In a coastal town, everything seems familiar, until things begin to change.

Salt statues appear everywhere—on beaches and in corners—with no known creator and no convincing reason.

Everyone tries to dismiss them as an ancient legend or a new form of publicity, before things escalate and the salt spreads, asserting its dominance over everything, just when everyone thinks it’s over.

Salim Khattab, a renowned horror writer plagued by unimaginable problems, soon finds himself embroiled in the heart of the horror, besieged by questions he must answer.

What is the connection between these statues and his novels? Why does the town seem to be acting as if it harbors an ancient curse? And will he need to seek out survivors of terrifying legends to find what he’s looking for among them?

Before he realizes that every answer leads him to an even darker question, and every step toward a truth he doesn’t want to know… where water is not just water, nor salt just salt.

In “Salt Statues,” the narrative dissolves between ancient myth and reality, until you can no longer distinguish between what you see… and what the salt wants you to see.

— Muhammad Esmat