#horror anthologies

[thefugitivesaint]

''The Second Bedside Book of Strange Stories'', 1976 Source 'Tis almost "spooky season" so let the early festivities begin.

[yonderghostshistories]

The British CBBC Children’s horror-sci-fi anthology series “Creeped Out” is like if “Inside No. 9” and “Black Mirror” had a child together

Ya’know what I mean?

[wrongpublishing]

Increase Your Literary Body Count in 2024

by Mathew Gostelow.

"In my slut era," I whispered, sending the story out on its ninth simultaneous submission.

At the most recent count, I wrote 60-odd things in 2024 and submitted them a total of 202 times in all. 42 of them were published in some form. Along the way, I racked up 90 rejections. All in all, I published somewhere around 44,000 words in 2023.

I was whoring my stories all over, like some sort of village bike made of ink and shamelessness. I spent a year subbing sluttily. I had a blast doing it too. I got a fair few publications under my belt, made new friends, and learned some lessons as well. Here’s just a few of them…  

Change horses midstream

I’ve discovered I work best when I’m juggling multiple projects at once. It sounds counter-intuitive and I guess it might not work for everyone, but I reckon everyone should try it.

The idea is to have several stories on the go at one time. Three feels ideal. I find that I will inevitably run out of steam on a piece – my interest or focus always flags at some point. Switching to something new acts as a vital palate-cleanser. I’m able to return to each project afresh, bringing new energy and perspective thanks to the time I spent away.

Follow the fun 

Don't be afraid to mix it up. Move out of your comfort zone.

If your latest flash isn’t quite working, why not rewrite it as a poem? Or mash it together with another half-finished piece and see what happens. In a longer piece, it’s okay to jump straight to the scene that's exciting you in that moment. Fill in the gaps and the preamble later.

Try things out. Write flash, write microfiction, write a poem. Seen a shiny prompt? Go for it. Plunge into a genre that you'd normally avoid. You might have fun, you might learn something. You might even end up with a story worth submitting.

Lean into your weird

I'm not saying you're weird, but… you’re totally weird. The way you tell stories is uniquely yours. You understand the world through the filter of your own personal experiences. And you express those observations in wonderfully idiosyncratic ways. 

One thing this prolific year taught me is that I love my writing more when I delve into those quirky parts of me. It could be sharing an oddly-specific fear in a horror story, or playing with words in a way that feels pleasing and musical to me.

Putting those unusual parts of yourself out into the world can be scary, but it's also fun. And I've found that readers and editors seem to respond to it as well.

Sim-subbing is addictive - but tread carefully

Simultaneous submissions are great. Is that one mag taking a bit long to decide on whether they want you piece? Send it somewhere else. Feel those sweet endorphins coursing through your veins. Oh yeah. That’s the stuff.

Here’s what I learned from a year of very heavy simultaneous submissions: Send a piece out to as many places as you like – but only if you're equally happy with ever possible outcome. That’s the important bit.

If you have your heart set on a specific home for a story then for gawd’s sakes don't sub it anywhere else until they have decided. Otherwise you risk tying yourself in knots if/when one of the lesser mags accepts it before your dream publisher has decided.

Play fast and loose!

Themed calls are great. They can be inspiring, sparking fresh ideas in our minds. Or help us to see our existing stories in a new light. But here’s what I learned this year: don’t be afraid to come at the theme from an obtuse angle.

Editors must get tired of reading 50 different permutations of the same story. Your off-kilter take could be just the breath of fresh air they're looking for.

And if you have a story already written when a call comes along and it feels like it's close-ish to what they're looking for, then you should throw it in the mix. What have you got to lose?

A true story from this year:

I had a story accepted after misunderstanding what a themed call was all about. I didn’t read the instructions carefully enough and subbed the wrong thing. I realised immediately after pulling the trigger and considered withdrawing my piece. For some reason, though, I didn't. (Slut era!) The editors saw something in my story and accepted the piece.

Moral: Don’t slavishly follow the theme. Go crazy.

Dilute the sting

Rejections can hurt, especially if you have your sights set on a specific magazine or anthology. But you know what helps? Rebound sex. Er… I mean, rebound submissions. Get that same piece back out there. Heck, send it to two places. Go crazy. You get closure by moving on. Also, the more you submit, the more rejection notches you get on your bedpost. And you know what, after a while you’ll find it starts to sting a lot less. 

