Benothinged

Unemployed, depressed and grieving, all Mask wants is to be left alone to enjoy their misery. But they are haunted: in the day by a tea-obsessed elderly neighbour and in their nightmares by a spectral shapeshifter.

Then there’s V, a secretive busker who regales Mask with stories about The Nothing, a soul-sucking monster who bears an uncanny resemblance to the spectre in Mask’s dreams.

When The Nothing makes its spectacular debut in the real world, Mask must race to destroy it before it destroys them. But after years of isolation, who can Mask truly trust?

To survive, Mask needs to do the impossible: find a reason to live.

Benothinged is an ambitious horror-comedy that confronts grief, isolation, mental illness and poverty. Told with cleaver-sharp wit and insight, Benothinged will consume whoever opens its pages.

Reviews of Benothinged

"As terrifying as it is empathetic – Benothinged is proper powerful horror."
Alison Rumfitt, author of Tell Me I'm Worthless & Brainwyrms

"This whip-smart, blackly humorous story of grief and friendship dives deep into the sucking vortex of social isolation. With an achingly relatable protagonist and one of the best monster-villains I've read in years, Benothinged lingers in the mind like an unwanted houseguest."
Eris Young, author of Ace Voices and They/Them/Their

“Alvar Theo writes in such a casual, charming way; whether it be dealing with living in a capitalistic hellscape, dealing with transphobia, or immortal demonic entities. They perfectly encapsulate the dark humour in being at the end of your rope, and how sometimes the only thing keeping you going is spite.”
Lor Gislason, editor of Bound In Flesh: An Anthology of Trans Body Horror

“In Benothinged, Alvar Theo asks what if the real monster of queer horror is isolation, mental illness, grief, poverty, and all of the other things that people face in modern day Britain, and if so, how might we defeat that monster? The result is a book that is haunting, bittersweet, and yet also full of tiny joys, as the trans protagonists learn to work together to build a world free of this monster.”
Fiendfully Reading

"If you’ve ever felt swallowed by the shadows, Benothinged will strike a chord. Alvar Theo masterfully captures the essence of struggle against an unseen force—The Nothing—that haunts the protagonist, Mask. It’s not just a story about fighting ghosts; it’s a raw, gripping narrative about battling the very real demons of grief, isolation, and mental illness."
The Horror Tree

“A cleverly crafted take on British horror, it’s an intriguing journey through grief and isolation told with wit and heart.”
The Book Beard