Deep in the swamplands of Louisiana, a monster is born. Hidden away in the cypress swamp of the Atchafalaya Basin, a cabin sits on pilings long driven into the murky water, home to a family of Cajuns known as the St. Pierres. A newborn joins their brood, a badly deformed infant who arrives unwelcome and unwanted. He is believed to be sent from the depths of hell itself as punishment for the unspeakable sin from which he sprang. Soon, the boy grows into the monster they have feared all along. Seizing their opportunity, they drug him and chain him up in the attic until they are able to dispose of their curse once and for all. The only problem now, they lose access to the dark, cramped space overhead. No problem, exclaims Poppie St. Pierre, "No reason to ever go up dere again." When the wrath of Hurricane Katrina comes to Bayou Noir, they are forced to confront the terror that awaits them. In the aftermath of the great storm, a group of college kids set out to look for survivors, never to be seen again. Detective Nicholas Vizier is hired to locate the missing search party and recruits local gator hunters to aid in the search. As their expedition leads them further into the swamp, they find more than they bargained for. They find Billy. From the opening chapter in the backroom of the cabin on Bayou Noir, to the creepy confines of St. Elizabeth's Institute for the Mentally Ill and the haunted ruins of Lost Bayou Plantation, 'Billy' will send you on a terrifying adventure until the shocking conclusion that will haunt you long after you put the book away. So turn on the lights and prepare yourself for the horror that will surely come with every turn of the page and find out the answer to the riddle, "Why didn't they go up into the attic?"