A. M. Shine is an Irish author of literary horror, best known for his dark fiction inspired by the Irish landscape, folklore and Gothic tradition. He is the author of The Watchers (2021), which has been adapted into a major motion picture produced by M. Night Shyamalan and its sequel, Stay in the Light (2024).
A. M. Shine was born and raised in western Ireland, where he developed a love of classic horror at a young age. After completing a Master's degree in history, he turned fully to writing. “I have tormented, toyed with, and tortured more characters than I will ever confess to,” he once said. His early influences include Edgar Allan Poe, whose Gothic sensibility continues to shape his literary voice.
His first works were Gothic in tone and subject. Over time, his fiction evolved into Irish horror, characterised by local settings, regional mythology, and an atmosphere of brooding suspense. His stories draw on the intersection of horror, superstition, and cultural memory. Each narrative strikes a balance between atmospheric dread and historical awareness.
Shine’s breakthrough novel, The Watchers (2021), introduces Mina, a woman stranded near a mysterious forest. Trapped in a concrete bunker with strangers, Mina discovers that malevolent creatures known as the Watchers emerge at night to observe their human captives. The novel's eerie atmosphere and claustrophobic setting reflect Shine's Gothic storytelling roots—feature film adaptation starring Dakota Fanning.
Stay in the Light (2024) continues Mina’s story. Now living in isolation on the west coast of Ireland, she researches the Watchers while grappling with fear and doubt. When disappearances begin again, Mina struggles to convince others of the threat. The sequel builds upon the original's horror while exploring themes of sanity, survival and belief. It cements Shine’s position as a contemporary writer working in the psychological and supernatural horror tradition.
Shine's work will appeal to Kealan Patrick Burke and T. Kingfisher fans. His use of Irish settings and Gothic language firmly establishes his fiction within both a geographical and a genre context.
A. M. Shine continues to write from the west of Ireland.
Photo credit: Lara Luxardi
A. M. Shine was born and raised in western Ireland, where he developed a love of classic horror at a young age. After completing a Master's degree in history, he turned fully to writing. “I have tormented, toyed with, and tortured more characters than I will ever confess to,” he once said. His early influences include Edgar Allan Poe, whose Gothic sensibility continues to shape his literary voice.
His first works were Gothic in tone and subject. Over time, his fiction evolved into Irish horror, characterised by local settings, regional mythology, and an atmosphere of brooding suspense. His stories draw on the intersection of horror, superstition, and cultural memory. Each narrative strikes a balance between atmospheric dread and historical awareness.
Shine’s breakthrough novel, The Watchers (2021), introduces Mina, a woman stranded near a mysterious forest. Trapped in a concrete bunker with strangers, Mina discovers that malevolent creatures known as the Watchers emerge at night to observe their human captives. The novel's eerie atmosphere and claustrophobic setting reflect Shine's Gothic storytelling roots—feature film adaptation starring Dakota Fanning.
Stay in the Light (2024) continues Mina’s story. Now living in isolation on the west coast of Ireland, she researches the Watchers while grappling with fear and doubt. When disappearances begin again, Mina struggles to convince others of the threat. The sequel builds upon the original's horror while exploring themes of sanity, survival and belief. It cements Shine’s position as a contemporary writer working in the psychological and supernatural horror tradition.
Shine's work will appeal to Kealan Patrick Burke and T. Kingfisher fans. His use of Irish settings and Gothic language firmly establishes his fiction within both a geographical and a genre context.
A. M. Shine continues to write from the west of Ireland.
Photo credit: Lara Luxardi
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