Trembling With Fear 12-17-23
Hello, children of the dark. As I write this, we are one week away from the Winter Solstice in the UK. The days are getting VERY dark indeed, and the wind has a chill that goes through your bones. Some people revel in this time of year, and you’d think I was the same given my penchant for dark tales—but actually, I’m a child of Australia, and I do need a decent balance of light and dark for me to feel alive. At this time of year, I am lethargic. Even more so than usual! I struggle to get out of bed. I crave cosy blankets and a giant mug of steaming hot tea. But then, as I was saying to a colleague yesterday, we’re made to be hibernating at this time of year. These things are natural!
So the year is winding down well and truly, but I take solace in knowing the light will soon return. I hope you and yours have been enjoying the season, whatever your beliefs.
For your holidays, this week we bring you the dark and speculative TWF menu. The short story comes from regular contributor Addison Smith, a terrifying take on tech horror—but not for the reason you think. Then we’ve got three fabulous tasty morsels for dessert:
- D’vorah Shaddai has a shower,
- Epiphany Ferrell makes a final wish, and
- Nicolette Ward seeks the crossroads.
Finally, submissions are now closed for the Christmas special. TWF special editions editor Shalini is going through the (frankly) huge amount of stories we’ve received, and submitters will hear from her over the course of the next week. Keep an eye out for this one on Christmas Day—aka a week tomorrow! 😱
Now, it’s over to you, Stuart.
ATTENTION YOUTUBE WATCHERS: We’ve had some great responses so far but are open to more ideas – What type of content would you like to see us feature? Please reach out to [email protected]! We’ll be really working on expanding the channel late this year and early into next.
For those who are looking to connect with Horror Tree on places that aren’t Twitter, we’re also in BlueSky and Threads. *I* am also now on BlueSky and Threads.
If you’d like to extend your support to the site, we’d be thrilled to welcome your contributions through Ko-Fi or Patreon. Your generosity keeps us fueled and fired up to bring you the very best.