When I heard that a few months ago, Widows of the Gale was scheduled for October 2025 earthling publicationsI was too ecstatic. kieran patrick bourke (Sour Candy, Kin) He is a writer deeply attuned to fear. It’s the texture, the stillness…the slow, patient blooming. in Widows of the Galehe directs his talents to the isolated island of Ireland, already half-occupied by hardship, loss, and the passage of time. The result is a marine-rich folklore nightmare that blends the rhythms of classic strange fiction with Burke’s signature emotional horror. Let’s talk about it.
Widows of the Gale This work is equal parts ghost story, mythic legend, and elegy, wrapped in the salt-bleached sadness of a community on the brink of extinction. The novel begins in the shadow of World War II, a moment in The Winding Gale when absence becomes an already familiar presence. Young people either died, victims of the harshness of life on the rugged island, or left in search of a better future on the mainland. Burke conveys this sadness with quiet precision, making readers feel the weight of an aging population where untold memories are woven into every remaining life. So when the men on the island go missing on a fishing trip, the loss feels less like a rupture and more like a terrifying continuation. A familiar story unfolds in an unfamiliar and eerie way.
Widows of the Gale It turns the concept of disappearance into not only a tragedy, but a myth. An unexplained green fog settles in, effectively cutting the women further off from the rest of the world. Strange spiral symbols begin to appear along the coastline, both eerie and ritualistic. A mesmerizing yet sad voice invites the living to the sea. Ships emerged from the mist like ghosts, stones and dead fish arranged in the shape of sigils, and beneath the waves the eerie roar of something ancient could be heard. These elements of classic folk horror are exercised with great immediacy in Burke’s hands, making them feel fresh and new. His images reflect Coleridge, Hope Hodgson and Machen without feeling derivative. Instead, Widows of the Gale This work can be read as a living conversation with the artists, and is not a simple homage but a continuation of oceanic strangeness.
At the center of this strangeness are women. They are mothers, sisters, widows-in-waiting, and survivors. Burke’s portraits of them are the emotional center of the book. Their grief is communal yet deeply personal. Their fears are tempered by a fierce and hard-won resilience. When the threat becomes impossible to ignore, the women of Winding Gale become a battleground for Burke to explore themes of inherited trauma, intergenerational obligations, and the often overlooked ferocity of those left behind.
what to configure Widows of the Gale What sets Trapped on an Island apart from other horror stories is the way Burke depicts femininity not as weakness but as perseverance. These women are not passive victims of a man’s disappearance or supernatural intrusion. They are fully realized characters, and their relationships shape the progression of the story. Their fights, loyalties, secrets, and shared history create a living community worth fighting for. And as the dead begin to rise, both literally and figuratively, the story becomes a tale of what it means to confront a force older and colder than the ocean itself.
Burke’s prose is taut and lyrical, moving effortlessly between quiet melancholy and explosive horror. His control of the atmosphere is admirable. Fog seems to permeate every page, the ocean feels like a living antagonist, every shadow holding the potential for revelation or destruction. The pacing is deliberate, building toward a crescendo that balances intimate character moments with overwhelming mythic horror.
one of Widows of the Gale‘s greatest strength is its sense of place. Winding Gale feels old not because of its age, but because of the accumulation of stories, sorrows, and whispered beliefs that Burke weaves into every paragraph. This island is both a cradle and a coffin. Burke understands the psychological conditions of isolation. It breeds superstition, unites people, and is susceptible to both surprise and fear. The events that unfold feel not only believable, but inevitable. It was as if the island had been waiting for this fog to lift tonight.
meanwhile Widows of the Gale It pays homage to the maritime horror tradition of ghost ships, drowning ships, sirens, and the dangerous magic of Samhain, but it’s also thoroughly modern. Burke explores the emotional toll of war, the erosion of rural communities, and the harsh realities of women forced to rebuild in the aftermath of tragedy. The fear itself is personal, perhaps a little older, an evil that springs from the depths, yet quieter and more subtle, the specter of loss and generational decline.
after all Widows of the Gale It’s a remarkable achievement. A modern folk horror story steeped in mythology and salt water, carried by the intense emotional core of the women who underpin the story. This is one of Burke’s most haunting works to date, a testament to his ability to blend the intimate and the epic, the human and the macabre. Eerie, melancholy, and haunting, this novel is a storm I am grateful to have weathered. Thanks to Paul at Earthling Publications for sending me the ARC.
For more information about Kealan Patrick Burke, please visit: Abe Bookshis Websiteor follow him Instagram.
Image via Earthling Publications
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