Transmutation: A Southern Gothic Novella of Creatures, Family, and Cosmic Transformation

He came to Raleigh to begin again. What waited beneath the house remembered him first. Raleigh, North Carolina. After leaving Phoenix behind, Fred moves into a weathered old apartment in Oakwood, where the gardens are lush, the houses keep their secrets, and something impossible stirs beneath the floorboards. At first, it is only sound: ductwork buckling in the dark, glass shattering in the kitchen, the low breath of a house that seems alive. Then Fred sees the creature in the basement: tall, gray, eyeless, and waiting with a mouth full of teeth. But the creature is not the only mystery. Fred begins to suffer strange episodes of blindness. Objects vanish and return. Memories shift. And Karen, the beautiful neighbor who draws him close with a force deeper than attraction, knows more about the darkness than she can bear to say. When Fred follows Karen into the old family country of Bladen County, the truth begins to break open. A child named Shelley, a hidden history of fire, and a family bond older than memory reveal that Fred has not escaped the past. He has been sleeping inside it. Transmutation is a metaphysical Southern Gothic novel of creature identity, family restoration, and spiritual transformation. From the haunted houses of Raleigh to a worldwide conflict over what humanity was, what it has become, and what it may yet be, Frank Thomas King’s novel asks one unsettling question: If the monster is what you truly are, can love still teach you how to become holy? Perfect for readers who enjoy: Southern Gothic atmosphere and old-house mystery Metaphysical and visionary speculative fiction Creature mythology with emotional depth Stories of family, memory, sacrifice, and transformation Thoughtful science-fantasy about identity, fear, and reconciliation. The body changes. Memory breaks. Love remains.