Bound Feet, Kelsea’s 2022 SHIRLEY JACKSON AWARD-NOMINATED horror novella, IS AVAILABLE NOW through Cemetery Gates Media! INFO + ORDER LINKS BELOW.

About the book

On the night of the Hungry Ghost Moon, when spirits can briefly return to the living world, Jodi Wu and her best friend sneak into Portland’s Chinese Garden and Ghost Museum. Kneeling before the pond where Jodi’s toddler drowned one year before, they leave food offerings and burn joss paper—and Jodi prays that Ella’s ghost will return for the night.

To distract Jodi from her grief, the two friends tell each other ghost stories as they explore the museum. They stop at the main display, a centuries-old pair of lotus slippers belonging to a woman whose toes were broken and bound during childhood. While reading the woman’s story, Jodi hears her daughter’s voice.

As Jodi desperately searches the garden, it becomes apparent that Ella isn’t the only ghost they’ve awakened. Something ancient with a slow, shuffling step lurks in the shadows…

Content Warnings

child death (prior to story), child harm, violence, grieving dead child, supernatural possession, implied sexual assault (off-page)

ORDER BOUND FEET THROUGH AMAZON:

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ORDER BOUND FEET ELSEWHERE:

Also available through Cemetery Gates Media, bundled with the entire My Dark Library series (six novellas!)

PRAISE FOR BOUND FEET:

“Taking us on a thrilling, haunted ride filled with ancient ghosts and startling revelations, Bound Feet unveils what must be broken and twisted in order to don the lotus slipper.”

—K.P. Kulski, author of Fairest Flesh and House of Pungsu

“Kelsea Yu’s Bound Feet about a mother’s fearlessness, where she reaches into darkness in hopes of grasping light, is a novella carefully plotted and executed without losing realism, heart, or voice of the story. Yu juxtaposes the ancient with the modern, an eerie and jarring inter-section of the past and present that makes everything more uncanny. Yu shows us how loss, grief, and the act of mourning might change you and drive you, taking your mind and body to places you would overwise refuse to enter. A beautiful piece about haunting ghosts who only want their stories told, rather than hidden away, un-finished, untruthful—of friendship, betrayal, lies, and a sisterhood between the living and the dead.”

—Ai Jiang, author of Linghun

“Grief and folklore intertwine beautifully in this stunning tale. I look forward to reading more from Kelsea Yu!”

—doungjai gam, author of glass slipper dreams, shattered, and watch the whole goddamned thing burn

“Utilizing graceful twists and turns, Bound Feet tackles grief and rage passed down through generations. Yu reminds us that the need for not only justice but truth outlives the body.”

—J.A.W. McCarthy, author of Sometimes We’re Cruel and Other Stories

“Haunted by the specters of unimaginable loss, Kelsea Yu’s Bound Feet unearths the ways in which past and present can be bound together by the hungry ghosts of violence and betrayal. A story that demands to be heard in more ways than one, the rich reversals and revelations will keep readers on their toes until the very end of this exciting debut.”

—Gordon B. White, author of As Summer’s Mask Slips and Rookfield

Interviews featuring Bound Feet:

“Kelsea Yu - Bound Feet” (audio*)

DOG-EARED NIGHTMARES PODCAST, August 2023 (more links here)

“Episode 6.5 - Summertime Sadness” (audio)

CUTTHROAT QUEENS PODCAST, July 2023

Sadie Hartmann Interviews Kelsea Yu about Bound Feet (video)

NIGHTWORMS YOUTUBE CHANNEL, October 2022

MY DARK LIBRARY is a series of horror novellas edited by Sadie Hartmann (Mother Horror) and published through Cemetery Gates Media. Each novella is a standalone work by a different author.

For more info and updates on My Dark Library, check the website or follow the dedicated Instagram page.

Graphic that reads: Sadie Hartmann Presents My Dark Library with Cemetery Gates Media. Features the novella BOUND FEET by Kelsea Yu, with a photo of the author (black and white side profile of a Chinese American woman) and a brief book blurb.