking the Shawnee Hills, looking for the places where the maps don’t quite match the territory. The American Bottom is his latest release.
