Buried in Silence

Seventeen-year-old Evander lives locked away in the decaying Hazelthorn estate, haunted by the memory of being buried alive as a child. His days are a cycle of loneliness, medication, and fear of the wild, overgrown gardens outside his window. The only visitors are his stern guardian, Byron Lennox-Hall, and the cold butler, Carrington. Evander's world is small, his body frail, and his mind filled with gaps—especially about the "accident" that nearly killed him. The garden, lush and menacing, is a constant reminder of violence and secrets. When Laurie, the beautiful and cruel grandson of his guardian, returns, old wounds and obsessions resurface, setting the stage for a collision of memory, rage, and monstrous love.

Locked Doors, Poisoned Tea

When Evander's locked door is mysteriously left open, he ventures out and finds Laurie in the parlor, their reunion tense and electric. The estate's rules are clear: Evander and Laurie must never be alone together. But soon, Evander is drawn to the conservatory, where Byron is tending his plants. Their conversation is cut short when Byron suddenly collapses, choking on black froth and leaves, dying in Evander's arms. His last words are a warning: "Do not go into the gardens." The trauma is immediate and overwhelming, and as the household erupts in confusion, Evander is locked away again, left to spiral in fear and guilt, suspecting murder and feeling more trapped than ever.

Ghosts in the North Wing

Locked in his room for days, Evander is forgotten by the household, left to starve and spiral into self-harm and paranoia. He obsesses over the possibility of murder—was Byron poisoned, and by whom? The suspects are few: Carrington, Laurie, or the new attorney, Dawes. Memories of childhood, of being read to through the door by Laurie, surface alongside the gnawing hunger and fear. When Laurie finally appears, Evander is summoned to the reading of the will, but the sense of safety is gone. The estate is a prison, and Evander is both its victim and its secret.

The Will's Cruel Inheritance

At the will reading, Evander is named sole heir to Hazelthorn and a vast fortune, while Laurie is disinherited. The shock is seismic—Laurie's anger is palpable, and Evander is consumed by guilt and fear. The other relatives, especially the formidable Oleander, descend on the estate, each with their own agenda. The attorney Dawes is evasive, and the official story of Byron's death—an aneurysm—rings false. Evander's sense of self unravels as he realizes he is now the target of everyone's resentment, and the estate's secrets are more dangerous than ever.

Gardens of Blood and Memory

Fleeing the suffocating house, Evander escapes into the forbidden gardens, driven by hunger and desperation. The garden is wild, beautiful, and terrifying, filled with poisonous plants and the memory of violence. He discovers a hidden field guide, filled with drawings of monstrous flora and cryptic notes. The garden seems to watch him, and as he gorges on wild tomatoes and even dirt, he feels both horror and belonging. When Laurie finds him, their confrontation is charged with old wounds and new dangers. The garden is not just a setting—it is a living, hungry force, and Evander is both its child and its prey.

Monsters Behind Glass

Back inside, Evander's injuries and hunger worsen. The household is a nest of vipers: Oleander schemes, Dawes manipulates, and Laurie is both protector and threat. The field guide reveals the garden's true nature—its plants are not of this world, and their poisons are deadly. Evander's investigation into Byron's death deepens, but so does his fear of himself. Nightmares and hallucinations blur the line between reality and madness. When his door opens in the night, and he senses a presence watching him, Evander realizes the monster may not be outside, but within.

The Red Door's Secret

Laurie leads Evander into the heart of the garden, to a locked red door painted in blood. Inside is a circular garden, filled with dead beds and a monstrous faun statue. Here, the family's darkest rituals are performed—bodies are buried, and in return, the garden gives up rubies. Evander witnesses a murder as Bane kills Jessica, the assistant, to feed the garden. Laurie silences Evander to protect him, but the trauma is shattering. The truth is clear: the Lennox-Halls are killers, and the garden is their accomplice. Evander's own role in this cycle of abuse is more complicated than he can bear.

