The Horror Tree Recent Markets, Articles, Interviews, and Fiction!

Taking Submissions: Anomaly August 2025 Window

Submission Window: August 1st – 7th, 2025
Payment: 8 cents per word
Theme: science fiction stories under 300 words in length

We open from the 1st-7th of each month, beginning April 2025.

What we want: Anomaly is interested in science fiction stories under 300 words in length, for publication on their Patreon, with the right to collect stories into a future anthology. We’re looking for dark and disruptive stories that have strong emotional resonance. We like stories that stick with us after reading, that get us thinking about the twisted use of technologies, the way the world may be, or how characters might react to an evolving technological future.

(more…)

Taking Submissions: Unseen Agreements

Submission Window: August 1st – 21st, 2025
Payment: 50$ CAD
Theme: Speculative stories that explore hidden bargains, mysterious contracts, and eerie agreements by Canadian authors

We are seeking speculative short stories (3,000–5,000 words) that explore hidden bargains, mysterious contracts, and eerie agreements. Think cursed pacts, veiled deals, ancestral oaths, and otherworldly negotiations. Stories may be fantasy, horror, supernatural, sci-fi, folkloric, or genre-bending, but must center on the idea of an agreement with consequences.

(more…)

Writing Prompt Wednesdays: Future Voicemail

Writing Prompt Wednesdays: Future Voicemail

Welcome to “Writing Prompt Wednesdays,” a haven where your imagination can roam free in the realms of speculative fiction. As we embark on this weekly journey, it’s thrilling to think about the untold stories waiting to be penned in the domains of horror, science fiction, and fantasy. Whether you’re a seasoned author or a budding wordsmith, these prompts are your gateway to unexplored worlds and untapped potentials.

Every Wednesday, we’ll serve up a fresh, thought-provoking prompt designed to ignite your creative spark and challenge your storytelling prowess. Think of these prompts as a key, unlocking the doors to uncharted territories where your creativity is the only limit. From eerie, shadow-laden corridors of Gothic horror to the farthest reaches of interstellar space, and the mystical depths of high fantasy, our prompts are a kaleidoscope of possibilities.

Remember, there’s no right or wrong way to approach these prompts. They are mere stepping stones, guiding you towards the vast landscapes of your imagination. Use them to break free from writer’s block, to experiment with new ideas, or simply as a fun exercise to keep your writing skills sharp.

This week’s writing prompt:

(more…)

Dark Age Press August 2025 Window For Fantasy and Science Fiction Novels

Submission Window: August 1st – 31st, 2025
Payment: An advance of $500 to $2000, royalties, and copies.
Themes: Sci-Fi and Fantasy

Dark Age Press is a small, independent publisher. We presently focus on Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Literary Fiction.

Our mission: to support local, independent bookstores and pop-up bookstores, and, as such, we only sell to those bookstores.

(more…)

Taking Submissions: Horror on the Range

Deadline: July 31st, 2025
Payment: $25 and a contributor’s copy
Theme: Horrifying Wild West Stories

It’s time to ride into the Wild West with a western horror anthology!

D.L. Winchester and C.M. Saunders will headline this anthology, but we’re rounding up more stories for our readers to enjoy! From gunfights on Main Street to train robbers and cattle rustlers, we want your horrific tales from the old West!

Theme: 
Horror stories of all subgenres that take place in the Old West.

(more…)

Epeolatry Book Review: A Burnt Offering by Mark T. Bates

Disclosure:

Our reviews may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something through the links in this article we may receive a small commission or referral fee. This happens without any additional cost to you.

Title: A Burnt Offering
Author: Mark T. Bates
Genre: Horror
Publisher: The Dark Corner
Publication date: June, 2025

Synopsis: Fresh from the horrors of World War II and battling his own internal demons, David, a young veteran, arrives at a seemingly quaint London guesthouse run by the enigmatic Mrs. Van Der Hagen. Seeking solace and a new beginning, he hopes to reconnect with a friend who supposedly stayed there before him.

However, from the moment David steps through the door, an unsettling atmosphere pervades the house. Strange occurrences, Mrs. Van Der Hagen’s peculiar mannerisms, and a cryptic encounter with another long-term resident, Colonel Joseph Shaw, begin to chip away at David’s fragile composure. As he tries to piece together the truth about his friend’s whereabouts and the guesthouse’s unsettling history, David finds himself increasingly trapped in a nightmare that blurs the lines between his wartime trauma and a terrifying reality.

(more…)

The Most Haunted Hotels in New Orleans

The Most Haunted Hotels in New Orleans

The City of New Orleans is believed to be the most haunted city in the entire country. And if you know anything about The Big Easy, that should come as no surprise. With legends of Voodoo queens practicing dark magic, generations of witches casting spells, and even talk of vampires lurking in the shadows, there are hardly any places in NOLA that aren’t considered haunted.

Staying at a haunted hotel can be a dream, or a nightmare, come true, depending on how you look at it. But in a town so full of mystery and mystique, which hotel in New Orleans is considered the most haunted of them all?

(more…)

Taking Submissions: Common Bonds 2

Deadline: August 15th, 2025
Payment: 0.08 USD/word or $60 for poems.
Theme: Stories that belong in the fantasy or science fiction genre, have a clear aromantic MC, & centers around a non-romantic relationship

For Common Bonds 2, we are particularly interested in stories featuring these elements:

– Stories bold in their aromanticism and unafraid to explore its many facets
– Horror with strong SFF elements/settings
– Allosexual aromantic characters, and/or the exploration of platonic fuck buddies and other forms of non-romantic sexual partners
– Worldbuilding that decentres romantic pairings as the highest form of attachment or a central structural unit of a society,  especially inspired by authentic cultural and historical norms

(more…)