So there you go. Lessons from a promiscuous wordmonger. Why not try to up your literary body count in 2024? You might like it. Repeat after me: “Slut era”.

Mathew Gostelow (he/him) is the author of two collections; See My Breath Dance Ghostly, a book of speculative short stories (Alien Buddha Press) and Connections, a flash fiction chapbook (Naked Cat Publishing). He has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net, and Best Microfiction. @MatGost

[linseymiller]

hello yes do you like horror short stories and creepy houses?

because the cover for the anthology i'm in next year just dropped

A dance to the death. A girl who’s just as monstrous as H.H. Holmes. A hallway that’s constantly changing―and hungry. All of these stories exist in the same place―within the frame of a particular house that isn’t bound by the laws of time and space. Following in the footsteps of dark/horror-filled YA anthologies like His Hideous Heart and Slasher Girls and Monster Boys , and Netflix’s ground-breaking adaptation of The Haunting of Hill House , this YA speculative fiction anthology explores how the permanence of a home can become a space of transition and change for both the inhabitants and the creatures who haunt them. Each story in the anthology will focus on a different room in the house and feature unique takes on monsters from a wide array of cultural traditions. Whether it’s a demonic Trickster, a water-loving Rusalka, or a horrifying, baby-imitating Tiyanak, there’s bound to be something sinister lurking in the shadows.

goodreads link here

instagram link to cover reveal here

[z0mbi3-s0krat3s]

Oh, hell yeah. Loved this one. One of the better horror anthologies I've see (likely because the whole thing was written and directed by the same guy, whereas most anthologies are a mashup of creators so you get some hits and misses). This isn't something you take seriously; it's just lots of fun. Sweet effects, twisted tales (one that's just goddamn outrageous lol), nice segue storyline with a clever plot twist. Just loads of fun. Exclusively on Shudder. A membership is only $56 for a whole year so definitely worth it. Get yours. You deserve it.

[filmandtvhistory]

April 22, 2016 - Holidays is released in the US (limited).

The horror anthology features eight short stories that puts a spin on different holidays:

Valentine’s Day - Written and directed by Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer

St. Patrick’s Day - Written and directed by Gary Shore

Easter - Written and directed by Nicholas McCarthy

Mother’s Day - Written and directed by Sarah Adina Smith

Father’s Day - Written and directed by Anthony Scott Burns

Arbor Day - Written and directed by Kevin Smith

Christmas - Written and directed by Scott Stewart

New Year’s Eve - Written by Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer. Directed by Adam Egypt Mortimer

Random fact: The film’s premiere was at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 14, 2016.

[videoreligion]

The Burning Moon (1992)

“I'm a big supporter of the bedtime story. From a very early age, my parents read to me after tucking me in, and if my homunculus ever works out, I will do the same for it. I feel like the tradition did a lot in my case. The details, plots, and morals of some of those books stick with me to this day, in some cases, with more impact than things I have read in recent months. I could say this was instrumental in my love of fiction and continued search for knowledge, but it's just a hunch. At the very least, it can't hurt to get a head start on a kid's brain arsenal. The grumpy old man in me assumes it's even more critical today with the barrage of soundbites and one-liner social media formats. Consider the difference between giving a kid a narrated, personalized epic like Treasure Island and letting them watch four hours of Finger Family songs on YouTube. No offense to any breeders out there, as I have no experience in the area and therefore no real room to talk. My parents however, helped me with Fahrenheit 451 early on, and I’ve had time to ruminate on the whole of its message. On that same note, the material you choose to read could be a crucial aspect. My DNA donors covered a lot of classics, and even pushed a few boundaries, at least for the era. I think that's more than commendable as even without spawn of my own, I can now understand how delicate a line that was. Playing it too safe could deprive the seed of critical thinking practice, or worse, lead to buying abridged works. With the opposite, you could scar a kid for life with something they weren't ready for. There is a good chance that this is what happened to the little girl in The Burning Moon (1992)...”

Read the Full Review

[obviouslybooks]

In honor of the season, i moved several of my spooky scary anthologies to the table in my living room.