The Goblin

In a remote rural village overshadowed by an ancient hill fort, fear is never far from memory—it is inherited. When a young man named Cillian survives an accident that should have claimed him, the village begins to whisper. A strange object remains in his possession, warm and cold at once, and the land itself seems to remember him. As old beliefs resurface and a missing man returns changed, the village fractures along familiar lines: faith and doubt, shame and zeal, protection and sacrifice. What begins as unease hardens into ritual certainty, drawing neighbors into a night of fire, light, and irreversible choice beneath the standing stones on the hill. Caught between the pull of an ancient power and the stubborn love of those who refuse to give him up, Cillian must decide who is allowed to name him—his community, the land, or himself. In the aftermath, the village must live with what it nearly became, and what it still might. A literary folk-horror novel rooted in atmosphere and moral tension, The Hill and the Shards explores collective guilt, inherited fear, and the cost of belonging. It is a story about how communities justify harm, how belief hardens into violence, and how choosing oneself can be the most dangerous act of all.