The Making of a Witch
Dusty noticed everything. She had since she was a small child and she had watched her father and mother argue over how much bread to serve at dinner, and how her brother disappeared for short moments during the day and always looked ashamed for a little while when he reappeared. She noticed how Samuel, their […]
The Importance of Female and LGBTQIA+ Voices in Horror
Historically, horror has been dominated by male voices as most horror authors and creators have been cishet white men, while women and LGBTQIA+ creators in the genre have long been marginalized and outright mistreated. Though things are getting better, and more women and LGBTQIA+ folks are finding a place, we are, in my experience, often […]
Cartoon
Sentiment was against the poisoned insect. The city of Minsk had decided that to flog a chewink would be punishment enough. Nothing upset the ink more than a clumsy hand. The authoress surveyed the product of her hand. Too much Valium, they say, isn’t good for a hysteric. The wife of the milkman wrote because […]
Feminist Horror: The Subgenre You Didn’t Know You Were Already Reading
The horror genre has been around for centuries, and for most of that time, the genre was dominated by male authors. A majority of horror stories have starred men as main characters, with the women reduced to a much more subdued role. Even when Mary Shelley penned her first story of frights, proving women to […]
boys will be boys
cruel, despicable peter He wrenched Marguerite from my arms and took off; ran as only a five-year-old could, with reckless abandon and mirth. Ducking beneath Mommy’s overgrown garden, Peter scattered light blue hydrangea blooms in a great cloud. I dashed around and snatched at Marguerite, but he was soon off again, like lightning. Nanny appeared […]
The Witch
The stench hit her first. Her nostrils flared and her nose twitched pointlessly as hot, rancid decay burned through her nasal cavities and settled in her nasopharynx. Her stomach threatened to mutiny in disgust, and she dropped to the ground clutching her sides. Next, the hair-raising chorus of hoarse voices crowded her mind with their […]
BENIGN
She sat in the doctor’s office, her legs crossed and her hands folded in her lap. Her bottom foot tapped the floor, the sound echoing off the white walls. The quiet was deafening. She started to hum under her breath to keep the intrusive thoughts from taking over. You know what they’re going to say. […]
We Sacrifice Ourselves to the Sea
She was rocked out of sleep by the boat’s motion. After the rattling sound of the engine, she noticed two things. First, the air was fresher than the country she had left behind, not laced with the cloying smell of burning rubbish. It was probably her overactive imagination taking control, her subconscious desperately trying to […]
The Itch
Ally had a sniffle. The subway was crowded, and she sagged against the pole, acutely aware of the contact her hand made with the steel. She imagined it crawling with tiny germ commuters, germs jostling one another en route up and down the stanchion. Germs being shuttled by germ trains. Germs touching poles and getting […]
I’m Not the Daughter
When she finally made it home to her apartment, she slammed the door shut, then had to lean against the wall for a moment to gain her composure. Disoriented, her pulse was racing dangerously and she feared she might faint. She still had the thing clutched in her arms. It was wrapped in some old […]
Her Skin
Mari has the serums, essences, and exfoliators—both chemical and physical. She knows that Vitamin C and retinol should be used in conjunction, but never at the same time. She wipes sunscreen across her forehead and on her neck where it mixes into her hairline. SPF 40 minimum with reapplication every two hours throughout the day. […]
Valentina
In the time of dragons, evil wizards, daring knights and enchanted kingdoms, there lived a girl, a princess in fact, who was living her own fairy tale, though this was one you may not have been told by a Grimm set of brothers. The princess’ name was Valentina, and she was every bit as beautiful […]
Child Less
Linda Mercer froze as she lay on the bed. “Are you sure?” The technician performing her ultrasound sighed as she glided the wand over Linda’s belly. “I’ll keep looking.” She smiled at Linda. “Sometimes they hide.” Linda forced a weak smile as she nodded, tightening her grip on her husband’s hand. After a few moments, […]
Haunted Spirit
