A Grab Bag of Horror News, 19 to 25 May 2024

A selection of things that caught our attention in the world of horror this week

Bite-Sized Horror News

Horror Book Bits

A new illustrated, hardcover edition of the original Jeff Rice novel Kolchak: The Night Stalker will be fundraising soon on Kickstarter.
Goosebumps: The Haunting Returns will be released on 1 October 2024. This is the novel of Season 1 of the Disney+ Goosebumps It will include additional scenes and information not seen in the show, as well as resolving the show’s cliffhanger ending.

Horror Movie Morsels

Apparently, there won’t be a new Friday the 13th movie for at least three years, possibly longer.
Piglet: The Movie is fundraising on Indiegogo.
INfernal is an “over the top, heavy metal monster movie” looking for funds on Indiegogo.
A Nightmare on Elm Street, the first four sequels, and the 2010 remake will all disappear from Netflix after 30 June 2024.
A24 has bought the US rights to The Death of Robin Hood. The movie will begin production next year and will be released in cinemas once it’s done.
Blumhouse is developing a new My Bloody Valentine movie.
If you’re a Lego fan, you might like to support this recent product idea: Little Shop of Horrors – Lifesize Audrey II. Lego product ideas need 10,000 supporters to make it to the next stage of consideration.

Horror TV Treats

1313 will be a new series reimagining of 60’s TV sitcom The Munsters. The new series gets its name from the Munsters’ residence, 1313 Mockingbird Lane.
The Walking Dead: Dead City will be back in 2025 with a second season. In case you’ve lost track of who’s what and what is who, this is the one with Maggie and Negan.
The Dexter prequel has had a name change. It’s now called Dexter: Original Sin, Set in 1991 Miami, it will show Dexter’s transformation from a student to a serial killer. No release date yet.

Halloween Horror

Universal Orlando announced five more haunted houses for this year’s Halloween Horror Nights: Goblin’s Feast, Major Sweets Candy Factory, The Museum: Deadly Exhibit, Monstruos: The Monsters of Latin America, and Triplets of Terror. Halloween Horror Nights 2024 happens between 30 August and 3 November.

“Alone. Yes, that's the key word, the most awful word in the English tongue. Murder doesn't hold a candle to it and hell is only a poor synonym.”
Stephen King

Writing Horror

Some places accepting submissions.

The Earth Bleeds at Night anthology (Eerie River Publishing)
Pays: 5 cents per word
Looking for: Creative stories that use the anthology title for inspiration
Submissions close: 30 June 2024
Seize the Press magazine
Pays: 3 pence per word
Looking for: Bleak sci-fi, dark fantasy, horror and all kinds of weird, messy, genre-defying stories that defy labels
Statue Magazine
Pays: £80 GBP per 1,000 words
Looking for: Fiction stories of between 1000-6000 words
Slashic Horror Press
Pays: 40% royalties + five author copies
Looking for: Queer horror novels and novellas

“The world changes, we do not, therein lies the irony that kills us.”
Anne Rice, Interview with the Vampire

Trailer Horror

A taste of things to come.

Horror TV Trailers

Sweet Tooth, Season 3. Dystopian fantasy. Who will survive: the humans or the hybrids? Premieres on Netflix on 6 June 2024.
The Witcher, Season 4. Dark fantasy horror. The journey continues (with Liam Hemsworth as Geralt). Released date TBA.

Horror Movie Trailers

The Execution. Russian serial killer horror. For 10 years the country’s most wanted serial killer has evaded police. Even when he’s finally caught, nobody can prove his guilt. As the manhunt intensifies, the investigation grows increasingly personal between detective and suspect. Releases on VOD on 28 May 2024.
The Last Breath. Psychological horror. A group of old college friends reunite on a Caribbean scuba diving trip exploring the wreckage of a WWII battleship and find themselves trapped inside the underwater labyrinth of rusted metal surrounded by great white sharks. Releases on VOD on 12 June 2024.
Witches’ Well. Found-footage witch horror. While traveling in Edinburgh to research her book on Scottish Witch trials, a best-selling horror writer is hounded by both a stalker and a potentially paranormal threat. Releases on Terror Films YouTube channel on 28 June 2024.
Longlegs. Supernatural serial killer horror. FBI Agent Lee Harker is a new recruit assigned to the unsolved case of an elusive serial killer. The case takes complex turns, unearthing evidence of the occult, and Harker discovers a personal connection to the merciless killer. Releases in cinemas on 12 July 2024.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Comedy ghost horror. After an unexpected family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River. Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia’s life is turned upside down when her rebellious teenage daughter discovers the mysterious model of the town in the attic and accidentally opens the portal to the Afterlife. Releases in cinemas on 6 September 2024.

Horror Game Trailers

MultiVersus: Jason Voorhees. Free-to-play fight horror. Season 1 of Multiversus releases on 28 May 2024.
Blood Bowl 3, Season 5. Fantasy football horror. Turn-based strategy game where elves, humans, orcs and other creatures fight for the ball with shoulder charges, kicks, punches and weapons. Releases on 11 June 2024.
Mouthwashing. Sci-fi horror. First person horror game following the dying crew of a shipwrecked space freighter. Release date TBA but free demo available now on Steam.
Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Purgatory. Werewolf apocalypse horror set in the World of Darkness universe. Step into the shoes of Samira, a young werewolf refugee in Poland, as she battles dark forces and loneliness, caught between rage and despair. How will your story unfold? Planned release date Q3 2024.

“When a person is lucky enough to live inside a story, to live inside an imaginary world, the pains of this world disappear. For as long as the story goes on, reality no longer exists.”
Paul Auster, The Brooklyn Follies

A Selection of Horror Books Released this Week

12 horror books this week. Themes: Supernatural, psychological, ghost, serial killer, revenge, and nursery rhyme horror

See: A Selection of Horror Books Released, 19 to 25 May 2024

“And books, they offer one hope – that a whole universe might open up from between the covers, and falling into that universe, one is saved.”
Anne Rice, Blackwood Farm

A Selection of Horror Movies Released this Week

3 horror movies this week. Themes: Psychological, sci-fi, and dystopian horror

See: A Selection of Horror Movies Released, 19 to 25 May 2024

“You’re a storyteller. Dream up something wild and improbable," she pleaded. "Something beautiful and full of monsters."
Laini Taylor, Strange the Dreamer

A Selection of Horror TV Shows Released this Week

2 horror TV shows this week. Themes: Supernatural and animated dinosaur horror

See: A Selection of Horror TV Shows Released, 19 to 25 May 2024

“Sometimes books don't find us until the right time.”
Gabrielle Zevin, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

What We Were Thinking About this Week

Enjoy a Bite: 13 Great Vampire Horror Books
Xphis by Sean Thomas McDonnell (short story, Automatic Writer Substack)
Let’s talk about indie publishers… by Gabino Iglesias (Gabino’s Substack)
Kill Creek by Scott Thomas (novel)
The Drift by C.J. Tudor (novel)
Creepshow, Season 1 (Shudder)
Twisted Tales: A Super 8 Anthology (horror short, Alter YouTube channel)

“Listen, and you will realize that we are made not from cells or from atoms. We are made from stories.”
Mia Couto

And Now For Something Completely Different

Jim Benton on Instagram

Horror-Themed Shopping

See the FearSome Fiction shop for horror designs available on a wide variety of T-shirts, tanks, sweatshirts, and hoodies, as well as bags, notebooks, phone cases, pillows, duvets, blankets, bath mats, and more.