Leanna Renee Hieber
@leannareneehieber.bsky.social
Gothic novelist + ghost-filled non-fiction celebrating women's history. Actress. Goth. Narrator. Playwright. NYC Ghost Tour Guide. A HAUNTED HISTORY OF INVISIBLE WOMEN, AMERICA'S MOST GOTHIC (USA Today Bestseller, Kensington), STRANGELY BEAUTIFUL (Tor)
Pinned
America’s Most Gothic: Haunted History Stranger than Fiction
Haunted History Stranger than Fiction
bookshop.org
2025 Awards Eligibility! 🖤
Horror/Paranormal/Speculative short: "Frau Perchta Comes for the Count" in CASTLE OF HORROR v. 12: RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES
Book-length Non-Fiction: AMERICA'S MOST GOTHIC: HAUNTED HISTORY STRANGER THAN FICTION, co-authored with Andrea Janes
bookshop.org/p/books/amer...
Horror/Paranormal/Speculative short: "Frau Perchta Comes for the Count" in CASTLE OF HORROR v. 12: RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES
Book-length Non-Fiction: AMERICA'S MOST GOTHIC: HAUNTED HISTORY STRANGER THAN FICTION, co-authored with Andrea Janes
bookshop.org/p/books/amer...
Reposted by Leanna Renee Hieber
I guarantee you if we took all the funding away from the legendary assholes and gave it to talented nice people, we would have an equal if not greater amount of good movies and fewer traumatized and miserable assistants, crew, and actors.
December 7, 2025 at 3:20 AM
I guarantee you if we took all the funding away from the legendary assholes and gave it to talented nice people, we would have an equal if not greater amount of good movies and fewer traumatized and miserable assistants, crew, and actors.
Reposted by Leanna Renee Hieber
I STRONGLY endorse Leanna's shop!!
Night Crowd: New Bats, New Bats! + sparkly restored vintage scatter pins & much more, made w/ love by your friendly neighborhood Goth & Gothic Novelist!
torchandarrow.etsy.com
🦇
(Partner & I run the shop in lieu of Patreons, so you're supporting tons of writing/art by checking out our shop, THX!) 🖤
torchandarrow.etsy.com
🦇
(Partner & I run the shop in lieu of Patreons, so you're supporting tons of writing/art by checking out our shop, THX!) 🖤
December 7, 2025 at 2:06 AM
I STRONGLY endorse Leanna's shop!!
Reposted by Leanna Renee Hieber
Thinking about how interesting it is that I have rarely ever seen a “bride of Frankenstein” character that is visibly made up of pieces like her original male counterpart. From Bride of Frankenstein to Young Frankenstein to Poor Things, female Creations often appear whole and beautiful.
December 7, 2025 at 4:28 AM
Thinking about how interesting it is that I have rarely ever seen a “bride of Frankenstein” character that is visibly made up of pieces like her original male counterpart. From Bride of Frankenstein to Young Frankenstein to Poor Things, female Creations often appear whole and beautiful.
Hey friends, not only is this movie fun, like all of the Knives Out films, but this one packs an extra punch of timely poignancy. It's thoughtful & moving in ways I didn't expect, cackle-laugh inducing in the ways I'd hoped, with brilliant performances. My favorite of a franchise I already loved. 🖤
Our gorgeous #WakeUpDeadMan end credit portraits, painted from life by Isabella Watling. We’re still in theaters, see my pinned post for a theater finder!
December 7, 2025 at 5:10 AM
Hey friends, not only is this movie fun, like all of the Knives Out films, but this one packs an extra punch of timely poignancy. It's thoughtful & moving in ways I didn't expect, cackle-laugh inducing in the ways I'd hoped, with brilliant performances. My favorite of a franchise I already loved. 🖤
Reposted by Leanna Renee Hieber
If you like the look of the above, I bet you'll love how I utilized her as an equalizing force in "Frau Perchta Comes for the Count", featured in Castle of Horror Vol. 12 Ripped From the Headlines: www.castlebridgemedia.com/product-page... & Inspired by one of my chapters from America's Most Gothic.
