ABOUT

This project presents a series of narrative illustrations created for the fourth volume of the horror anthology “Where Imagination Ends.”

The client and author of the book, Mikhail Yanovsky.

The stories explore mysterious places, dark folklore, mystery,
and psychological horror, and the thin line between imagination and reality. Each illustration captures a key moment from a different tale, blending atmospheric storytelling with dark visual tension.

From cursed lakes and abandoned hotels to haunted bathhouses and silent temples, the series reveals how easily the familiar world can open the door to something far more unsettling.

Devil’s Lake

Mysteries are always close to us.
Some people take them seriously, while others dismiss them as nothing more than imagination. Yet sometimes the truth reveals itself only when it is already too late.
A group of friends sets out on a fishing trip to a mysterious lake known only to a few. But instead of the quiet and peaceful escape they expected, only one of them will witness the true beauty of this place.
And he will have to pay for it.

Hotel East

Place names are never chosen by accident.
Sometimes they can even be a warning.
We are not obliged to listen to everyone, but sometimes it is worth paying attention.
A young couple in love ignored such warnings and found themselves wandering through the dark, lifeless corridors of the mysterious Hotel East, where every hallway seems to hide something that should never have been awakened.

The Black Steam

A bathhouse is meant to cleanse both body and soul.
But not every place offers the peace it promises.
Old buildings sometimes hold memories… and not all of them are kind.
Two friends find themselves in a bathhouse where the steam has its own presence.
And its color is far from white.

He Was Not Digging for the Dead

Few people would believe such a story, because the truth is not meant for everyone.
The main character once became an accidental witness to a secret that revealed something deeply unsettling about burial and death.
No one would have believed her words, so she carried the secret for many years.
Only her granddaughter would finally hear the story, a tale that would leave a lasting and terrifying impression.

The Next Stop

Life is a long road with many stops along the way, some joyful, some bitter.
But sooner or later the moment arrives when the final stop appears.
There, every life must be judged and measured.
And then the vehicle of justice will take you exactly where you truly belong.

When the Temple Breathes Darkness

A temple is a sacred place where people come to be alone with God.
Those who guard such a place must carry the same purity of faith and devotion.
But this story shows what happens when those qualities disappear.
Because evil is always searching for a way into the world of people…
and it often enters through the places where we expect it the least.

The Mirror Pact

In the center of a dimly lit room, a ritual circle is drawn on the floor. Inside it sits a confused young man, surrounded by strange symbols, a burning black candle, and a mysterious contract.
As ancient words are spoken and shadows stretch across the room, the ritual begins to awaken something unseen. Soon the air fills with smoke, leaving behind an unsettling silence that feels far more dangerous than the ritual itself.

At nine in the morning, they all stood in front of the same building.
At first glance, it looked abandoned and forgotten by the world.

The Curse of No Escape

But something about the place felt wrong.
The windows were still intact.
The doors had never been broken.
Nothing had been looted or destroyed, even though the building stood far from the busy parts of the city.
For a place that should have been empty for years, it felt strangely untouched.
And sometimes the quietest places hide the most unsettling truths.

These illustrations were created to visually interpret the atmosphere and emotional core of each story from the anthology.

The project focuses on mood, narrative tension, and cinematic composition, aiming to immerse the viewer in the unsettling worlds hidden within the pages of “Where Imagination Ends: Book 4.”