[TOMT] Short indie horror novella (under 200 pages) set in a dystopian world where characters appear as insects/reptiles but are actually human.

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Hi everyone, I'm trying to find a very thin, short horror novel or novella (definitely under 200 pages) that I remember loving, but I can't find it on my shelf and the exact title is escaping me. I think the title might be something similar to "No One Lives Here Anymore" or "Nothing Lived Here Before," but I haven't had luck searching those variants.

The Plot: It’s set in a bleak, dystopian/claustrophobic system or world, and we primarily only hear about the house. We follow a young girl, her mother and her little brother living in a really terrible and rundown house.

Specific scene: There’s this passage where the girl gets her period and hides her bloody underwear in a deep crack in the house's wall, to like hide the stain from her mother.

The Twist: All the other characters/townspeople are described and portrayed as bugs, insects or reptiles (I specifically remember a spider being a main insect guy). At the end, it’s revealed they’re actually human. One woman is described as a snake, but her true human form is given away because she has a literal snake tattoo.

The Ending: At the climax, to save her little brother from being eaten or consumed by a whole cluster of these people, the main girl hides him safely inside the literal walls of the house.

The Cover Art:The cover was very dark and featured a face that looked shattered or cut like glass. You could mostly just see the mouth, and there was a sickly yellow, liquid-like substance dripping down across it.

Does this ring a bell for anyone? Thank you so much in advance!

Posted Sep 12, 2026, 8:25 AM UTC

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