Bite-Sized Horror News
I walk the streets gathering up small horror treats to share with you.
Vale
- Condolences to family, friends, and fans of bodybuilder/actress Jayne Trcka. Trcka’s debut acting role was the character of Miss Mann in Scary Movie. RIP.
Horror Book Bits
- Stephen King is writing about Holly Gibney again.
- Holly Riordan’s short story A Complete Stranger Sent Me 10k On Venmo — But There Was A Catch is getting a movie adaptation called When a Stranger Venmos.
- The movie adaptation of The Housemaid’s Secret, the 2nd novel in Frieda McFadden’s The Housemaid series, is moving forward.
Horror Movie Morsels
- Steve Wolsh’s Return of the Living Dead reboot movie (which may in fact be more of a sequel than a reboot) has been delayed until Nov 2026 but a sneak peek of one scene was screened recently in Hollywood.
- At least 40 Warner Bros. made-for-TV movies are coming to Blu-ray and 4K UHD. The first one to be released will be 1973 creature feature Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark.
- Director Sébastien Vaniček shared on Instagram a glimpse of the Necronomicon from the upcoming Evil Dead Burn movie.
- Rumor is that the Blade movie “is dead” but that Blade might pop up in the Midnight Sons movie.
- WWE wrestler CM Punk says “it’s been offered” when he was asked if he’d like to direct a segment in the V/H/S franchise.
- Godzilla Minus Zero will release in US cinemas on 6 Nov 2026.
- The KPop Demon Hunters writers will write the script for Tim Burton’s remake of Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman.
- Horror movies that won their categories in the 2026 Critics Choice Awards include Sinners x 4 (from 17 nominations), Frankenstein x 4 (from 11 nominations), Weapons x 1 (from 4 nominations), Kpop Demon Hunters x 2 (from 2 nominations).
- Horror movies appearing in the 2026 Actor Awards (previously known as the SAG Awards) nominee list include Sinners x 5, Frankenstein x 3, Bugonia x 2.
- Horror movies appearing in the 2026 Directors Guild Awards nominee list include Sinners, Frankenstein, The Plague.
- There are 201 movies deemed eligible for nomination consideration for the 2026 Academy Awards with a respectable number of horror movies included in the list.
Horror TV Treats
- Stranger Things just keeps on giving. One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5, a behind-the-scenes documentary, premieres on Netflix on 12 Jan 2026. And the Broadway show Stranger Things: The First Shadow has been extended to 6 Sep 2026.
- Mike Flanagan says his TV series adaptation of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower is “moving” and “we’ve got a lot of scripts done for it” and “we can’t let [the 2017 movie] be the final word”.
- Black Mirror will return for an 8th season.
- 3 new TV series from the Duffer Brothers are on Netflix’s list of what’s coming in 2026. In The Boroughs, a retirement community bands together to stop a monstrous threat from stealing their time). In Something Very Bad is Going to Happen, a bride and groom have a really bad week leading up to their wedding. Animated series Stranger Things: Tales from ’85 features the original Hawkins team fighting monsters and unravelling a mystery about the town.
- Wednesday, Season 3, was not on Netflix’s list of what’s coming in 2026.
- The Unknowable: Darkland is a new long-form series coming to Screambox on 3 Feb 2026. The supernatural series is set in an amusement park.
- Mike Flanagan celebrated wrapping up filming on his Carrie TV series adaptation by watching the original 1976 Carrie movie with the cast of his new series, some of whom “had never seen this”.
- Hulu’s new Buffy TV series is called Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale and is not a sequel or a reboot, but a “continuation”.
- Rumor is that Lucasfilm might be developing a “brand new Star Wars horror series”.
- All 3 seasons of 2013 serial killer TV series The Following are now streaming on Netflix.
- Squid Game won Best Foreign Language Series in the 2026 Critics Choice Awards. This was the only horror TV show that won its category.
- Horror TV shows appearing in the 2026 Actor Awards (previously known as the SAG Awards) nominee list include Monster: The Ed Gein Story x 1, Wednesday x 1, Squid Game x 1, The Last of Us x 1, Stranger Things x 1.
“If the real world were a book, it would never find a publisher. Overlong, detailed to the point of distraction-and ultimately, without a major resolution.”
― Jasper Fforde, Something Rotten
Writing Horror
New sophisticated publishing scam targets struggling authors on Amazon by Rod Raglin
Some places accepting submissions
Slush Press
Pays: AUD $100
Looking for: Short stories up to 5,000 words
Submissions close: 1 Feb 2026
The Phantom Pulse
Pays: USD 3 cents per word for original fiction, 1 cent per word for reprints
Looking for: Horror, sci-fi horror, dark fantasy, and the weird
Submissions close: 14 Feb 2026
Tales of Horror Magazine (Ashton House Publishing)
Pays: USD 6 cents per word for fiction, $40 for poetry
Looking for: The weird, the chilling, and the horrific
Secret Project (sci-fi horror) (Dissonance Media)
Pays: USD $50
Looking for: Sci-fi horror that can be transformed into an auditory experience
Upcoming submission calls
Nightmare magazine
Pays: USD 8 cents per word
Looking for: Horror/dark fantasy short story, flash fiction, poetry, non-fiction
BIPOC submissions open 19 Jan and close 26 Jan / General submissions open 25 Jan and close 1 Feb 2026
“I may not be as strong as I think, but I know many tricks and I have resolution.”
― Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea
Trailer Horror
A taste of things to come.