Castle of Horror Anthology Volume 12: Ripped from the Headlines | Castle Bridge Media
On Sale NOW! Order Your Copy TODAY!The Castle of Horror is BACK with stories torn-- ripped, that is-- from the headlines:In “Ghost Flight” by Dennis K. Crosby, a man’s grief and a deal with a being ca...
www.castlebridgemedia.com
December 6, 2025 at 9:11 PM
If you like the look of the above, I bet you'll love how I utilized her as an equalizing force in "Frau Perchta Comes for the Count", featured in Castle of Horror Vol. 12 Ripped From the Headlines: www.castlebridgemedia.com/product-page... & Inspired by one of my chapters from America's Most Gothic.
Reposted by Leanna Renee Hieber
Night Crowd: New Bats, New Bats! + sparkly restored vintage scatter pins & much more, made w/ love by your friendly neighborhood Goth & Gothic Novelist!
torchandarrow.etsy.com
🦇
(Partner & I run the shop in lieu of Patreons, so you're supporting tons of writing/art by checking out our shop, THX!) 🖤
torchandarrow.etsy.com
🦇
(Partner & I run the shop in lieu of Patreons, so you're supporting tons of writing/art by checking out our shop, THX!) 🖤
December 6, 2025 at 3:16 AM
Night Crowd: New Bats, New Bats! + sparkly restored vintage scatter pins & much more, made w/ love by your friendly neighborhood Goth & Gothic Novelist!
torchandarrow.etsy.com
🦇
(Partner & I run the shop in lieu of Patreons, so you're supporting tons of writing/art by checking out our shop, THX!) 🖤
torchandarrow.etsy.com
🦇
(Partner & I run the shop in lieu of Patreons, so you're supporting tons of writing/art by checking out our shop, THX!) 🖤
Reposted by Leanna Renee Hieber
🖤🖤🖤💀
@thedeadlands.com got 177 fiction submissions in 24 hours. This is 7.5 years of fiction at the rate we publish. Imagine if every submitter were also a patron—we would be funded. Prices increase in 2026, get the best rate now. www.patreon.com/the_deadlands
Get more from The Deadlands on Patreon
a zine containing fiction, nonfiction, and poetry about Death
www.patreon.com
December 2, 2025 at 10:55 PM
🖤🖤🖤💀
Fröhliche Krampusnacht!
On account of my Black Forest ancestry, here's my take on Frau Perchta, the demonized version of Berchta, an ancient pagan Goddess who co-led The Wild Hunt, whose narrative was turned by the early church into that of a witch. Either way, you'd best take care with her... 🖤
On account of my Black Forest ancestry, here's my take on Frau Perchta, the demonized version of Berchta, an ancient pagan Goddess who co-led The Wild Hunt, whose narrative was turned by the early church into that of a witch. Either way, you'd best take care with her... 🖤
December 6, 2025 at 3:47 AM
Fröhliche Krampusnacht!
On account of my Black Forest ancestry, here's my take on Frau Perchta, the demonized version of Berchta, an ancient pagan Goddess who co-led The Wild Hunt, whose narrative was turned by the early church into that of a witch. Either way, you'd best take care with her... 🖤
On account of my Black Forest ancestry, here's my take on Frau Perchta, the demonized version of Berchta, an ancient pagan Goddess who co-led The Wild Hunt, whose narrative was turned by the early church into that of a witch. Either way, you'd best take care with her... 🖤
Night Crowd: New Bats, New Bats! + sparkly restored vintage scatter pins & much more, made w/ love by your friendly neighborhood Goth & Gothic Novelist!
torchandarrow.etsy.com
🦇
(Partner & I run the shop in lieu of Patreons, so you're supporting tons of writing/art by checking out our shop, THX!) 🖤
torchandarrow.etsy.com
🦇
(Partner & I run the shop in lieu of Patreons, so you're supporting tons of writing/art by checking out our shop, THX!) 🖤
December 6, 2025 at 3:16 AM
Night Crowd: New Bats, New Bats! + sparkly restored vintage scatter pins & much more, made w/ love by your friendly neighborhood Goth & Gothic Novelist!
torchandarrow.etsy.com
🦇
(Partner & I run the shop in lieu of Patreons, so you're supporting tons of writing/art by checking out our shop, THX!) 🖤
torchandarrow.etsy.com
🦇
(Partner & I run the shop in lieu of Patreons, so you're supporting tons of writing/art by checking out our shop, THX!) 🖤
Reposted by Leanna Renee Hieber
*Every* year, this is part of my holiday reread tradition!