“While they’re still alive, people can become ghosts.” – Haruki Murakami Siri’s strange nocturnal angst in crowded mind terror segments: Night is the time people truly become beasts, sometimes the thing in the garden, sometimes the ghost. On this night, cold rain hammered on the broken bricks. Someone coughed in the distance. Here was […]
Acting Scared: Oscar-Nominated Horror Performances
The Academy Awards doesn’t like horror. Across 96 years of the ceremony, only twenty horror films have ever won Oscars in any category, and some of the winners (like the musical Sweeney Todd or the literary adaptation The Picture of Dorian Grey) are only slightly horror-related. Considering all the classics of the genre, it’s amazing […]
Bleed Out
“She’s a skank.” “Don’t touch her.” “You’ll catch a disease!” And yet they still wouldn’t keep their gaze and hands off her. Zara used to be sweet and angelic. Her older stepbrothers started looking at her differently when her tender, budding chest started to show. The boys didn’t film or photograph anything for fear of […]
Atropos’s Second-Hand Gifts
Tapping her pencil against the nearly full notepad, Alice let out a long, exasperated sigh. It was going to be a tight month between her regular bills, unexpected repairs, and just covering the basic necessities like food. She could not even fathom adding in Christmas gifts for her family and friends. She ran her hands […]
Satellites
The sky had been so brilliantly blue back home. I hate that at the end, all I see is black, black, black. “What does it look like to you?” my sister asked, never slowing her swinging as her pudgy hand pointed at a fluffy nimbus cloud. I kept pace with her, even if swinging so […]
A Fair Exchange
They were the first to arrive and the last to leave, but that was expected since most pet funerals were only attended by the next of kin. The dreary morning weather didn’t lend itself to a big turnout either. A steady downpour had started around sunrise and showed no signs of relenting anytime soon. The […]
Smoke and Needles
I drape the towel over my bed and lie down on it, pulling off my pants and underwear. I reach for the bottle of anal lube on the nightstand, pop it open, squeeze a little bit out on my finger, smear some of it around my asshole, then squeeze out some more and smear it […]
The Truth About Mermaid Sex
Dr. Raphaël Gastaud stood in the sterile hallway of the Hôpital Princesse Grâce, his hands steady as he removed his surgical gloves. “Great job today,” a young nurse said as she came close to him, the scent of antiseptic clinging to her. “This hospital is really lucky to have you.” “Ah, yes. Thank you,” he […]
About Saturday Night
On a Saturday in mid-January, I hung out with a man I knew from college. It was a social visit at a bar, a chance to catch up over drinks. It shouldn’t have been a big deal, but it was. It shouldn’t have ended badly, but it did. It shouldn’t have left me feeling repulsed […]
Skin Deep
My mother always tells me the best is yet to come as she lathers layers of makeup over the red blotches trailing up my chin like tattooed kisses. They’re the only kisses she has ever given me, and they’re proof that from birth, her love has stained me with hurt and shame. The best to […]
Underworld Goddess
Underworld goddess, queen of the departed. Souls fluttering by, all cluttering the sky. Monarch butterflies never again to rise: Broken, guillotined, Marie Antoinette seams. Underworld goddess, queen of the departed. Ruler of the dead, eyes cold and hair blood-red. Both sinners and saints arrive in dire straits. The end of the race, their final resting […]
Eat the Summer Cannibals
“because I’m hungry and hollow and just want something to call my own. I’ll be your slaughterhouse, your killing floor, your morgue and final resting” – Richard Siken, “Wishbone” If there is nothing more romantic that being inside of your lover, if there is nothing more overwhelmingly beautiful than being as close to another person as […]
Living Dead Girl
The funeral of my inner child was not well-attended. That little girl with the white-blond hair and big blue eyes . . . she could never keep a straight face for pictures. She was always silly and carefree. She lived for laughter and creativity. Hard to believe that was me once. I can’t pinpoint the […]
Cadaverine
“Have you ever smelled a dead body?” The bar was crowded, and my friends thought our words would be drowned out. Laughter bubbled from within, pouring out like a shaken champagne bottle. “What the fuck?” My heart pounded louder than the bass. “How was your trip, Mike?” The others moved on, as Mike recounted his […]