Book Anniversary : HorrorAddicts.net Press Presents – eHorror Bites 4: Requiem in Frost

On this day of Mabon, HorrorAddicts.net is proud to present the next book in their eHorror Bites series. eHorror Bites 4: Requiem in Frost is the newest work of Next Great Horror Writer Contest winner, Jonathan Fortin.

BLACK METAL LIVES!

Located in the deep frostbitten woods of Norway, Ingrid’s new home is old, spooky, and possibly haunted. Guttural screams wake Ingrid and her mother nightly. When they discover the shrieks belong to deceased former occupant and extreme metal musician, Skansi Oppegård, Ingrid investigates the mysterious circumstances surrounding his death. Hoping to exorcise Skansi’s ghost, she talks her mom into being part of a metal band. Oppegård’s last musical creation awakens forces beyond Ingrid’s understanding and causes Skansi’s murderer to resurface. In the battle between a madman and zombies, metal may be the only weapon she has.

A Peek Inside

REQUIEM IN FROST

When I opened my eyes, it was still dark—probably after midnight. When I took off my headphones, I didn’t hear screaming. However, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.

Someone was standing in the corner of my room.

He was tall and muscular, with long, ragged hair. Smeared skeletal makeup covered his face, mingling with open scars. His torso was splashed with a fresh coat of crimson, dripping all over the floor, but drippiest of all was the huge axe in his hand. As I considered the growing red pool at his feet, I found myself wondering where all that blood had come from…

Is Mom all right?

The thought hit me with the force of a speeding train. If the ghost had hurt Mom, he could hurt me, too. Perhaps it should have been obvious, but I’d never felt threatened until that moment. My heart stopped as I lay there, paralyzed in bed, fearing he would kill me, and that he’d killed Mom already.

The spirit approached my bed, his huge axe dripping a river onto the floor. I tried to muster up the courage to run, but my legs were frozen in place. All too quickly, he was right beside me, raising his axe high.

“Skansi…” It came out before I could stop it, the squeak of a girl much younger than myself.

The spirit halted, surprise in his bulging eyes. Perhaps he hadn’t expected me to know his name.

“Someone killed you, didn’t they?” I asked, my throat dry.

The spirit continued to stare, but he did not lower his axe.

Jonathan Fortin is the author of Lilitu: The Memoirs of a Succubus (coming December 2019 from Crystal Lake Publishing) and Nightmarescape (Mocha Memoirs Press). An unashamed lover of spooky Gothic stories, Jonathan was named the “Next Great Horror Writer” in 2017 by HorrorAddicts.net. He attended the Clarion Writing Program in 2012, one year after graduating summa cum laude from San Francisco State University’s Creative Writing program. When not writing, Jonathan enjoys voice acting, dressing like a Victorian gentleman, and indulging in all things odd and macabre in the San Francisco Bay Area. You can follow him on Twitter.

You can also find Jonathan in HorrorAddicts.net’s Clockwork Wonderland and eHorror Bites 3: #NGHW Editor Picks.

 

 

 

 

LIVE Twitter Q & A with Jonathan Fortin – Today

Horror Addicts are in for a treat. Jonathan Fortin, author of Nightmarescape and Requiem in Frost, will be answering your questions LIVE this Thursday, September 26^th, at 12:00pm-12:30pm on TWITTER!

WHO: Jonathan Fortin

WHAT: LIVE Q & A

WHEN: Today

TIME: 12:00pm – 12:30pm.

WHERE: Twitter

Be there and Be Spooky!

LIVE Twitter Q & A with Jonathan Fortin

Horror Addicts are in for a treat. Jonathan Fortin, author of Nightmarescape and Requiem in Frost, will be answering your questions LIVE this Thursday, September 26^th, at 12:00pm-12:30pm on TWITTER!

WHO: Jonathan Fortin

WHAT: LIVE Q & A

WHEN: Thursday, September 26^th

TIME: 12:00pm – 12:30pm.

WHERE: Twitter

Be there and Be Spooky!

HorrorAddicts.net Press Presents – eHorror Bites 4: Requiem in Frost

On this day of Mabon, HorrorAddicts.net is proud to present the next book in their eHorror Bites series. eHorror Bites 4: Requiem in Frost is the newest work of Next Great Horror Writer Contest winner, Jonathan Fortin.

BLACK METAL LIVES!

Located in the deep frostbitten woods of Norway, Ingrid’s new home is old, spooky, and possibly haunted. Guttural screams wake Ingrid and her mother nightly. When they discover the shrieks belong to deceased former occupant and extreme metal musician, Skansi Oppegård, Ingrid investigates the mysterious circumstances surrounding his death. Hoping to exorcise Skansi’s ghost, she talks her mom into being part of a metal band. Oppegård’s last musical creation awakens forces beyond Ingrid’s understanding and causes Skansi’s murderer to resurface. In the battle between a madman and zombies, metal may be the only weapon she has.

A Peek Inside

REQUIEM IN FROST

When I opened my eyes, it was still dark—probably after midnight. When I took off my headphones, I didn’t hear screaming. However, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.

Someone was standing in the corner of my room.

He was tall and muscular, with long, ragged hair. Smeared skeletal makeup covered his face, mingling with open scars. His torso was splashed with a fresh coat of crimson, dripping all over the floor, but drippiest of all was the huge axe in his hand. As I considered the growing red pool at his feet, I found myself wondering where all that blood had come from…

Is Mom all right?

The thought hit me with the force of a speeding train. If the ghost had hurt Mom, he could hurt me, too. Perhaps it should have been obvious, but I’d never felt threatened until that moment. My heart stopped as I lay there, paralyzed in bed, fearing he would kill me, and that he’d killed Mom already.

The spirit approached my bed, his huge axe dripping a river onto the floor. I tried to muster up the courage to run, but my legs were frozen in place. All too quickly, he was right beside me, raising his axe high.

“Skansi…” It came out before I could stop it, the squeak of a girl much younger than myself.

The spirit halted, surprise in his bulging eyes. Perhaps he hadn’t expected me to know his name.

“Someone killed you, didn’t they?” I asked, my throat dry.

The spirit continued to stare, but he did not lower his axe.

Jonathan Fortin is the author of Lilitu: The Memoirs of a Succubus (coming December 2019 from Crystal Lake Publishing) and Nightmarescape (Mocha Memoirs Press). An unashamed lover of spooky Gothic stories, Jonathan was named the “Next Great Horror Writer” in 2017 by HorrorAddicts.net. He attended the Clarion Writing Program in 2012, one year after graduating summa cum laude from San Francisco State University’s Creative Writing program. When not writing, Jonathan enjoys voice acting, dressing like a Victorian gentleman, and indulging in all things odd and macabre in the San Francisco Bay Area. You can follow him on Twitter.

You can also find Jonathan in HorrorAddicts.net’s Clockwork Wonderland and eHorror Bites 3: #NGHW Editor Picks.

 

 

 

 

Chilling Chat: 10 Quick Questions with Riley Pierce

Riley J. Pierce lives in Wisconsin with her family, and her growing collection of books. Always fascinated by horror and science fiction, she finds inspiration for the macabre everywhere. When she’s not writing, she can be found binge-watching the latest horror film alone in the dark.

1) How old were you when you first discovered horror?

In second grade, in our school library, we were each assigned a section to keep clean and organized. I was assigned the horror section. I spent hours in that section reading all about the paranormal, haunted civil war battlefields around me, and spooky folklore.

2) Who is your favorite author? Who has influenced you?

I’ve always loved to read, so I truly believe that my love of writing came from discovering the writing of Alvin Schwartz.

3) What inspired you to write your piece?

I love nautical folklore. I loved that sirens and mermaids were beautifully lethal in some legends, and I wanted to take that, but look at it a bit differently.

4) How much control do you exert over your characters? Do they have free will?

Yes and no. I’m a meticulous planner in my everyday life, so when it comes to a character, I tend to let them have free will only when it suits their chosen path. I would call it more of an implied free will.

5) What did you learn from participating in the contest?

Being challenged to write in so many different formats with various word limits and themes taught me to step out of the puzzlebox (hi, Hellraiser fans) a little bit more than I would have on my own.

6) Would you do it again? What would you do differently?

I would most definitely do it again. I believe next time around I would allow myself the time and space to brainstorm more before choosing the first or second idea.

7) What is your favorite horror novel?

Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

                                                                      8) Favorite horror movie?

This is a tough one! I would probably say Bram Stoker’s Dracula, but that’s on a masterpiece classic level. For my favorite villain, Nightmare on Elm Street. For something that’s a fun watch, I’d choose Hereditary, Drag Me to Hell, or Hellraiser.

9) Favorite horror television show?

Masters of Horror.

10) What does the future hold for you? What do we have to look forward to?

I’m still working on a few projects, but to share my love of writing with others, I’ve been leading workshops at my local library on creative writing, novel outlining, and blogging.

Chilling Chat: 10 Quick Questions with Timothy G. Huguenin

Timothy G. Huguenin lives in the dark Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia. He is the author of the Appalachian horror novels When the Watcher Shakes and Little One. His short fiction has appeared in various places including Hinnom Magazine, Beneath the Waves: Tales From the Deep, and Horror Tales Podcast. Timothy is an active member of the Horror Writers Association.

1) How old were you when you first discovered horror?

I was in middle school, I think, when my parents bought me a collection of Edgar Allan Poe stories for Christmas. I loved it! I still go back to Poe often. I get the feeling that he is more often talked about than actually read. His work is still unique and effective today.

2) Who is your favorite author? Who has influenced you?

If you judge this based on the most books I’ve read by any one horror writer, I suppose you would say Stephen King wins. I’m constantly amazed at his ability to make characters that I absolutely buy into. Even the ones who are mostly just exaggerated stereotypes are somehow still so lifelike and believable. This talent allows him to take the whackiest idea and turn it into a compelling story. However, over the last couple years, I’ve been turning more toward the weirder side of horror. Authors like Robert Aickman and Thomas Ligotti have been very influential on my recent writing. Lastly, I want to mention Michael Wehunt. I think his work is fabulous, and more people need to read Greener Pastures.

3) What inspired you to write your piece?

It happened and kinda freaked me out. My wife explained to me what was really going on, but it was a very strange experience when I didn’t understand it.

4) How much control do you exert over your characters? Do they have free will?

Generally speaking, I have a basic framework for how a character will react to things, and their personality and actions grow out of that as I write and continue to develop/get to know them. I try not to be too forceful. I am mostly a “pantser.” There is something about it, especially when the story is going smoothly and quickly, that feels as if the characters have their own will, even though I am the one creating them. I suppose it depends on how you define “free will.” Everyone’s will is limited to some degree by something. So “free” must always be relative, whether you are talking in terms of writing fiction or in terms of philosophy.

5) What did you learn from participating in the contest?

The contest forced me to try some things I normally wouldn’t do and write a few more things that I might not have written otherwise. One of the short stories I wrote for the contest was my first conscious attempt at pure cosmic horror (not a requirement for the prompt, btw, just how it turned out). It did not score well with the judges, but I consider it one of my best pieces. Agree to disagree, right?

6) Would you do it again? What would you do differently?

I probably could not do it again, at least in the foreseeable future. I just don’t have the time or the mental space for it. I have enough writing projects I need to focus on, as well as other things I need to work on in life, like work, school, and my marriage. I am not a good multitasker.

7) What is your favorite horror novel?

That is a tough one. Just off the top of my head, I’m going to say Revival by Stephen King. But Dracula really made a great impression on me. It often depends on the mood I am when I read something, and the environment. These things greatly shape our feelings toward a book, more than we probably realize. I read a great deal of Dracula in a small tent during a violent thunderstorm in the Cherokee National Forest. I’m not sure if I will feel the same way about it next time I read it. One of my favorite books of all time, which I have read many times and always loved, is 1984 by George Orwell. Few people would consider it a horror novel (especially those outside our little camp), but it captures that creeping sense of dread that I look for better than almost any other book that claims to be horror.

8) Favorite horror movie?

I’m not sure if it is my favorite or not, but I finally got around to watching Carnival of Souls and really loved it. Though I’m not sure it totally made sense.

9) Favorite horror television show?

OK, maybe I’ll disappoint some people with this because there’s a lot of really better polished and very popular horror TV shows that have been made since then, but I really love The X Files, which wasn’t always horror but did have plenty of monsters.

10) What does the future hold for you? What do we have to look forward to?

You’ll probably see some more of my short fiction being published this year. I have a novel manuscript that I’m trying to find a good fit for. As far as works in progress, I am about 5,000 words into a new novel, but most of the writing I’ve done this year has been on a short story that turned into a novelette and may even keep growing to novella length. Not sure what’s going to happen with it. We’ll see.

 

You can find Timothy on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Goodreads.

 

Chilling Chat: 10 Quick Questions with Cat Voleur

Cat Voleur is a horror blogger and writer of dark speculative fiction. She is following up her traditional education with studies in linguistics and parapsychology. When she is not at work or school, she’s enjoying a nice book or stressful video game in the company of her many feline friends.

1)  How old were you when you first discovered horror?

I was about 8 when I acknowledged that horror was a genre, but I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t drawn to it. I grew up loving scary stories and some of my first favorite movies were the black and white horror classics.

2) Who is your favorite author? Who has influenced you?

My favorite author would be Joe Hill. He consistently amazes me with his work, and has written some of my favorite novels and short stories. I’d say Stephen King is one of my strongest influences, for better and worse, because reading him taught me to include a lot of detail – much of which has to be edited out later. Some of my more recent influences would be Clive Barker and Max Lobdell.

3) What inspired you to write your piece?

The piece I have included in the collection is actually nonfiction. When I read that prompt, it was just the event that I was taken back to and I tried to write it as faithfully as I could remember.

4) How much control do you exert over your characters? Do they have free will?

I think a lot of that depends on the project. The longer a piece is the more the characters control me, but I feel like I have a certain level of authority when writing something a little more structured, like flash fiction.

I remember recently I was trying to explain my writing process to a friend, and I described myself as a sort of “Jigsaw” in regards to my less polished ideas. I set up these really dark scenarios based off of my assumption that I know the characters who will be experiencing them, but sometimes they surprise me with their will to survive or think outside the box.

5) What did you learn from participating in the contest?

I learned a lot of things about myself participating in the contest, a lot of personal things regarding my limits as a creator and my writing process.

The most important thing that I learned about writing horror though, would be how connected it is to other genres. I think one of the hardest aspects for me was that it required the contestants to write in many different tones for many different mediums that I would never have expected from a horror contest. The challenge I found most difficult was the comedy commercial script. Some of my favorite horror films are the self-referential slashers that rely very heavily on dark comedy, but I had never considered writing comedy as something I should try to improve on until this contest.

It was difficult, but learning about all the things that tie into horror made me a  better writer.

6) Would you do it again? What would you do differently?

I would absolutely do it again.

The one thing I’d do differently is I’d stick it out to the end. At the time I was participating in the contest, there were just so many personal things going on in my life that felt out of my control. I ended up switching jobs, moving across the country, there was a lot of my drama with my extended family, and I was struggling with a relationship that I didn’t realize was very unhealthy and actually harmful to me. When I also fell ill, it felt like one thing too many, and I just wasn’t turning out the quality of work I wanted to be submitting, so I dropped out.

That might have been the right thing at the time because I got worse before I got better, but I’ve learned a lot since then. I have more control over my life than I realized, so if I got another opportunity to compete in something I feel this passionately about, I’d feel confident in prioritizing it higher than I did last time around.

7)What is your favorite horror novel?

My favorite horror novel is The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker.

Aside from being an intimately disturbing read, I’ve never found a horror novel that reads quite so poetically. It’s some of the most beautiful body horror ever written.

8) Favorite horror movie?

My favorite horror movie is Cabin in the Woods because it’s got a little bit of everything. It’s funny, it’s scary, it’s emotional, and it’s so intelligently written. It pokes fun at the genre while simultaneously expressing a deep love for it, explaining tropes along the way. You can enjoy it as a casual fan, or watch it over and over to pick up every last horror movie reference they squeezed in. It’s been my favorite movie since I saw it in theater, and I don’t see that changing any time soon.

9) Favorite horror television show?

The Haunting of Hill House, hands down.

I’ve been a Mike Flanagan fan for years now, but he handled the source material so brilliantly that I don’t even have to worry about being biased; the show’s just good. It’s scary, it’s gorgeous, and there are always new things to discover if you are in the mood to watch it again.

10.) What does the future hold for you? What do we have to look forward to?

Now that I’ve had plenty of time to recover and get my life back on track, I feel confident in saying that the future holds more horror writing for me.

I have a few very dark, experimental short stories under consideration right now and am about to start querying for my first two longer projects. Of course, I’m still blogging about the genre whenever I can find the time.

You can find Cat on Twitter and please, check out her Portfolio Site.

 

 

 

 

 

Chilling Chat: 10 Quick Questions with JC Martinez

JC Martinez writes fantasy, science fiction and, of course, horror.  An author still living his dream of telling stories as best as he can, JC Martínez will try his hardest to make your skin crawl, give you delightful nightmares, and take your breath away.

1) How old were you when you first discovered horror?

Honestly, too young to remember how old I was. This past December, while I was cleanin’ out my closet, I found some short stories I wrote when I was less than ten years old, and even though they don’t scare me right now, they were a way to express that feeling of nervousness that horror had created in me. Sometimes, I think I’ve always had a fascination with the unknown, with the things that lurk in the dark. I like that uneasy feeling that makes your spine tingle. It tickles pleasantly.

2) Who is your favorite author? Who has influenced you?

Ray Bradbury. He, of course, has been an influence, and all the other authors and artists that I like have been essential for my development as a writer. It’s impossible for me to build a list of every single person that has made me the man I am today, so let’s just say I am grateful I can experience the works of the countless masters that have shaped my taste in art.

3) What inspired you to write your piece?

My feelings. I have a certain disaffinity to tongues and saliva in general. They make me feel uncomfortable, the traces of a viscous liquid left by a damp limb as they slowly enter your body through your pores. Yeesh. Most of my writings stem from what I find unagreeable, but taken to a dreadful extreme.

4) How much control do you exert over your characters? Do they have free will?

I can’t help but think that this one is a trick question. On the one hand, my characters only exist because I create them. On the other, most of the times, I don’t know what they’ll do until I make them do it. For me, that counts as free will, but not for the characters. That makes it sound as if I had a god complex, but I really don’t. It’s just that my brain, even when I don’t actively acknowledge it, will always continue the process of creating worlds and giving the characters the most appropriate actions under any given circumstance. The only thing they can do is fall to command.

5) What did you learn from participating in the contest?

Many things. Mostly, how to deal with emotions and that the only thing a writer can do is to make the best they can with the ideas they find interesting.

6) Would you do it again? What would you do differently?

Sure. Probably. If I got in again with a good 100-word story. I don’t know what I’d do differently. Speculation has never been my strong suit outside fiction. They say humans are like rivers, in that they change through time. Under a different perspective, and amidst other circumstances, I really don’t know how I’d behave.

7) What is your favorite horror novel?

I don’t have one. The Martian Chronicles is hands down my favorite book, and while it has some scary bits, it’s not a horror novel. I’m fond of way too many stories, styles and ideas to have just one favorite. I like John Ajvide Lindqvist’s Let the Right One In, and Bram Stoker’s portrayal of a genuinely monstrous Dracula. I like Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend and the transgressive fiction that is Chuck Palahniuk’s Haunted. I’m fond of the funnies that are David Wong’s John Dies at the End and Joe R. Landsdale’s Bubba Ho-Tep.

8) Favorite horror movie?

I don’t have one either. There are just too many sub genres that it’s impossible to pick a single movie. Alien, The Omen, The Exorcist, Halloween, Fright Night, 28 Days Later, Constantine.

9.) Favorite horror television show?

Hannibal.

10) What does the future hold for you? What do we have to look forward to?

All I can say is that from now and until I leave this mortal coil, I’ll continue to deliver the best stories I can come up with.

 

Chilling Chat: 10 Quick Questions with Abi Kirk-Thomas

Abi Kirk-Thomas lives in the UK and studied as a theoretical archaeologist in Wales. She lives with her husband and 2-year old chocolate Lab called Adam. She’s currently studying massage therapy. She loves reading horror and dabbles from time to time in poetry.

1) How old were you when you first discovered horror?

I was 18 when I discovered horror.

2) Who is your favorite author? Who has influenced you?

