Night security guard Enrico Malera accepts what seems like a simple job: house-sitting for his wealthy friend Gianfranco for one week. The luxurious villa offers a tantalizing taste of the affluent lifestyle he’s always coveted but never achieved.
However, when Enrico ventures into the cellar, he unwittingly crosses a threshold into something beyond comprehension. Suddenly, reality warps around him. The nearby town of Verulengo empties of inhabitants, replaced by something far more sinister. His only companion—a massive Leonberger dog named Black—seems to sense the wrongness permeating the estate.
As inexplicable phenomena escalate and ghostly figures from the past emerge, Enrico receives a cryptic warning: “Don’t look, for any reason in the world.” But some horrors demand to be witnessed, even at the cost of one’s sanity… or soul.
“The Nightmare Behind the Door” is a masterful psychological horror that blurs the line between external threats and the monsters we harbor within. Exploring themes of class envy, betrayal, and guilt, this chilling tale proves that what waits in the darkness is often a reflection of our deepest fears and regrets.
The second standalone novel in the acclaimed Italian Mysteries Series, following “The Isle of the Dead.”
Available in ebook and paperback formats.
Reviews:
- Why You Should Read “The Nightmare Behind the Door”: A Psychological Horror That Gets Under Your Skin
Every neighborhood has one—that house everyone whispers about. The one where something terrible happened, where the past refuses to stay buried. But what if accepting a simple house-sitting job could trap you in a nightmare that blurs the line between your deepest fears and a terrifying reality? Welcome to “The Nightmare Behind the Door” by Fabrizio Valenza,… Leggi tutto: Why You Should Read “The Nightmare Behind the Door”: A Psychological Horror That Gets Under Your Skin - Haunted Houses and The Nightmare Behind the Door – The First Testimony
The Nightmare Behind the Door (my new English novel) is a haunted house story. We could put it that way, or, if you prefer, a ghost story that, however, doesn’t have much that’s classic about it. Of course, when horror narrative enters a house, you’ll find some widespread and recurring tropes (narrative conventions). The cellar, for example.… Leggi tutto: Haunted Houses and The Nightmare Behind the Door – The First Testimony - The Common Thread of My Stories – How the Themes of “The Desert of Carcosa” Run Through All My Narrative Work
Every writer unconsciously builds a universe of themes and symbols that flow through their works like an underground river. “The Desert of Carcosa” represents the convergence point of themes I’ve explored in previous novels, creating connections that reveal the profound coherence of my literary imagination where mystery drives every narrative. - A New Chapter in Horror Writing: member of the Horror Writers Association
In the silence of my study in Rivoli Veronese, surrounded by my books and the stories I’ve created over the years, news arrived that has illuminated one of my dearest professional paths: I have been admitted as a member of the Horror Writers Association. Every writer has their rituals. Mine includes a cup of coffee… Leggi tutto: A New Chapter in Horror Writing: member of the Horror Writers Association - “The Nightmare Behind the Door”: New English Translation Brings Italian Horror to Global Readers
May 11, 2025 – Following the italian success of “The Isle of the Dead,” the second installment in the Italian Mysteries Series has finally arrived. “The Nightmare Behind the Door,” my psychological horror novel originally published in Italian as “L’incubo dietro la porta,” is now available in English for readers worldwide. A Journey Into the Darkest… Leggi tutto: “The Nightmare Behind the Door”: New English Translation Brings Italian Horror to Global Readers
Fabrizio Valenza – Immaginazioni, scritture, filosofia 