In the shadowed heart of Italy, where ancient stones whisper forgotten sins and modern mirrors reflect fractured souls, seven lives unravel at the edge of sanity. Fragments of Shadow is a chilling anthology of psychological horror, where the true terror lies not in ghosts or monsters, but in the treacherous terrain of the human mind.Each tale unfolds in a city haunted by its own echoes: beneath Rome's eternal ruins, a buried archive awakens memories that should stay entombed; in Florence's gilded ateliers, an artist's final stroke blurs the line between creation and collapse; amid Aosta's icy peaks, thawing letters summon spectres from a frozen past. Milan traps a wanderer in the gears of recollection, Venice's labyrinthine canals twist reflections into inescapable illusions, Turin's algorithms weave digital phantoms from code and regret, and Naples' glass enclosures turn confession into a cycle of shared damnation.Crafted by Claudia Ardan, these interconnected stories probe the porous boundary between reality and delusion-the lies we craft to survive, the silences that scream loudest, and the shadows we dare not name. What if your deepest fear isn't the unknown, but the remembrance of what you've buried? As Ardan writes, "We do not fear the unknown as much as we fear what we might remember."Perfect for fans of Shirley Jackson's quiet dread, Italo Calvino's surreal precision, and Daphne du Maurier's intimate horrors, this illustrated collection invites you to linger in the silence behind words. Dare to turn the page-and confront the fragments within.Illustrated edition Psychological horror anthology Short stories set in Italy 2025 debut200 pages Adult audience