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Contest / Events / Flat Amount / Online / Reprints Allowed

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Contest: Weird Wide Web 2024 Fiction Competition

Deadline: June 1st, 2024
Prizes: FIRST PLACE: $75. SECOND PLACE: $50. THIRD PLACE: $25, FOURTH PLACE: $10
Theme: Dark speculative prose
Note: Reprints allowed

FIRST PLACE: $75

SECOND PLACE: $50

THIRD PLACE: $25

FOURTH PLACE: $10

Each winning story will be featured on Weird Wide Web with its own direct URL link.

What We Are Looking For:

Fiction between 1K – 4K words in the horror, sci-fi, and fantasy genres.

 

This is a great place for REPRINTS. Unpublished stories are fine, but REPRINTS ARE WELCOME. Just send your best!

 

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Articles / Reviews

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Epeolatry Book Review: The Thing in the Wind by Bill Mullen

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: The Thing in the Wind
By: Bill Mullen
Genre: Horror
Publisher: Crystal Lake Publishing
Release Date: April 5th, 2024

Synopsis: A search party stumbles upon an unspeakable horror that threatens both their lives and sanity.

In the heart of the Canadian wilderness, a harrowing tale of survival and psychological horror unfolds in this gripping novel. Amidst the vast, unforgiving landscape, a woman’s world is shattered by the mysterious disappearance of her mother in the remote reaches of northern Saskatchewan. Along with her father and a small, determined search party, she embarks on a desperate quest for answers, only to encounter an unspeakable terror lurking in the shadows of the ancient forests.

As the group navigates the treacherous wilderness, their journey becomes a chilling fight for survival against not only the harsh elements but also a malevolent force that defies explanation. Haunted by eerie premonitions and the feeling of being stalked by an unseen entity, they begin to realize that they are facing a horror far beyond their wildest imaginations.

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Anthology / Contributor's Copy / Events / Semipro

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Taking Submissions: “Soul” Anthology

Deadline: May 31st, 2024
Payment: 2 cents per word and both a hardcover and paperback contributors copy
Theme: stories involving ghosts and possession

We are looking for your stories involving ghosts and possession.

Open for Submissions: April 1, 2024 through May 31, 2024
Expected Publication: October 2024

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

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Contributor's Copy / Events / Poetry / Reprints Allowed / Semipro

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Taking Submissions: The Number 50 Spring 2024 Window

Deadline: July 1st, 2024
Payment: 2 cents per word and a contributors copy
Theme: Poetry of any genre under 50 words in length
Note: Reprints welcome

Please send no more than five poems of no more than 50 words each. Many long poems are brilliant, but if they are more than 50 words (including title), send ’em elsewhere. We’re all about the number 50 here. Subject matter and theme are open to all possibiliies–except (and in a perfect world, this would not need to be said, but, alas . . .)–send nothing that advocates in favor of the ugly themes: racism, sexism, bigotry, hate speech of any sort, transphobia, antisemitism, Islamophobia, etc. No animal cruelty or gratuitous violence. If you have an anti-racist/anti-cruelty, etc., poem you want to submit, send it along. Please, no AI-generated material of any sort. Tasteful hints of erotica may be acceptable, but pornographic material is not for The Number Fifty. We’re not allergic to laughter and are happy to consider comic or humorous poems. If more poets and editors had a sense of humor, poetry might be more popular.

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Articles

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The Craft of Carving Unforgettable Characters

The Craft of Carving Unforgettable Characters

In the slew of interactions that make up our daily lives, there are individuals who simply stand out. Perhaps you’ve heard the remarks in passing conversations about someone being “quite a character.” This isn’t just idle talk. These people captivate us because they are distinctly different from the rest—memorable characters in the narrative of our lives.

What makes someone a memorable character? It’s often a mix of idiosyncratic traits and stories that set them apart. It’s the same with literature. From Hamlet to Harry Potter, characters form the backbone of memorable stories. While an intricate plot can draw readers in, it’s the characters that resonate with them long after the final page is turned.

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Trembling With Fear

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Trembling With Fear 4-28-24

Greetings, children of the dark. Hope you’re all enjoying the shorter / longer days (delete as applicable according to your hemisphere). I’ll tell you what: this has been a massive energy-draining week for me for various reasons, and I’m sure glad I’m staring at the weekend. I had wanted to get started on reading your (I’m sure all amazing) short story submissions, but I need a day off already! I’ll get to working through them ASAP, though.