Andy McDermott is my favourite author, he’s more sci-fi/action but I’ve always had some action in my horror stories to keep up the pace.

3) What inspired you to write your piece?

I hardly write poems but I always thought that if there was a zombie apocalypse and there was a vampire left in the world what would happen to them. It was pure chance I came up with the poem, I wanted to mix in comedy with romance and sadness.

4) How much control do you exert over your characters?

All my characters have free will, but I do find if I’m writing something that is shocking for readers, I do cackle like a witch.

5) What did you learn from participating in the contest?

I learned that, sadly, writing isn’t for me. It’s a hobby but it’s fun. I would not participate in any further contests.

6) Would you do it again? What would you do differently?

I do write but it’s only for fun. I would not participate in the contest. I found I like free reign on what I write. Contests take the fun out of writing what you want.

7) What is your favorite horror novel?

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill.

8.) Favorite horror movie?

Battle Royale.

9) Favorite horror television show?

Buffy the Vampire Slayer but it wasn’t scary.

10)  What does the future hold for you? What do we have to look forward to?

As I’m not writing, I’m starting up my massage business. But, I wish all those the best of luck publishing their works.

Chilling Chat: 10 Quick Questions with Feind Gottes

 

Feind Gottes [Fee-nd Gotz] is a horror nut, metal lover, and an award-winning horror author. He resides near Omaha, NE with his girlfriend and one crazy cat.  Feind has stories appearing in seven anthologies with several more to be published in 2019, and is currently editing his debut novel.

1) How old were you when you first discovered horror?

For me, I was probably about 4 years old. The Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz absolutely terrified me. I got over it, of course, only to have my older sister torment me with The Amityville Horror (1979) until I forced myself to watch it. Once I did I was hooked. I think I was about 9 or 10 years old at the time.

2) Who is your favorite author? Who has influenced you?

My favorite author without question is Clive Barker. I’ve never read anyone else whose prose affects me the way his does. As for influences I have many since I was an avid reader for about thirty years before I began writing myself. A few of the major ones would be Stephen King, JRR Tolkien, Frank L Baum, John Grisham and, of course, the absolute master of the macabre Edgar Allan Poe.

3) What inspired you to write your piece?

I like to think I write horror for fans of horror which means I write with the expectation that my readers already have some horror background. My essay was the first time I have written anything that was expected to be humorous so I tried to throw in a few references for horror fans like Ash (Bruce Campbell) from The Evil Dead, Dr. West (Jeffrey Combs) from Re-animator, and Dr. Satan from House of a 1,000 Corpses. Some may not get these references and that’s ok. I did that simply as a wink and a nod to horror fans who do know.

4) How much control do you exert over your characters? Do they have free will?

I think I try to balance the two. I control the actions of my characters but as I write and develop a character how they enact those actions or react to them may differ from my initial plan. That is part of the fun of the process in bringing a character to life. Sometimes you have to change your plan on the fly which is why I don’t make a rigid plot outline before I begin a new work.

5) What did you learn from participating in the contest?

The biggest thing I learned from the NGHW contest was writing in styles completely out of my comfort zone. I had never even attempted anything humorous, I hadn’t written a serious poem in years and I had never attempted writing an advertisement script. Whether I write any of those specific styles again matters little, doing it forced me to grow as a writer. Having to meet all the deadlines didn’t hurt either.

6) Would you do it again? What would you do differently?

I would absolutely do it again if I had the time. I’d do nothing differently though, everything I write is the best thing I can write in that moment. The contacts and friendships formed from participating in this contest are absolutely invaluable. I didn’t look at the other participants as my competition but simply as fellow writers struggling to have their voices heard. Writing is not a competitive sport despite this being a contest. I don’t think anyone who participated lost anything. We all gained knowledge which is more important than anything else.

7) What is your favorite horror novel?

I have to say It by Stephen King since the category is “horror novel” but my favorite novel is Imajica by Clive Barker. Both are absolute masterpieces.

8) Favorite horror movie?

Tough one for me as I’ve seen literally hundreds, if not thousands from the Universal Monsters to Cannibal Holocaust. I usually give one of two answers to this one so either High Tension (2003 – Alexander Aja’s 1^st film) or Phantasm (1979).

9) Favorite horror television show?

Hands down it’s Ash vs Evil Dead. Bruce Campbell is simply the best!

10) What does the future hold for you? What do we have to look forward to?

The truth is VERY MUCH! In fact, people may get sick of seeing my name this year. As of today, I’ve had one anthology released, 100 Word Horrors: Part 2, (I get to share pages with some truly great authors in this one) and I have 9 more anthologies scheduled for release this year (including NGHW: Editor’s Picks!) with another half dozen pending. Also if I can kick my butt in gear my debut novel, Piece It All Back Together, will be unleashed by Stitched Smile Publications before the end of the year. I’m not looking for any pats on the back, these publications are the result of a few years of writing my butt off non-stop. If you want to be successful you have to work hard, plain and simple.

I’ve also been contributing some horror movie reviews to a friend’s website, Machine Mean, and recently launched my own website, Feind’s Fiends, to try keeping everyone (including myself) updated on what I have in the works. All while now working 45 hours/week at the day job, gotta pay those dang bills! Regardless of what success I achieve, or do not, I will be writing terrible things until I have faded into the void. I’ve adopted the motto… Stay Positive & Make Good Art!

You can find Feind on Amazon, Facebook, and Twitter

 

 

Chilling Chat: 10 Quick Questions with Sumiko Saulson

Sumiko Saulson is a cartoonist, horror writer, editor of Black Magic Women – on the 2019 Stoker’s Recommended Reads List – and 100 Black Women in Horror Fiction. Author of Solitude, Warmth, Moon Cried Blood, Happiness and Other Diseases. Comics Mauskaveli, Dooky, Dreamworlds, and Agrippa. She writes for SEARCH Magazine.

1) How old were you when you first discovered horror?

My parents were both big horror fans, and I was watching horror movies in the theater when I was 4 or 5 years old. My mom told me dad took her to see Rosemary’s Baby when she was pregnant with me, but of course, I don’t remember that. I do remember watching Dark Shadows with Mom, Outer Limits and Twilight Zone with Dad, and going to see It’s Alive, the first horror movie I actually remember, when I was about 5 years old. It was about a horrible monster baby who ate people. I loved it! The first horror novel I read was Peter Straub’s Ghost Story when I was 11. I was also reading a lot of horror shorts among the sci-fi shorts in Asimov’s Science Fiction.

2) Who is your favorite author? Who has influenced you?

My favorite writer changes a lot and at the moment it is Toni Morrison, who isn’t even a horror writer but is one of my most-read writers nonetheless. My influences are all pretty mainstream. I picked up The Talisman when I was 12 and added Stephen King to my favorite writer’s list along with Edgar Allen Poe. Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, Anne Rice, Dean Koontz, Christopher Rice, Susan Cooper, Frank Herbert. I have ingested so many books by a few favorites that I am sure my writing style has been affected. I am also a huge fan of anthologies and sci-fi, horror, and fantasy magazines where you can gain exposure to lots of different writers in small tastes, and see who you like. I read a lot of Weird Sisters and other horror tale magazines as a teen. Those affected me. Mythologies have affected me a lot. I read a lot of Greek, Roman and Norse mythology as a kid, and as an adult, I casually read both historical mythologies and created mythologies. I should have listed CS Lewis because the created mythology in Chronicles of Narnia impacted me heavily as an adolescent.

3) What inspired you to write your piece?

The song’s title “Under the Water” is from the song of that name by the artist Jewel from the movie The Craft. The story I wrote is about a ship that is being seduced by a giant cephalopod (squid or octopus) type sea monster such as a Kracken who wants her to become a ghost ship. Both the ship and the monster are female. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest was definitely an inspiration, as were Greek and Roman myths about sea monsters such as the Kraken and the Charybdis – a monster whose mouth created whirlpools to drag ships to the bottom of the ocean. The ship would have to sacrifice her human cargo to the monster, so they would become part of a ghost ship. As the ship is dragged deeper into the depths by the cephalopod, she begins to doubt the sincerity of the sea creature because she sees lots of dead seamen from the past and torn up ships. Then, the monster starts talking to her like Armand in The Theater of Vampires did to the woman he drained on stage, about how even if she’s being lied to it would be a glorious noble death so she wins either way. That part of the story was inspired by my former fiance’s battle with drugs, which ultimately ended his life, not long after. I had written a lot of sea stories the year prior about the drowning man sort of feeling being dragged down into the depths of addiction gives one. So this is sort of an allegory. Drugs are seductive and so is the sea creature.

4) How much control do you exert over your characters? Do they have free will?

Some of my characters have more free will than others. It depends on whether the story is world-driven or character-driven. The vast majority of my stories are character-driven, which means that about a third of the way into the story, the world is built, the scene is set, and the characters sort of begin to write themselves. The more free will the characters have, the less technical and more moving the writing is.

5) What did you learn from participating in the contest?

I do my best work short story when I have more time than was allotted during the contest. I have great story ideas, but my ability to follow through and edit them on such tight deadlines is severely inhibited. I’m good at taking, absorbing, and responding to criticism but I dislike it. I am very absent-minded, probably due to having post-traumatic stress disorder. Greg – my ex-fiance – overdosed May 26, 2017, and I could have pulled out of the contest, but I didn’t. I didn’t want to. I am a very determined person. I found out I am tougher than I think I am. I found out I CAN work on those tight deadlines, even if it isn’t my forte. And sixth place out of hundreds who applied and I think 15 or so who competed is not too bad. I also learned that it is really important to have clever story titles. And that I need someone else to proofread my work before I send it in.

6) Would you do it again? What would you do differently?

I don’t regret doing it so I absolutely would. I regret not asking for help after Greg died. I literally sent in the wrong manuscript, and I lost 10 points for not reaching the right word count and dropped from 4th place to 9th place overnight because I made a mistake and sent in the wrong file. It makes me want to cry when I think about it to this day. I had a version of the story that was completed, and I could have sent it in and I definitely would have placed higher – maybe 4th place, if I hadn’t slipped up. I can’t prevent people from dying, but I can ask for support when I need it from my family and friends. On the bright side, I did get the story accepted for Loren Rhoads’ charity anthology, Tales from the Campfire. She said it was her favorite one in the whole anthology! Of course, I edited it twice – once for an anthology Dan Shaurette was working on called Not Today  – he rejected it – and then for a Mary Shelley work honoring anthology of some kind that rejected it. Getting rejected and doing re-writes seems to be a part of the business. And I finally took the judges’ advice and changed the damned story title! It was called Experiment IV, it is now called Unheard Music from the Dank Underground. The advice about avoiding dull story titles was some of the most memorable from the contest. I would say it was an educational experience and that I notice the people who were in the top five are all popping up all over the place and quickly moving ahead in their careers so I think it’s educational, and good experience and people should go for it!

7) What is your favorite horror novel?

         The Vines by Christopher Rice

8) Favorite horror movie?

        Candyman

9) Favorite horror television show?

        Supernatural

10) What does the future hold for you? What do we have to look forward to?

As you may know, I am the only black author who completed the contest, and even though I made it in sixth, not first place, that alone makes me a winner just because I decided to stick it out and to represent. I totally hate it when I am watching Face/Off or some other horror related contest and the black guy gets voted off in the first or third episode, so I was very determined to stick it out.

I got a lot of interest from black anthologies and people who are interested in horror authors of African heritage. I got three stories in Scierogenous II which is edited by Valjeanne Jeffers and Quinton Neal. I also edited Black Magic Women, a horror anthology on Mocha Memoirs Press. It ended up being on the Bram Stoker’s Recommended Reads list in 2018 and did quite well critically and in terms of sales. I edited Crystal Connor’s YA horror story My 1st Nightmare. I am editing my second anthology, Wickedly Abled, a collection of stories horror, dark fantasy and dark sci-fi by and about disabled people. I am working on Akmani, the fourth book in the Happiness and Other Diseases series and Disillusionment, the second in the Solitude series. I am starting to appear at conventions nationally and not just locally. I’m still churning out short stories and getting into more and more anthologies.

Chilling Chat: 10 Quick Questions with Jonathan Fortin

Jonathan Fortin was named the Next Great Horror Writer by HorrorAddicts.net and is a graduate of the Clarion Writing Program. His novel Lilitu: The Memoirs of a Succubus is a forthcoming release from Crystal Lake Publishing.

1) How old were you when you first discovered horror?

I remember getting into horror as early as first grade when I started reading the Goosebumps books. Then in middle school, I became obsessed with Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow and wrote a trilogy of short vampire novels. However, I was an anxious, easily-terrified child, so I didn’t fully embrace horror until later in life. Now, I’d always been drawn into darkly magical worlds, even in the video games I adored (American McGee’s Alice, Planescape: Torment, Vampire the Masquerade, etc.) But because I was so sensitive, it was rare for me to watch horror movies in my youth. That changed when I went to college, and began trying to face my fears and challenge my limits. I realized then that I’d been a horror fan all along–I had just been too scared to accept it.

2) Who is your favorite author? Who has influenced you?

My favorite author is Neil Gaiman. Not always horror, but certainly dark. Other authors who have influenced me include China Mieville, Alan Moore, H.P. Lovecraft, Holly Black, Caitlin R. Kiernan, Carlton Mellick III, Dan Simmons, Clive Barker, Patrick Rothfuss, Haruki Murakami, and Junji Ito. Lately, I’ve been digging the work of Joe Hill and N.K. Jemisin.

3) What inspired you to write your piece?

“Consumption” is about the anxiety of losing your identity in a homogenized office culture. For my day job, I work in a call center. Environments like that make it difficult for people to be authentically themselves, as you can easily be judged by coworkers if they learn that you’re different from them in some way. For work to run smoothly, you must conform to a larger whole–losing your identity in the process. I’ve always been highly individualistic, and struggle to conform to social expectations, so I’ve never liked the idea of being consumed into something larger than myself. I didn’t get to explore this theme as deeply as I wanted because of the length requirements, but that was the fear that drove me to write this story.

4) How much control do you exert over your characters? Do they have free will?

Generally, I develop characters so that their behavior will naturally drive them into the stories that I want to tell, but I love it when they surprise me by doing things I don’t expect or react to each other in ways I never planned. In the past I’ve tried to force characters to act in ways that didn’t feel authentic to me, but as any writer will tell you, that just doesn’t work. So in my experience, characters NEED free will if you want the story to feel real. That doesn’t mean I won’t carefully manipulate the world around them, though.

5) What did you learn from participating in the contest?

You never know whether you’re really all that into a story idea until you try to write the damn thing.

6) Would you do it again? What would you do differently?

Since I won, I don’t really see the point in doing it again. I’m too busy trying to live up to the title, haha. But if I were to do it again, I would try harder to strengthen my nonfiction submissions (articles, interviews, etc.).

7) What is your favorite horror novel?

Hard to choose, but a few that have stuck with me are Joe Hill’s NOS4A2, Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Caitlin R. Kiernan’s Silk, and Dan Simmons’ Drood. If I could include graphic novels, Black Hole by Charles Burns and Providence by Alan Moore would also be serious contenders.

8) Favorite horror movie?

Crimson Peak, Oldboy, The Thing (1982), and Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, among many others.

9) Favorite horror television show?

There seems to be a pattern of four here, so I’ll say Carnivale, Hannibal, Penny Dreadful, and Stranger Things.

10) What does the future hold for you? What do we have to look forward to?

At some point, my novel Lilitu: The Memoirs of a Succubus will be released from Crystal Lake Publishing. HorrorAddicts is also putting out my short story Requiem in Frost, from the contest’s musical challenge. I’m working on a few other novel projects right now, and have a completed (if rough) first draft of one that I’m very excited about. My hope is to complete a polished, publishable draft of my second novel and then find an agent for it.

You can follow Jonathan on Facebook and Twitter.

By The Fire: Episode 149: Challenge 13: This is the End

As I start to write this post the song that is playing in my head is The End by The Doors. Because that’s what this is, the end of the contest and what a trip it has been. The last challenge in The Next Great Horror Writer for episode 149 of the HorrorAddicts.net podcast is the hardest one yet. This one was only open to the semi-finalists and they had to submit The first 3 chapters of their horror fiction novel including a cover letter, synopsis, and query. Wow!!! I have the highest respect for everyone in this contest because they had to work hard to be a part of it and everyone in it has shown how dedicated they are to their craft. The winner of this challenge and the grand prize for the contest is a book contract from Crystal Lake Publishing.

To sit and think on what everyone in this contest had to do to stay in it just boggles my mind. I can’t imagine doing it myself but this little group of writers really showed us what they were made of. The contest began with almost 120 entries and we eventually saw the field get narrowed down to just few. Along the way our writers had to produce an audio drama, a commercial, short stories, non fiction blog posts, create a monster, an intro to an original character and finally the beginning of a novel.

Through the course of this contest we’ve seen all of these writers grow and improve their skills and get tested like never before. I’ve really enjoyed the journey of these writers throughout this season of the podcast and it makes me sad to see just one winner. I think everyone in the contest should consider themselves a winner and be proud of what they have accomplished. Even if you get rid of all the other parts of the contest and just look at the fact that these writers have gotten to the point where they have submitted the first three chapters of their book is a big deal.

A lot of work goes into writing a novel, the planning, the outlining, the rewrites and finally the finished product. Some people spend years working on a novel and in my opinion its the most personal art form there is. Writers have to put their heart and soul into their novels and sending it to a publisher takes a lot of guts. It’s not easy becoming a published author, there is a lot of work involved in the process and when you do get published a whole new set of challenges await you. A writer’s work is never done and the ones that keep doing it are the ones that consider it their passion.

So Addicts, what did you think of the contest as a whole? Who did you think did the best job on this challenge? what do you thing the hardest part of doing a query and a cover letter are? Have you done one? What are the experiences you’ve had? Let us know in the comments.

 

#NGHW WInner: Mocha Memoirs Press Publication

 

Winner of the Mocha Memoirs Press Publication is:

Jonathan Fortin with

Nightmarescapes

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Nightmarescapes

In a town…where nightmares are solid, a mother is trying to find a way out for the good of her young daughter. She has to fight ghost-like creatures that can control her nightmares and a Spider monsters from her own imagination.

Hero: An African-American mother.

Monster: Spider Nazi with her ex-husband’s head.

 

You’ll soon be able to read Jonathan’s story in a publication by Mocha Memoirs Press.

 

#NGHW News: Episode 147

 

Hello, my Horror Fiends!

This week I’m filling in for your favorite news reporter Adelise since she will be gone for a few weeks. This weeks contest was to create an audio-drama that was no shorter than five minutes but no longer than six minutes. This week’s contestants did a pretty good job. The judges loved the entries this week with a few hiccups. The main issue was that the contestants put visual cues in their audio-dramas. But, you can’t see anything in an audio-drama so it made no sense to add visual elements to this challenge. There were a few contestants that didn’t quite make it the five minutes and a few that ran over time. I actually fangirled this episode because I absolutely love audio-dramas and the cheesiness that goes along with the acting. With that being said, let’s get down to it!

This week’s guest judge was Frank H. Woodward, award winning writer, director, and producer. His top three favorite audio-dramas were:

#3: Fiend Gotts – “Soul bird” was great because the 2 strangers were talking and it felt intimate. He didn’t like how the story ended right as it was getting good.

#2: Harry Husbands – “Turn up & Die” loved the setting for local hangout for the actors who played victims in horror films as well as thought the satire was great. But he didn’t care for the ending because it was stereotypical and the strength would rely on visual gags but it is an audio-drama.

#1: Jonathan Fortin – “Consumption.” was a story in the audio realm with identifiable characters and classic radio in every way.

The top six contestants this week, in no particular order, were:

JONATHAN FORTIN
HARRY HUSBANDS
NACHING KASSA
JESS LANDRY
SUMIKO SAULSON
DAPHNE STRASERT

The top three were:

Harry Husbands – “Turn Up and Die”

Jonathan Fortin – “Consumption.”

Daphne Strasert – “Secondhand Heart.”

THE WINNER THIS WEEK IS Daphne Strasert – “Secondhand Heart.”

Congrats Daphne! Third major win this season. All of the contestants did an amazing job on this challenge. It was innovating, difficult, and yet very entertaining. One thing that Emz and Heather decided this week was to give a chance to the contestants who did not win this season to submit their short stories to the upcoming HorrorAddicts anthology series, “Crescendo of Darkness”. The stories are due no later than Halloween. I will also be submitting a story for this anthology, as well. I can’t wait to read the contestants’ stories!