Roots Beneath the Skin

As Evander's investigation deepens, he uncovers the truth about his own body—roots and thorns grow beneath his skin, and his hunger is not just metaphorical. The surgeries he endured were not to heal, but to harvest parts of him for the garden. The field guide's notes reveal that he is not fully human, but a creation of the garden itself, a living sacrifice. Memories return in fragments: the day he was buried, the violence, the bite that severed Laurie's tendon. The monster is not just in the garden—it is Evander himself.

The Field Guide's Truth

The field guide, written in Byron's hand, is a record of experiments and confessions. Evander learns he was never truly sick—he was drugged and locked away to keep him docile, his monstrous nature suppressed. The garden's hunger is his own, and the family's fortune is built on his suffering. Laurie's role is revealed: he was not just a victim, but the one who wished for Evander, who sacrificed for him, and who is bound to him by love and guilt. The truth is unbearable, but it is also liberating—Evander is not a victim, but a force of nature.

Family of Killers

The Lennox-Halls close ranks, determined to control or destroy Evander. Oleander and Bane drug and operate on him, harvesting his bones for the garden. Dawes, the attorney, is revealed as a manipulator, seeking to steal the garden's power for himself. Laurie is beaten and nearly killed. The family's violence escalates, and Evander is forced to fight for his life and Laurie's. The garden responds to his rage, growing wild and destructive, breaking through the walls of the estate. The cycle of abuse reaches its breaking point.

The Garden's Appetite

Evander's transformation is complete—he is Hazelthorn, the living heart of the garden. His hunger is uncontrollable, and his rage is righteous. He poisons the family at a grand dinner, using the very plants they tried to harvest from him. The garden devours the estate, roots and branches tearing through stone and flesh alike. Dawes is consumed, Oleander and Bane are destroyed, and the cycle of violence is broken. But the cost is immense—Evander is no longer human, and Laurie is dying, wounded by Evander's own monstrous hunger.

Becoming Hazelthorn

In the aftermath, Evander is left alone in the ruined garden, transformed and monstrous. He is both victim and avenger, both child and god. The garden is at peace, but he is not. Laurie, miraculously alive, returns to him, healed by the garden's power. Their love is fierce and complicated, born of violence and longing. Together, they lock the red door, choosing to remain in the garden, safe from the world and from themselves. The cycle is broken, but the hunger remains—a reminder that love and monstrosity are forever entwined.

The Monster Wakes

With the family destroyed and the estate in ruins, Evander and Laurie are finally free. The garden is wild and beautiful, no longer a prison but a sanctuary. Evander's hunger is sated, but his identity is forever changed. He is Hazelthorn, the monster and the miracle, the devourer and the beloved. Laurie chooses to stay with him, accepting the danger and the love. Together, they face the future—uncertain, but finally their own.

Love Among Thorns

In the quiet aftermath, Evander and Laurie find peace in each other's arms. The garden, once a place of violence and fear, becomes a home. Their love is fierce, messy, and redemptive—a testament to survival and self-acceptance. The world outside forgets Hazelthorn, and the cycle of abuse ends. The story closes not with a fairy-tale ending, but with the promise of healing, growth, and the acceptance of all that is monstrous and beautiful within.

The Locked Garden's Bargain

The garden, now whole, is locked away from the world. Evander and Laurie choose to remain, guardians and lovers, safe from the violence of the outside. The key is lost, the door sealed, and the garden's hunger is finally at rest. The estate is forgotten, its secrets buried, and the monsters within are at peace. The story ends with the acceptance of self, the power of love, and the knowledge that even monsters deserve to be loved.

The Price of Survival

The journey to self-acceptance is marked by pain and loss. Evander's transformation is both a curse and a gift, and Laurie's survival is a miracle born of love and sacrifice. The garden's appetite is sated, but the scars remain. Together, they face the future, knowing that survival comes at a price—but also with the promise of new beginnings.