A CHRISTMAS CARROLL, a Gothic, Gaslamp Fantasy Second-Chance Romance novella, is available in eBook, paperback & audiobook (with me narrating)! Full of deep heart, I hope it can bring some seasonal sweetness your way. (I have 1 signed copy left via Etsy! torchandarrow.etsy.com/listing/4901...) 🖤
December 4, 2025 at 9:51 PM
*Every* year, this is part of my holiday reread tradition!
Reposted by Leanna Renee Hieber
The Vicar & Headmistress deserve some love.
#Romancelandia! 'Tis the season when I remind you I have a second-chance romance novella with a Dickensian spin on my STRANGELY BEAUTIFUL cast. Friendly ghosts help Vicar Michael Carroll & Headmistress Rebecca Thompson find happily-ever-after, a reader fave! www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-christma...
A Christmas Carroll: A Strangely Beautiful Novella|Paperback
London, 1888. An ancient Prophecy has just been fulfilled, leaving Rebecca Thompson, Headmistress of the mysterious Athens Academy utterly heartbroken. Having long served as second in command of The G...
www.barnesandnoble.com
December 4, 2025 at 10:32 PM
The Vicar & Headmistress deserve some love.
Reposted by Leanna Renee Hieber
Thank you! Finished drafting RAVENFIELD HALL, a Gothic Historical YA Romance set on the coast of So. Maine (Union Sq & Co. release TBA)
And we released AMERICA'S MOST GOTHIC: HAUNTED HISTORY STRANGER THAN FICTION, a book full of research that helped me with the above. My career is a Gothic circle.
And we released AMERICA'S MOST GOTHIC: HAUNTED HISTORY STRANGER THAN FICTION, a book full of research that helped me with the above. My career is a Gothic circle.
Give yourself a high five if you wrote a book this year.
You did great!
You did great!
December 5, 2025 at 3:58 AM
Thank you! Finished drafting RAVENFIELD HALL, a Gothic Historical YA Romance set on the coast of So. Maine (Union Sq & Co. release TBA)
And we released AMERICA'S MOST GOTHIC: HAUNTED HISTORY STRANGER THAN FICTION, a book full of research that helped me with the above. My career is a Gothic circle.
And we released AMERICA'S MOST GOTHIC: HAUNTED HISTORY STRANGER THAN FICTION, a book full of research that helped me with the above. My career is a Gothic circle.
Reposted by Leanna Renee Hieber
I just want some of these fucking people to face real consequences
December 5, 2025 at 4:59 AM
I just want some of these fucking people to face real consequences
Reposted by Leanna Renee Hieber
I love this. Instead of liberals simply whining about all the bad stuff Trump is doing to take over media, here's ACTUAL CREATIVE LEGAL THINKING ABOUT HOW TO FIGHT BACK.
This is exactly what we need! Will all this stuff work? No! But we need to TRY THINGS.
counterpunch.news/p/nexstar-go...
This is exactly what we need! Will all this stuff work? No! But we need to TRY THINGS.
counterpunch.news/p/nexstar-go...
December 5, 2025 at 3:55 AM
I love this. Instead of liberals simply whining about all the bad stuff Trump is doing to take over media, here's ACTUAL CREATIVE LEGAL THINKING ABOUT HOW TO FIGHT BACK.
This is exactly what we need! Will all this stuff work? No! But we need to TRY THINGS.
counterpunch.news/p/nexstar-go...
This is exactly what we need! Will all this stuff work? No! But we need to TRY THINGS.
counterpunch.news/p/nexstar-go...
Thank you! Finished drafting RAVENFIELD HALL, a Gothic Historical YA Romance set on the coast of So. Maine (Union Sq & Co. release TBA)
And we released AMERICA'S MOST GOTHIC: HAUNTED HISTORY STRANGER THAN FICTION, a book full of research that helped me with the above. My career is a Gothic circle.
