The Deer Kings

In 1989, Gary Sheldon and his friends created their own saint.
In 2018, they discover it’s become a god.

Gary thought he’d escaped Kingston, Oregon, the town where his parents died and where, one tragic summer, he and a group of outcast teens turned to the supernatural to protect themselves from a deranged drug dealer. But when his wife lands her dream job as a high school principal, he is forced to return to his hometown.

As Gary reconnects with old friends and his son thrives on the football team, the past feels like a distant memory. But unsettling encounters and mutilated animals in the woods reveal that the Deer Saint is still at work. Now Gary must look into his past to find answers: Who is making sacrifices to the Deer Saint? And what do they want with his family?

“Deer saints, darkness and the strangeness of family ties; Wagner effortlessly mixes football and folk horror in this terrifying new novel.” —Angela Slatter, award-winning author of The Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings

“The Deer Kings is a grand, gorgeous, and—at times—gory wonder.” —Gordon B. White, author of As Summer’s Mask Slips and Other Disruptions and Rookfield

“A dark tapestry of occult mystery, small-town secrets, and mounting dread… This story will sink its claws in you from the first word.” —Tim Waggoner, Bram Stoker Award®-winning author

“This compulsively readable novel has solidified Wendy Wagner’s place as one of the most exciting writers in the genre.” —Kealan Patrick Burke, Bram Stoker Award®-winning author of Kin and Sour Candy