There is only one more round and then grand finale! Here are the points ranked:

In the lead is Daphne Strassert with 782  points.

Trailing a tad behind her is Jonathan Fortis with 757 points.

Last but not least is Naching T Kassa with 743 points.

Will someone else be able to knock one of the top three out of the running next week? Are these contestants the ones who will be able to pitch their novel for the grand finale? Make sure you keep tuned in to know what happens! It’s getting really close to the finale and I know I’m excited to see which one of our talented contestants will come out on top.

Until next time Horror Addicts, stay scared.

Kenzie

By The Fire: Episode 146: Challenge 11: Write a 5-6 minute Horror Audio Drama

Hello, Addicts, how time flies, we are getting towards the end of The Next Great Horror Writer contest and we have another tough challenge to talk about. In episode 146 of the HorrorAddicts.net podcast, the challenge for The Next Great Horror Writer is to write a 5-6 minute horror audio drama. This is another one of those challenges that doesn’t sound too hard but really is. At first glance, 5-6 minutes doesn’t seem like a lot but when you write it out, that’s 6 pages of script. Contestants will be judged on creativity, entertainment value, and concept. Contestants have to come up with their own characters and own idea, they can’t use anyone else’s characters or established story. Winner will get their audio drama produced for the show.

One great thing about this contest is that the participants are really getting tested in every aspect of writing. They have had interviews, short stories, commercials, nonfiction blog posts and other challenges. An audio drama is another form of writing that is very different from any other form of writing. When I think of audio dramas I think of the old radio plays from the thirties and forties. Radio plays are kind of a lost art form but if you look for them you can still find podcasts dedicated to this art. The horroraddicts.net podcast has had a few good audio dramas throughout the years.

Audio dramas are very different from reading a short story or novel, the story is always important but in this case, you have to tell a lot of your story in dialogue form. You also probably need a narrator to set up the story and you have to consider what kind of sound effects you would need. Finding voice actors may be something that has to be considered also.

So Addicts, do you enjoy listening to audio dramas? If so what are some of your favorites and what makes an audio drama good? I think the right voice actors play a big part in it but you also have to come up with good characters, a good setting and a great story idea. So what do you think the contestants will come up with and who do you think will do the best job? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

#NGHW – Guest Judge : Frank H. Woodward

This week, we welcome guest judge, Frank H. Woodward.
Frank will be helping us judge the Audiodramas this week!

Frank H. Woodward

Frank H. Woodward is an award-winning producer, director, writer and documentary filmmaker with over 25 years experience in film and television production. His feature documentaries are fueled by a deep love of sci-fi, horror and fantasy. His first documentary was the award winning Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown. His other documentary work includes the critically acclaimed Men In Suits, a look at the art of creature suits and the actors that bring those characters to life. As a screenwriter, Frank wrote the sequel Wrong Turn 6: Last Resortfor Fox and the SyFy Original Movie Black Forest. He was also an executive producer on the SyFy International film Firequake. In 2015, Frank completed the short films Balloon and Quint In ’58 (co-directed with Jack Bennett) while writing three of the Elements of Disaster TV film series. A “film entrepreneur”, Frank is thrilled to explore new frontiers for independent filmmakers beyond the Hollywood system.

Listen to episode #97 to hear an interview with our guest judge this week!

HorrorAddicts.net 097, Season Finale (Oct 2013), Lucy Blue, Frank H. Woodward, Dr. Rotz
Horror Addicts Episode# 097
Horror Hostess: Emerian Rich
With Guests: Camellia Rains and Ari DaWintre
Intro Music by: Cancer Killing Gemini

lucy blue, frank h. woodward, dr. rotz, versailles, translyvania 6-5000

halloween traditions, type-o negative, bloody kisses, translyvania 6-5000, jay hartlove, the chosen, the wickeds, horrible disasters, dr. rotz interview, vampire nurse candy, midnight syndicate, mimielle, goth fashion, zombie george washington, wheelman press, brian herbert, the chef’s table, best band season 8 poll, versailles, free fiction friday, bite club, hal bodner, david books, charla, alexander beresford, frank h. woodward interview, black magic, kbatz, atlantic city zombie walk, most wicked announced, wicked women writers, winner, rick kitagawa, writer’s workshop, events, dead mail, haunted place to go, lucy blue interview

Goodbye, my darklings, until next year. Please be safe and stay spooky!

By The Fire: Episode 145: Challenge 10: Write a 1200-1500 word, non-fiction interview of yourself

In episode 145 of the HorrorAddicts.net podcast, the challenge for The Next Great Horror Writer is to write a 1200-1500 word, non-fiction interview of yourself. The idea is to come up with questions and ask them how a reporter might ask them and then answer them as a professional writer may answer them. The contestants will be judged on interest of questions, interest of answers, and style. Does this sound like an easy challenge? Not really.

Though they are not being judged for it, the hardest part of this challenge may be selling yourself and your writing. In an interview, the author is the star of the show and the point is to get the readers of the interview to want to buy the author’s work. A writer has to wear several different hats, they may be good at writing fiction but can they sell the reader on their work by describing themselves and their stories in an interview?

Being able to come up with good answers in an interview is important because the person reading it is trying to make a decision on if they like the writer or not and if they are willing to purchase their work. It doesn’t matter how great of a writer you are, if you can’t sell yourself in an interview, you may have trouble getting a reader interested in your work. Personally, for me I love reading interviews, it’s a great way to get to know an author and decide if you like them or not. I’ve often made the decision on whether to buy or not to buy someone’s work based on the answers to interview questions. So in other words, learning how to act in an interview is an important skill.

So how about you, Addicts? Have you bought someone’s book based on an interview they had? I know I have. Can you come up with any examples of a good interview or a bad one? What do you think our contestants will focus on in their interview? What is the most important thing for a writer to talk about in an interview? Let us know in the comments.

By The Fire: Episode 145: Challenge 9: Write a 1200-1500 word campfire tale in storyteller format

Hey HorrorAddicts, I hope you’re enjoying the contest so far because things are getting more exciting. In episode 145 of the HorrorAddicts.net podcast, the challenge for The Next Great Horror Writer is to write a 1200-1500 word campfire tale in storyteller format, as if you are telling it to us around the campfire. Contestants will be judged on scare factor, originality and storytelling ability. The winner will have their story published by horroraddicts.net publishing as part of their “Horror Bites Series”.

Campfire tales are possibly the most fun form of horror storytelling there is. If a campfire tale isn’t simple enough it will lose its effect. They should be short, hopefully, have a monster, crazed killer or a ghost and a shock ending would be the icing on the cake. Campfire tales aren’t rocket science, the story doesn’t have to even be that good as long as it’s scary. The whole idea is to gather around the campfire and try to scare your friends with tales of the grotesque or a good urban legend. We’re all storytellers if you think about it and a campfire is a perfect place to perfect your craft.

So Addicts, have you ever told scary tales around the fire? I think most people have, it’s like a rite of passage. To quote A Nightmare Before Christmas: “life’s no fun without a good scare”. What were the stories you tried to scare your friends with? Was your audience scared? Did someone scare you with their story? Pretend this blog is a roaring fire and let us know what your favorite scary story is and leave your tall tale in the comments.

#NGHW News Episode #144

Hello, Addicts!
This week was way more brutal than I think we or the contestants thought it would be. Creating an original character can be tough, but having to write 900 words, mostly of clear character description and have some story to it … that, my horror-addicted friends, is super difficult.
But our writers still did it. They saw the challenge through, even though it lived up to its name – “challenge.”
Episode #144 brought us six semi-finalists.

1. Silt and bone by Jess Landry
2. Kerry Anne by Harry Husbands
3. Changeling by Daphne Strasert
4. Dr. Sonya Quillius by Jonathan Fortin
5. Selkie by Adele Marie Park
6. Cerebus by Sumiko Saulson

This week’s mini prize was pretty awesome. Using the description the author gave, an anime sketch will be drawn of the character they portrayed. This will be done by the amazing artist, Alyca, from Pixel Ghost Creations.

Creative jobs, although they may seem fanciful and relaxed, can be some of the toughest out there and artists often do not get the recognition they deserve. Artists have to create something out of nothing, giving life to where there was none before. Then they have to sit back and see if people like it or even see it at all. Wading through the sea of criticism and self-doubt searching for the buoys of validation can be exhausting and as much as we say we don’t need validation, sometimes it is a necessary evil. Artists have to eat too.

This can be doubly difficult when life happens to us. As it does to all of us. Whether this means your day job getting in the way, relationship issues, sickness, and all the other stray, flaming, Frisbees life likes to throw at us while our backs are turned, this can all inhibit creativity.

Which brings us to this week’s question! This time, I asked our Evil Eleven, “Do you have anything to help you stick with your writing? Even though it is something we love to do and can be therapeutic, when life happens it can be hard to make the time. How do you adult and be a writer?”

“I write on my phone using google docs while I’m on the train to work in the morning. Try to find the little moments in the day to get a little done.
Sometimes I write more if I think of everything else as “that thing I have to do,” rather than my writing. Maybe someday there’s an episode of a show I want to watch. I think of the show as “that thing I have to get done,” and then my writing becomes an act of fun rebellion against myself. It’s weird but effective.” – Jonathan
“I stick with my writing because my heart desires. It wants me to write my dreams down, and to express the things that it deems interesting. The need to create and communicate is what drives me forward. It is my passion, after all, to tell stories.

Also, maybe my secret is that I don’t adult. Sure, my body has grown, and as time goes by, I have a better understanding of things and situations, but I’ve always tried to remain young in my heart and mind. Also in my soul, if such a thing exists. I try to keep things as simple as possible, never take anything too seriously or personally, and remember that growing up is a thing we never stop doing.” – JC

“I eliminate all distractions. No TV. No Facebook. No internet (unless it’s for research). No husband walking around without his shirt on. (In fact, my husband is required to dress in loose, long-sleeved shirts until I have finished writing for the day.) no cute children in the room, no cute puppies or kitties, and no cute ice cream cones or cherry bonbons.” – Naching

Our finalists for episode 144 were, in no particular order, Jess, Daphne and Sumiko. The judges were also quite taken with Harry and Jonathan’s entries also, but the points decided the contestants.

Last week, Daphne took home her first win. This week, there was another first for this comp. Daphne took home her second win! One win after another. Congrats, Daphne! You can read Daphne’s full entry here.

The scores are getting very close. Jonathan is still in the lead, but Daphne is now hot on his tail with only eight points between them. Third place is a tie between Jess and Naching with 29 points between them and Daphne. But it could still be won by anyone. One turn of the tables and everything could change.

So, until next episode, stay spooky!
Hugs
Adelise

By The Fire: Episode 144: Challenge 8: 900-1000 Word Introduction of an Original Horror Character

In episode 144 of the HorrorAddicts.net podcast, the challenge for The Next Great Horror Writer is to write a 900-1000 word introduction of an original horror character. The point of this challenge was to test the writer’s ability to create a believable and descriptive character. The prize for this part of the contest is for an anime sketch of the writer’s creation. So if they can’t describe their main character well, the artist can’t draw it and the person reading their work can’t form a mental image of who is being written about.

Describing a character in a book may not seem important but if an author leaves too much to the reader’s imagination, the reader’s image will be different from what the author is thinking about. The writer can’t control how the reader imagines his or her creation will be but they can at least give the reader an idea of what they were thinking. Writing a character description probably isn’t as easy as it sounds because how do you know when you over described them? You have to leave something to the reader’s imagination, but if you leave everything up to the reader it could ruin your whole story.

I have a great example of the importance of character description. Keep in mind that I’m coming from the reader’s point of view and not the writer’s. I just finished reading a horror novel where the monster in it is a Sasquatch. In this book, there is no real description given of the Sasquatch beyond the fact that it was big and hairy. The author left what the monster looked like to my imagination and instead of coming up with the image of a horrifying monster in my head I found myself thinking of the Sasquatch from the Jack Link beef jerky Messing with Sasquatch commercials. Every time the monster did something horrible in the book I wasn’t feeling scared for the protagonists instead I was laughing at how funny those commercials were. The writer’s attempt at making me scared of his monster failed because he didn’t give me enough information on what he was thinking.

So if you can’t give enough description of a character it could ruin your whole story. Character description in a horror novel is probably more important than in any other genre of fiction. Horror is all about emotion and as a reader if I don’t know enough about someone in a book I can’t feel any emotion for him. To fear a monster I need to know how evil it is and to be scared for a victim, I have to feel some compassion for him. It doesn’t even have to be a visual description if you describe how the monster in question has killed others that could get me to fear him. Same thing for the protagonist, just give me something I can relate to like how hard he works to support his family. That way I’ll be hoping he gets away from the monster because his family needs him. So horror addicts how would you describe your favorite monster? And what did you think of the contestants’ description? Leave a comment and let us know.

 

 

#NGHW News Episode #142

 

Hello Addicts!

In the last episode, our writers were hit with a big one. A 3000-5000 word horror story. The theme: Music. They were given the extra time, of course, Emz is no monster. But it must have taken a lot out of them. After whipping up 5000 words worth of story… plus editing … and rewriting … and then having it publicly judged, surely they are feeling exhausted.

“For the 5000-word story–man, that was tough! I’m a procrastinator by nature, so of course, I didn’t start writing it until a few days before it was due. I jammed-packed all the emotions a writer goes through while writing a longer story. Basically going from ‘Ooh, this could work as an idea!’ to ‘Dear God, what have I done?’ in less than 24 hours. A new personal best!”-Jess

“I always feel good when I write. And after I’ve finished something, if it will be read or not, if it’s good or bad, regardless of whatever circumstances surround a piece I’ve written, I just keep writing. I think that’s the only thing a writer can do.” -JC

We had some great snippets here. All of them unique and left me wanting to hear the rest. The uses of the genre and the theme were stretched and I really enjoyed the fact that I was surprised by the story ideas. Alternative worlds were Music is like a drug to Japanese folklore. Their stories were so different, it was hard to believe they were given the same set of instructions. But they all ran with the same theme, keeping to the rules. Our semi-finalists last week were:

1. Cherry Blossoms and Yokai by Adele Marie Park
2. Scordatura by Jess Landry
3. Audio Addict by Daphne Strasert
4. Requiem in Frost by Jonathan Fortin
5. Audition by Naching T. Kassa
6. The Agent by Harry Husbands
7. The Lament of the Piano Man by AE Kirk

This week’s mini prize was not so mini. Publication in the upcoming short story anthology, Crescendo of Darkness. To make the prize even more special, the other contestants were banned from submitting their stories for the anthology. As much as this hurt Emz to do, the stories were so good that she would have liked more of them in the anthology.

Let’s have a quick chat about next episode’s challenge. A 900-1000 word non-fiction blog post on something horrific that the writer experienced. This could be a haunting, a phobia, anything that they have experienced that they found horrifying. It will be judged based on: blog-ability, topic choice, and writing quality.

This week’s challenge is a little more personal than the rest. Even though what writers do is personal, mostly we can hide behind that banner of “fiction”. I asked the writers how they feel about baring something so personal?

This also made me think about privacy and people’s comfort levels with how much they are willing to let people in. As writers, we are generally introverts, but with success comes other things that introverts don’t tend to like. So I asked the writers if being in the public eye is something they feel will be difficult?

“This week’s challenge was difficult. You’re baring a piece of your soul to the world and you’re hoping they understand your point of view. My experience happened over 30 years ago and may seem funny to those who read it. The things we fear may seem ridiculous to others or just as frightening. Sometimes, we don’t choose our fears. They choose us. (By the way, you’re talking to someone whose first fear was a flying sandwich with vampire teeth. Did he choose me? Or, did I choose him? It’s the eternal question.)

I don’t think I’ll have too much trouble being in the public eye. Like most people, I’m nervous at first. But, after a while, I turn into a huge ham. Maybe, that’s why the sandwich chose me.” -Naching

“In real life, I am a total introvert, practically like a monk living high in the mountains away from civilization at times, but writing isn’t like being a rock star or movie star. Most of our “public” attention comes online which is a much easier animal for us introverts to withstand. I don’t know how I’ll stand up to a convention or book signing at some point but armed with my anxiety pills I should be fine. LOL” -Feind

“I’m not a fan of writing about my personal life and would be lying if I said I wasn’t tempted to just make some stuff up. I’m sure that’s a viable option, but it defeats the purpose. I think in writing about your own experiences, you’re saying: “Hey, I may write fiction, but I’m real.” and that’s too valuable a thing to be phony about. I’m no good at it, but I get real pleasure from reading about writers’ lives whom I admire and so if I ever gained any kind of readership, I’d want to be able to do that for them too. I don’t see myself being in the public eye at any point (I’m talking tabloid man-boob close-ups) but if by some off-chance I ever was, I’d be swift in retreating to the mountains for a while until it all blew over.” -Harry

Episode #142 meant Naching took home her second win! Congrats #teamnaching! You can go and check out a snippet of Naching’s winning story on our website. Remember that if you wish to learn more about the contestants, the past, and present, you can do so at our contestants’ page. Have a peek at their websites or blogs, connect with them via the social media.

We have a little sad news this week. Our fearsome thirteen has been cut down to the Twisted Twelve, with our beautiful cosplaying Riley leaving. I hope that, as I do with all of the writers, that this is not the last we hear of her. I wish nothing but success for all of our contestants.

So, halfway through the contest now and Jonathan still holds the lead with a score of 399. Naching is close on his heels with 375 and coming up into third is Daphne with 369. It is still a close contest. Each week every contestant get a score and just because they don’t win that particular challenge doesn’t mean they can’t take home the big prize. Consistently good can still win out. If you want to check out how close the scores are, you can do so right here.

Until next episode, Addicts, stay spooky!

Hugs xxx

Adelise

HorrorAddicts.net, 142 #NGHW Guest Judge: Jeremiah Donaldson

Horror Addicts Episode# 142
SEASON 12 – The Next Great Horror Writer Contest

JUDGES:

Horror Hostess: Emerian Rich

Judge: H.E. Roulo

Guest Judge: Jeremiah Donaldson

Intro Music by: Valentine Wolfe

———————

The top 7 / Horror Music Story

Find all articles and interviews at: http://www.horroraddicts.net

 

122 Days till Halloween

Hot as hell! Announcement about Dan not returning as judge. San Mateo County Fair.

Intro of judges, prizes, and contest.

Portions of the top 7 stories

Contestants: Feind Gottes, Naching T. Kassa, Jess Landry, AE Kirk, Timothy G. Huguenin, Sumiko Saulson, Cat Voleur, Jonathan Fortin, Adele Marie Park, JC Martinez, Harry Husbands, Riley J. Pierce, Daphne Strasert.

HA.Net News:  Captain Blackheart from the Nightmare

*Barbarellatones – “Transpyro”

*Book review: Barnabas, Quentin, and the Sea Ghost

*#NGHW News by Adelise M. Cullens

*By the Fire by David Waston
*DJ Nightmare Fuel, Baron Kriminel

*Kenzie Kordic brings us…Ghastly Games: Ouija Board
*Jesse Orr’s new installment of The Scarlett Dahlia

*Kbatz reviews Sweet Recent Scares
*David’s Haunted Library features Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero

Find all this and more at HorrorAddicts.net

#NGHW Music to write by

Dead Mail:

Amy – Manga, Love in Hell

Barney – Halloween costumes yet?

Jessica – Getting your hand-written work into the computer easily?

Newbie Writing tips:
*Attack of the killer THAT’S

*Adverbs – cut them.

*POV Point of View & POV after death

*Wondered or thought

*Tense

*Show don’t tell

*Attack of the killer BEGAN’S

*What’s up with the WASesssss?

*Dialogue punctuation

*Semicolons, colons

*Consistency

*Clunkies – make sentences clearer
*Felts – bring it into his head.

*New writer problems: Starting the story too early. Starting a short story like a novel.

*Don’t monologue or lecture.

*Don’t tell readers what they want to see.

 

Judges deliberate.

Next challenge announced.

Winner announced.