And we released AMERICA'S MOST GOTHIC: HAUNTED HISTORY STRANGER THAN FICTION, a book full of research that helped me with the above. My career is a Gothic circle.
Give yourself a high five if you wrote a book this year.
You did great!
You did great!
December 5, 2025 at 3:58 AM
Thank you! Finished drafting RAVENFIELD HALL, a Gothic Historical YA Romance set on the coast of So. Maine (Union Sq & Co. release TBA)
And we released AMERICA'S MOST GOTHIC: HAUNTED HISTORY STRANGER THAN FICTION, a book full of research that helped me with the above. My career is a Gothic circle.
And we released AMERICA'S MOST GOTHIC: HAUNTED HISTORY STRANGER THAN FICTION, a book full of research that helped me with the above. My career is a Gothic circle.
Reposted by Leanna Renee Hieber
This fetid landmark, this historical stain on humanity is primarily due to the stunningly reckless obliteration of America's foreign assistance agency earlier this year.
Led by the richest man on earth. In secret, on a weekend. With zero analysis or discussion of its catastrophic impacts.
Led by the richest man on earth. In secret, on a weekend. With zero analysis or discussion of its catastrophic impacts.
For First Time in Decades, Child Deaths Will Rise This Year
Almost a quarter of a million more children around the world are projected to die in 2025 than in 2024.
www.wsj.com
December 4, 2025 at 4:18 PM
This fetid landmark, this historical stain on humanity is primarily due to the stunningly reckless obliteration of America's foreign assistance agency earlier this year.
Led by the richest man on earth. In secret, on a weekend. With zero analysis or discussion of its catastrophic impacts.
Led by the richest man on earth. In secret, on a weekend. With zero analysis or discussion of its catastrophic impacts.
Reposted by Leanna Renee Hieber
This is as expected.
What we're not gonna do is give up on Texas. It is not a red state, it is a vote suppressed and gerrymandered state. Our job now in caring for each other is to find out how we can help get out the vote in Texas. I suggest following @andreagrimes.com
What we're not gonna do is give up on Texas. It is not a red state, it is a vote suppressed and gerrymandered state. Our job now in caring for each other is to find out how we can help get out the vote in Texas. I suggest following @andreagrimes.com
BREAKING: Supreme Court lets Texas use Trump-backed gerrymandered maps in 2026
December 5, 2025 at 12:27 AM
This is as expected.
What we're not gonna do is give up on Texas. It is not a red state, it is a vote suppressed and gerrymandered state. Our job now in caring for each other is to find out how we can help get out the vote in Texas. I suggest following @andreagrimes.com
What we're not gonna do is give up on Texas. It is not a red state, it is a vote suppressed and gerrymandered state. Our job now in caring for each other is to find out how we can help get out the vote in Texas. I suggest following @andreagrimes.com
Reposted by Leanna Renee Hieber
"Did women have no choice, Wilcox wondered, but to wander the world hoping never to step on a landmine of a man?"
Read an excerpt from Christa Hillstrom's @atavist.com story about a nurse's quest to document the life and death of every woman killed by a man in the US.
longreads.com/2025/12/04/f...
Read an excerpt from Christa Hillstrom's @atavist.com story about a nurse's quest to document the life and death of every woman killed by a man in the US.
longreads.com/2025/12/04/f...
The Nurse Who Names the Dead - Longreads
Inside a Texas nurse’s quest to document the life and death of every woman killed by a man in America.
longreads.com
December 5, 2025 at 2:42 AM
"Did women have no choice, Wilcox wondered, but to wander the world hoping never to step on a landmine of a man?"
Read an excerpt from Christa Hillstrom's @atavist.com story about a nurse's quest to document the life and death of every woman killed by a man in the US.
longreads.com/2025/12/04/f...
Read an excerpt from Christa Hillstrom's @atavist.com story about a nurse's quest to document the life and death of every woman killed by a man in the US.
longreads.com/2025/12/04/f...
