Dead Fake by Vincent Ralph

Welcome to Bleak Haven: The town you won't (or can't!) leave... Deep fake murders have taken over the high school, but what happens when they start to become real?

Would you Swipe to Die?

When the new craze takes over Bleak Haven High, Ava Wilson refuses to join in. As the niece of an infamous murderer, it’s the last thing she needs.

The mysterious website allows people to view their own ‘death’ – an AI generated version of their final slasher-movie-moments. But, when some of her classmates’ deepfakes are replicated in real life, Ava can either catch the killer…or be the next victim.

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“A website that shows your death… but what happens when it comes true?”

✶ PRE-READING ✶

Wouldn’t sign up for the website myself, thank you very much, but the concept is irresistibly twisted. High school horror + deepfake tech? Count me in.

✶ POST-READING ✶

As I thought...
Chilling from the first page, with twists that hit exactly when they should. Bleak Haven High is fully realised, tense, and consistently unnerving.

It surprised me by...
The story leans heavily on backstory that we’re not given in full - at first I assumed it was part of a series. It works as a standalone, but I wouldn’t be surprised if a prequel or sequel fills in the history gaps.

✦ RECOMMENDATIONS ✦

📚 Book: The Naturals — teen sleuths, tense mysteries, and high stakes
📺 TV: Riverdale — high school drama with a sinister twist

✦ MUSIC PAIRING ✦

🎵 Featured Song: Thriller by Michael Jackson — classic creepy energy, perfectly on-theme
🎶 Vibe Album: Anything orchestral-heavy with strings and suspense
🎧 Artist Recommendation: John Carpenter soundtracks — perfect tension, ominous atmosphere

✧ VIBE CHECK ✧

• Colour Palette: Dark night and blood red

• Soundtrack: Lots of strings; tense and paranoid

• Season: Autumn - shadows lengthen, nights grow in

• Mood: Suspenseful, edgy, and uneasy

• Scent: Popcorn and cold air - the perfect cinema-meets-horror vibe

★ TAROT CARD PULLED ★

Judgement — Horror Tarot
Set in a graveyard with the dead rising, this card mirrors both the story’s eerie setting and Ava’s personal stakes. Her uncle’s shadow looms over her actions, and the rising figures echo the tension of the deepfake murders coming to life. Judgement captures the story’s themes of reckoning, confronting the past, and facing consequences head-on - all while standing on the edge of fear and discovery. It’s the perfect reflection of Ava’s courage in a town where the past refuses to stay buried.