Summer Isles

Father's Day, Widow's Bay and the pull of spooky beach towns.

The best Father’s Day tradition is to go to the beach.

Hello, my summer-faring, Knicks-obsessed, good-spirited friends,

By the time you read this, in NYC, you may be standing behind barricades awaiting the ticker-tape parade celebrating the Knicks in one of the happiest launches into summer NYC has ever seen. Maybe you’ve already moved on to the World Cup? It might be a good weekend to invite the dads in your life to a watch party. Sunday is Father’s Day, after all. We have a tradition of heading to the Rockaways every year to eat tacos and soak up the first of the vitamin D. There’s nothing more fun than the first beach day of summer (soaked in sunscreen and swathed in SPF fabrics, ofc.)

Because my taste runs dark, it might be surprising to learn that beaches are some of my favorite settings. Any idyllic location is a perfect foil for hiding the rot below, but none better than sunny, sandy, sexy beaches. One of my first Substacks was about Dark Beach Reads, and I stand by all of these deliciously dark choices. Here are a few more things to watch or read as summer kicks into gear.

Let’s get into it.

Widow’s Bay (2026)

Apple TV’s new horror-comedy about a New England island town whose mayor is determined to turn it into the next Martha’s Vineyard, despite the locals’ warnings that it’s cursed, is easily the best thing on television. It balances scares (including folk-horror traditions, clowns, and mushrooms) with deadpan comedy. The casting choices are impeccable, and the direction is top-notch. There’s no doubt you’ll be sucked in, but then come back to discuss the ending, which I had MANY issues with, in terms of the island’s rules.

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy (2025)

I’ve mentioned this novel before in my “10 Interesting Books of 2025” round-up, but it’s too good not to share again. If Widow’s Bay is the loud, fog-drenched story, this is the quiet, moody one. A widowed father and his three kids are the last caretakers of a global seed vault on a remote, storm-battered island near Antarctica, when a woman washes ashore with secrets of her own. This isn’t a sunny beach, and there aren’t any ancient curses, but it’s another insular community with its guards up.

The Wicker Man (1973)

This is one of my all-time favorite movies, so I’m glad to have another chance to talk about it. An outsider arrives on a remote island named Summer Isle, finds the locals deeply odd, and slowly realizes the community’s prosperity has been running on something much darker than folk festivals. The Wicker Man walked, so Widow’s Bay could run.

Lord of the Flies (2026)

This brand-new 4-episode adaptation of Lord of the Flies seems promising, although who would dare compete with the Balthazar Getty-starring 1990 version? Jack Thorne, the writer of the incredible show Adolescence, decided to take a stab. The story is split into one episode per character, Piggy, Ralph, Simon, and Jack, and each gives their perspective while also allowing the cameras to breathe in the lush surroundings. I’ve only watched the first episode, but it’s giving thoughtful observations on boyhood. Of course, if you haven’t read the book in a while, this could also be a good summer for a re-read.

The Last Ferry Out by Andrea Bartz (2025)

This one has been on my TBR list for a while, so I’m including it to remind myself to read it. I’ve ripped through Bartz’s previous thrillers, making them perfect vacation books. In this one, a grieving woman travels to the remote island where her fiancée died, only to find a bunch of locals who seem too calm about people disappearing. It sounds promising. Have you read it? Comment below.

What are your favorite spooky islands IRL or fictional?

See ya next week!