 

“Broken Pieces” by Valentine Wolfe

http://valentinewolfe.bandcamp.com/track/broken-pieces

HorrorAddicts.net blog Kindle syndicated

http://www.amazon.com/HorrorAddicts-net/dp/B004IEA48W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1431022701&sr=8-1&keywords=horroraddicts.net

HorrorAddicts.net Facebook group.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/208379245861499

 

———————–

Write in re: ideas, questions, opinions, horror cartoons, favorite movies, etc…

horroraddicts@gmail.com

————————

h o s t e s s

Emerian Rich

s t a f f

David Watson, Stacy Rich, Dan Shaurette, KBatz (Kristin Battestella), Mimielle, D.J. Pitsiladis, Jesse Orr, Crystal Connor, Lisa Vasquez, Adelise M. Cullens, Kenzie Kordic.

Want to be a part of the HA staff? Email horroraddicts@gmail.com

b l o g  / c o n t a c t / s h o w . n o t e s

http://www.horroraddicts.net

#NGHW Winner of the Poetry Challenge!

This is just a taste of Jonathan’s poem that will be featured in an
upcoming issue of Sirens Call Magazine.

A Warning on Wings by Jonathan Fortin

His prayer was drawn in blood, the circle like a door

He sat beside the threshold, book open on the floor

This will never work, to himself he sighed

But he was so lonely that every night he cried

He was a somber man, not blessed with good looks

Hated by his village, he found solace in books

Tonight he stripped naked, legs crossed, arms spread

He whispered the words that from the pages bled:

“For you I’d be the greatest that I could ever be

I would do it all, anything you ask of me.”

The circle was no prison; he did not seek a slave

Nor mindless copulation, which would bore him to the grave

No, he sought the thing that was most beyond his reach:

A love felt too deeply to be bought or breached.

---

---

Listen to the contestants battle for points this season on HorrorAddicts.net

#NGHW Top 6 Poetry Excerpts

These are the top 6 poems from the Horror Poetry challenge.

Poem 1:  Under the Water by Sumiko Saulson
Over sea, floating ye, staying abreast of watery crests

Midwinter air caresses curls unfurling over briny sea

Cool wet skin, paper thin… I can see your soul within

Every capillary pumping blood, intestinal processes digesting food

Your loving heart plain to see… how intimate your transparency

 

A sea-deep mystery, stories untold, windows into your ancient soul,

Your eyes speckled, flecks of gold cascading within jet black coal

Encasing your exquisite charms, enfolded within my fragile arms,

I am the contemplator of your delicacy, hear ye now my mortal pleas

May your ethereal heart, thorny spine and eternal love be ever mine

 

Adrift on my back, your tentative fingers in mine entwined

Long slender tail wrapped around my thighs, tendrils twixt toes

The smooth flesh of your undercarriage where barnacles grow

My flesh puckers where their tiny mouths burrow into my skin

Digesting the healthy white blood cells within

---

Poem 2: Siren’s Song by Riley Pierce
Through crashing waves and dying light

I fight, I fight, I fight the night.

Many begged to turn away,

But on this final course I stay.

 

The siren sings again tonight,

And so I wait until I might,

Find her perched upon the rocks,

With eyes of red, and golden locks.

 

She’ll sing her song, but just to me.

I’ll belong to both her and the sea.

My crew, at last, they hear her song,

And I’ll be hers before too long.

 

Mystic music through the air;

It moves like wind and lingers there.

It seeps into their ears, my crew.

Yes! My god! The tales are true.

 

The moon is up, it pulls the tide,

And our wooden ship from side to side.

The wind has blown, all light is gone.

This ship will not survive the dawn.

 

A sacrifice to her, I bring,

Shall earn me last to see her sing.

---

Poem 3: Flesh Passion by Fiend Gottes
All my desires, I’ve fulfilled them all
A deviant well overflowing from hell
Demons speak, voices tell me all
Spewing forth they entice dark desire
Dark visions boil in my mind
Bathe in blood of the pure
Snuff life within the eyes

Dreams of death dance within my mind
With my hands I strangle out their life
Yearning to know
Where is my sorrow

Then I saw
Beauty profound
I felt confusion
Ache in my heart
Time stood still
Could she be?
Warmth in the cold
Or merely a dream

Raven hair floats upon the breeze
Electric blue eyes mesmerize me
Olive skin glistens by the moon
Her soul cries a song only I hear
The voices tell me she is mine
For me to taste, me alone
Heart no longer stone

Feel her flesh
Vanquish her light
Eternal smile
Echo of her screams
My need to feel
Her last moment
My need to feel
Something pure

---

Poem 4: A Warning on Wings by Jonathan Fortin
His prayer was drawn in blood, the circle like a door

He sat beside the threshold, book open on the floor

This will never work, to himself he sighed

But he was so lonely that every night he cried

 

He was a somber man, not blessed with good looks

Hated by his village, he found solace in books

Tonight he stripped naked, legs crossed, arms spread

He whispered the words that from the pages bled:

“For you I’d be the greatest that I could ever be

I would do it all, anything you ask of me.”

 

The circle was no prison; he did not seek a slave

Nor mindless copulation, which would bore him to the grave

No, he sought the thing that was most beyond his reach:

A love felt too deeply to be bought or breached.

---

Poem 5: The Only Thing That Remains by Jess Landry
Summertime blossoms as you take your first steps

onto a path laced with dirt and stone.

Though your feet know the way,

your heart’s lost count as to how many times

you’ve walked this forgotten road,

you’ve watched the sun rise,

you’ve heard the same birdsong echo from the trees.

A leafy canopy sways high above,

a cathedral ceiling with light piercing through.

Lilacs in bloom follow the morning breeze;

olive grass as high as your dress’s frayed hem

ebb and flows like the sea,

the wind teasing them along to its silent rhythm.

Your hands swing at your sides and you breathe in,

remembering what it was to take a breath,

remembering how he took it away the first time you met—

steely eyes, blithesome smile—

how his touch was as warm as the sun’s.

The path clears to an opening,

an unkempt field forgotten by man and time,

and there he stands,

as always,

like a lighthouse on a cliff of a pear-coloured ocean.

---

Poem 6: A Vampire and a Zombie by AE Kirk
I shall tell you a tale of a romance most deluded,

Between a zombie and a vampire and nothing else included,

They once came together during the end of the world,

The vampire was a man and we think the zombie was a girl,

 

He tried to attack her, but all she did was groan,

He bit her rotten skin, all she did was moan,

He pulled back and frowned, looked at her dry-bloodied face,

Flicking the maggots off, she was the last of the human race,

 

She had no toes and half of a head,

She was the only body to keep him warm in his bed,

And although she craved no blood, nor food, or sleep,

He made up his mind, for her he would keep,

 

They went for long walks; rotting corpses did they pass,

They played with dead dogs, birds, cats it was a blast!

Then every evening, they sat and stared,

At the crumbling city around them, which they could never compare

---

Listen to the contestants battle for points this season on HorrorAddicts.net

#NGHW News Episode #140

 

Hello, Addicts!

How has everyone been during the break? Have you survived without us? Well, no need to fear, no need to fret, our fearsome fifteen and the horroraddicts.net team are back this week.

Did you all enjoy Episode #140? It has been a little while so I will give you a reminder. The last episode was a bit of a change up from the “norm” and the writers were challenged to write a script. The script was for a spoof commercial for a make-believe horror product. This was a great way to stretch the writing muscles that are not normally stretched in the horror genre. The spoof had to be original and funny. The mini prize was to have their script professionally produced.

The spoofs that made it through to the semi-finals were Dead Fresh Air Freshener by Fiend, Earl King by Jonathan, The Spoof is Happening by AE, Fang Blings by Jess, Full Moon Undies by Naching, MonsterMatch.com by Timothy, Little Bites Kiddie Coffin by Daphne, Home Stench Plugins by Grave by Sumiko.

The fearsome fifteen were in fine form this episode. All of the semi-finalist did a great job, their commercials were all hilarious and on point. But, alas, only three could make it through to the finals. Fang Blings, MonsterMatch.com and Full Moon Undies were the chosen ones.

This brought about discussions about Monster Body Positivity and the such. This led me to think about dating monsters or horror movie/book characters or bad guys in general.

I have recently noticed that, as a young girl, a had a thing for bad guys. This is not something that I am particularly proud of but it is something that I have noticed now that I am older. Anyone from Jareth from the Labyrinth, the Erl King from Raymond E Feist’s Faerie Tale, even the Riddler from Batman (1966 not Jim Carrey’s) So, I had to ask the fearsome fifteen “If you had to (or got to) date a monster or horror character who would you choose and why?” And I got some very interesting answers.

I would normally chop a little to keep them short or choose only three or so to add, but I just loved everyone’s answers. But here are the six answers that made the cut.

“I would date a siren. I love music so I think we would probably get along pretty well. Unless she liked Nikki Minaj, in which case I do not think we would be very compatible.”
– Timothy

“I’ve had the hardest time answering this. “Horror character” just left so many possibilities. Ultimately though, my answer would be Spike, from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Although I don’t normally like vampires entering into my romantic dreamworld, I’ve had a crush on Spike most of my life at this point. There’s something about a bloody awful poet turned kick ass bad boy that’s as irresistible as his British accent. I loved the black nail polish, the bleached hair, the singing voice – and of course, he’s the type of man who can really get away with wearing black leather. I also love that he’s so passionate about everything he does. When he’s in love with someone, there’s no limit to what he’ll do to redeem himself in their eyes. The other great thing about Spike (as opposed to my other fictional monster crushes) is that his great love story is one-sided. Unlike many of the other people I considered, if we were dating, I wouldn’t be breaking up a couple that was perfect for each other.”
– Cat

“In horror, most of the monsters are pretty undesirable as potential mates. Paranormal romance is a bit better, but it’s still drama-filled. I would go with a safe monster. I like Reuben Golding in Anne Rice’s Wolf Gift because even though he’s technically a monster, being a werewolf, he’s kind of like Bruce Wayne, and I do love Batman. Reuben is probably less Byronic that Batman. And I do love my Byronic heroes. Come to think of it, maybe the older gent, Felix Nideck, who is darker, more mysterious, and Byronic as all get all would be better, but I think he’s gay, so I’ll stick with Reuben. The werewolves in Wolf Gift only kill and eat the really evil people, like chomos. They hunt as a back, and they keep murdering, dismembering, and gobbling down corrupt Catholic Priests and rings of child molesters. They’re almost like superheroes. When they aren’t killing off the wicked – who they can smell, and sense, with their Ghost Rider like superpowers, they have lots of fun sexy times with their pack mates. Wolves mate for life, don’t you know, so even the not so monogamous ones, while not faithful, are loyal as all get all. That’s hot.”
-Sumiko

“If it were my choice, I’d go with a heroine archetype, like Laurie Strode, from the original Halloween, who was intelligent and resourceful, or Mina Murray, from Dracula (the book version), who was so diligent, so sweet and loving, that she managed to overcome being corrupted by the monster. My perfect date, I think, would be Evelyn Carnahan, from The Mummy (the 1999 film), who was a kick-ass librarian (just imagine all the stories she would know about Egypt and its mythology. Amazing). If I had to, that would mean I would not have a choice. However, this being hypothetical and all, I’d have to go with the devil, as portrayed in the Bedazzled remake. It’s always fun to make a wish just for it to be granted the wrong way (or the right, too literal way). Either that or with a succubus. Succubi seem cute.”
-JC

“I absolutely love Gary Oldman’s portrayal of Dracula in Bram Stoker’s Dracula. There is something so alluring about a dangerous man that would drain the world, but save one – the woman that his dark heart has always loved. I think my favorite line, the one that popped into my head as soon as you asked us this question, was when Dracula says, “I have crossed oceans of time to find you”. It’s so timelessly romantic, and I’ve always loved that. It’s definitely one of my favorite films.”
-Riley

“When I was young, I had a crush on the cutest, sweetest, funniest vampire ever. He had a terrific green complexion and a snappy wardrobe. He was a great father, grandfather, and animal lover. Yes, I had a crush on Grampa Munster and if you had asked me thirty years ago who I would date, he would’ve been my answer.
Would I answer the same today? Are you crazy? No way! I’m a happily married woman!
I also wear glasses.”
-Naching

Bahahahaha … Love it, Naching.

So, if you don’t already know, I will not hold back any longer! MonsterMatch.com by Timothy took home the mini prize this episode. You can go and read the script here or listen to it here. All the congrats go out to #TeamTimothy and MonsterMatch.com

I must say, I am super excited for this next challenge! The challenge for episode #141 is a 650-700 word horror romance poem. It can be rhyming or free form, but it must have a horror romance theme. It will be judged on sexiness, style, and theme. It can be erotic but porn, rape and/or pedophilia is strictly forbidden. The love must be between two consenting adults. “Think Morticia and Gomez,” says Emz.

So make sure you join us for this next episode, where things are going to heat up! Bow Chicka Wow Wow!

Stay Spooky, Addicts!

Hugs xxx

#NGHW Winner of Commercial Spoof: Timothy Huguenin

And the winner of the commercial spoof challenge….

SPOOF 6 MONSTERMATCH.COM by Timothy Huguenin

Crickets and other night noises can be heard in the background

WOMAN: What a nice evening for a walk.

MONSTER: Uuungh!

WOMAN: Those websites usually set me up with stuffy rich dates. I can’t get to know someone when I’m constantly worrying about how to to hold my fork. But this is nice, the open night air. We can really get to know each other, no superficial things in the way.

MONSTER: Uuungh!

WOMAN: I’m sorry, I can’t understand a word you say through that hood. Here, let me help you… Wait… you’re… you’re…

MONSTER: UUUUNGH!

WOMAN: [Runs away screaming]

ANNOUNCER: Are you tired of dating websites always matching you up with the wrong type?

MONSTER: [sadly] Uh-hungh!

ANNOUNCER: Well now your love problems are solved, with MonsterMatch.com!

MONSTER: [intrigued] Uungh?

ANNOUNCER: It’s true! We use a comprehensive 300-point questionnaire covering all the important things, from hobbies, to religion! Scales, skin, or fur! Even your blood type! With MonsterMatch.com, you can be sure to be matched with a date that won’t run away screaming—unless you’re into that sort of thing!

MONSTER: [excited] Uungh!

ANNOUNCER: MonsterMatch.com—Beauty is in the eye… or antennae… or tentacle… of the beholder!

---

Listen to the contestants battle for points this season on HorrorAddicts.net

#NGHW Top 8 Commercial Spoofs

These are the top 8 commercial spoofs.

SPOOF #1 Dead Fresh air freshner by Fiend Gottes

A vampire father & young son are sitting outside under a full moon on a cloudless night, crickets are chirping, a wolf howls in the distance…
Son: Dad?
Father: Vhat son?
Son: Do you ever get that… not so fresh feeling?
Father: Bwahaha… but ov course! That’s why I use Dead Fresh.
Announcer: Do you struggle to keep the fetid stench of decay out of your clothes? Coffin? Your basement? Then Dead Fresh is just for you! Dead ten minutes? Ten centuries? Hiding one body or a thousand rotting corpses? Don’t worry, Dead Fresh kills even the strongest creeping stench of death! Just ask Pogo the Clown!
Pogo the Clown: I had dozens of corpses in my crawlspace for years and no one even knew! Thanks Dead Fresh!
Dr. West: Hi, I’m Dr. Herbert West inventor of Dead Fresh. My patented formula fights off stench by temporarily reanimating dead cells. It worked on my mentor Dr. Carl Hill and it will work for you!
Announcer: Get two cans of Dead Fresh all for the low, low price of $6.66! Supplies are limited so call 1-666-NO-STINK Today! Don’t let a little death ruin your life! Act now and get a travel size absolutely free! Smell as fresh as a daisy with Dead Fresh, it gets the dead out!

SPOOF #2 ERLKING by Jonathan Fortin

Narrator: warm, cheerful, happy-go-lucky vibe with a very slight wink in his/her voice.
Kid: can be boy or girl, but should sound young, impressionable, and enthusiastic.
Erlking: older male, with a voice that’s creepy, commanding, and regal.

NARRATOR: This fall, get your child the most magical doll of the year: ERLKING!

KID: Wow mom, this is the best toy EVER!

NARRATOR: Just pull the string, and Erlking gives your child words of wisdom.

ERLKING: I AM THE ERLKING. I WILL TAKE YOUR CHILDREN AND REPLACE THEM WITH CHANGELINGS.

KID: You’re so awesome, Erlking. I want to be just like you!

NARRATOR: Erlking can be your child’s best friend.

KID: Let’s go do something, Erlking!

ERLKING: OH YES…WE SHALL HAVE SO MANY ADVENTURES.

NARRATOR: He can teach your child poetry.

ERLKING: COME AWAY O HUMAN CHILD, TO THE WATERS OF THE WILD, WITH A FAERIE HAND IN HAND, FOR THE WORLD HAS MORE WEEPING THAN YOU’LL EVER UNDERSTAND.

KID: You’re the only one who understands my pain, Erlking.

NARRATOR: And even discipline!

ERKLING: OBEY ME, CHILD, OR SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES.

KID: I love you, Erlking. I’ll do whatever you say!

ERLKING: KILL YOUR PARENTS.

NARRATOR (speaking super fast): Possible side effects include your child disappearing for 24 hours before returning and attempting to devour and/or copulate with you.

SFX: (childlike, inhuman roar)

NARRATOR: Erlking! The toy your kids will never forget.

SPOOF 3 The Spoof is Happening…We just don’t know when! by AE Kirk

Scene opens onto a simple garden. A neatly cut lawn. A pond on the right, with reeds around it. A flower bed with an assortment of plants on the left. Birds are chirping, the wind rustles the trees and reeds. A swing is dangling from a tree to the rear of the garden. A man with a Welsh accent comes into view wearing a blue shirt and dark blue jeans. He walks to the swing and takes hold of the nearest rope. He turns slowly to face the camera, a sullen look on his face.

MAN   Hello. Welcome to my garden. Do you like your plants? Well you sodding well ought to. It’s no laughing matter, especially when it’s happening. And when it is happening… no one tells you it is happening. The only way to protect yourself…is with this…

Cut to the front of the garden, where a 6 inch brick wall is built like a fort. It is lined with Garden Gnomes of all colours with various garden accessories attached.

MAN   I give you, a garden gnome. Now do not be fooled by this chubby little bugger. He can alert you to when it is happening and stops alerting you when its not happening. He does this by yelling out, “IT’S HAPPENING!” at the top of his silly little lungs. He will continue like this, until its stops happening. He has a durobell battery that lasts for the entire duration of whatever happens.

A Gnome is place by man, tied with a pink ribbon. Camera zooms in onto ribbon tied gnome.

MAN   If you purchase one today for $29.99, I can guarantee your life expectancy will go up. And if you buy two we’ll throw in a fishing rod and wheelbarrow for free.

Wind suddenly picks up, the swing creaks and the sky grows dark.

MAN   This gnome is designed to spy on your plants…

Cut to man holding a cheerful garden gnome.

MAN   So, buy today and save your life to live tomorrow before it happens and the poxy plant toxins kill us!

Gnome looks at the man

Man: Did you know that?

A bunch of flowers are thrown in his face from off camera.

The man screams in horror.

SPOOF #4 FANGBLINGZ by Jess Landry

Are you a blood-thirsty vampire looking to rekindle some of your human tendencies? Do you often wonder, is there a way I can be both the terrifying monster society expects me to be and the gangsta I feel on the inside, but I just can’t find the mouth gear to fit over my fangs?
Well, look no further!
Introducing FangBlingz, the first and only grillz made for vampires struggling with their identities just like you!
Strike fear into the hearts of your victims with your vampiric gaze…then open your mouth and light up the room like a disco ball.
Stalk your prey through the steam-filled back alleys of the city…then flash those gold suckers as you’re about to take a bite.
We guarantee your meals will be envious until the last drop of blood is drained from their bodies, or your money back!
Made from the finest gold in southeast Wisconsin, every package of FangBlingz comes with two sets: one for your human form, the other for your bat form. That’s right, now you can fly the night in style!
Whether by land or sky, FangBlingz will make you the “life” of the party.
FangBlingz, on sale now at Bat Blood and Beyond.
Not available in silver.

SPOOF 5. FULL MOON UNDIES by Naching Kassa

ANNOUNCER [Delivered as a quick spiel] Are you a werewolf? Do you wake up in the woods wearing nothing but your birthday suit? Are you tired of poison ivy and sumac rashes in private places? Are you sick of wearing pine boughs on the cross-town bus? Maybe, it’s time you got some undies…Full Moon Undies!
Full Moon Undies are light and stretchy. Made of one-hundred-percent titanium fibers, Full Moon Undies will not tear or rip during transformation. They conform to your figure and cover your naughty bits whether you’re in werewolf or human form. Just ask our satisfied customer, Mr. August Fogarty of Walla Walla, Washington.

