DARK STAR
A Dark Fantasy Horror Novel Set Inside a Secret Magical HBCU
Three months before graduation, Brianna Bryant discovers the secret society that chose her never intended to let her leave alive.
At the Secret College of Magical Negroes (SCMN), blood rituals, ancient ancestors, and forbidden power stand between Brianna and freedom.
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A DARK FANTASY HORROR
STORY READERS WON'T FORGET
An unsettling blend of ancestral magic, secret societies, dark academia, and supernatural horror that stays with readers long after the final page.
PERFECT FOR FANS OF
“Dark Star feels like stepping into a cursed campus where every hallway hides another secret.”
“A haunting blend of Black fantasy, dark academia, and supernatural horror.”
“Brianna Bryant is the kind of protagonist you root for even when the world around her is falling apart.”
A Haunting Blend of
Horror, Magic, and Dark Academia
Inside the walls of SCMN, bloodlines carry power, secret societies control destiny, and survival comes at a terrifying cost. DARK STAR combines supernatural horror, ancestral magic, and emotional tension into a story readers won’t forget.
Dark Academia Horror
Hidden rituals. Secret societies. Ancient halls filled with terrifying truths buried beneath the campus of SCMN.
Black Fantasy & Ancestral Magic
Power flows through memory, bloodlines, and the ancestors who refuse to be forgotten.
Deadly Secret Societies
Graduation is not freedom. Behind the ceremonies and traditions lies something far more dangerous.
Slow-Burn Romantic Tension
Brianna’s greatest threat may be the boy assigned to keep her from escaping alive.
PERFECT FOR FANS OF
The Secret World of Maggie Grey • Blood at the Root • Sinners
ENTER THE WORLD OF DARK STAR
INSIDE THE
WALLS OF SCMN
Some students graduate.
Some never leave.
Hidden behind ancient traditions and blood-soaked rituals, SCMN is more than a university.
It is a place where ancestral power shapes destiny, secret societies decide who survives, and every graduating class owes a debt.
For Brianna Bryant, escaping the campus may be the only way to stay alive.
SCMN ARCHIVE ACCESS
LEVEL IV — RESTRICTED MATERIAL
ARCHIVE—01
The Ritual
Graduation is not what students believe it to be.
ARCHIVE—02
The Ancestors
Power flows through bloodlines that refuse to be forgotten.
ARCHIVE—03
The Escape Route
Rumors speak of a hidden magical path buried beneath the campus.
BRIANNA’S MISSION
Before Graduation, Brianna
Must Survive The Impossible
The final ritual is approaching, and every decision Brianna makes inside SCMN
could determine whether she escapes alive — or becomes the weapon
the elders always intended her to be.
OBJECTIVE
01Find The Hidden
Escape Route
Rumors speak of a magical path buried beneath SCMN. Brianna believes it may be the only way out before the final ritual begins.
OBJECTIVE
02Escape The Blood-
Worshipping Cult
The same secret society that chose Brianna now plans to sacrifice her future for their own vengeance.
OBJECTIVE
03Do Not Fall For The
Boy Watching Her
The boy assigned to keep Brianna under control was never supposed to become a distraction.
Tonia K. Johnson
Award-Winning Black Speculative Fiction Author
Tonia K. Johnson Writes Horror Rooted In Memory, Power, and Survival
Tonia K. Johnson is an award-winning Black speculative fiction author whose work explores ancestral memory, identity, survival, and the terrifying cost of power.
Blending dark fantasy, supernatural horror, and Black storytelling traditions, her fiction has appeared in FIYAH Literary Magazine, Midnight & Indigo, Pseudopod, and other acclaimed publications.
“Some stories are meant to haunt you long after the final page.”
ARCHIVE ACCESS
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PRE-ORDER SPECIAL
Secure Your Signed Edition of DARK STAR
Every pre-order comes signed with two exclusive art prints and a custom bookmark. Orders are expected to ship by December 11th.
- Read on any Kindle device or app
- Auto-delivered to your library
- Instant access on release day
- Release date: Dec 18, 2026
- Signed by Tonia K. Johnson
- Two exclusive art prints
- Custom DARK STAR bookmark
- Estimated ship: Dec 11, 2026
- Signed premium hardback
- Two exclusive art prints
- Custom DARK STAR bookmark
- Estimated ship: Dec 11, 2026
FAQ
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There Is Power In Your Blood.
And SCMN Wants To Claim It.
Step inside a haunting world of ancestral magic, blood-soaked rituals, secret societies, and impossible survival.
Official Release — December 18, 2026
Horror Fantasy • Dark Academia • Supernatural Thriller