What I do need, though, is MOAR DRABBLES. Our drabble cupboard is looking awfully bare right now. We’ve got some going through the process now, but it’s only a couple of weeks worth. And that means I’m challenging you, dear reader, to get your drabble hats on. I’d love it if next week I can report that I’ve had a ton of drabble subs. Shall we set a goal? I would like to see at least 10 drabbles in the inbox before I write this column for the first issue of May. Can you make that happen? Get ’em ready and head to the submissions page. Remember when you’re using the form (here) to choose TWF from the first dropdown menu, and then choose ‘drabbles’ so it can be routed to the right place. 

Anyways, this week’s TWF menu is kicked off by a nihilistic museum visit with Adrian Fahy. That story is followed by the short, sharp speculations of:

  • Michael Bettendorf’s hunter-gathering,
  • JB Riley’s imaginary friend, and
  • Lynn Kristine Thorsen’s tortured experiments

Over to you, Stuart.

Lauren McMenemy

Editor, Trembling With Fear

 
We have a new site sponsor for the month, so if you’re looking to pick up a new book, I highly suggest The Dark Man, by Referral and Less Pleasant Tales by Chuck McKenzie!
 
***

Hi all! 

Another week of sick children, though finally, they’re both better now! Outside of that a bit more progress on the new layout as well as Shadowed Realms. Really hoping to have some solid details on both of those soon. Also, a couple of quick news bits:

  • We have a new Patreon; thank you so much for joining, the more Patreons we get the closer we are to lowering even more the amount of ads we have to display! WHEW!
  • Belanger Books has a cool new Kickstarter worth checking out! They’ve previously had some neat open calls that we’ve shared so wanted to let the authors and readers who follow us know about it!

Offhand, if you’ve ordered Trembling With Fear Volume 6, we’d appreciate a review! 🙂 

 

Stuart Conover

Editor, Horror Tree

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Trembling With Fear

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Unholy Trinity: “See Some Evil, Hear Some Evil, Speak Some Evil” by Liam Kerry

Our church worships at the altar of the Unholy Trinity. Its gospels are delivered as a trio of dark drabbles, linked so that Three become One. All hail the power of the Three.

 

Cold Caller

 

The Avon lady informed Amelia and Riya that she believed the elderly lady at number 13 had passed. Thoughts of the rich widow’s jewellery enticed them into her home, where they found the basement door ajar and entered hesitantly.

In the corner of the room stood the Avon rep, facing the wall, whispering.

“Hello?” they asked nervously.

Turning to greet them, her face became visible – the face of the deceased resident, wild-eyed, her mouth foaming.

The pair ran, tormented by her whispers. Her words rang in Amelia’s ears.

Amelia fell, choking. Her spine arching violently as death’s verse consumed her.

 

Lege Haec Et Peribis

 

Extract from a 999 call, placed at 18:15 13/02/2024:

Call Handler: Police, what’s your emergency?

Female Caller: Help! Police?

Call Handler: Hello, Miss. How can we help?

*Heavy breathing*

Female caller: Oh fuck, oh fuck, OH FUCK! 

Call handler: Miss, I need you to stay calm. 

*sobbing*

Female Caller: She’s… She’s all bent up. She’s broken in half! No… The lady… She’s coming!

*screaming*

Call Handler: Miss, are you okay?

*Inaudible whispering*

Woman’s voice: Diabolum vocare; coprus frangere. Vocatis spiritibus; accipere animam. Diabolum vocare; coprus frangere. Vocatis spiritibus; accipere animam

*Choking sound*

Call terminated at 18:24

 

Thirteen

 

Four editors died during the creation of this publication. suicides, the police concluded. Suspectly, they were each found in the same position, folded in half. The expressions on their faces were haunting; photographs published online show bloodshot eyes opened wide, staring from their head’s new position by the back of their pelvis. Their mouths stretched so far open that their jaws dislocated. Human incarnations of Munch’s The Scream.

There is a theory – Editing started on the 13th. It’s possible that reading the 13th entry on the 13th of the month seals your fate. Hopefully, I’m wrong.

Better check your calendar.

 

 

Liam Kerry

Liam Kerry is a thinking enthusiast with a bad memory. Writing helps him recall his daydreams. An anthology of his micro-fiction will be available later in 2024.