Sounds of snarling and barking.

ANNOUNCER [In a low voice] Hey, Joe! Why isn’t he wearing the underwear?

JOE [Low voice] It’s a full moon. He changed.

ANNOUNCER [Low voice] Well, put them on him.

JOE [Low voice] You put them on him! Every time I try to slip them over his back legs, he snaps at me. He almost took my (Beep)-ing arm off.

ANNOUNCER [Low voice] Get his wife to do it then. Where is Mrs. Fogarty?

JOE [Low voice] He ate her.

ANNOUNCER [Loudly] And, there you have it! Another satisfied customer. Look for Full Moon Undies at your local department store. Also, for the ladies, try the Full Moon Sports Bra. Now, back to our show.

SPOOF 6 MONSTERMATCH.COM by Timothy Huguenin

Crickets and other night noises can be heard in the background

WOMAN: What a nice evening for a walk.

MONSTER: Uuungh!

WOMAN: Those websites usually set me up with stuffy rich dates. I can’t get to know someone when I’m constantly worrying about how to to hold my fork. But this is nice, the open night air. We can really get to know each other, no superficial things in the way.

MONSTER: Uuungh!

WOMAN: I’m sorry, I can’t understand a word you say through that hood. Here, let me help you… Wait… you’re… you’re…

MONSTER: UUUUNGH!

WOMAN: [Runs away screaming]

ANNOUNCER: Are you tired of dating websites always matching you up with the wrong type?

MONSTER: [sadly] Uh-hungh!

ANNOUNCER: Well now your love problems are solved, with MonsterMatch.com!

MONSTER: [intrigued] Uungh?

ANNOUNCER: It’s true! We use a comprehensive 300-point questionnaire covering all the important things, from hobbies, to religion! Scales, skin, or fur! Even your blood type! With MonsterMatch.com, you can be sure to be matched with a date that won’t run away screaming—unless you’re into that sort of thing!

MONSTER: [excited] Uungh!

ANNOUNCER: MonsterMatch.com—Beauty is in the eye… or antennae… or tentacle… of the beholder!

SPOOF #7: LIL BITES KIDDIE KOFFIN by Daphne Strasert

Finally! A coffin designed with your bubbly, bouncing, blood-sucking bundle of joy in mind! The Lil Bites Kiddie Koffin by Transylvania Tykes is the perfect solution for the vigilant vampire parent.
Our company knows that protecting the eternal undeath of your child is your top priority, so we make it ours too. That’s why the Lil Bites Kiddie Koffin comes standard with safety features like stake-proof plating, garlic screening ventilation, and asbestos-free fireproofing.
And, for a limited time, we’re including the patented Sunshine Auto-lock System with all coffins. Don’t rely on cumbersome bungee cords to keep your curious mini-monster out of the danger of ultraviolet rays! The Sunshine Auto-lock System ensures your toothy toddler is secure in their bed from dawn ’til dusk, even through Daylight Savings Time changes. Order today and upgrade to a luxury model to get integrated sound and video, so you can keep an eye on Drac Jr. no matter the time of day.
As always, our products are backed by the Transylvania Tykes Guarantee: “You’ll love your purchase or you can disembowel the delivery henchman for free!”

Spoof #8: HOMESTENCH PLUGINS BY GRAVE by Sumiko Saulson

LAUGHTER & VIDEO GAME NOISES CAN BE HEARD
Winnie Werewolf: “Walter! My girlfriends are coming over (for) book club! The den reeks of rotting flesh and wounded gazelle!”
Walter Werewolf: <WHINY HOWL > : “Mooooom! You said my friends could hang out!”
Cindy Chupacabra:“So embarrassed! I thought I brushed all the gazelle chunks from my fangs this morning!”
Zane Zombie <SNIFFING ARMPIT> : “Do I offend? I used Axe Wound Body Spray to cover up my decomposition.”
Winnie Werewolf: “No problem, kids! We’ll mask the fetid aroma of monster adolescence with Homestench Plugins by Grave!”
Narrator: <ROMANIAN ACCENT> “Nothing makes cave or castle cozier than Homestench. Plugins by Grave, in a variety of comforting fragrances: Primordial Ooze, Formaldehyde, Fetid Catacomb, Extraterrestrial Corruption, Putrid Swamp, Home Laboratory, and Ritual Bloodbath.
<DOORBELL RINGS>
Winnie Werewolf: “Come in, ladies!”
Georgia Ghoul: Your home stinks so good! What’s your secret?
Mary Mummy: “Look! It’s Embalming Linen by Grave!”
Winnie Werewolf: “That’s not Grave! It’s French. Grah-vay.”
Narrator: Homestench by Grave. Find the perfect reek for the little monsters in your life!

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Listen to the contestants battle for points this season on HorrorAddicts.net

#NGHW News Episode 139

 

Hello, Addicts!

This week was super interesting on the Next Great Horror Writer Contest. On the horrifying podcast there was a twist to what, I guess, most of us were expecting from this competition. This week’s challenge was to write a horror blog post. The non-fiction horror blogspot was judged on blog-ability, topic and writing quality. We were only given snippets of the top eight posts. But what were given makes me want to read more!

1. Horror Without Women by Naching Kassa
2. Five Filmmakers changing the Face of Horror Cinema by Quentin Norris
3. The Warrens Occult Museum – The Button Eyes of Evil by Riley J Pierce
4. The Culture of Horror and The Horror of Culture by JC Martinez
5. Horror Binge by Daphne Strasert
6. Virtual Reality is revolutionizing horror by Harry Husbands
7. The True Horror Cat Voluer
8. Horror Addiction – Is There a Cure? Feind Gottes

The winner this week will be gifted the prize of being featured on Cemetery Confessions, a horror podcast hosted by The Count, who also happens to be our guest judge for the week.

The Count commands THE BELFRY NETWORK, which is a community website, blog, app and podcast which aims to bring us goths, HorrorAddicts, and other pretty little weirdos together.

Blogging is hard. But it is one of the many necessary evils that challenge writers of today. Writers can no longer be the recluse, vampiric (and sometimes, alcoholic) hermits they used to be. With so much out there, so many quality (and not) books being released, something has to make you stand out from the crowd. And a good blog, coupled with quality fan interaction, is often the way to do just that.

Blogging is a skill that takes practice and a successful blog is a creature that must be nurtured and tamed. So, having our fearsome fourteen write a blog post is a great way of showing how well they will cope with their future career.

Emz and Heather discussed briefly the pain of having to give writers bad news and judging them. They discussed how writers are forced to disconnect from their pieces and about how writers can learn, over time, which criticisms to take on and which ones to filter out. And how sometimes, a piece of writing may have been good but may not have been suitable for the audience. “No fluffy bunny posts,” said Heather. But I don’t think this means that we cannot try to stretch the genre boundaries.

Genre is a tricky beast and our genre – horror – is sweeping and vast. It is not just about the blood. It’s not just about the scare. It’s not just about the monsters or ghosts or madness. It is about the feelings horror instills and conjures inside us. Looking for new, genre-bending, fiction, in all forms and mediums, should be our goal.

So, back on topic!

This week Daphne Strasert and Quentin Norris were our runners up and their full horror blog posts can be read here.

And, the winner for this week is Harry Husbands! His piece on Virtual Reality playing a pivotal role in the future of horror films and horror fiction was the blogspot that won the judges’ favor. But, alas, you will have to wait until the 2nd of June, 2017, to hear the whole thing. It will be read and discussed on Cemetery Confessions. Congrats #teamharry!

Harry has his own blog as do many of our other contestants.

Adelle also has her own blog and she says, “I love blogging and I have been lucky that through blogging and communicating with other bloggers that my book Wisp has been promoted and reviewed. Also, I have some amazing blogs on my reading list, from the esoteric, horror, sci-fi and self-help. Along with lots of writers who support one another. Articles have helped me enormously in my own life as well as my writing life.” You can check out her here. You can also go check out what is inside JC’s head at Slimy Yet Tasty. Naching can be found lurking at the Frighten Me! Blog. And our dear, busy, Daphne has not one but two blogspots – Write As Rain and Daphne Reads X-men.

I feel like that is enough blogging about blogging for now, so go and follow us on the social media and join in the discussions. And, as always, STAY SPOOKY!

Hugs xxx

Adelise M Cullens

#NGHW 500-Word WINNER! Harry Husbands

Winner for episode #139

VIRTUAL REALITY IS REVOLUTIONISING HORROR

by Harry Husbands

This winner’s entry will be read an discussed in full
on the Cemetery Confessions podcast, June 2nd, 2017.

Here is just a taste of the blog:

“Imagine you enter a theatre in the year 2025 and take a seat. In front of you is a device that you place on your head and over your ears. Your vision is blackened. Thirty minutes of adverts begin because some things just never change. Eventually the film starts and you’re in a corridor where the lightbulb flickers and a putrid smell of rotting meat wafts to your nostrils. You are creeping forward when the light goes out completely. There’s icy breath on the back of your neck. You not only hear it but you feel it too…” Hear more on Cemetery Confessions June 2nd.

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Listen to the contestants battle for points this season on HorrorAddicts.net

#NGHW 500-word Horror Blogs, the Runners Up

#NGHW 500-word Horror Blogs, The Runners Up featured on #139
Daphne Strasert and Quentin Norris

1.  # 2 HORROR BINGE by Daphne Strasert

   Fear evolved to be a fleeting physical reaction. Fight or flight is only supposed to last long enough to escape danger. Psychologically speaking, humans aren’t built to endure hours of sustained terror. Yet, whether it’s Penny Dreadful or Stranger Things, horror addicts love to curl up with Netflix for a marathon of dread. Watching horror isn’t like it used to be. With the rise of streaming services, the horror genre faces the new challenge of binge-watch culture. What effect does this medium have on scare factor and can it take horror to new heights?

   How did we get here?

   Before streaming, television horror was constrained by weekly time slots. Creators had to contend with an unreliable audience, so they structured series for casual viewing. Shows adopted a “monster of the week” format that worked well even if watched sporadically. However, what worked well for syndication floundered when viewers started consuming a decade’s worth of episodes in a single weekend. Faced with a fundamental shift in how audiences watch television, producers adapted their approach. Netflix pioneered the world of “binge content” by releasing shows in season-long chunks and optimizing them for marathon viewing.

   A new approach to story telling

   With longer run times and no commercial breaks, binge content plays by different rules. For better or worse, creators have changed how they make shows to keep you clicking “Watch Next”.

   • No Filler

   Binge shows don’t waste time on scenarios (or infuriating Christmas episodes) that won’t be mentioned again. Every installment stays on track and, with no fluff to waste time, the storyline moves forward at breakneck speed. Episodes bleed together without having to rehash plot points. Twists and turns pile on each other with never-ending suspense and mystery. Stranger Things is a perfect example—more like a seven-hour movie than a television show. The long format gives the creators room to develop a complex story.

   • Stifled Experimentation

   Tight plots and fast pacing can have drawbacks. Sometimes an amazing concept doesn’t stand up to a full season of scrutiny. These ideas benefit from single episode exploration. Buffy mastered this with one-off monsters like The Gentlemen.

   • No anticipation

   A tortuous wait between episodes isn’t always a bad thing. A horror show that updates every week stews for seven days, allowing imagination to fill in horrifying implications while the show isn’t playing. American Horror Story capitalizes on this by leaving key doors open at the end of episodes to bring viewers back each week.

   As viewers increasingly turn to streaming services rather than cable subscriptions, we can expect binge content to grow and adapt. We are already seeing the medium evolve. Stephen King and J.J. Abrams are teaming up to bring us Castle Rock. It isn’t out yet, but internet whispers say that it could bring us an anthology show that breaks the mega-movie mold. So, look forward to new terrors as horror masterminds push the envelope of an already edgy genre.

2. ********************
3. #3 FIVE FILMMAKERS CHANGING THE FACE OF HORROR CINEMAby Quentin Norris

   It’s no secret that horror is one of the most easily dismissed genres in any medium, especially in film.  It’s hard to blame the critics. There are always exceptions, but the early 2000s were too bogged down with tepid remakes of ’80s gems to make any true impressions on cinephiles. Horror’s reputation has been changing thanks to exciting visions from the following filmmakers who are breathing new life into the genre:

   Alice Lowe: Alice Lowe took no prisoners with her feature film debut, Prevenge, a twisted tale of a mother-to-be who is slave to the will of her sociopathic unborn child. Lowe starred in the film while seven months pregnant and used her own fears as inspiration. Lowe conjures up the most delightfully wicked scares mixed with pitch black humor with the most limited of resources, and the results are nothing less than entertaining.

   Jordan Peele: Although the well-noted sketch comedian had been discussing his desire to make a horror film for some time, no one quite knew what to expect from Get Out, but what we got was a groundbreaking wake up call for America, and could not have come at a better time. The filmmaking is inspired by past films — particularly the dread of Rosemary’s Baby — but the subject matter is extremely modern, exploring the inherent terror of being a person of color in modern society. Like many great horror films before it, Get Out uses socio-political themes to reflect something deeper inside everyone.

   Oz Perkins: As the son of Anthony Perkins, the original Norman Bates, horror runs through Oz Perkins’ blood, although he’s had a bit of a rocky start. His first film, The Blackcoat’s Daughter, is only now being released, while his second, I Am The Pretty Thing That Lives In The House, was quietly released on Netflix late last year. Pretty Thing may have been released to little fanfare, but it is a striking film that is well worth a watch. Feeling like a cross between Terrence Malick and David Lynch, the film creates a gothic ghost story like no other before it.

   Robert Eggers: Scaring Stephen King is no easy feat, but that is exactly what Eggers did with his excellent feature debut, The Witch, a creeping tale of a doomed New England family haunted by a demonic presence that feels like a knife slowly digging under your skin for an hour and thirty minutes.

   Julia Ducournau: This French-Canadian filmmaker’s feature debut, Raw, gained a reputation as a gross-out film after audiences fainted at a film festival screening. While there’s no shortage of gooey body horror to be found in the film, it is much more than just that. The film is a layered, emotional coming-of-age film with enough body horror to make David Cronenberg beam with pride.

   And that’s just to name a few. There are many more independent genre filmmakers and many more to come who just can’t wait for the opportunity to collectively scare us all in the dark.

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Listen to the contestants battle for points this season on HorrorAddicts.net

HorrorAddicts.net, 139 #NGHW Guest Judge: The Count

Horror Addicts Episode# 139
SEASON 12 – The Next Great Horror Writer Contest

JUDGES:

Horror Hostess: Emerian Rich

Judge: H.E. Roulo

Guest Judge: The Count

Intro Music by: Valentine Wolfe

———————

The top 8 / 500 Word Blog Posts.

Find all articles and interviews at: http://www.horroraddicts.net

 

179 Days till Halloween

Intro of judges, prizes, and contest.

Read of the top 8 / 500 Word Blog Posts.

 

Contestants: Feind Gottes, Naching T. Kassa, Jess Landry, AE Kirk, Timothy G. Huguenin, Sumiko Saulson, Cat Voleur, Quentin Norris, Jonathan Fortin, Adele Marie Park, JC Martinez, Harry Husbands, Riley J. Pierce, Daphne Strasert.

 

HA.Net News:  

*Jenn Vix / The Sound of the Possessed.

*Midnight Syndicate Live! Will be back at Cedar Point this fall.

*ScareLa 2017 August, 5&6
*Women in Horror film festival September 21 – 24 Peachtree City, GA

*Free Fiction by J.C. Eickelberg installment 2 of C. DARWIN DECAY

*David’s Haunted Library / Alethia by JS Breukelaar and Drawing Dead by Brian Mckinley.

*Kbatz / The Oblong Box and Scream and Scream Again.

*Crystal Connor / Devil in the Dark

*New staff Kenzie Kordic / Love of horror.

*Lisa Vasquez  / Building your brand for your writing.

*#NGHW News by Adelise M. Cullens

*By the Fire by David Waston

Find all this and more at HorrorAddicts.net

 

Dead Mail

Angela – Writing feedback

Kendra – When is Dusk’s Warriors coming out?

Jeff – Thanks

 

Next challenge announced.

Winner announced.

 

“Broken Pieces” by Valentine Wolfe

http://valentinewolfe.bandcamp.com/track/broken-pieces

HorrorAddicts.net blog Kindle syndicated

http://www.amazon.com/HorrorAddicts-net/dp/B004IEA48W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1431022701&sr=8-1&keywords=horroraddicts.net

HorrorAddicts.net Facebook group.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/208379245861499

 

———————–

Write in re: ideas, questions, opinions, horror cartoons, favorite movies, etc…

horroraddicts@gmail.com

————————

h o s t e s s

Emerian Rich

s t a f f

David Watson, Stacy Rich, Dan Shaurette, KBatz (Kristin Battestella), Mimielle, D.J. Pitsiladis, Jesse Orr, Crystal Connor, Lisa Vasquez, Adelise M. Cullens, Kenzie Kordic.

Want to be a part of the HA staff? Email horroraddicts@gmail.com

b l o g  / c o n t a c t / s h o w . n o t e s

http://www.horroraddicts.net

 

#NGHW – Guest Judge : The Count

This week, we welcome guest judge, The Count. The Count will be helping us judge the 500-word horror blog posts and be featuring the winner on his show Cemetery Confessions!!

The Count

The Count is the owner of The Belfry Network, as well as the host of Cemetery Confessions and The Requiem podcast. He is a science enthusiast and avid reader, he also spends his free time as a DJ and blogger.

#NGHW News 138

 

Hello, Addicts!

Well, how good were this week’s stories! I can’t tell you how happy I am that our judges did not agree. This way, we were blessed with seven stories instead of the promised three. And oh my Odin, what stories they were!

So this week’s challenge was to write 250 words about a monster. Seven monsters we were given, three survived to the next round and then one was picked and deemed worthy of the mini prize – Professional audio production of the winning short story.

Our stories, this week were:
1 LARVAE #teamsumiko
2 THE PET #teamdaphne
3 LINGUA #teamJC
4 BLOODWORM #teamjonathan
5 THE ODDMENTS MONSTER #teamadele
6 THE LAUGHING MAN #teamnaching
7 ALWAYS HUNGRY #teamcat
You can read and/or listen to all these brilliant stories here.

In the discussion after the stories were read, we learned some juicy deets about our beautiful, spooky host, Emz. Our leader into the night is scared of insects and monkeys! And even though the contestants have been warned, it will be interesting to see if any of them draw on this info for their next projects. Knowing what spooks the judges could give them a leg up or tear them down. Only time will tell if any of them dare to scare our dearest Emz.

But this discussion leads me to think … What do our fearsome fifteen fear? What makes our makers of fear jump in the night? I simply had to ask. (And if you’re wondering what scares me, it’s koalas.)

We had some super interesting answers. AE Kirk – our archaeologist – was freaked out by skeletons as a child. Sumiko – the author of LARVAE – has an irrational fear of maggots, which may explain her monster. Naching – our winner for this week’s challenge (oh, had I not mentioned that yet!) – is claustrophobic. Ten points to who can guess what JC is scared of …

One story, which I really wanted to share with you, was from our sweet Daphne. I will let her tell you the story…

“I am TERRIFIED of ladybugs. Yes, the little red and black beetles that populate gardens and children’s story books. I wasn’t always afraid of them–I wore a ladybug dress to my first day of kindergarten–but that all changed when I was ten.
My parents, after twenty-plus years of marriage, finally built their dream home in the Missouri countryside: a magazine-worthy log cabin situated on five acres of wooded land. All was well. The house was completed and we moved in. But at some point during the construction process, ladybugs had laid eggs in one of the interior rooms–specifically, what would become my room.
After a few weeks, the eggs hatched. Thousands of them. While the room had been open to the environment when they were deposited, it was now sealed, locking the beetles inside the house along with me. They were everywhere: in my bed, my clothes, my hair. Their tiny armored bodies blocked out the light that streamed through my windows as they swarmed toward what they thought was freedom. My father would vacuum my room every day (taking the wriggling, writhing mass of insects outside for disposal), only for more ladybugs to appear in their kin’s place. This continued for months before a significant majority of the monsters had been rehomed outside (where I assume they went on to reproduce more of their abhorrent kind). Yet, to this day, when visiting my childhood home, I, without fail, find one of them creeping over a couch cushion or across my arm.”