New Bats, New Bats! (And lovely, sparkly restored vintage scatter pins & much more, made with love by your friendly neighborhood Goth and Gothic Novelist!)
torchandarrow.etsy.com
🖤🦇🖤
torchandarrow.etsy.com
🖤🦇🖤
December 5, 2025 at 2:33 AM
New Bats, New Bats! (And lovely, sparkly restored vintage scatter pins & much more, made with love by your friendly neighborhood Goth and Gothic Novelist!)
torchandarrow.etsy.com
🖤🦇🖤
torchandarrow.etsy.com
🖤🦇🖤
Reposted by Leanna Renee Hieber
hi i'm a billionaire my company, which will definitely not murder everyone, is named SauronMurdersEveryone Inc after the beloved jrr tolkien character sauron whom i have always admired for his disruptive use of world changing technology and for murdering everyone
December 4, 2025 at 8:50 PM
hi i'm a billionaire my company, which will definitely not murder everyone, is named SauronMurdersEveryone Inc after the beloved jrr tolkien character sauron whom i have always admired for his disruptive use of world changing technology and for murdering everyone
Reposted by Leanna Renee Hieber
Looks like I've got at least one more newsletter in me before 2025 closes out! This one's inspired by the gay hockey show and the Discourse and has me rambling about how characters of color are hamstrung by the white default.
romancing-the-stoned.beehiiv.com/p/why-is-a-f...
romancing-the-stoned.beehiiv.com/p/why-is-a-f...
Why is a Flat POC the Go-To Order for Interracial Romance?
When it comes to IR romance and screen adaptations, who gets to be heated, offensive, *and* nice? Not us!
romancing-the-stoned.beehiiv.com
December 4, 2025 at 10:36 PM
Looks like I've got at least one more newsletter in me before 2025 closes out! This one's inspired by the gay hockey show and the Discourse and has me rambling about how characters of color are hamstrung by the white default.
romancing-the-stoned.beehiiv.com/p/why-is-a-f...
romancing-the-stoned.beehiiv.com/p/why-is-a-f...
Reposted by Leanna Renee Hieber
This week’s Quaker message gets historical, drawing a parallel between John the Baptist and George Fox, the founder of the Religious Society of Friends.
Like John the Baptist, George Fox could sense the ax at the root of the trees, ready to cut everything down. He was convinced that the Spirit of Christ was already moving through this world—and he wanted to help others recognize and embrace that presence among them.
quaker.org/2025/12/01/e...
quaker.org/2025/12/01/e...
December 5, 2025 at 1:11 AM
This week’s Quaker message gets historical, drawing a parallel between John the Baptist and George Fox, the founder of the Religious Society of Friends.
Reposted by Leanna Renee Hieber
If you see John Roberts in person, be sure to tell him he’s a worse Chief Justice than Roger Taney (pronounced “tawny”). That’s a nerd burn that will hit him where it counts.
December 5, 2025 at 12:23 AM
If you see John Roberts in person, be sure to tell him he’s a worse Chief Justice than Roger Taney (pronounced “tawny”). That’s a nerd burn that will hit him where it counts.
Reposted by Leanna Renee Hieber
This pretty much Elon Musk's goal with Grok, making all of this even more horrifying.
NEW: AI chatbots used inaccurate information to change people’s political opinions, study finds www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-ne...
AI chatbots used inaccurate information to change people’s political opinions, study finds
A paper published in the journal Science found that chatbots become more persuasive when they share large amounts of information.
www.nbcnews.com
December 5, 2025 at 12:52 AM
This pretty much Elon Musk's goal with Grok, making all of this even more horrifying.
#Romancelandia! 'Tis the season when I remind you I have a second-chance romance novella with a Dickensian spin on my STRANGELY BEAUTIFUL cast. Friendly ghosts help Vicar Michael Carroll & Headmistress Rebecca Thompson find happily-ever-after, a reader fave! www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-christma...
A Christmas Carroll: A Strangely Beautiful Novella|Paperback
London, 1888. An ancient Prophecy has just been fulfilled, leaving Rebecca Thompson, Headmistress of the mysterious Athens Academy utterly heartbroken. Having long served as second in command of The G...
www.barnesandnoble.com
December 4, 2025 at 9:01 PM
#Romancelandia! 'Tis the season when I remind you I have a second-chance romance novella with a Dickensian spin on my STRANGELY BEAUTIFUL cast. Friendly ghosts help Vicar Michael Carroll & Headmistress Rebecca Thompson find happily-ever-after, a reader fave! www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-christma...