The Final Sacrifice

The story closes with a final act of love and sacrifice. Evander and Laurie, bound by blood and memory, choose each other over the world. The garden is locked, the monsters are at peace, and the cycle of violence is broken. The price of survival is high, but the reward is freedom, love, and the acceptance of all that is monstrous and beautiful within.

Locked In, Let Out

In the end, Hazelthorn is both a prison and a sanctuary, a place of horror and healing. Evander and Laurie, once victims and monsters, are now free to write their own story. The garden grows wild, the estate is forgotten, and the world moves on. But within the locked garden, love endures, and the monsters are finally at peace.

Characters

Evander (Hazelthorn)

Evander is the protagonist, a seventeen-year-old boy locked away in the Hazelthorn estate, haunted by trauma, isolation, and gaps in his memory. He is frail, anxious, and deeply lonely, but beneath the surface lies a monstrous power—he is the living heart of the garden, created as a sacrifice and harvested for his bones and roots. His journey is one of self-discovery, rage, and transformation, as he uncovers the truth of his identity and the violence done to him. His relationship with Laurie is central—obsessive, painful, and redemptive. Evander's arc is a descent into monstrosity and a climb toward self-acceptance, as he learns to embrace both his rage and his capacity for love.

Laurie Lennox-Hall

Laurie is Byron's grandson, Evander's childhood friend and obsession, and the story's most complex foil. Beautiful, sarcastic, and emotionally guarded, Laurie is both victim and perpetrator—he once tried to sacrifice Evander to the garden, but also saved him, binding their fates together. Abused by his family, especially Byron, Laurie is marked by trauma, guilt, and a desperate need for connection. His relationship with Evander is fraught with violence and longing, but ultimately becomes a source of healing and redemption. Laurie's arc is one of survival, self-forgiveness, and the courage to love and be loved, even when it means facing the monster within and without.

Byron Lennox-Hall

Byron is the cold, controlling guardian of Hazelthorn, obsessed with the garden's power and the family's legacy. He is both scientist and sadist, experimenting on Evander, harvesting his bones, and perpetuating cycles of abuse and violence. Byron's love is conditional and cruel, and his death sets the story's events in motion. His legacy is one of secrets, manipulation, and monstrous inheritance—a warning of what happens when power is built on suffering.

Carrington

Carrington is the estate's butler, dutiful and cold, complicit in Byron's abuses. After Byron's death, he becomes a vessel for the garden's rage, transformed into a monstrous creature that haunts Evander and Laurie. Carrington's fate is a reflection of the estate's corruption—those who serve the monster become monsters themselves. His arc is one of tragedy, as he is both victim and enforcer, ultimately destroyed by the very power he helped sustain.

Oleander Lennox-Hall

Oleander is Byron's sister, a formidable matriarch who arrives to claim Hazelthorn after his death. She is manipulative, cruel, and obsessed with control, willing to poison, operate on, and destroy anyone in her way—including Evander and Laurie. Oleander embodies the family's legacy of violence and greed, and her downfall is both inevitable and deserved. She is a symbol of the dangers of unchecked ambition and the cost of survival at any price.

Bane Lennox-Hall

Bane is Oleander's son, a secondary antagonist who embodies the family's worst traits. He is cruel, impulsive, and willing to kill to claim the garden's riches. Bane's actions—murdering Jessica, attacking Evander—escalate the story's violence and force Evander to confront his own monstrous nature. Bane's arc is one of self-destruction, as his greed and brutality lead to his downfall.

Azalea Lennox-Hall

Azalea is another Lennox-Hall relative, more interested in wealth and status than family or morality. She is manipulative, using charm and beauty to get what she wants, but ultimately lacks the ruthlessness of Oleander or Bane. Azalea's role is to highlight the family's dysfunction and the emptiness of their pursuits. She survives by staying on the periphery, but her legacy is one of complicity and cowardice.

Benedict Dawes

Dawes is the new attorney, an ambitious outsider who seeks to exploit the family's secrets for his own gain. He manipulates the will, poisons rivals, and tries to steal the garden's power, but underestimates both the family and the garden itself. Dawes is a symbol of the dangers of greed and the futility of trying to control forces beyond one's understanding. His arc ends in destruction, consumed by the very power he sought to possess.

