Welcome Readers!
Welcome to our Halloween Issue!
What do you think of when Halloween springs to mind? Kids in costumes at the door, chocolatey treats and fun, spooky music, of course! But, there’s also the storytelling side of this wonderful transition season. It’s a time when fear becomes communal, when the dark is heavier than the light, and we seek out thrills and scares and the unknown. This infusion of adrenaline helps us feel alive before the cold hibernation of winter begins.
And, just like the costumes at your door will vary, our selection of stories and poems will expose and explore the childhood fears in all of us. We invite you to slip into something creepy and comfortable, light the candles, and call up those haunting melodies on Pandora. We want to thank our authors who pen both poem and prose, because they, ultimately, are the ones who remind us that Halloween is so much more than jack-o-lanterns and Three Musketeer bars, it’s about seeing through the veil between the dark and the light, the living and the dead, the blessed and the cursed.
Feeling a little trope-y? We’ve got you! Come take a peek at our Horror Tropes contest winner and honorable mentions!
Just in time, Paul Lonardo takes us Inside the Halloween Franchise Multiverse. Will Michael Myers ever die? Check it out here.
Since it’s almost Halloween, you might want to brush up on the various types of ghostly entities. Gary Davis walks us through it. Check it out here.
What’s your favorite scary movie? But, a deeper question is: do you prefer the classic jump scare or the tension-building slow burn? Check out T. Lucien Wright’s take on the topic here.
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Happy Holidays to our authors and readers!! We are so excited for all that 2026 has to bring us. We know that this in-between, upside-down, what day is this? time period between Christmas and New Year’s can be… disorienting.
Paul Lonardo helps clear up the confusion. Well, with scary movies that is! Ever wonder why some endings are better than others? Check out Paul’s brand spankin’ new article here.
While we’re on the topic, what kind of ending would you give 2025? Hmmm… is “Dumpster Fire” one of the choices, Paul?
We are now CLOSED to poetry and story submissions for future issues.
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: WE ARE ONCE AGAIN PAYING AUTHORS!
Enjoy!
Halloween Fiction
Halloween Poetry
Horror Tropes Contest Winners
Summerween Contest Winners
Fiendish Father’s Day Fiction
Fiendish Father’s Day Poetry
Bloody Valentine’s Day Fiction
Bloody Valentine’s Day Poetry
Demented Mother’s Day Fiction
Demented Mother’s Day Poetry
Light a candle and dig into our Archives
