Lakegrave School for Young Women
Lauren Carter
Genre: Horror, Dark Academia, Historical
Fiction
Date of Publication: 9th September 2025
ISBN: 9781739376444
ASIN: B0F74BRMC3
Number of pages: 237
Word Count: 54k words
Cover Artist: Grim Poppy Designs
Tagline: Lakegrave is unlike any other school
Book Description:
Here, we do not care where you are from or
who you are. We care that you are women.
And we care about your minds.
Lakegrave is unlike any other school. Hidden in the mountains of Scotland, it only
accepts one bright woman per specialist subject. With no teachers and no
curriculum, the self-taught establishment offers its students the tools to expand
their skillsets to then go onto being masters in their fields.
When Raven and her cousin Rowan are accepted, they are excited to refine their
crafts and converse with fellow classmates.
That is until students go missing.
Some come back but they are not as they once were. Something is off about them.
Something is misplaced.
So when fellow student Esme wants to investigate and invites Raven to join, they
uncover that there’s much more to the school than they thought with chilling
secrets kept tucked away in its history. But with ghosts stirring and the cohort
decreasing, will any of them make it to graduation?
Get it Here: Amazon
Book Trailer: https://www.instagram.com/p/DJHXckqI6ge/
Excerpt:
There isn’t much known about Lakegrave School for Young Women due to its remote
location and it being a new school, but it is the only school in the world known for its unique
education style—it’s completely self-taught. There are no teachers, just one headmistress. The
school only invites the best and brightest women from across the globe to study there for one
year before being scouted to go on to their dream careers. This didn’t mean smart in absolutely
everything but a genius in our own field.
That is the other unique thing—it also only invites one person per specialist subject.
That’s why Rowan and I were lucky enough to be accepted. Rowan is only just old
enough to attend at one and twenty years of age; I, on the other hand, have two years on her.
Luck was also on our side when we were encouraged to pursue different hobbies instead of the
same, otherwise we wouldn’t have been accepted concurrently.
Leading up to the school, I can only make out the tops of the building as the hedge has
overgrown so much. It’s as if the place has been neglected over the summer, if not over the years.
Such an odd notion for a new educational establishment but, then again, it was something else
before.
I reach the main gate and see a crest at the top. In the middle, there is a sprig of lavender
and on each side of the shield are bees facing inward. This looks like it’s been cleaned recently.
Couldn’t say the same for the rest of the gate.
It looks like it once was black, but it is brown now due to the rust. I don’t want to touch
it, so I nudge it open with my elbow and shut it again once I’m in.
It’s called a school, but it would be better off compared to a castle, just like every other
boarding school that exists. The windows stretch tall and look like they are modelled after a
church. Although it is a fairly new build, its appearance is like it has been designed as old-
fashioned on purpose, fitting in with something from the 1600s rather than the 1800s. And it
almost looks like it’s falling apart, the brickwork cracked and turning the walls into a darker
colour rather than its usual sand. It is preposterously big for a school that doesn’t admit too many
students. There is definitely some sort of beauty to the building but for some reason, even in the
daytime, it appears a little ominous—as if the place is lifeless. It seems as though the garden has
overtaken everything as greenery and moss is growing alongside the building. To the west of the
school there are some greenhouses and to the east of the school is a church.
The ground crunches as I walk up to the building. There is a huge fountain which is
bordered by the driveway on either side but appears not to work, and a huge statue coming out
from the middle of it. I’m not that knowledgeable about Greek gods but I know it’s Aphrodite.
It seems fitting to have her standing guard over us.
I pause by the front door, already hearing voices coming from within, so I grip my violin
case tighter and push the double doors inwards—letting them shut me away for the next year.
About the Author:
Lauren (she/they) is a library assistant by day
and writer by night. She is the author of
WHEN THE DEMONS TAKE HOLD and
YOUR DARLING DEATH. She has
published several short stories including:
ALIVE, JUST with The Horror Tree, THE
CHILDREN OF OWL WILDS with Haunted
Words Press, and THE SACRIFICES WE
MAKE with Rooster Republic Press.
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