"The Rotting Room" by Viggy Parr Hampton was my favorite read from last year, so I'm not going to lie. To me, she's one of the top voices in indie horror, but not only that: she's one of the most imaginative and versatile authors around. Her latest release, "Ripped Up The Middle in Two," is no exception. The story, in part, taps into the fiercely debated public conversation surrounding Lindsay Clancy's murder trial. While the timing is unintentional on Parr Hampton's part, an

One part "The House on Haunted Hill," and one part "The Biggest Loser," the titular camp in author J. Rudolph's novel promises its guests not just weight loss, but a complete life makeover, rebuilding overweight participants into lean, mean, healthy machines. With advertisements promising Michelin-star quality dining, luxurious amenities, state-of-the-art fitness training, and a scenic, isolated setting, it sounds too good to be true. Thus when main character Alana qualifies

Arguably one of the best cinematic representations of vampires was 2013's "Only Lovers Left Alive," starring Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton respectively as Adam and Eve, a pair of star-crossed bloodsuckers whose paths keep crossing and intertwining over the centuries. It's a quiet, brooding, introspective study on the tolls of an immortal lifetime not just on the individual doomed to endure it, but on those with whom they build and foster genuine relationships. At first, "P

I hate spiders. Thus, when confronted by the cover for "Red Inside" by Bridgett Nelson, which features an arachnid of unusually large proportions bursting out of a child's screaming mouth, my initial reaction as a reader was not just "nope" but "Hell, nah!" But I kept hearing good things about it, so despite my initial, knee-jerk reaction, I decided I'd give it a chance and check the story out. As it turns out, I'm really glad I did. While the book didn't change my mind about

Ah, adolescence, a time when we're caught between childhood and adulthood, when we first begin to test the limits of our dependence on parents and our burgeoning autonomy. We begin to cross boundaries, break rules, and resist our parents' guidance and governance. And when they double-down on rules, despite our heartfelt rebellion, the headbutting begins. "Crudely Drawn" by Heather Ann Lawson begins under just such inauspicious circumstances: a teenaged girl named Baylor, angr

Don't let the title of Angel Van Atta's new release, "Their Fragile Males Egos," fool you. This collection of short stories, some new, others previously published, are all about women. While male characters occupy space in these pages, it's the female leads who take centerstage in eleven twisted tales of domestic abuse, physical assault, childhood trauma, psychological torture, and vengeful female empowerment. Each story is both brutal and bleak, and Van Atta writes with a di

I've probably mentioned this before but I really love Desiree Horton's writing. One of her many strengths as a storyteller is her ability to make even the strange and horrific seem cozy and familiar. Her writing feels both nostalgic and surreal, like paintings by Andrew Wyeth, or more contemporarily, Andrea Kowch, blending liminal vignettes of life in the rural Midwest with dark, sinister elements that lurk in the shadows. Horton's latest release, "Rabbit Blind" is a perfect

What could be spookier than conducting a seance on Halloween? Better yet, recreating one of your hometown's most infamous and tragic seances, one in which its participants wound up gruesomely slaughtered? Even better, recreating that horrific seance in the actual house where it happened, and having a direct descendent of the original medium for whom things went so terribly awry in the hotseat yet again? Sounds like a blast, right? I mean, what could possibly go wrong? This is

Finish the summer reading season with these hot new anthology releases featuring short stories by some of today's top indie horror authors! In Moods and Megrims 2: More Hysterical Women, Desiree Horton again curates a fantastic collection of stories that feature women behaving very, very badly. Includes my short story, "I Dream of Jeannie," in which a woman's nightmares, and the psychic connection they provide, may hold the key to finding her missing twin sister. Also availab

In "Dark Eyes" by Rikki Goodwin, a boy named Isaac finds more than he bargains for when, on a dare, he sneaks into a vacant house in his quiet, unassuming neighborhood. What starts off as an innocent trespass becomes something unsettling, even terrifying, when Isaac discovers a small, cage-like room inside, and a ghostly presence that seems to follow him home. At first, that presence seems sinister, appearing as a pair of disembodied, dark eyes that Isaac can't escape. But so