The Garden (Hazelthorn)

The garden is both setting and character—a monstrous, sentient force that feeds on blood and violence, but also yearns for wholeness and peace. It is the source of the family's wealth and the site of their crimes, a place of beauty and horror. The garden's relationship with Evander is central—he is both its child and its heart, and their fates are entwined. The garden's arc is one of rage, revenge, and, ultimately, healing, as it is reunited with Evander and freed from the cycle of abuse.

Jessica

Jessica is Oleander's assistant, an outsider caught in the family's web of violence. Her murder by Bane is a turning point, exposing the family's true nature and forcing Evander to confront the reality of the garden's appetite. Jessica's fate is a reminder of the collateral damage wrought by power and secrecy.

Plot Devices

Gothic Isolation and Locked-Room Mystery

The novel uses classic gothic tropes—an isolated, decaying manor, locked doors, and a protagonist with gaps in memory—to create a claustrophobic atmosphere of dread and suspense. The locked-room mystery of Byron's death, the forbidden garden, and the hidden field guide all serve to heighten tension and keep the reader guessing. The unreliable narration, with Evander's episodes and memory loss, blurs the line between reality and hallucination, making every revelation suspect and every character a potential threat.

Body Horror and Transformation

The story's use of body horror—roots and thorns growing beneath the skin, surgeries to harvest bones, monstrous transformations—serves as a metaphor for trauma, abuse, and the struggle for self-acceptance. Evander's journey from victim to monster to self-acceptance is mirrored in his physical changes, and the garden's hunger is both literal and symbolic. The horror is not just external, but internal—a reflection of the violence done to the body and the soul.

Family Legacy and Cycles of Abuse

The Lennox-Hall family is a microcosm of generational trauma, with each member complicit in cycles of abuse, murder, and secrecy. The garden's appetite is both a cause and a consequence of this legacy, and the story's central question is whether the cycle can be broken. The will, the inheritance, and the family's rituals are all plot devices that force characters to confront the cost of survival and the possibility of redemption.

Love as Monstrosity and Salvation

The relationship between Evander and Laurie is both monstrous and redemptive—a love born of violence, obsession, and longing. Their connection is fraught with danger, but also offers the possibility of healing and self-acceptance. The story uses their love as a plot device to explore themes of rage, shame, and the right to exist loudly and messily. The final choice—to lock themselves away together, safe from the world—is both a victory and a tragedy, a testament to the power of love among monsters.

Foreshadowing and Narrative Structure

The novel's structure—fragmented, nonlinear, and interspersed with flashbacks—mirrors Evander's fractured sense of self and keeps the reader off-balance. Foreshadowing is used throughout: the warnings about the garden, the field guide's cryptic notes, the recurring motif of locked doors and buried secrets. The narrative's slow reveal of the truth—about Evander's identity, the family's crimes, and the garden's nature—creates a sense of inevitability and tragedy, culminating in a cathartic, monstrous climax.

Analysis

Hazelthorn is a gothic horror novel that reimagines the haunted house and monstrous child tropes through the lens of queer, autistic rage and the trauma of generational abuse. At its core, the book is about the violence of being denied autonomy, the horror of internalized shame, and the messy, painful journey toward self-acceptance. The garden is both a literal and metaphorical monster—an inheritance of violence, but also a source of power and belonging. Evander's transformation from victim to monster to self-acceptance is a powerful allegory for surviving trauma and reclaiming agency. The novel refuses easy redemption or neat resolutions; instead, it insists on the right to be loud, angry, and monstrous in the face of injustice. Love, in Hazelthorn, is not a cure but a choice—a willingness to embrace the thorns as well as the flowers, to find beauty in the monstrous, and to accept that survival often comes at a terrible price. The story's lessons are clear: monsters are made, not born; silence is complicity; and even in the darkest gardens, love can take root and bloom.

Last updated: October 29, 2025