Trad Wife - by Saratoga Schaefer

Book Synopsis

A "traditional wife" influencer allows a demonic creature to impregnate her in this unnerving horror novel, perfect for fans of Nightbitch and Mary, from the author of Serial Killer Support Group.

Every #tradwife needs a baby. She'll get one at any cost.

When Camille Deming isn't cooking, cleaning, or homesteading in her picture-perfect country farmhouse, she's posting about her tradwife lifestyle for her online followers. She takes inspiration from other tradwives on social media, aspiring to be like them, but Camille's missing a key component: a baby. And contrary to what she posts online, things with her husband, Graham, have been strained. Pressured by her eager followers, Camille fears that without a baby, her relationship will suffer and her social media will never grow out of its infancy.

When Camille discovers a mysterious, decrepit well in the wheatfield behind her house, she makes a wish for a baby. Afterward, she has unsettling experiences that she convinces herself are angelic in nature, and when she's visited one night by a strange creature, her wish comes true.

Camille's pregnancy announcement gets more engagement than anything she's ever posted--so what if Graham's reaction is lukewarm? Camille's life is finally falling into place. Never mind that her pregnancy is developing freakishly rapidly and she's suddenly craving raw meat. Being a traditional wife is worth it.

Rosemary's Baby for the digital age, this disturbing horror novel is one you'll want to devour in just one bite.

Review Quotes

Praise for Trad Wife:
"A gleefully gruesome take on the life of an influencer . . . strikes a good balance of gore and tenderness."
--Publishers Weekly

"Saratoga Schaefer's Trad Wife is one of those novels that truly sticks with you. It blends real horrors with the supernatural in a way that's timely and deeply unsettling. Schaefer delivers a brutal, bloody story that gets under your skin and stays there."
--Capes & Tights

"Forget flipping through Baby 411, readers are going to need Baby 911 after meeting the newborn at the sweet, succulent heart of Saratoga Schaefer's surprisingly tender -- and stunningly stomach-turning -- new novel Trad Wife. A Rosemary's Baby for our modern social media mindset, no IG filter can rinse the blood-soaked body horror off your subconscious once you're done devouring this beaut of a book."
--Clay McLeod Chapman, author of Wake Up and Open Your Eyes

"Saratoga Schaefer's Trad Wife is a gory thrill ride! Imagine Rosemary's Baby, but she's doing it for the 'gram."
--Chelsea Conradt, USA Today Bestselling Author of The Farmhouse

"In the tradition of Bret Easton Ellis, Trad Wife takes the domestic dream and rips it wide open, serving up a blood-soaked satire as smart and tender as it is stomach-churning. Deliciously gruesome and surprisingly tender, it's a razor-edged meditation on losing one's self; a gory shrine to the things wives and mothers sacrifice on the altar of 'Womanhood of Old', and an ode to the raw, untamed authenticity that rises when the monster beneath the apron finally steps free."
--Dawn Kurtagich, Amazon bestselling author of The Thorns and The Madness

"Trad Wife is the body horror of your dreams (and nightmares). Relentless, feverish, and deliciously dark, Trad Wife plunges a knife into the dark, writhing heart of motherhood. Schaefer excels at writing morally gray protagonists, and in Camille Deming they peel back the glossy persona of the 'traditional housewife' we see online, revealing the uneasy truths beneath the performance of femininity and the lengths we go to protect the life we think we want. I absolutely devoured this."
--Charlene Wang, author of Mindy's Book Studio pick I'll Follow You

"A breathless commentary that layers psychological terror and the lies we tell ourselves with the rot that is social media, Trad Wife is a masterpiece that cements Schaefer as the new authority when it comes to horror."
--Maria Tureaud, author of This House Will Feed

"Smart, stylish, and savage, Trad Wife is an insidious drop down a well you'll never climb out of."
--Neena Viel, author of Listen to Your Sister

"Sinking your teeth into Saratoga Schaefer's Trad Wife will satisfy every craving you have for raw, visceral horror hidden behind a picture-perfect facade. Timely, terrifying, and touched with humor, this book will chew you up and spit you out and you'll love every second of it."
--C.J. Dotson, author of The Cut

About the Author

Saratoga Schaefer (they/them) has a background in marketing, PR, film, and wellness. Their cunningly dark debut, Serial Killer Support Group, was a "Best Pick of the Month" by Barnes & Noble and Amazon and was named one of 2025's biggest thrillers by Goodreads. Originally from Brooklyn, Saratoga now lives upstate with several needy animals and a haunted clown table.