When Emily Hayes arrives in Fairbrook for its annual Festival of Masks, she's already haunted by her mother's recent death. But the festival's dark charm turns sinister when she encounters a creepy mask vendor, cryptic warnings, and whispers that the masks choose their wearers-not the other way around. After finding a bloodstained mask, Emily is pulled into a nightmarish game where festival-goers treat murder as entertainment, and her friends transform into either victims or hunters. As the body count rises, she discovers a horrifying truth: her mother's death wasn't an accident, and the festival's supernatural force won't let her leave until she embraces its bloody tradition. With her sanity slipping and a mask that seems to have a mind of its own, Emily must uncover the festival's dark secrets before the Midnight Toll rings. But in Fairbrook, taking off your mask might be the deadliest move of all. Perfect for fans of dark fantasy and small-town horror, this atmospheric novella will make you think twice about what lies behind the masks we wear.