So, back to the contest. The top three stories this week were BLOODWORM by Jonathan Fortin, THE PET by Daphne Straset and THE LAUGHING MAN by Naching T Kassa. But I totally already spoiled it by telling you that Naching won. Her story, set in a war zone and crossed with creepy bedtime tale, won her this week’s mini prize which you can also hear on the podcast.

Next week on the #NGHW contest is challenge number 3! Write a 450-500 word, non-fiction, blog post about anything horror. This is to test our fearsome fifteen’s ability to blog which is a super important asset for any writer’s career. This is a very different challenge that may see some different contestants take the limelight. It will be really interesting to see how the contestants handle non-fiction. They will be judged on:
• Blog ability. What will appeal to the readers.
• Topic interest. Is it something horror addicts are interested in today.
• Writing quality.
The winner will have their subject discussed on a prominent horror podcast.
So, who will you follow? Perhaps you will be on #teamjonathan – the gothic, demon lover with a taste for the unique and bizarre – or #teamfeind – Cthulu’s best friend and our favourite metal head – or #teamquentin – our filmmaking fan of Frankenstein’s monster – or #teamriley – the beautiful cosplaying gal who loves herself a little bit of Freddy. Let us know in the comments or on the social media.

Stay spooky!

Hugs xxx

Adelise M Cullens

#NGHW 300-Word WINNER! Naching T. Kassa

Winner for episode #138

The Laughing Man

by Naching T. Kassa

The heart was still warm when I found it near the latrines. It hung from the barbwire fence like some hellish Christmas ornament, dripping blood into the muck below. I wasn’t sure who it belonged to.

It might’ve been Private Jefferson’s or Lieutenant Blackmore’s. They’d gone missing and Sargent Collins had laid the blame on the Hun’s doorstep. I knew the truth, though. My mum had told me long before I took up my gun and gasmask.

“Go to sleep, Johnny,” she’d said one night before bed. “Sleep before Laughing Man comes. If he catches you awake, he’ll rip your heart out and hang it up to dry.”

“Does he come every night,” I had asked.

“He does. If you smell almonds, he’s coming. And, if you hear him whisper your name, he’s testing to see whether you’re awake.”

“What if I can’t sleep?”

“Best pretend, love. Pretend and pray.”

The memory of her words kept me from the trench and the squirming shadows which filled it. I returned to my dug-out as quickly as I could.

The blanket had grown cold in my absence. I huddled under it and would’ve drifted off if the scent of almonds hadn’t wafted in.

“Johnny?” a voice whispered.

I froze. Something moved in the moonlight. It dropped to all fours and peered through my doorway.

“You awake, Johnny?”

Moonglow didn’t favor the creature. Instead, it laid bare every flaw in his leprous face. I shut my eyes but the image of oozing sores remained. He hadn’t changed.

“Johnny?”

I answered with a snore as I had always done. A moment later, his cold hand clutched my throat.

“I’ve always known you were awake,” he said.

Laughter echoed throughout the dug-out and, like a malevolent lullaby, it bore me to my final rest.

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Listen to the contestants battle for points this season on HorrorAddicts.net

#NGHW TOP Seven 300-word Stories

TOP 7 / 300-WORD STORIES featured on #138

1. 1: LARVAE by Sumiko SaulsonLARVAE – A sliver of sunlight pierced the stagnant air of the subbasement, illuminating claw marks in the mossy walls. Under the stream of light I observed bloodstains at the base of my torn nailbed. I winced. The iron-rich smell would attract the creature.Its piteous mewling arose from the depths. I nervously kicked soil into the tunnel at my feet. I had to escape before it returned. Clutching the soil, my fingers dug deep within. Quickly, I ascended. I was six feet up when I felt a tug at my feet. Looking down in horror, I witnessed the creature’s bloated, white body creeping up my pants leg.

   “Get off me, foul thing!” I screamed, kicking the hideous larvae. It was three feet long. Its maw oozed putrescent yellow fluids reeking of fetid lard. That evil oral emanation hit toe of my sneaker, melting canvas and eating away at flesh. I screamed in pain, kicking loose the shoe, sending the maggot dropping below with it.

   The small crevice at the top of the well was just feet away. Heart racing, I redoubled my efforts to scale the wall. A nail broke with a gut-wrenching crack. I felt blood rush out from under the cloth, hot and sticky. I began to calculate how much pressure it would take to knock the wooden cap off the well.

   A new sound emerged. Loud buzzing that grew rapidly closer. I felt wiry hairs touch the back of my neck. Against my will, I turned to look.

   A monstrous fly stared at me with its compound eye. It’s voice, high-pitched and querulous, vibrated against my maddened eardrum. “I bet you didn’t know we evolved,” it said, arrogantly hissing before its mandibles slid into the unyielding flesh of my eyelid, tearing asunder the fragile orb underneath.

   2: THE PET by Daphne Strasert

   THE PET

   You first found your precious baby while she cowered under a car—tiny, trembling, more fur than flesh. Such a helpless angel… you couldn’t leave her to the cruelty of the streets.

   You recline on the couch, Netflix droning in the background and your snuggle muffin nuzzled against your chest. Her breathing lulls you into the blissful space between sleeping and waking. You stroke her fur, careful to avoid the sharp spines, and trace each of the prominent bones that protrude from her back. The tip of her tail coils around your wrist, forming a vice of soft hair. Loving cupcake, you’d do anything to keep her happy.

   You coo at her and she raises her head, blinking each of her four eyes in turn. A rumbling hum passes from her body through yours and she stretches to rub her nose against your arm. She nibbles at your finger and three rows of jagged teeth prick your skin, a minor pain while you swim in an ocean of bliss. Warmth trickles along your hand, followed by the rasp of your sweet pumpkin’s tongue and a crunch as her jaw snaps bone. You murmur affectionate words of encouragement. You would never deprive her of happiness over something as insignificant as an appendage. She gnaws at the edges of your mangled finger, mewing between nips.

   Blood and flesh—you have plenty to spare for your darling. After all, your body is useless if it cannot cater to her. Any pain is worthwhile if you can provide what she needs. Isn’t that what you want? To be with her—a part of her—together forever? You’ll give anything for your dear pet. Even your life.

   Especially your life.

   Story 3: LINGUA by JC Martinez

   LINGUA

   The rotten smell comes from the body it left in the shower. It’s grown worse. It’s almost my time.

   I hear something. A muffled splash, like a wet towel hitting the floor repeatedly. Its footsteps. Then, another sound, like the towel getting wrung. It’s disposing of the body. It’ll come for me next.

   I close my eyes as the closet doors fly open. I close them hard, but I still see it. There’s nothing human about its shape, except for the… tongues. It’s all made of lilac tongues, grouped together like tangled hanks of yarn. I don’t know how it sees, for it has no eyes. I can make out no noses or ears either, just those tongues that wiggle wildly in all directions.

   It grabs me by the waist, pulls me toward it. God, no. It yanks my feet, lifting me effortlessly. The tongues are everywhere now, all over my legs and arms and torso, leaving a slimy trail that dries swiftly over my skin.

   Its tongues are over my closed eyes too. It pulls gently at my eyelids, as if caressing them. I want to scream, but I don’t. All I can do is cry silently, and that’s exactly what it wants.

   It tastes my tears. It drinks them.

   Over the next weeks, it’ll keep me alive, feeding me that strange marmalade that I don’t know where it gets from. It’ll keep me alive, savoring my tears and sweat and saliva, and any other body fluid that it craves.

   After it grows tired of my taste, it’ll leave me to starve to death in that putrid shower. I’m not sure how it’ll do away with my body, but since I can see no other, I guess it’ll devour it whole.

   So much for an open-casket funeral.

   Story 4: BLOODWORM by Jonathan Fortin

   BLOODWORM

   It started with wriggling under her fingernails. Sam ignored the feeling. It was late, and most of the office had left, but she had to finish this report.

   Then came heat, flushing her back and brow with sweat. Sam slipped off her hoodie. She was probably reacting badly to the meds she’d ordered off eBay. They’d looked shifty, but she’d had no choice—this scummy place didn’t provide health insurance.

   The wriggling sensation spread through her body. She felt dizzy and numb, her fingers punching random keys. “Shit…” She couldn’t let this distract her from the deadline. She tried to sit up.

   Her body didn’t respond.

   A red worm poked out between her knuckles. Then another, from her wrist.

   Terror hit her like a train. The meds—did they house parasites? Was she now their host? She’d been so stupid to take them!

   She tried to scream, but instead fell off the chair and became fetal on the floor. She choked as worms crawled up her throat and out her mouth like regurgitated noodles. They plugged her nose and burrowed out her eyes, popping them. Pain rushed through her as worms ripped out her back and twisted into sinuous, red-soaked ropes.

   Blind, she felt her body rise up from the floor, like a puppet. She took steps against her will.

   “Sam?” A voice. Her boss! She tried to tell him to run, but her mouth was blocked. Vomit rushed up and back down again.

   She couldn’t stop. Her hand collided with something, just as her boss began to scream. She pummeled over and over amidst wet sounds until the screaming ceased.

   Sam felt his still body with her fingers. She felt worms slip out from her and burrow into him.

   And then, soon after, she heard him stand.

   Together they lurched.

   Story 5: The ODDMENTS Monster by Adele Marie Par

   Corners hold secrets that burst forth like rotting fruit when darkness falls.

   A blackness within the dark. Shapes that form to become objects of dread as they begin to move. A puppet dance with no master.

   This is the jerky, raggedy birth of the Oddments Monster.

   Tommy’s safe world no longer existed. It had exploded into shards when his father died.

   The house became a lifeless tomb that he and his mother shuffled through.

   She trailed dust and dirty clothes behind her.

   Tommy was a ghost, incorporeal, unheard.

   Perfect conditions for the Oddments Monster.

   Wrapped up like a mummy in his bed, Tommy waited. Frightened into silence and rapid puffs of breath.

   A crackling sigh vibrated around the room. A slithering sound followed, evocative of a snake shedding its skin.

   The atmosphere became heavy. He gulped air like a fish stranded on land. He felt compelled to look and when he did…..

   Blackness filled his dirty clothes. A striped t-shirt wavered and flapped. Jeans bent at the knees and wobbled into an upright position. A crusty, grey handkerchief became a face. The centre puckered inwards to form a rudimentary mouth.

   The monster moved.

   Tommy cried.

   It lurched towards him, eyes made from lost buttons. Black as coal with twin, red, pinpricks of evil intelligence behind them.

   The raggedy thing leaned over Tommy’s paralyzed body.

   The stench of its breath was forgotten memories and sorrow.

   “Dust and ashes you will be, Tommy boy.”

   His trembling bladder gave way and the sharp smell of urine drew the monster closer.

   Ancient bubble gum drooled from it’s puckered mouth and dribbled onto Tommy’s face.

   He opened his mouth to scream but the monster kissed him. He tasted death and dirt as the monster sucked his breath.

   Story 6: THE LAUGHING MAN by Naching T. Kassa

   The heart was still warm when I found it near the latrines. It hung from the barbwire fence like some hellish Christmas ornament, dripping blood into the muck below. I wasn’t sure who it belonged to.

   It might’ve been Private Jefferson’s or Lieutenant Blackmore’s. They’d gone missing and Sargent Collins had laid the blame on the Hun’s doorstep. I knew the truth, though. My mum had told me long before I took up my gun and gasmask.

   “Go to sleep, Johnny,” she’d said one night before bed. “Sleep before Laughing Man comes. If he catches you awake, he’ll rip your heart out and hang it up to dry.”

   “Does he come every night,” I had asked.

   “He does. If you smell almonds, he’s coming. And, if you hear him whisper your name, he’s testing to see whether you’re awake.”

   “What if I can’t sleep?”

   “Best pretend, love. Pretend and pray.”

   The memory of her words kept me from the trench and the squirming shadows which filled it. I returned to my dug-out as quickly as I could.

   The blanket had grown cold in my absence. I huddled under it and would’ve drifted off if the scent of almonds hadn’t wafted in.

   “Johnny?” a voice whispered.

   I froze. Something moved in the moonlight. It dropped to all fours and peered through my doorway.

   “You awake, Johnny?”

   Moonglow didn’t favor the creature. Instead, it laid bare every flaw in his leprous face. I shut my eyes but the image of oozing sores remained. He hadn’t changed.

   “Johnny?”

   I answered with a snore as I had always done. A moment later, his cold hand clutched my throat.

   “I’ve always known you were awake,” he said.

   Laughter echoed throughout the dug-out and, like a malevolent lullaby, it bore me to my final rest.

   Story 7: Always Hungry by Cat Voleur

   ALWAYS HUNGRY

   It was horrible when the sound stopped. For the last few hours Kimi had been forced to listen to the slurps of the creature’s messy eating – interrupted only by the occasional cracking and crunching of bone. Sickening though it had been, it was preferable to the silence in which she was now stuck.

   They have an insatiable hunger for human flesh that grows as rapidly as the beasts themselves.

   Her grandmother had believed strongly in the Algonquin lore with which she had been raised, and Kimi had heard many such stories growing up.

   If only I had listened.

   The beast had stopped eating, which could mean only one thing; it was out of food.

   For a moment it lingered, still crouching in the bloodstained snow a safe distance from dying campfire. Elongated limbs extended from the emaciated torso at strange, unnatural angles. Even in the warm glow of the embers Kimi could see that the skin stretched thinly over its skeletal frame was a sickly, mottled gray.

   It was all she could do not to gag as the thing straightened and she caught a whiff of its decaying scent.

   At its full height, she saw that it was clearly taller than it had been prior to the feast, and Kimi gasped at the realization its head would now be level with the branch where she was hiding.

   It turned toward the noise.

   For the first time she could see it in all its grotesque glory. Teeth jutted in all angles from the gaping, gore-filled maw. Its distorted facial features were dripping with blood. Worst were its eyes – two black orbs that were sunken deeply into the deformed skull, reflecting no light.

   She knew in that instant she would not be spared.

   The wendigo is always hungry.

---

Listen to the contestants battle for points this season on HorrorAddicts.net

HorrorAddicts.net, 138 #NGHW Guest Judge: Mark Eller

Horror Addicts Episode# 138
SEASON 12 – The Next Great Horror Writer Contest

JUDGES:

Horror Hostess: Emerian Rich

Judge: H.E. Roulo

Guest Judge: Mark Eller

Intro Music by: Valentine Wolfe

———————

The top 7 of the 300 Word Monster Stories.

Find all articles and interviews at: http://www.horroraddicts.net

 

193 Days till Halloween

Intro of judges, prizes, and contest.

Read of 7 300/word stories.

Contestants: Feind Gottes, Naching T. Kassa, Jess Landry, AE Kirk, Timothy G. Huguenin, Sumiko Saulson, Cat Voleur, Quentin Norris, Jonathan Fortin, Adele Marie Park, JC Martinez, Harry Husbands, Riley J. Pierce, Daphne Strasert.

HA.Net News:  #NGHW News by Adelise M. Cullens

By the Fire by David Waston

Scarlett Dahlia by Jesse Orr

Free Fiction by Kay Tracy

Darwin Decay.by J.C. Eickleberg

2017 HorrorAddicts.net Anthology, Clockwork Wonderland coming in May

2018 Anthology, Crescendo of Darkness submissions

Nightmare Fuel by DJ Pitsilatis

Drunk Dracula Where Nightmares Come From

Kenzie Kordic Psychological Horror: The Scariest Of Them All

Crystal Connor Psychos

Kbatz Victor Frankenstein, 2015

David’s Haunted Library: The Final Reconciliation/Skin Deep/Ordinary Monsters by Frank Martin.

Press Releases:

Dark Regions Press Summer of Night by Dan Simmons

Bird Box by Josh Malerman

All of the Flesh Served by Terry M. West

The House of Nodens by Sam Gafford

What do Monsters Fear by Matt Hayward at Post-Mortem Press

World Gone and their new video Feed the Machine

Valentine Wolf. They’ve started production on a new album. Watch behind the scenes video on the blog.

Brian Mosher and his Down and out Art.

Next challenge announced.

Winner announced.

“Broken Pieces” by Valentine Wolfe

http://valentinewolfe.bandcamp.com/track/broken-pieces

HorrorAddicts.net blog Kindle syndicated

http://www.amazon.com/HorrorAddicts-net/dp/B004IEA48W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1431022701&sr=8-1&keywords=horroraddicts.net

———————–

Write in re: ideas, questions, opinions, horror cartoons, favorite movies, etc…

horroraddicts@gmail.com

————————

h o s t e s s

Emerian Rich

s t a f f

David Watson, Stacy Rich, Dan Shaurette, KBatz (Kristin Battestella), Mimielle, D.J. Pitsiladis, Jesse Orr, Crystal Connor, Lisa Vasquez, Adelise M. Cullens.

Want to be a part of the HA staff? Email horroraddicts@gmail.com

b l o g  / c o n t a c t / s h o w . n o t e s

http://www.horroraddicts.net

 

 

#NGHW News 137

Hello Addicts!

I tell you what, I thought I was excited before but now, that I have seen what our fearsome 15 are capable of, I am just about imploding with dark delight.

The stories we experienced this week were the words that won our 15 a spot in this comp and it is easy to see why they got in. Some stories made me laugh (maniacally, because my sense of humor is a little messed up) I even got a little teary-eyed. And of course the goose bumps…

And isn’t that one of the best parts about horror?

That moment that turns your skin to gooseflesh, sending a shiver over your body, creeping you out and possibly (if you are so lucky) making you a little skittish.

This is what these authors managed to do in just 100 words.

It takes a lot of talent to write a great 100-word story and our fearsome 15 just nailed it. I’m totally glad I am not on the judging panel because that would be bloody hard.

We also got to learn a bit more about our 15, which was cool. You can learn more about them and even connect with your favs by going here and following them up on the social media. I have spoken to the authors and have a few messages for all you addicts out there…

“I loved listening to all our stories. It felt amazing and I’m still smiling now. I’m enjoying the contest and the challenges set, so far, lol, I’m grateful that I was picked to participate. I’m just so happy about it. I’d like to wish us all good luck in the coming months and a huge thank you to all who arranged the contest and judges and everyone behind the scenes. A big thank you to you as well” -Adele Marie Park

“I’m feeling proud to hear something I’ve written read out on such a well-produced podcast. I’m proud that I’m competing alongside such great horror writers and I’ve really got my work cut out for me.

I just want to say how awesome it is that horror has incredible writers to keep the genre alive and that this contest is doing such a great job of showcasing them. I loved everyone’s stories and it only makes me more excited to see what everyone can produce as the contest develops.” -Harry Husbands

“I am enjoying myself very much, I am writing, and I hope we (as in the addicts) can keep reading the beautiful stories that all the contestants write. I think success is that, to just “make good art” … as Neil Gaiman would say.” -JC Martinez

This week, Emz and Dan also discussed the reasons why these 15 were chosen and why you, if you entered, may have been passed over. So if you entered but are not a chosen one, don’t be disheartened and sit there in the corner screaming “WHY!?” Take a listen, they shed some light and some of the things that they talk about are super important for aspiring writers.

At the moment, all of our 15 are on a level playing field, but that will all change next week … Only the 3 stories will air on the show next week. But only one of them will win that challenge and take home that weeks mini prize.

So, who will you follow? Perhaps you will be on #teamcat – the Dothraki speaking goth – or #teamtimothy – our West Virginian Stephen King – or #teamjess – the girl-next-door who appears sweet on the outside but is creepy on the inside. Let us know in the comments or on the social media.

Stay spooky!

Hugs xxx

Adelise M Cullens

 

#NGHW – Guest Judge : Mark Eller

This week, we welcome guest judge, Mark Eller. Mark will be helping us judge the 300-word Monster stories and reading the winner’s story!

Mark Eller

Mark Eller spent twenty years happily writing stories and then throwing them away. Then he met his future wife. She got mad about him throwing things away so he then happily began writing books, publishing his shorts, and creating audio-fiction podcasts, including The Hell Hole Tavern, Mercy Bend, and Traitor book one of the Turner Chronicles. He can be found most days sitting in his man cave with his fingers busy typing because new stories are constantly running through his head.

