The Villa, Once Beloved
A dark history is unearthed amid crumbling façades in Lambda Literary fellow Victor Manibo’s new gothic tale of family, homecoming, and postcolonial vengeance . . .
Villa Sepulveda is a storied relic of the Philippines’ past: a Spanish colonial manor, its moldering stonework filled with centuries-old heirlooms, nestled in a remote coconut plantation. When their patriarch dies mysteriously, his far-flung family returns to their ancestral home. Filipino-American student Adrian Sepulveda invites his college girlfriend, Sophie, a transracial adoptee who knows little about her own Filipino heritage, to the funeral of a man who was entwined with the history of the country itself.
Sophie soon learns that there is more to the Sepulvedas than a grand tradition of political and entrepreneurial success. Adrian’s relatives clash viciously amid grief, confusion, and questions about the family curse that their matriarch refuses to answer. When a landslide traps them all in the villa, secrets begin to emerge, revealing sins both intimately personal and unthinkably public.
Sifting through fact, folklore, and fiction, Sophie finds herself at the center of a reckoning. Did a mythical demon really kill Adrian’s grandfather? How complicit are the Sepulvedas in the country’s oppressive history? As a series of ill omens befall the villa, Sophie must decide whom to trust—and whom to flee—before the family’s true legacy comes to take its revenge . . .
Reviews
"Atmospheric, immersive, slow-burn Filipino gothic....No longer beloved, the Sepulvedas all must face the consequences of their evil political and personal choices. Another great example of how voices from all over the world are injecting a centuries-old trope with their culture, history, and folk horror, both honoring and refreshing the gothic genre itself while giving readers a slew of new, terrifying tales to enjoy."Booklist
"Manibo has written a chilling gothic tale, using classic tropes to explore history, corruption, and injustices, both of the nation and the family. VERDICT: Ideal for fans of novels with deep family history and a strong sense of place such as Isabel Cañas’s The Hacienda or those who love a cursed family tale such as in This Cursed House by Del Sandeen, the book weaves a complex story of family secrets, crimes, and monsters, both human and supernatural, tied to the secrets and real-life terrors of a legacy of colonialism and the wealth and power provided to some, no matter the cost."
"Manibo weaves the tumultuous history of the Philippines with folklore and family drama to great effect—kinda like if Knives Out had a sleep paralysis demon sitting on its chest."Reactor
"Manibo has crafted a very enjoyable novel that sits right in the centre of modern Gothic horror. It’ll appeal not just to horror fans but fans of historical novels, as well as those who like to read and learn about other cultures. The atmosphere is wonderfully crafted, and Manibo keeps the reader turning the page to find out just what the truth is."
"For all its beauty, no saints, no heroes, no angels inhabit this villa -- only ghosts and secrets. Manibo has crafted a pitch-perfect modern gothic, in which the personal is political and there is no such thing as the past: only facets of a dangerous and suffocating present."Premee Mohamed, Nebula, World Fantasy, and Aurora award-winning author
"Manibo is the kind of writer who knows what's forever: the gothic, the triumph of queers, the family fable. He puts all that up against what cannot stand: colonialism, small-mindedness, the lies that keep us from ourselves. The Villa Once Beloved is a now and forever banger."Meg Elison, author of The Pill
"Manibo has penned a gothic family saga about the price of privilege—biting and raw, with an ensemble cast at odds with each other and themselves. And beneath this very real, immaculately-rendered drama, a simmering dread: dark secrets threatening to emerge, along with something much worse. The Villa, Once Beloved is a magnificent terror."Cadwell Turnbull, award-winning author of The Lesson and the Convergence Saga
"A harrowing tale delving into dark Filipino history, Manibo’s vintage style renews the gothic trope of haunted houses with the Sepulveda villa. A character all its own, the villa is secretive yet revealing, cursed yet still loved, frightening yet wounded. An unsettling read of horrific colonial atrocities and the aftermath of generational trauma."Shannon Morgan, author of Her Little Flowers and Grimdark
"The Villa, Once Beloved is a tale of eerie legacy, one branded with the mark of colonization and the haunting of family. It weighs the present against the past that paid for it. Victor Manibo steeps us deep in Filipino heritage, hierarchy, and history, crafting a tale that will keep your lights on at night."Markus Redmond, actor, screenwriter, and author of Blood Slaves
"A classic Gothic thriller set in the Philippines in the wake of the Marcos dictatorship, Victor Manibo’s terrifying new novel THE VILLA, ONCE BELOVED holds you tightly in its clutches and refuses to let go. A curious, headstrong young woman visits her boyfriend’s eerie ancestral home and confronts a horrific family legacy entwined with a nation’s dark history and her own mysterious past. This chilling tale seamlessly blends supernatural shocks and suspense with powerful political and social drama, and builds to a hair-raising climax. Sleepless nights await!"David Demchuk, Shirley Jackson Award-nominated author of The Bone Mother
“THE VILLA, ONCE BELOVED is a gothic, haunting tale of estrangement, dissecting the complexities of identity and diaspora, intergenerational trauma, and the helplessness of vicious cycles in a slow burn narrative bound together by chains of secrets buried and unearthed.”Ai Jiang, award-winning author of Linghun
“When college student Sophie travels to the Philippines with her boyfriend, Adrian, she’s hoping to get to know his family—and explore her own unfamiliar roots. She’s not expecting the macabre legends and folklore about his ancestral home to have any truth to them. But when everyone gathers for the funeral of Adrian’s grandfather and then are trapped in the villa by a landslide, Sophie comes to learn more about the family’s sins—and its curse—than she ever bargained for. Those who enjoy an immersive, atmospheric setting, legendary monsters, and family secrets won’t be able to put this one down.”Kelsey James, author of The Colony of Lost Souls
“Victor Manibo's The Villa, Once Beloved delivers thrills, chills, and the terrors of grappling with complicated birthrights and colonial legacy. Manibo tackles the revelations and horrors of complicated homecomings and tangled family ties in classic gothic fashion: nightmares, monsters, and bloody revelations.”Lara Elena Donnelly, Lambda Award-nominated author of the Amberlough Dossier trilogy
"Lush, richly imagined, and utterly entrancing as it builds a deeply unsettling dread, The Villa, Once Beloved is set within a historical context that gives the horror the heft it deserves. Step through the doors of this Filipino villa and you won’t even dream of escaping."Emily Carpenter, author of Gothictown and Burying the Honeysuckle Girls
"Gothic is so back with this one.... There’s such a rich sense of characterization throughout. Manibo mines deep into what makes these characters and this family tick, making for a horror that is also quite literary in its presentation."
"In The Villa, Once Beloved, Victor Manibo has given us an atmospheric setting on the old coconut plantation with a rich (if dark) past, complex characters, and a thrilling plot with a mix of folklore and history which combine to form a modern Gothic classic."