An old house in the mountains.A town that learned to be silent.And backward footprints that no one should follow.
After almost thirty years away from the Dominican Republic, Elena Valdez returns to the rural town of Los Naranjos after her grandmother's death. Her plan is simple: check the family house, sort out the inheritance, and return to New York.
But the house is not empty.
During the night, Elena hears a strange scream coming from the river, like a partridge's song and a woman's cry. At dawn, she finds barefoot footprints marked in the mud. The heels point towards the mountain, but the toes face the house.
In the town, no one wants to talk.
Neighbors lower their voices when Elena asks about her family. A young man disappears after mentioning that Elena's father saw "the woman from the mountain" before he died. A little girl starts drawing a woman with long hair, backward feet, and a sad look. And an old letter from her grandmother reveals that the legend of La Ciguapa is connected to a crime that Los Naranjos has been hiding for decades.
What Elena believed to be a Dominican superstition soon becomes a dangerous investigation into her own bloodline.
Because La Ciguapa was not always a monster.
Before the legend, before the fear, and before the whispered stories, there was a woman with a name. A betrayed woman. A trapped woman. A woman that the town turned into a creature to avoid telling the truth.
As the crescent moon approaches, Elena must discover what really happened to her parents, who Yubisa was, and why an old debt has begun to claim innocent victims.
Las Huellas de La Ciguapa (The Footprints of La Ciguapa) is a novel of folkloric horror, supernatural mystery, and psychological suspense, inspired by one of the most unsettling legends of the Caribbean. A dark and emotional story about family secrets, inherited guilt, justice, memory, and the price of breaking the silence.
For readers who enjoy:
- Folkloric horror and Latin American legends
- Family mysteries with buried secrets
- Supernatural thrillers with a dark atmosphere
- Stories of rural towns, old houses, and curses
- Psychological horror novels without excessive gore
- Dominican folklore, Caribbean culture, and mountain myths
Don't follow the footprints. Some are coming for you.
