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Dusk settles over the town’s rooftops, cloaking them in dark shadows. Raindrops fall slowly, gently. With the power out, I read by candlelight. On the pages before me, people die one by one—some slowly with horror in their eyes, others quickly without a trace of pain. There is something unsettling about these deaths. What scares me isn’t the graphic descriptions or a mysterious killer. It’s the setting: Lori, just thirty minutes away from my home. The characters bear familiar names—Arpi, Vahe, Aram—making the story feel eerily close. That’s when it struck me: Armenia is a perfect setting for horror stories.

The book I was reading, “13 Kilometers From the Tunnel,” is considered the first-ever horror novel written in Armenian. While this might surprise some, Armenia is currently experiencing a rise in horror fiction. In a way, it’s not entirely new. Many of the eerie fairy tales our parents read to us at bedtime were filled with violence and dread. Tales like “Krnat Aghjik” (Handless Girl) or “Zangi Zrangi” are full of horrific and terrifying plots and imagery. These intensely dark stories undoubtedly sparked our childhood curiosity about horror stories. As teenagers, we dove into urban legends and conspiracy theories, both local and foreign. Somewhere along the way, one name began to stand out—a figure who defined the genre and gained a massive online following: Ruben Yesayan, Armenia’s founding creator of horror and mystery content on YouTube. 

Yesayan launched his Revelation series on YouTube back in 2011. It started with well-known legends such as the haunted Annabel doll, Alcatraz Prison, and aliens. These videos quickly became hits among teenagers who were obsessed with them. They were hooked: everyone instantly recognized Yesayan’s distinctive voice. He was the first to bring global horror narratives to Armenian audiences in their native language. 

“The uniqueness of Yesayan’s channel lies in his content,” says Hakob Gyulazyan, an Armenian horror enthusiast. “In my teenage years, he was the only YouTuber creating high-quality mystery videos in Armenian. Most importantly, it was his voice, which was perhaps more frightening than the story itself.”

While international mystery stories remained popular with Armenian audiences, Yesayan gradually shifted his focus to exploring Armenia’s own haunted locations. He began investigating Armenian urban legends, from the country’s only rumored vampire to a place where gravity supposedly works in reverse, among many other theories. These videos were groundbreaking, as no one had previously discussed Armenian legends on social media platforms.  

After years of producing content on YouTube, Yesayan ventured beyond the screen to write the first original Armenian horror novel. “13 Kilometers From the Tunnel” is set in Armenia and follows a group of Yerevan State University students who set out on what should have been a casual trip to Lori. Thirteen students begin the journey, but they lose their way and end up in a remote, unknown village called Luragarak. Something feels off from the very beginning. As the group tries to leave the village, strange events begin to unfold—and the students begin dying, one by one. This mysterious setting in a remote Armenian village keeps readers hooked until the very last page. “The book was so interesting that I read it in just one day. The fact that the events take place in Armenia made it even more fascinating, and I read with more enthusiasm,” Gyulazyan says. 

Immediately after its release, the book became a national bestseller. Despite being a horror novel in a market usually dominated by Armenian classics and translations, Yesayan’s book maintained strong sales. Even by November, eleven months after its release, it was still the best-selling book in Armenia, with 565 copies sold that month alone. For comparison, the runner-up, “Not a Week Without Tumanyan,” a collection of Tumanyan’s works, sold just 75 copies. 

After the book’s success, Yesayan recognized Armenia’s love for the horror subculture and wrote another book: “Monks Have a Secret.” This new story takes place in the United States, featuring main characters from the American University of Armenia on an exchange program. In this small town, they discover that a 19-year-old girl was murdered days earlier and encounter a monastic order of monks.

When Yesayan announced the release of the new book, anticipation ran high among his fans and horror enthusiasts. No longer just a YouTuber but now a celebrated author with a devoted following, he chose the Karen Demirchyan Sports Complex for his book launch rather than at a traditional bookstore or hotel. The venue was packed, making the event an outstanding success. 

Yesayan did not stop there. In April 2025, returning to the haunted village of Luragarak, he published his third book, “13 Kilometers From the Tunnel: I’m the Murderer,”—a sequel to his debut novel. The book launch evolved into a two-day fan event across multiple locations, drawing large crowds. During the premiere, Yesayan announced that filming for the movie adaptation of “13 Kilometers From the Tunnel” would begin this summer, and Artur Darbinyan—a Hollywood actor with appearances in “Stranger Things”, “Iron Man”, and other films—would play one of the lead roles.

Though not professionally trained, Yesayan employs a straightforward, conversational style—he tells rather than shows. This approach makes his work more accessible and easier to digest. While his books might not qualify as high literature, their impact on Armenian pop culture and cultivating a horror fandom is undeniable––although there are those who view his campy style with disdain.

Currently, Yesayan stands alone on Armenia’s horror fiction landscape, leaving fans of the genre with limited options. Additionally, few horror novels have been translated into Armenian. Mari Hakobyan, a horror fiction translator, points to language as a key factor in the genre’s delayed rise in popularity. “Maybe the reason why it’s gaining its popularity so late in Armenia is language,” she explains. “In the past and now, there hasn’t been much horror literature available in Armenian. As a result, readers interested in the genre needed to know English or Russian to be able to access these stories.” 

Armenian horror remains rare, though translations are slowly filling the gap. While still overshadowed by detective and science fiction, the genre is showing potential, especially among teenagers and younger readers, Yesayan’s primary audience. In the absence of a robust horror book market, many fans turn to cinema to satisfy their appetite for the genre. Yesayan has pioneered this space, opening doors for emerging Armenian horror authors. Armenia’s rich linguistic and mythological landscape offers untapped material––stories, superstitions, and urban legends waiting to be written about.  

Heat

The July issue of SALT is a sensory journey through Armenia’s summer landscape — from foraging wild herbal teas in the mountains of Syunik to the weird and wonderful world of Yerevan’s Qrchi Bazaar. We explore the rise of horror writing, visit a museum of strange analogies, and spotlight an artist whose work defies convention. This month, eclecticism is our mood.

Nestled in the outskirts of the southern Armenian town of Kapan, Darmanadzor is a soulful teahouse where Artur Patvakanyan serves hand-foraged herbal blends. Rooted in ancestral wisdom and personal healing, his teas offer comfort, connection and a quiet resistance to modern haste.

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