By The Fire: Episode 137 100 Word Horror Stories

Hello Addicts, the new season of the Horror Addicts podcast has begun and things are a little different this season. Season 12 of the horroraddicts.net podcast is all about The Next Great Horror Writer Contest. Since the competition was announced we’ve had over 130 people who entered the contest. The first challenge for the writers was to make a 100-word horror story, which brings us to the topic of this blog post. For each new challenge that our contestants perform I will be writing a post about the challenge.  I’ll be calling this series of posts,  By The Fire to give the feeling that we’re sitting by the fire and talking about the topic.

Writing a 100-word horror story is no easy task if you ask me. In just a few words you have to tell a story and scare someone with it. So the most important part of a short scary story is the description. Be it a haunted house, scary monster or possibly a horrific massacre, making it come to life is the most important part of the story. The 100-word horror story is a great test of a writer’s skill because to get a reaction you have to do it quick.

Two other elements that are important to the 100-word horror story is for it to have the main character and a conflict. The main character doesn’t have to be good or bad but he or she does have to be involved in some kind of conflict. It could be someone describing a murder they are about to commit or maybe someone running from a monster, whatever it is there has to be a conflict. So to sum things up there are three important elements to the 100-word horror story: Description, the main character, and conflict.

A great thing about a 100-word story is that they’re a quick way to get to know a new writer.  A good short horror story can pack a wallop and if it’s really good it can revisit you in your nightmares. So horror addicts, do you have a favorite 100-word horror story, or do you want to tell us a 100-word story? If you have a scary tale to tell share it with us in the comments and don’t forget to listen to episode 137 of the podcast to hear some short stories from our Next Great Horror Writer contestants.

#NGHW TOP 100-word Stories

TOP / 100-WORD STORIES

1. Last Days of Sunlight

by Feind Gottes

Her heart began to pound in her chest as though it would burst at any moment. The steel bands of anxiety tightened threatening to suffocate her. The last beams of light were coming through the window now, ushering in another nightmare filled night. He only crept in to torment her once the sun was gone. Blood dripped to the floor from the dozens of wounds covering her tiny frame. The last ray of sunlight burned out and died signaling a new night of terror. The last, she hoped. A tear rolled down her cheek as the door creaked slowly open.

---

2. Bully

By: Naching T. Kassa

Bobby stood by his grandfather’s grave, his eye swollen shut. Cory ran up, Bobby’s blood on his shirt.

“Give me your money,” Cory said, as he halted. “Or I’ll break your nose.”

Bobby glowered at his tormentor. “No. He told me not to.”

Cory glanced around. They were alone in the cemetery.

“Who?”

“My grampa.”

“You’re nuts.”

Bobby flipped him off.

Cory charged forward. Bobby side-stepped him and he fell on the grave.

A dirty skull rose from the earth and sank its teeth into Cory’s throat. He screamed.

“You shouldn’t have come,” Bobby said. “Grampa eats bullies for breakfast.”

---

3. MOUNDS

by Jess Landry

The rain started to fall just as I finished up. As the cool mist washed over me, I was reminded of something my Baba had told me when I was little.

“Julia,” she had said. “There will be two great loves in your life. The first will be a beautiful home—”

(Currently burning to the ground)

“—And the second will be a caring, loving man to call your own.”

I tossed the shovel aside. The rain cleared the sweat and grime from my face as I sat on the mound of dirt I had once called my husband.

---

4. Lily House

By AE Kirk

Walking down a gravel path at twilight, I made no sound as I stopped and saw a wooden cross that had been taken by the wind. It bore no name. It was just a simple marker. I placed it in my pocket. I passed by the others who came before me; they stared at their marble, their sandstone or slate. I felt sorry for those whose stones were covered by ivy, or ravaged by weather and time. I found my stone, newly cut, placed just today. Lily House. 1994-2000. Rest In Peace. I cried and lay beside my grave, alone.

---

5. A True Artisan

by Timothy G. Huguenin

The baker thought of Carol as he kneaded. He’d been captivated by her frame—slight, tender—he loved her.

The dough was too wet. He reached into his flour sack. Empty. He had to make more. A true artisan, he milled his own flour. Nothing like stone-ground flour.

The walk to his shed was cold. No matter; the mill would warm him.

The light from the opening door fell upon his dog, gnawing a bone.

“Git outta there.”

The dog slunk away.

The light expanded to show the old millstone and the bone pile, waiting.

Carol, he thought. He smiled.

---

6. Tributaries

By Sumiko Saulson

In horror films, there’s a moment the audience knows our heroine should run. We scream at the idiot looming large before us, hoisted high above on silver lenticular projected through cellulose in particles of light.

Yelling at the movie, I don’t notice the monster leaning against me for comfort. Nearby monsters are difficult to identify.

A raised rash spreads over my shoulder where your head lay against me. Mold spreads outward, green and black tendrils where your fingers grasped mine.

This isn’t your fault.

Now, we are trapped, phantoms in the theater, offstage, in seats below, no audience watching us.

---

7. The Count of Three

By Cat Voleur

“I love you,” he said, who had never loved anyone.

“I love you too,” she said, who had loved far too many.

“Together, then?” He asked, though he was not prepared to jump.

“Together,” she said, stepping up onto the ledge beside him.

“The count of three?” He asked.

She was ready, so with a sad smile she started off their count rather than to answer. “One.”

“Two.” He replied.

“Three.” She pushed him off and watched lovingly as he plummeted toward the rushing waters below. He didn’t scream as he fell. That was disappointing. Her other boyfriends had screamed.

---

8. Wax on the Doorknob

By Quentin Norris

Emily called me at three in the morning, still breathing hard. She told me she’d seen the man standing behind her in the reflection on her phone. Standing under a streetlamp, he wore a black coat, his face and hands were covered in dripping wax. He’d followed her home, and tried to open her door, and was now standing in her yard. I peeked out the window at her house across the street, yet saw nothing. Everything seemed fine as I walked over, but my heart stopped when I reached for her doorknob and saw wax cooling on its surface.

---

9. Fairies

by Jonathan Fortin

Fairies are eating my ex. She lies on a banquet table, smiling at me as they pierce her eyes with needle teeth and drag razor nails down her breasts. My breath quivers. I instinctively know she’s no longer mine, even if we never broke up.

“It’s wonderful, darling,” she says, with a voice that’s not her own. “I am devoured every night, and reborn every morning. I am courted, danced with, and given beautiful dresses.

Dearest, won’t you join me? Won’t you be eaten too?”

I know I should run, but I miss her so much. I reach for her.

---

10. Friend

By Adele Marie Park

A scratching, beastly noise. The prick of fear, sharp as a needle quivers through me. I am alone in the house.

I grip the bannister. Knuckles blanched. Only shadows thrown by the electric light.

I climb. My pulse racing deafens sound. Breathing laboured. Suffocating with foreboding.

Sweat moulds hair to my face. I turn the handle and push the door. Shadows sharpen into familiar objects except: an unknown darkness manifests before me.

My throat fills with bile. Frozen in terror. I scream.

Putrid smell of garbage fills my nostrils. Revulsion gags in my mouth as shrivelled lips tickle my ear.

---

11. Grandma

By JC Martinez

I close my eyes, because Grandma asked me to do so.

I sit on the floor, behind the bed, as far away as possible from the room’s door, just like Grandma instructed.

The hinges creak. The sound makes me cringe. The footsteps even more so. But it’s just Grandma. I think.

She doesn’t speak, but I feel her breath on my face. I can smell it. Minty. Almost like toothpaste.

Something wraps my nose. Something slimy and wet, like a tongue. Makes me feel… uneasy.

But I don’t open my eyes. I never do.

Because Grandma told me not to.

---

12. The Inevitable

By Harry Husbands

The black shape ballooned upward from behind Doctor Forster’s shoulder, then began to take on a human form made entirely of shadow. It was not the first time Michael had seen this figure—though never so close—and with muscles tensed, gripping his knees, he tried listening to the Doctor who spoke with an ashen face of pity.

“It’s cancer, Michael.” The Doctor said before continuing on at length about potential treatments and support groups. Michael paid no attention. His eyes were fixed instead on the apparition and the awful grin that emerged from its otherwise dark and featureless face.

 

14. Dinner at the Millers

By Riley Pierce

Babysitting for the Millers the first time, Abby pressed the channel button looking for something that would keep her attention long enough to stay awake through dinner. Clutching the baby monitor, she ate another bite and smiled. The colicky child was now silent. It had only taken an hour, but she was proud of herself for handling little Eric and his seemingly endless cries. Happily settling on a cooking channel, she glanced at the clock and wiped his blood from her cheek. Daniel and Jayda would be home soon. Stew next, Abby thought, I think I’d like to try stew.

---

15. Till Death

By Daphne Straasert

My bridesmaids would think I’m nuts if I told them. Nothing’s changed about him—he has the same face, same laugh as my fiancé—but he’s different.

The wedding blurs by in a parade of hugs and congratulations. I’m not alone with him until the limo door shuts behind me. In the silence, the air between us chills.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?”

I slide my hand from his. “You’re not Michael. You’re not my husband.”

His smile doesn’t warm his eyes. “Maybe not Michael… but your husband?” He leans forward so his breath tickles my ear. “Until death do us part.”

---

Listen to the contestants battle for points this season on HorrorAddicts.net

#NGHW Contestant Recap

Listed in alphabetical order.

JONATHAN FORTIN Age: 29 From: El Cerrito, CA, USA Twitter As a child, Jonathan Fortin was perpetually terrified, so of course he grew up to be a horror writer. Haunted by tales that grow in his head like demonic children, Jonathan believes that a good horror story is first and foremost a good story—just one where particularly awful things happen. Facebook / Website

FEIND GOTTES Age: 44 From: Dewittville, NY, USA Twitter A late night viewing of Phantasm lit a terrible spark that led Feind to Stephen King then to the fantastical worlds of Clive Barker. Feind attempts to weave all the many facets of horror into his own tales using metal as his inspiration. Shhhh… he’s right behind you! Facebook / Website

TIMOTHY G. HUGUENIN Age: 27 From: Bartow, WV USA Twitter Timothy G. Huguenin grew up in Appalachia, a storytelling culture, where ghost tales around the camp fire are common. He wants to be a strong literary voice for West Virginia as well as for horror in general. Major influences are King and Poe, and he’s really digging Ligotti right now.  Facebook / Website

HARRY HUSBANDS Age: 27 From: Peterborough, UK Facebook Harry spends the majority of his day in an office. In the evening, he writes furiously all the disturbed imaginings dwelled upon while completing banal admin tasks. He crafts tales with subtle terror that are dipped in humor and roasted slowly over an infectious passion for all things horror related. Twitter / Website

NACHING KASSA Age: 41 From: Valley, WA, USA Twitter Naching T. Kassa devours fear, breathes terror, and bleeds dread. She has loved horror ever since she was a child and that passion has never wavered nor died. She knows the joy of fright and her greatest wish is to spread the madness among her readers. Join her journey today. Facebook / Pintrest / Website

AE KIRK Age: 30 From: Devon, England Twitter “I’m a 30 year old Stephen King admirer with a penchant for writing about the dead. I live in the UK with my husband and my non-brave Cavalier King Charles called Ginny. I work in the Healthcare Sector by day and by night I scare the pants off my readers.” Facebook / Website

JESS LANDRY Age: 30 From: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Facebook Since the day she was born, Jess Landry has always been attracted to the darker things in life. Her fondest childhood memories include getting nightmares from the Goosebumps books, watching The Hilarious House of Frightenstein, and reiterating to her parents that there was absolutely nothing wrong with her mental state. Twitter /  Website

JC MARTINEZ Age: 27 From: Metepec, Estado de México, México Facebook “I used to be afraid of the dark. I wouldn’t go as far as saying that, now, the dark is afraid of me, but I do know that since I’ve embraced it, it’s filled my dreams with beautiful nightmares. Nightmares that I hope to scare the whole world with.” Website

PATRICK R. McDONOUGH Age: 28 From: Somers Point, New Jersey, USA Facebook “Everything I fear, hate, love, and am passionate about, as well as the what-if scenarios, are the ingredients to my stories. Reality is the perspective of an individual…and horror is a shifting-reality with an endless supply of terror.” Twitter / Website

QUENTIN NORRIS Age: 26 From: Austin, Texas, USA Twitter For as long as he can remember, Quentin Norris has been afraid of the dark.  This fear was a hindrance to him, but one day he realized that he could harness this fear.  Now he uses his terror as inspiration to craft the most spine-tingling tales for his audience. Website

ADELE MARIE PARK Age: 53 From: Morayshire, Scotland Facebook “Horror invaded my life and I devoured everything it threw at me. Stephen King, Ramsay Campbell, Anne Rice and Clive Barker. Horror holds my hand tightly. I can’t escape and I don’t want to. I write to scare. The monster under the bed is my reality. Welcome to my world.” Website

RILEY J. PIERCE Age: 31 From: Rice Lake, WI, USA Twitter “When things go bump in the night, some will pray it is the wind. I will pray it is not. For as long as I can remember, I’ve sought out horror and the unknown. From Alvin Schwartz to William Peter Blatty, horror has been my lifelong companion. Writing has allowed me to become a literary Frankenstein, and I can’t wait to introduce the monsters I’ve created.” Website

SUMIKO SAULSON Age: 48 From: Oakland, CA, USA Twitter “Horror is my primary literary genre. My parents were ardent fans. I read my first horror novel, Peter Straub’s Ghost Story, when I was ten. For me, horror is about processing our primal fears as a species and attempting to survive in hostile environments. I find writing horror supremely therapeutic.” Website

DAPHNE STRASERT Age: 27 From: Houston, Texas, USA Facebook “To be honest, I’m a coward. Yet, I adore putting my fear on paper. I love to transform words into a reality that slithers off the page and claws inside you. I write so you feel my terror crawl up your spine and turn you into a coward like me.” Twitter / Website

CAT VOLEUR Age: 22 From:  Mobile, Alabama, USA Twitter Cat Voleur lives and breathes horror. She runs a blog that celebrates the genre in all its mediums because she loves sharing that passion and supplying scares to fellow horror junkies. Now her attention has turned to writing fiction about what she knows best; fear. Website

HorrorAddicts.net, 137 The Next Great Horror Writer Contest

Horror Addicts Episode# 137
SEASON 12 – The Next Great Horror Writer Contest

JUDGES:

Horror Hostess: Emerian Rich

Head of Publishing: Dan Shaurette

Intro Music by: Valentine Wolfe

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The top 15 are chosen. 100 Word Stories.

Find all articles and interviews at: http://www.horroraddicts.net

 

206 Days till Halloween

Intro of judges, prizes, and contest.

Read of 15 100/word stories.

Contestants: Feind Gottes, Naching T. Kassa, Jess Landry, AE Kirk, Timothy G. Huguenin, Sumiko Saulson, Cat Voleur, Quentin Norris, Jonathan Fortin, Adele Marie Park, JC Martinez, Harry Husbands, Patrick R. McDonough, Riley J. Pierce, Daphne Strasert.

Next challenge announced.

 

“Broken Pieces” by Valentine Wolfe

http://valentinewolfe.bandcamp.com/track/broken-pieces

HorrorAddicts.net blog Kindle syndicated

http://www.amazon.com/HorrorAddicts-net/dp/B004IEA48W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1431022701&sr=8-1&keywords=horroraddicts.net

 

———————–

Write in re: ideas, questions, opinions, horror cartoons, favorite movies, etc…

horroraddicts@gmail.com

————————

h o s t e s s

Emerian Rich

s t a f f

David Watson, Stacy Rich, Dan Shaurette, KBatz (Kristin Battestella), Mimielle, D.J. Pitsiladis, Jesse Orr, Crystal Connor, Lisa Vasquez, Adelise M. Cullens.

Want to be a part of the HA staff? Email horroraddicts@gmail.com

b l o g  / c o n t a c t / s h o w . n o t e s

http://www.horroraddicts.net

#NGHW – JUDGES

The Next Great Horror Writer Contest  judging panel is made up of these Judges +
1-2 Guest Judges on each episode.

Emerian Rich Publisher, HorrorAddicts.net Emerian Rich created HorrorAddicts.net as a place for horror addicts, by horror addicts, glorifying every aspect of the horror lifestyle. Emerian is the author of Night’s Knights Vampire Series, Artistic License, and has been involved in dozens of podcast and story projects. She was the editor of the horror ‘zine DarkLives for ten years starting in the mid-nineties. To find out more about Emerian, visit her site at: emzbox.com

Dan Shaurette Head of Publishing, HorrorAddicts.net Dan is a goth-geek, born in Phoenix, AZ. He’s been a fan of horror and especially vampires ever since seeing Bela Lugosi’s Dracula as a young child. He is the author of the vampire novel, Lilith’s Love. He is a fan of most sub-genres but prefers those that have a dark tale to tell versus pure shock-schlock. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. You can find him online at DanShaurette.com.

H.E. Roulo Author, HorrorAddicts.net Heather Roulo is a Seattle author. Her short stories appear in several dozen publications, including Nature and Fantasy’s special Women Destroy Fantasy issue. Plague Master: Sanctuary Dome is the first book in her Plague Masters Series. To hear the audio drama of the short story that inspired Plague Master: Sanctuary Dome, visit The Omega Road Chronicles Audio Drama online. Find out more at heroulo.com.

GUEST JUDGES

Annette Curtis Klause Annette was born in Bristol, England and moved to the United States when she was a teenager.  She daydreamed constantly while growing up, and she turned some of those fantasies into stories and poems. Her first novel The Silver Kiss was inspired by vampire poems she wrote when she was fifteen years old.  Annette’s other novels are Alien Secrets, Blood and Chocolate, and Freaks: Alive, on the Inside!  Blood and Chocolate was turned into a movie by MGM. Her most recent short story, “Elf Blood” appears in Welcome to Bordertown, edited by Ellen Kushner and Holly Black. Annette, a retired children’s librarian, currently lives in the Maryland suburbs with her husband and five cats.

Joe Mynhardt A two time Bram Stoker Award nominated South African publisher, non-fiction editor, and online business mentor. Joe is the owner and CEO of Crystal Lake Publishing, which he founded in August, 2012. Since then he’s published and edited short stories, novellas, interviews and essays by the likes of Neil Gaiman, Clive Barker, Ramsey Campbell, Jack Ketchum, Graham Masterton, Adam Nevill, Lisa Morton, Elizabeth Massie, Joe McKinney, Edward Lee, Paul Tremblay, Wes Craven, John Carpenter, George A. Romero, Mick Garris, and hundreds more. Just like Crystal Lake Publishing, Joe believes in reaching out to all authors, new and experienced, and being a beacon of friendship and guidance in the Dark Fiction field. Joe’s influences stretch from Poe, Doyle and Lovecraft to King, Connolly and Gaiman. You can read more about Joe and Crystal Lake Publishing at www.crystallakepub.com or find him on Facebook.

Dario Ciriello, Editor Dario Ciriello is a professional author and the founder of Panverse Publishing. His first novel, Sutherland’s Rules, a crime thriller with a shimmer of the fantastic, was published in 2013. Free Verse and Other Stories, a collection of Dario’s Science Fiction shorts, was released in June 2014. Dario’s latest novel, a horror/suspense novel titled Black Easter, pits love against black magic and demonic possession on a remote, idyllic Greek island. He is currently at work on a new thriller set in 2018 Los Angeles. Dario’s nonfiction book, Aegean Dream, the bittersweet memoir of a year spent on the small Greek island of Skópelos (the real Mamma Mia! island), was a UK travel bestseller in 2012. In addition to writing, Dario, who lives in the Los Angeles Area, offers professional editing, copyediting, and coaching services to indie authors. Look him up on Facebook, Amazon, or on his blog at http://www.dariospeaks.wordpress.com.

Frank H. Woodward Frank H. Woodward is an award-winning producer, director, writer and documentary filmmaker with over 25 years experience in film and television production. His feature documentaries are fueled by a deep love of sci-fi, horror and fantasy. His first documentary was the award winning Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown. His other documentary work includes the critically acclaimed Men In Suits, a look at the art of creature suits and the actors that bring those characters to life. As a screenwriter, Frank wrote the sequel Wrong Turn 6: Last Resort for Fox and the SyFy Original Movie Black Forest. He was also an executive producer on the SyFy International film Firequake. In 2015, Frank completed the short films Balloon and Quint In ’58 (co-directed with Jack Bennett) while writing three of the Elements of Disaster TV film series. A “film entrepreneur”, Frank is thrilled to explore new frontiers for independent filmmakers beyond the Hollywood system.

