A Gothic Thriller Rooted in American History—Where the Line Between the Living and the Dead Is Deliberately, Dangerously Blurred

Emily Trask
Apr 23
2 min read

The Knocking is Now Available for Pre-Order; Release Date: July 14, 2026

New York, NY — What happens when a woman trained to ask hard questions is sent to investigate something she cannot explain? That is the harrowing premise of The Knocking, the gripping new historical gothic novel by acclaimed author Laura Lee Bahr, publishing July 14, 2026 from Little A. It is available for pre-order now.

The year is 1850. Edith Ann “E.A.” Howe, journalist, women’s rights advocate, and fiercely rational observer, arrives at the Manhattan home of Horace Greeley, founder of the New-York Tribune and one of the most powerful men in America. Her assignment: chronicle the so-called gifts of Cathie Fox, an eleven-year-old medium rumored to channel the spirit of the Greeleys’ deceased son. What begins as a journalistic curiosity rapidly becomes something far more sinister. The house itself seems to be listening. The knocking never stops. And someone… or something… does not want E. A. to get too close.

"Bahr (Who Is the Liar) shines in this creepy gothic thriller about a female journalist in 1850. . . Bahr exploits gothic tropes and her historical setting for maximum atmosphere, gradually ratcheting up the suspense to a fever pitch. It’s a memorable ghost story."

—Publishers Weekly

Bahr’s novel is both a work of atmospheric suspense and a richly researched piece of feminist historical fiction. Set against the backdrop of the American Spiritualism movement—a well-documented, culturally seismic moment when séances filled parlors, the Fox Sisters captivated the nation, and women found rare power as conduits between worlds—The Knocking refuses to separate the personal from the political. E.A. is navigating a world that wants women silent, compliant, and credulous. She is also, quietly, falling for the governess.

“A breathless page-turner… a hauntingly immersive feast of a book that will keep you glued to its pages.”

— Harini Nagendra, author of The Bangalore Detective Club series

Readers who love the domestic dread of Shirley Jackson, the lush period atmosphere of Stacy Halls, and the queer gothic tension of Sarah Waters will find themselves immediately at home in Bahr’s nineteenth-century New York, and thoroughly charmed with E.A.’s playful and penetrating voice.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Laura Lee Bahr is the author of Who Is the Liar; Haunt (winner of the Wonderland Book Award for Best Novel, 2011); Long-Form Religious Porn; and the short story collection Angel Meat (Wonderland Book Award for Best Collection, 2017). Her short fiction appears in over a dozen literary magazines and anthologies. As a filmmaker, she wrote and directed Boned, winner of Best Micro-Budget Feature at the Toronto Independent Film Festival, and was awarded the Spring 2018 writer-in-residence at the Kerouac House in Orlando, Florida.