"One decision can change a person's life." This isn't just the opening line to author Kayla Frederick's "The Residency," but it's also the overall theme of this cautionary tale, a clever take on the "Battle Royale" horror trope. In "The Residency," a group of starving artists from a wide variety of mediums receive what seems to be the invitation of a lifetime: to participate in a weeklong program on a private island resort, sponsored by an enigmatic and seemingly magnanimous

One of the earliest descriptions of a werewolf can be found in "The Epic of Gilgamesh," the first-ever recorded story in human civilization. In the millennia since that ancient debut, stories of wolves and men, and the amalgamation of the two, have fascinated and terrified mankind. In her latest novel, "Turn," author Megan Stockton offers an imaginative take on the classic horror trope, combining body horror, creature-feature, and, at its heart, a love story in a gruesome, he

Although "That's Not My Face" by Amanda Ruzsa is horrifying, it's meant more as a portrait of someone struggling with mental illness than simply another ghost story. And while Ruzsa is not the first to draw such an analogy, through her deft hand and striking imagery, she's able to convey true terror, dismay, and despair that all feel painfully, poignantly true to life. In "That's Not My Face," April is a young woman haunted by sinister apparitions that appear to her in her ow

I fell in love with Desiree Horton's writing last year after reading "The Curse of Marystown." She has such a tremendous talent for description, and creates settings, characters, and creatures you can easily visualize in your mind. No place is this more evident than in her newest release, "The Drowned One," available July 1. Featuring stunning cover artwork by Christy Aldridge at Grim Poppy Designs, this dark tale combines elements of cosmic and body horror, and introduces a

Earlier in the year, I read and absolutely loved A.C. Hessenauer's noirish supernatural story, "Manimal," so I was excited for the chance to check out her new release, "Going to the Six," which released on June 16. And while "Going to the Six" has very different narrative style, setting, and theme compared to "Manimal," at its heart, it showcases what I've discovered is Hessenauer's strongest suit as a writer: complex characters embroiled in complicated relationships. "Going

You asked for it, and now it's here: What Lies Unseen is available now in audio from Wicked House and Tantor Media. It's narrated by Phil Thron, who brings the story vividly to life. In What Lies Unseen, Sam Avery sees things no one else can, gruesome spirits that have haunted and plagued him since childhood. He believes he is alone in this terrifying ability, until he meets beautiful Amanda Foster, who can hear the voices of the dead. Amanda tells Sam there are even more lik

In "Borrowed Bones" by Winona Morris, widower Russ Simmons can't let go of the past. Unable to move past his wife, Liza's unexpected death, he spends his days lingering in the home the two of them shared, gazing out the window at the crepe myrtle tree Liza adored, and toward the dense woods through which she'd loved to roam. Trapped in an endless cycle of grief, he begins to develop the unshakable notion that those woods are looking back at him. In the small town of Hachette

Seeing "Obsession" yesterday got me in the horror movie mood, so last night, I rented "Lee Cronin's The Mummy" and checked it out. I have to say, I haven't laughed that hard at something that unintentionally funny in a long time. I knew 20 minutes into this thing it was going to be one of those movies. The first clue was the fact they felt they needed to tell us in multiple ways that the first scenes are set in Cairo, Egypt. First, there's a newsclip of the dad, Charlie Canno

Saw "Obsession" yesterday afternoon and really enjoyed it. I suspect this was one I expected more out of because of all the hype about it, so I didn't end up liking it as much as I wanted to. All and all, though, it was a terrifying, terrific flick with a great concept, gruesome special effects (practical, not CGI - even better!), and an incredible cast (especially the two leads, Inde Navarette and Michael Johnston). If I had one beef with it, it was the scene where Bear driv

Happy book birthday to Sinister Street, a suburban horror anthology featuring eleven short stories by the members of the Sinister Scribes community on Facebook: Matthew B. Davis, Ross Killey, Jason Garman, Brian S. Roe, Ann O'Mara Heyward, D.L. Winchester, A.C. Hessenauer, Bryan Holm, Eve L. Fell, Stuart Connover, and yours truly. And to make it even better, proceeds from the book go to Room to Read, a children's literacy agency. ​​ Includes my short story "Community Covenant