A selection of things that caught our attention in the world of horror this week
R.L. Stine“Read. Read. Read. Just don't read one type of book. Read different books by various authors so that you develop different style.”
Uncanny Magazine
Pays: 10 cents per word
Looking for: Original speculative fiction
Submissions close: 8 Sep 2025
Into the Deep, Dark Woods anthology (Word Fire Press)
Pays: 6 cents per word
Theme: The magic and mystery of the primeval wilderness, where tangled branches create a foreboding canopy
Submissions open 1 Sep and close 15 Oct 2025
Humans from Earth anthology (Daft Notions)
Pays: $100 AUD (3K-5K words), $150 (over 5K words)
Looking for: SF/Horror, stories in which humans are a source of genuine horror/terror to extraterrestrials
Submissions open 1 Oct and close 31 Oct 2025
Junji Ito“I am a horror maniac who prefers to stay at home.”
A taste of things to come.
Alice in Borderland, Season 3. Japanese psychological horror. Now, the ‘games’ that took the world by storm begin once again and the uncharted journey led by the mysterious Joker card is about to unfold. Netflix, 25 Sep 2025
Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy. Serial killer horror. Peels back the twisted layers of Gacy’s life while weaving in heartrending stories of his victims, and exposes the systemic failures, missed opportunities and societal prejudices that fueled his reign of terror. Peacock, 16 Oct 2025
Wayward. Psychological horror. A small-town cop suspects that the local school for troubled teens and its dangerously charismatic founder may not be all it seems. Netflix, 25 Sep 2025
Wednesday, Season 2, Part 2. Supernatural horror. Desperate to avert her prophecy and save Enid’s life, Wednesday reopens a dark chapter in her family’s history. Netflix, 3 Sep 2025
All the Devils are Here. Psychological horror. After a heist, four criminals lay low in a remote safehouse, waiting for orders. As paranoia builds, one thing becomes clear: the real threat may not be outside, but among them. VOD, 26 Sep 2025
Bugonia. Psychological horror. Two conspiracy obsessed young men kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company, convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying Earth. Limited release 24 Oct, VOD 31 Oct 2025
The Carpenter’s Son. Supernatural horror. The son in a family hiding in Roman Egypt rebels against his guardian, known as ‘the Carpenter’. As he wields his own powers, the family faces natural and divine horrors. Release date TBA
Exorcism Chronicle: The Beginning. South Korean animated horror. An excommunicated priest helps his monk friend protect a powerful boy from an evil master. Cinema, 17 Oct 2025
Helloween. Clown slasher horror. At the height of the ‘killer clown’ phenomenon, a psychiatrist and an investigative journalist uncover a terrifying conspiracy masterminded by a maniacal incarcerated serial killer who’s plotting an uprising from his cell. VOD, 5 Sep 2025
Night of the Reaper. Babysitter horror. In the wake of the brutal murder of a teenaged babysitter, Deena returns home for the weekend and is roped into a babysitting gig. But the murder may not have been an isolated incident. Shudder, 19 Sep 2025
Return to Silent Hill. Psychological horror. When James receives a mysterious letter from his lost love Mary, he is drawn to Silent Hill, a once-familiar town now consumed by darkness. Cinema, 21 Nov 2025
The Summoning of Baby Blue. Supernatural horror. Through the flickering lights of a haunted bathroom mirror and the whispered chant of “Baby Blue, Blue Baby,” a babysitting gig becomes a nightmarish summoning. Release date TBA
V/H/S/Halloween. Found footage horror. A collection of Halloween-themed videotapes unleashes a series of twisted, blood-soaked tales, turning trick-or-treat into a struggle for survival. Shudder, 3 Oct 2025
Cryptic Tales. Psychological horror. Jon’s dreams were filled with music and a love life he once had. Now they’ve curdled into nightmares, weaving between memories and unknown realms. Release date TBA
Eclipsium. Lovecraftian horror. Search for what remains in a sunless world that is in the process of consuming itself into oblivion. Releases 19 Sep 2025
Goosebumps: Terror in Little Creek. Monster horror. Go face-to-face with sinister monsters, solve puzzles, and uncover a mystery to reveal the truth of it all. Available now
Raven 2. Dark fantasy horror. Traverse through an emotional journey to vanquish demons and uncover the secrets behind the world’s fate. Release date TBA
Truman Capote, In Cold Blood“Imagination, of course, can open any door - turn the key and let terror walk right in.”
13 horror books this week. Themes: Psychological, dystopian, survival, curse, summer camp, gothic, cryptid, and ghost horror
See: A Selection of Horror Books Released, 24 to 30 Aug 2025
Joe Hill, Heart-Shaped Box“Horror was rooted in sympathy ... in understanding what it would be like to suffer the worst.”
9 horror movies this week. Themes: Supernatural, psychological, slasher, survival, clown, sci-fi, body, and superhero horror
See: A Selection of Horror Movies Released, 24 to 30 Aug 2025
H.P. Lovecraft, Selected Letters III: 1929-1931“The basis of all true cosmic horror is violation of the order of nature, and the profoundest violations are always the least concrete and describable.”
Theme: Voodoo horror
Dance for the Dead – Nuzo Ohoh
“The slave-girl is right to be afraid, not just of the dead, but also of the living.”
Ticktock – Dean Koontz
“Out of a cloudless sky on a windless November day came a sudden shadow…”
A Dark Roux – Blaine Daigle
“This is a world that time did not forget, but purposely left alone.”
The Good House – Tananarive Due
“At last, it was happening, after all this time. Gramma Marie’s magic was back.”
Vodou – Brandon Scott
“There’ll be no tricks here … but maybe a few treats.”
Darkness – John Saul
“The children of the Dark Man lurked in the shadows.”
All Heads Turn When the Hunt Goes By – John Farris
“The horrors have ended; or at least I have them at a distance. For now.”
Bram Stoker, Dracula“These friends – and he laid his hand on some of the books – have been good friends to me, and for some years past, ever since I had the idea of going to London, have given me many, many hours of pleasure.”
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.
Published: 30 August 2025
Horror-themed clothing, notebooks, homewares, and accessories