The Banks Estate

Eighteen-year-old Maddie Ross takes a babysitting job at a secluded estate in the woods for one reason: the pay is impossible to ignore.
The house is beautiful.
The child is sweet.
The rules are... unsettling.
Jill’s bedtime is strict. Certain rooms are forbidden. Doors must be locked. Lights must remain on. And no matter what Maddie hears in the night, no matter how much the child begs, she is never to break the rules.
At first, the restrictions feel excessive. Then they begin to feel necessary.
As the hours crawl by, the house grows quieter, heavier, and disturbingly aware. Sounds come from places that should be empty. The rules stop feeling like protection and start feeling like ritual. Maddie is forced to choose between her instincts and her obedience, and every choice carries a cost.
Because in this house, survival isn’t about bravery.
It’s about compliance.
The Banks Estate is a psychological horror novel about control, guilt, and the terrifying power of being told to stay still while something waits in the dark.