The Curse of Dollface

by J.R. Fleshner

In the isolated frontier town of Blue Mound, a child is born cursed. Elizabeth's fate is sealed before her first breath—marked by an ancient and malevolent goddess, and betrayed by her own blood. Her grandfather performed the ritual. Her father, driven mad by guilt and fear, murders her and stitches a burlap doll’s face to her flesh, hoping to banish the evil he believes she carries.

But the curse is not broken. It festers.

For more than a century later, the town is cursed for its buried sins that awaken when Elizabeth rises from the grave. Reborn as Dollface, a grotesque and powerful demon. With her resurrection comes horror: livestock die, children vanish, and the people of Blue Mound fall into madness. Dollface seeks vengeance, not just on those who wronged her, but in the entire town that allowed her to be sacrificed.

As Dollface’s powers grow, so does her understanding of the curse that shaped her. She learns she is not just a victim, nor merely a demon—but the heir to divine power. Transformed by rage and suffering, Elizabeth ascends to become Annilla, a goddess of wrath and retribution.

But her awakening draws the attention of the gods who once allowed her torment. A fragile alliance is forged—angels, demons, and mortals collide as war erupts between realms. In the final battle for control over the mortal and divine worlds, Annilla must decide: is she still the girl who was murdered, or the god who will remake reality?

The Curse of Dollface is a dark fantasy epic