Horror TV Trailers
The Beauty. Body horror. When international supermodels begin dying in gruesome and mysterious ways, two FBI agents uncover a conspiracy that threatens the future of humanity. FX and Hulu, 21 Jan 2026
School Spirits, Season 3. Supernatural horror. After clawing her way back to life, Maddie struggles with terrifying visions and the weight of protecting both the living and the dead while Simon, trapped in the afterlife, becomes obsessed with the secrets buried in Split River High’s scars. Paramount+, 28 Jan 2026
Horror Movie Trailers
Dooba Dooba. Found footage horror. In-home security cameras watch as an awkward 16-year-old girl terrorizes her well-meaning babysitter. VOD, 23 Jan 2026
The Eye. Psychological horror. After the sudden death of her husband, Diana returns to a remote Greek island only to find herself entangled in whispers of an ancient curse: a soul for a soul. VOD, 20 Jan 2026
Gale: Yellow Brick Road. Dark fantasy horror. Decades after her return from Oz, Dorothy Gale is tormented by memories of a world no one believes existed. Her granddaughter inherits the curse tied to her family’s name. Limited, 11 Feb 2026
Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die. Sci-fi horror. A man claiming to be from the future takes the patrons of an iconic Los Angeles diner hostage in search of unlikely recruits in a quest to save the world. Cinema, 13 Feb 2026
The Haunted Forest. Halloween horror. When a high-school senior goes to work at his cousin’s famous haunted forest attraction, a series of real-life killings makes him question his devotion to the world of the macabre. VOD, 13 Feb 2026
Honey Bunch. Psychological horror. Diana’s husband is taking her to an experimental trauma facility deep in the wilderness, but she can’t remember why. As her memories begin to creep back in so do some unwelcome sinister truths about her marriage. Shudder, 13 Feb 2026
Lily’s Ritual. Spanish witch horror. Four friends meet at a remote cabin for a witch initiation ritual. Things turn sinister when Lily learns she’s meant to be sacrificed to the demon Lilith. Release date TBA
Marrow. Psychological horror. A formerly successful vlogger attempts to revitalize her career by inviting her stalker onto the show, knowing he may be a serial killer. Release date TBA
The Strangers: Chapter 3. Slasher horror. Maya faces the masked killers one last time in a brutal, full-circle reckoning of survival and revenge. Cinema, 6 Feb 2026
They Will Kill You. Comedy horror. A young woman must survive the night at a demonic cult’s lair. Cinema, 27 Mar 2026
Undertone. Psychological horror. A podcast host covering spooky content moves in to care for her dying mother. When sent recordings of a pregnant couple’s paranormal encounters, she discovers their story parallels hers. Cinema, 13 Mar 2026
Whistle. Cursed object horror. High school students stumble upon a cursed ancient Aztec Death Whistle and discover that blowing the whistle summons their future deaths to hunt them down. Cinema, 6 Feb 2026
Horror Game Trailers
Alone. Psychological horror. Uncover Charles’s secrets within his nightmares and experience the absolute silence of Danny. Release date TBA
Carmageddon. Zombie apocalypse horror. Adapt, upgrade, and unleash destruction on post‑apocalyptic zombie hordes. PlayStation, 6 Feb 2026
Dig, Dig, Die. Online co-op horror. Board a cursed flying ship, raid haunted graveyards for loot, and survive monsters that hear every sound. Release date TBA
Senara: The Sacrament. Survival horror. On a massive, derelict ship, survive and escape hidden cult rituals, forbidden truths, and survivors with their own agendas. Release date TBA
“He was one of those people whose ideas are too lively to be confined in their brains and spill out into the world to the consternation of passers-by.”
― Susanna Clarke, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
A Selection of Horror Books Released this Week
5 horror books this week. Themes: Supernatural, witch, dystopian, and historical horror
See: A Selection of Horror Books Released, 4 to 10 Jan 2026
“She hopes for nothing except fine weather and a resolution. She wants to end properly, like a good sentence.”
― Zadie Smith, The Autograph Man
A Selection of Horror Movies Released this Week
7 horror movies this week. Themes: Psychological, aliens, curse, sci-fi, and animal
See: A Selection of Horror Movies Released, 4 to 10 Jan 2026
“But, ah me! where is the faultless human creature who can persevere in a good resolution, without sometimes failing and falling back?”
― Wilkie Collins, The Woman in White
What We Were Thinking About this Week
We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer (novel)
King Sorrow by Joe Hill (novel)
You Like It Darker by Stephen King (collection)
Did you know I recommend one horror book every day of the year on Bluesky, Threads, Facebook, and Twitter?
This week’s horror book recommendations
Theme: Storm horror
Shadow Manor by Candace Nola
“It was dark that night, blacker than tar, not a star in the sky.”
Downpour by Christopher Hawkins
“At once Scott knew what had bothered him about the cloud.”
Midnight Sun by Ramsey Campbell
“As the glittering passed beneath a tree, two leaves fell.”
Noro by William F. Gray
“It’ll be a goddamn doozy, that’s for sure.”
This House Will Never Be Warm by Paul Avery Tindol
“Before there was light, there was a vast emptiness. That is Mother Cold, and we will all return to her.”
Unseen Gods by Justin Holley
“I’m nothing but a pawn, a chess piece in a grand cosmic game.”
The Cabin of Nowhere by Flint Maxwell
“She could barely hear him over the wind.”
“But I will write in spite of everything, absolutely; it is my struggle for self-preservation.”
― Franz Kafka, Diaries, 1910-1923
Horror Fun
Thanks for reading
Thanks for reading. Catch you on the other side.
Jayson
Psst … If you know someone who might like these emails, tell them to sign up here. It’s free.