Mark Eller Mark Eller spent twenty years happily writing stories and then throwing them away. Then he met his future wife. She got mad about him throwing things away so he then happily began writing books, publishing his shorts, and creating audio-fiction podcasts, including The Hell Hole Tavern, Mercy Bend, and Traitor book one of the Turner Chronicles. He can be found most days sitting in his man cave with his fingers busy typing because new stories are constantly running through his head.

The Count The Count is the owner of The Belfry Network, as well as the host of Cemetery Confessions and The Requiem podcast. He is a science enthusiast and avid reader, he also spends his free time as a DJ and blogger.

Tim Reynolds Tim Reynolds isn’t just a fan of Jaime Lee Curtis, she went to his high school…or at least she did for her Prom Night, and Reynolds was there in the cafeteria to watch as a killer stalked her to the beat of bad disco music. The villain of his first novel, The Broken Shield, is Lucifer himself, while the heroine of his latest novel, Waking Anastasia, is a ghost. He’s worked in haunted hotels, reenacted the breakfast scene from ALIEN using real flesh, bone, and blood, and spent two years living a horror he still needs therapy for some thirty years later — teaching Third Grade.

Juilanne Snow Julianne Snow is the author of the Days with the Undead series and Glimpses of the Undead. She is the founder of Zombieholics Anonymous and the Co-Owner and Publicist at Sirens Call Publications. Writing in the realms of speculative fiction, Julianne has roots that go deep into horror and is a member of the Horror Writers Association. With pieces of short fiction in various publications, Julianne always has a few surprises up her sleeves.

Nina D’Arcangela Nina D’Arcangela is a horror devotee who likes to write soul rending snippets of despair, insanity, and pain. She reads anything from splatter matter to dark matter. She’s an UrbEx adventurer and professional photographer whose wanderlust takes her to abandoned locations, decrepit buildings, purportedly haunted places, and old graveyards. Nina is the co-owners of Sirens Call Publications, a co-founding member of the horror writer’s group PenoftheDamned.com, and the owner and resident anarchist of Dark Angel Photography.

Nicole Kurtz Nicole Givens Kurtz is the author of the cyberpunk mystery series, CYBIL LEWIS, and the publisher of Mocha Memoirs Press. Her work has appeared in numerous anthologies and magazines.  Follow her to Other Worlds by visiting her website, Other Worlds Pulp at http://www.nicolegivenskurtz.com

Stacy Rich Blog Editor, HorrorAddicts.net Stacy’s love for all things horror started at a young age with her mother’s interest in ghosts, scary things that go bump in the night and of course an awesome 19th century haunted house. From her teen years to now, Stacy grew her interests to true crime, strange horrors, weird or edgy side. When she isn’t enjoying horror, she’s living the true horror of working a full time job – with the norms.

David Watson David was born in the Quad Cities on the Illinois/Iowa border in 1971. He graduated from Western Illinois University with a degree in Communications. Now he lives in Milwaukee Wisconsin with his wife and kids. His interests include reading (all genres, especially horror), music, power yoga, bike riding, baseball, hiking, and Broadway musicals. He also has an unhealthy addiction to surfing the net, listening to podcasts, and diet soda. Find David’s reviews at: David Watson

Jeremiah Donaldson Jeremiah Donaldson is a SF/horror writer, editor, game designer, artist, free thinker, corporate slave, and overly blunt asshole from Kentucky.

#NGHW Contest Begins!

The Next Great Horror Writer Contest started with one of Emz’s crazy, mad-cap ideas.

“What if we had a writing contest where the winner would get a book contract?”

HorrorAddicts.net had contests in the past. In fact, we’d run two writing/podcasting contests, the Wicked Women Writer’s Challenge and the Masters of Macabre Contest. Podcasters like H.E. Roulo, Rhonda Carpenter, Rish Outfield, and Philip Carroll won as well as awesome writers like Laurel Anne Hill, Shaunessy Ashdown, Rick Kitagawa, and Killion Slade. However, with the great “podfade” that happened in recent years, authors were less-willing to produce their own audio. So what to do?

We decided to base this new contest primarily on writing. The authors would not have to produce their own audioplays and they would be able to concentrate on their craft. But with an awesome prize like a full book contract, we would need a tougher competition. The author that wins this one will have to REALLY want it. 13 challenges have been crafted to test their abilities in several different styles and formats. The winner will have to hold their own with fiction, non-fiction, and script writing.

After Emz asked…

“What if we had a writing contest where the winner would get a book contract?”

There was the matter of actually getting a publisher to help. Crystal Lake Publishing was the first publisher we contacted and the owner, Joe, was on board from the beginning. His enthusiastic interest in the contest helped propel this contest into being. With other sponsors such as Mocha Memoirs Press, Dario Ciriello, Sirens Call Publications, and Pixel Ghost Creations, we started filling in tangible prizes that writers would want to challenge for.

As Season 12 kicks off, we are so excited to have 15 of the brightest, imaginative writers competing to win the whole sha-bang. We hope you’ll join us for this first ever Next Great Horror Writer contest and cheer on your favorites.

For more information about the contestants, judges, and prizes, go to: https://nextgreathorrorwriter.wordpress.com

#NGHW News: Interview with Contestant Naching Kassa

Get to know the contestants of the Next Great Horror Writer Contest!

 

What do you love about horror?

The best thing about horror is the fun. I enjoy watching a movie and identifying with the girl who creeps through the haunted house with a killer on her tail. I love cheering for Ash as he revs his chainsaw or Kolchak as he fires a crossbow at a shape-shifting monster. I can’t wait to turn the page of a great Dean Koontz, Stephen King, or R.L. Stine novel and see whether the character falls victim to a killer or triumphs over him. Most of all, I like to scare those who read my work, to make them question the creak in the floorboard or the scratch of skittering feet. Horror entertains and I love that.

What was the first horror movie/story/book/show that you fell in love with?

The first horror movie I fell in love with was Dracula (1931) with Bela Lugosi. I saw it on TV when I was five and I loved it. I liked Vampires for a long time after that. (When I grew older, I liked werewolves but that’s another story.) My first horror story was told at bedtime. It’s called “Where’s My Golden Arm?”. The ending was especially startling. My first book was “The Phantom of the Opera” by Gaston Leroux. Eric was frightening and tragic. He’s an all to human monster. And, my first horror TV show was “Kolchak: The Nightstalker” starring Darren McGavin. The first episode I saw featured a female vampire. She was frightening. The scene where she killed her sister was just brutal and I loved that a clumsy guy like Carl Kolchak could vanquish such a monster.

Can you describe the sort of horror stories you write?

I write stories of good and evil, of hope glimmering through the darkness. My stories are character driven and entertaining. If the reader isn’t deriving some pleasure from my story, I’m not doing my job.

Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what?

I listen to a lot of rock (mostly Journey and Kiss). I also listen to some country. Tim McGraw’s “Southern Voice” album is haunting and kind of macabre. (There are several songs referring to death.) Bernard Herrman is great. (He composed music for Alfred Hitchcock films.)

Do you have any hobbies besides writing?

I bead, cross-stitch, and embroider.

What is your favourite part about writing?

My favorite part of writing is meeting the characters for the first time. I don’t use an outline so everything is a surprise. I just go where the characters lead.

What is your favourite word?

My favorite word is LOVE.

What is your least favourite word?

My least favorite word is HATE.

What turns you on in a book?

Strong emotion turns me on. (Watchers by Dean Koontz is a prime example of a book that evokes strong emotion.) I have to care about the characters or I won’t enjoy the book.

Why should people be on team Naching?

I’m going to give them chills and thrills. This contest isn’t about me. It’s about the people listening and I want them to have fun. A good writer serves the reader and I’m going to do just that.

Follow the #NGHW Contest, this season on HorrorAddicts.net!

#NGHW News: Interview with Contestant Patrick R. McDonough

Get to know the contestants of the Next Great Horror Writer Contest

What do you love about horror?

I love how it seems to never run out of scares.

What was the first horror movie/story/book/show that you fell in love with?

The first one that I remember falling in love with, was the 1999 remake of “House on Haunted Hill”. It’s a movie that I can watch over and over again, and never lose my love for.

Can you describe the sort of horror stories you write?

My horror stories tend to be more on the strange and macabre side.

Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what?

I almost always listen to music while I write. I listen to nearly everything, from classical to movie and video scores, classic rock, EDM, and nu-metal.

Do you have any hobbies besides writing?

Outside of writing, I enjoy playing video games, riding my bike, and working with my hands.

What is your favourite part about writing?

My favorite part about writing is that I don’t need to pay a therapist loads of money. It’s my positive outlet.

What is your favourite word?

Love, that is my favorite word. That word alone conjures up too many images to describe in this interview. I lovvve it.

What is your least favourite word?

My least favorite word, hmm, never thought about that one before. I don’t think I really have one. I love words! Ut-oh…there I go again with that word.

What turns you on in a book?

Compelling characters and a stimulating story turns me on more than anything in a book. Throw in some fun, new, or obscure words that flow nicely, and you got me sold.

Why should people be on team Patrick?

My roots are buried in New England. My mind is spread amongst the odd wonders of the universe, and my hands release the combination of the two. If those aren’t good enough reasons to join team Patrick, then maybe my stories can convince you otherwise.

 Follow the #NGHW Contest, this season on HorrorAddicts.net!

#NGHW News: Interview with Contestant Jess Landry

Get to know the contestants of the Next Great Horror Writer Contest!

 

What do you love about horror?
That’s a tough one to pinpoint, but I suppose the love is a nostalgic one. My childhood was full of horror, from the Goosebumps books that gave me nightmares, to TV shows like Tales from the Crypt that I used to sneak around to watch — I have nothing but happy memories when I look back at my upbringing. That, and I’ve always had a strong infatuation with strange things.

What was the first horror movie/story/book/show that you fell in love with?
The first movie, in general, I remember falling in love with was Army of Darkness — it definitely shaped my taste in film (and totally leveled up my sarcastic abilities). Book-wise, my first memories are from a kids book called Popcorn. In it, a little bear is left alone on Halloween night while his parents head out to a party. He decides to invite some bear friends over, and everyone brings popcorn as a gift. There’s so much damn popcorn that it fills the whole house and the kids have to eat their way out of it. When his parents come home, they bring him a gift for being a good kid while they went out. And yup, it’s popcorn. I actually still have the book, and it’s now in my little one’s library.

Can you describe the sort of horror stories you write?
I tend to write stories about family bonds, be it between sisters or a father and daughter, any combination, really. I try to focus on having strong yet believable characters that go through extraordinary events. Usually, the characters do not come away unscathed.

Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what?
When I’m writing emotionally charged scenes, I put on Max Richter. He composes some of the most beautiful music I’ve ever heard. I usually listen to instrumental songs only, as I find lyrics can sometimes be distracting (I’m a toe-tapping sing-a-longer).

Do you have any hobbies besides writing?
I’m a voracious reader and movie-watcher: I will read and watch anything, good or bad (I actually love terrible movies. It’s weird.). And, because I had a baby last June, I’ve now taken up crawling as a hobby. It’s a great way to see all the disgusting things living in between your floorboards even though you just cleaned (or, at least, thought you did).

What is your favourite part about writing?
It’s definitely the creative expression. I love being able to put down the images that pop up in my mind onto paper — it’s like taking a weight off the old shoulders.

What is your favourite word?
“Bescumber.” It’s the fanciest way to talk about flinging poop.

What is your least favourite word?
“Moist.” Nobody likes that word. I feel gross having typed it.

What turns you on in a book?
Nothing turns me on more than Canadian spelling. It’s a delight to my eyes to see a “U” where it’s supposed to be.

Why should people be on team Jess?
If you’re going to be on a team, be on Team Everyone. Sure this is a competition, but writing is tough. Hell, writing and putting it out into the universe is even tougher. I’m already a fan of everyone participating in the contest because it takes guts to pursue your dreams. So, go Team Everyone! I’m rooting for you all.

 Follow the #NGHW Contest, this season on HorrorAddicts.net!

#NGHW News: Interview with Contestant Timothy G Huguenin

Get to know the contestants of the Next Great Horror Writer Contest!

What do you love about horror?

Part of that has to do with the themes that can be dealt with in horror in a unique way, like death, the afterlife, the supernatural, evil, the darkness in human nature. It is true that I like to read and write horror to explore those themes, even though I don’t usually like stories that are simplistic and overly moralistic (I do love complex layers of meaning when you don’t notice until you really start mulling over the story after reading). I keep that answer ready for most people who ask because it’s easy to understand and package even if one isn’t really drawn to the horror aesthetic.

But honestly, I mostly like spooky, creepy books, for the same reason I like vanilla ice cream over chocolate, even though my dad thinks I’m crazy for it (chocolate rules in his house). I just, you know, like it (you remember the old Apple Jacks commercials?). My grandfather always says, “Everyone goes crazy different.” Some people like to read high fantasy. Some people like to watch Hallmark Christmas movies. Some very strange, disturbed souls think Florida Georgia Line plays good country music. I like to read books with a creeping sense of dread.

Okay, so maybe there might be something a little weird about that…

What was the first horror movie/story/book/show that you fell in love with?

My parents bought me a collection of stories by Edgar Allan Poe one year for Christmas. I think I was in middle school at the time, though I’m not certain. I’m not sure if that was the very first, but I do know that Poe was highly influential in my desire to write horror.

Can you describe the sort of horror stories you write?

I don’t necessarily limit myself to this, but I tend to set my stories in the Appalachian Mountains, where I have lived most of my life—West Virginia, in particular. I feel a deep connection to the area, and I often like to integrate its culture and myths into my fiction, as well as kind of be a creator of new Appalachian lore, if I can. So there is that about my work, that makes it a little more distinct. A bit of my fiction falls into pretty standard categories like haunted house or ghost stories, probably because that’s the kind of stuff you grow up hearing as a kid late around a campfire on a cool summer night in West Virginia. On the other hand, some other short stories I’ve been working on fall a little more into the realm of weird fiction, or if not that, than some other murkier category that is hard for me to pin down. I’ve written stuff with really twisted human villains, too. I don’t really gravitate toward monster fiction as much as the supernatural or weird. But I’m open to almost anything.

Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what?

I wish I could be one of those cool, rockin’ writers jamming to favorite tunes while cranking out novel after rad novel. Unfortunately, I find music too distracting. It’s hard enough sometimes to get the words to really flow even in complete silence. Even classical music makes it hard for me to write.

Do you have any hobbies besides writing?

I like a lot of outdoor activities. I love to ski in the winter. I grew up next to two downhill ski resorts and did a lot of that in high school. Lately, I’ve gotten more into cross-country skiing. I’ve done some rock climbing, but I’m not really dedicated to it like most climbers are, so I’m not very good. I like to go backpacking, I like to fish, and even better if I can do both of those at once. I’ve run a couple ultramarathons, but over the last few years I’ve gotten out of shape, and I’m hoping to get back into trail running when the snow melts.

As a kid, I was interested in building and programming computers, and while I haven’t stayed current with that kind of thing these days, once in a while I’ll tinker around with installing different Linux distros on my Macbook.

What is your favourite part about writing?

When your characters really come alive, saying and doing things that take your story in a direction you didn’t expect, that is so cool. There are a few scenes in When the Watcher Shakes near the end (I would describe them but I don’t want to spoil anything), that just kind of happened, and I remember just stopping and thinking, This is really cool, I don’t even feel like I thought of this myself, it just happened on its own this way.

What is your favourite word?

I was a kid in the nineties, so I say “dude” a lot. I also get all warm and fuzzy inside when I hear the phrase, “Do you want some ice cream?”

What is your least favourite word?

“Irregardless.” It’s not changing or adding to the meaning of the word “regardless,” and it isn’t shorter or easier to say. It doesn’t even sound better. It’s just a wasted syllable that immediately compromises the speaker’s credibility.

Now, “dude.” That word makes you sound like a genius, dude.

What turns you on in a book?

Characters that feel like real people. Not just characters that are realistic. The ones that are real. You finish a book and you’re sad because you feel like you’re saying goodbye to friends you’ve known your whole life.

I’m also a sucker for terrible, depressing endings. Especially if an ending depresses or unsettles me in a new, creative way.

Why should people be on team Timothy?

Alliteration is always a good reason to follow someone, right? Listen peeps, join my fan club, and I’ll even let you say “Team Tim.” That’s quick and catchy enough to win over anyone, I’d reckon.

Follow the #NGHW Contest, this season on HorrorAddicts.net!

#NGHW News: Interview with Contestant: Jonathan Fortin

Get to know the contestants of the Next Great Horror Writer Contest!

What do you love about horror?

There are a lot of reasons. I like how free it is content-wise, and I’m a sucker for anything with a pretty gothic visual style or a unique, well-developed monster. But on a deeper level, I think it’s because it makes me feel like I’m facing my fears. When I was young I was too scared to watch horror movies, but as I got older I forced myself to do it more and more until I was totally desensitized. It made me feel brave to take myself out of my comfort zone. Good horror frightens us, but in so doing it also makes us feel strong because we faced something we were afraid of and lived through it. And that is, ironically, extremely life-affirming.

What was the first horror movie/story/book/show that you fell in love with?

I’m a little embarrassed to admit it, but it was probably the Goosebumps books. I think even as a kid I knew they were stupid, but still, I got a kick out of them. I mean, where else could you read about a tornado made out of werecats? My favorites were the Give Yourself Goosebumps choose your own adventure books–the ones where almost anything you did would lead you to a horrible fate with “THE END” written in big bold letters. You’d make the wrong choice and end up becoming a wax figure or getting eaten by a vampire poodle or whatever. I loved it.

Can you describe the sort of horror stories you write?

Primarily dark fantasy and gothic horror. I’m big on dark magic, bloody rituals, demented characters, macabre visuals, and otherworldly monsters that call into question our very beliefs about reality. Gothic horror also tends to be highly plot-driven, building complex mythologies and twisted worlds that we can really dive into, and I enjoy that. That said, my sense of humor is pretty sick, so I’ve also been known to write horror/comedy. I’ll also write erotic horror now and then.

Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what?

All the time, partly because whenever I want to write in public it’s too noisy for me to concentrate. I’m very easily distracted by sound and tend to find music with discernible words too distracting to write to. So I’ll often listen to movie and video game soundtracks, as well as ambient or instrumental music. Metal is also great to write to–bands like Alcest, Opeth, and Wolves in the Throne Room are always nice to have in the background. Black metal is also a good bet, not only because the dark tone matches my writing style, but also because the growled lyrics are difficult for me to understand without paying attention, so it isn’t very distracting.

Do you have any hobbies besides writing?

Acting, voice acting, playing video games, watching anime, dancing (poorly), doing death growls (poorly), and wasting far too much time on the internet. I also really like cute animals. No, seriously. I squeal like a kid when I see red pandas.

What is your favorite part about writing?

Connecting the dots in my head. I tend to plot novels like delicate houses of cards, and I love that “ah-HAH!” feeling of realizing how the ideas I’ve come up with can link together.

What is your favorite word?

Aberrant.

What is your least favorite word?

Toss up between “Chagrin” and “Preternatural”–the former because Twilight overused it, and the latter because Anne Rice overused it. Those words are dead and gone.

What turns you on in a book?

I like it when a book grabs me by the throat and never gives me time to get bored. I want lush prose, a fast pace, and interesting characters. I want action and mysteries and hanging threads of suspense that build to explosive crescendos. I want sub-plots tying together in interesting, unexpected ways. I want stories that fill my head with incredible visions, and take me to worlds beyond my imagination. I want to laugh and cry and bite my nails in fear. And I don’t want to be bored, not even for a second because then I might never finish reading, even if everyone tells me “it’ll get better.” I have a stack of half-finished books next to my shelf that I keep telling myself I’ll finish someday, and then years have passed and I still haven’t done it because, for whatever reason, I got bored with them.

I really admire books that feel like they take place in unique worlds, but also do a good job of orienting the reader in them. China Mieville’s Bas-Lag books and Dan Simmons’ Hyperion series blew my mind and made me rethink what speculative fiction could be.

Why should people be on team Jonathan?

You know, I think that’s up to you. The other contestants are all very talented writers who are more than worthy of your support. Do I hope to win the contest? Oh, absolutely. But I respect my competition too much to act like I’m better than them this early in the game.

Follow the #NGHW Contest, this season on HorrorAddicts.net!