Book Title: HOUSE OF MONSTROUS WOMEN
Character Name: Hiraya Ranoco, heiress to the Ranoco house and all its secrets
How would you describe your family or your childhood?
In a word? Tense. The Ranoco family are like Joro spiders. We may all live in the same ancient, tangled web, but we’re always just a hair away from cannibalizing each other. There’s just so much bitterness and resentment… and it isn’t helped by the reputation we have in every town we visit.
Everyone thinks we’re aswang or witches… that we’re there to eat babies straight from the womb or claw up the dead from fresh graves. And if not that, then we’re there to seduce men and curse the crops. Only half of that is true, but the assumption still hurts, especially when you’re a child.
What was your greatest talent?
I like to think I’m charming… but in truth, my greatest talent is luring people to me. With sweet words or lies or promises—whatever it takes. I’ve gotten very good at it.
Significant other?
Of course not. A Ranoco woman in love? That’s a fate worse than death. There’s only suffering down that road. And yet… despite everything, I can’t help but think of her. Josephine del Rosario—the one woman who never thought of me as a monster. She smiles when she sees me, there’s love in her eyes. And as much as I’ve tried to resist it, I love her so much my heart breaks when I think of her.
Biggest challenge in relationships?
Well, most lovers wouldn’t accept a woman who must eat corpses to survive… so that. And perhaps trust issues. It’s hard to let my walls down.
Where do you live?
On an island just off the coast of Biliran in the Philippines. More specifically, in the Ranoco house, which sits on the island’s highest tip, its northern wall nearly overlapping the edge of a cliff. It’s a lonely island, but we have plenty of visitors…
Do you have any enemies?
Yes. Absolutely. Gabriella Santos, Josephine’s best friend, never trusted me. I can’t really blame her. And she hasn’t warmed to me at all in the years since we’ve known each other. But I think it’s fair to say that anyone who enters the Ranoco house thinks of me as their enemy once the games begin. The feeling isn’t mutual.
The only person—the only thing—I hate, sits beneath the house. And it thinks of me as nothing more than a plaything.
How do you feel about the place where you are now? Is there something you are particularly attached to, or particularly repelled by, in this place?
Repelled? That word is too tame for the feelings I have about my home. I loathe the Ranoco house. I despise its rooms full of black memories, the fear that’s sunken into the walls. I hate the role I have to play, I hate the fate that’s been scribbled out for me in blood. If a cancer ever took the form of a place, it’d be the Ranoco house.
Do you have children, pets, both, or neither?
I have pets, but not in the conventional way. I think I should leave it at that.
What do you do for a living?
I host a game and attend to those who play it. One takes place every month or so, and the game itself only lasts one night. It seems simple, doesn’t it? And yet it’s actually quite a lot to handle. Finding participants, teaching them the rules of the game, ensuring that those rules aren’t broken is very difficult. But my least favorite part is handling the mess once the game is over. It’s gruesome work.
Greatest disappointment?
I’m disappointed by my mother. I know she loved us. I know that she did what she thought was right. And yet… I can’t forgive her for what she did to Sidapa and I.
Greatest source of joy?
Joy is hard to come by. But recently Josephine del Rosario answered my letter. She’s coming to the Ranoco house to take part in the next game. It’s selfish of me to invite her… but I have a plan.
What do you do to entertain yourself or have fun?
I garden. Perhaps obsessively. I carved a little courtyard into the house and filled it with all sorts of flowers and trees. When I’m there I almost feel like I’m somewhere else. It’s my favorite place.
What is your greatest personal failing, in your view?
What a thorned question. But I’ve told you so much already, haven’t I? My sister once tried to break free of everything. And instead of helping her… I stopped her. I helped my mother and aunt keep her here, I the Ranoco house.
What keeps you awake at night?
The guilt. The screams of my sister, my mother… the faces of all those who’ve played the game. No one sleeps well here.
What is the most pressing problem you have at the moment?
I’ve been planning my escape for years. But the game I’ll play with Josephine, her brother, and Gabriella will be the first game where I’ll be a participant. This happens only once in a Ranoco woman’s life. I can’t afford to lose.
Is there something that you need or want that you don’t have? For yourself or for someone important to you?
Freedom. For myself and for Josephine. The same need in different fonts. I think we could give each other that. I’m betting everything on it.
Why don’t you have it? What is in the way?
There’s something with a black hand on my throat, keeping me trapped in this house. But if I play my hand right, I think I can finally cleave those fingers right off.
A young woman is drawn into a dangerous game after being invited to the mazelike home of her childhood friend, a rumored witch, in this gothic horror set in 1986 Philippines.
In this game, there’s one rule: survive.
Orphaned after her father’s political campaign ended in tragedy, Josephine is alone taking care of the family home while her older brother is off in Manila, where revolution brews. But an unexpected invitation from her childhood friend Hiraya to her house offers an escape. . . .
Why don’t you come visit, and we can play games like we used to?
If Josephine wins, she’ll get whatever her heart desires. Her brother is invited, too, and it’s time they had a talk. Josephine’s heard the dark whispers: Hiraya is a witch and her family spits curses. But still, she’s just desperate enough to seize this chance to change her destiny.
Except the Ranoco house is strange, labyrinthine, and dangerously close to a treachero's sea. A sickly-sweet smell clings to the dimly lit walls, and veiled eyes follow Josephine through endless connecting rooms. The air is tense with secrets, and as the game continues it’s clear Josephine doesn’t have the whole truth.
To save herself, she will have to play to win. But in this house, victory is earned with blood.
A lush new voice in horror arises in this riveting gothic set against the upheaval of 1986 Philippines and the People Power Revolution.
Mystery | Fantasy Historical [Berkley, On Sale: August 12, 2025, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9780593817582 / eISBN: 9780593817599]
A Staff Writer at Prima Games since 2022, Daphne Fama spends an inordinate amount playing games of all stripes but has a soft spot for horror, FPS, and RPGs. When she’s not gaming, she’s an author and member of the Horror Writers Association with a debut novel coming out in 2025.
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