Bite-sized horror news
Vale
- Condolences to family, friends, and fans of director Peter Medak. Medak’s horror movie credits include The Changeling (1980) and Species II (1998). His horror TV credits include The Twilight Zone, Tales from the Crypt, and Masters of Horror. RIP.
Horror book bits
- Olivia Hill and Filamena Young’s novel series iHunt: Killing Monsters in the Gig Economy is getting a movie adaption and has a TV series pilot in the works.
- The Kickstarter for the Sir Reginald & the Clockwork Heart graphic novel anthology reached its funding goal in 5 hours, with plenty of time left if you’re interested. It will have 5 interconnected stories written by Joe Atalla and illustrated by Juni Ba, Jesse Lonergan, Dimitrios Pantazis, and Armand Bodnar.
- Joe Bob Briggs has a new art-book of coming out in Jul 2027. Joe Bob Fights for the Drive-In expands on previously published writing (Joe Bob Goes to the Drive-In and Joe Bob Goes Back to the Drive-In) and adds previously unpublished columns, new artwork, and new designs.
- A new edition of John A. Russo’s zombie horror movie novelization Return of the Living Dead releases 30 Mar 2027.
- 23 YouTubers are getting together to produce Tales from the Tube, a horror anthology novel, to be published in early 2027.
Horror movie morsels
- 1989’s horror slasher Intruder is coming to the big screen for the first time in select art-house venues in the US and Canada.
- Watch Curry Barker’s new horror short Mama Bear on YouTube for free.
- Watch psychological horror short The Critic on YouTube for free.
- A documentary about the life and career of actress Danielle Harris, who was in 4 Halloween movies and a bunch of other stuff, will release in 2027.
- The remake of 1954 sci-fi horror movie Them is still likely to happen.
- Smile 3 is going ahead with a new director and a new writer.
- Jaws documentary The Farmer & The Shark will premiere on 22 Nov 2026 at the 15th annual Key West Film Festival.
- Congratulations to all 2026 Fangoria Chainsaw Awards winners and nominees.
- Congratulations to all Ripcord Halloween Film Festival winners and nominees. Julian Doan’s Long’s Long Lost & Mini Mart took out 1st prize.
Horror TV treats
- Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is getting a 3rd season which will add new Titans to Legendary’s Monsterverse.
- A new limited series of The Birds, inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s movie and Daphne du Maurier’s novella, has found a home at HBO.
- Fear Factor: House of Fear is getting a scripted vertical spinoff “reimagining the franchise as an entirely original fictional horror story”.
- Haunted Hotel is getting a 3rd season on Netflix.
Horror podcast pieces
- Supernatural horror podcast The Black Tapes is getting a TV series adaptation.
Horror game goodies
- Director Francis Lawrence says the BioShock movie adaption is “getting close”.
- Psychological horror game Mouthwashing is getting a movie adaptation.
- Psychological horror game Madison is getting a movie adaptation.
- New Hellraiser tabletop games are on the way in 2027, including board games and role-playing games, marking the 40th anniversary of the 1987 movie.
- Rumor says we might see a remake of 1999’s Silent Hill game in 2027.
- An unlockable teaser trailer in Escape From Playtime hints there’ll be a Poppy Playtime Chapter 6.
- The cancelled Paranormal Activity: Threshold game is available as a free Playable Archive on Steam.
Horror music moments
- Preorders are open for the official vinyl of the score from upcoming werewolf horror movie Werwulf.
“Curled up with a book, we continue to find new selves.”
Martin Latham, The Book Seller’s Tale
Writing horror
Some places accepting submissions
Secret Horror
Pays: $1313 for one selected story
Looking for: International horror written from different parts of the world and the USA reflecting their unique culture and history
Submissions close: 15 Dec 2026
Upcoming submission calls
Okay Donkey
Pays: $25
Looking for: The odd, the off-kilter, and the just plain weird
Opens 1 Nov and closes when submission cap is hit
BAM! Magazine
Pays: $50
Looking for: 3000 – 6000 words of pulpy short fiction
Submissions open 9 Nov and close 23 Nov 2026
Adventitious
Pays: 8 cents per word
Looking for: Stories that offer a sense of wonder through their language, characters, plots, or all of the above
Submissions open 1 Dec and close 5 Dec or when 300 submissions have been received
“That’s why Elsa likes Halloween: on Halloween it’s normal to be different.”
― Fredrik Backman, My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry
Trailer horror
A taste of things to come.
Horror TV trailers
Sweetpea, Season 2. Serial killer. Rhiannon 2.0 has entered the chat. And she’s done being pushed around. Starz, TBA
Horror movie trailers
Crossed. Post-apocalypse. A group of strangers attempt to escape northward away from the Crossed, those affected by a mysterious disease with a cross on their foreheads and who follow their worst impulses. Release date TBA
Hammer: Heroes, Legends, and Monsters. Documentary. Narrated by Charles Dance, unearth the true story behind the trailblazing Hammer Films studio that changed horror cinema forever. Screambox, 3 Nov 2026
Jeffrey Dollmer. Supernatural, Serial killer. In 1991, Jeffrey Dahmer discovers a doll and performs a ritual in an attempt to transfer his spirit into it, but is captured before he can complete his sinister plans. For decades, the doll remains locked away in police evidence, until it is finally discarded and finds its way back into the world. VOD, 3 Nov 2026
Landlord. Vampire. A bounty hunter moves into a rundown apt complex and must protect an orphaned boy from the vampire landlord. Release date TBA
Pendulum, trailer 2. Psychological. As paranoia builds at a new-age retreat, a couple must determine if the group’s spiritual practices offer genuine healing or mask a terrifying truth. Cinema, 1 Jan 2027
Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 3. Slasher. Fifteen years after Pooh, Tigger, and Rabbit are captured and turned into attractions for the sinister Woozles Circus, orphaned teenager Momo Milne begins searching for her missing mother. Cinema, Jan 2027
Horror game trailers
Agni: Village of Calamity. Survival. Agni, an investigator from a covert Indonesian police unit, defies orders and ventures into a remote village despite ominous warnings. Releases 2027
Asleep: Final Act. Psychological. Ana Lúcia is running out of light. It’s time to face her worst nightmare. Release date TBA
Devilcoin. Psychological. You traded your soul for money, and now the only way out of this occult purgatory is to keep flipping. Bet on heads or tails, collect Artifacts that bend the odds, and hit the score before your flips run out. Release date TBA
Moonlit Vigil. Supernatural. As the cemetery’s new caretaker, explore the grounds and uncover what really happens to bodies once they’re buried. Release date TBA
Pierrot. Psychological. Embody a lone puppet trapped in an unhinged theater in desperate need of escape. Demo available on Steam
“If you’re having trouble with the concept of ghosts, then you’re in for a very long evening.”
― Kevin Purdy, The Legend of Decimus Croome: A Halloween Carol
A selection of horror books released this week
12 horror books this week. Themes: Supernatural, psychological, dark fantasy, coming of age, vampire, zombie, and cabin in the woods horror
See: A selection of horror books released, 25 to 31 Oct 2026
“Here is all I ask of a book- give me everything. Everything, and don’t leave out a single word.”
― Pat Conroy, My Reading Life
A selection of horror movies released this week
14 horror movies this week. Themes: Supernatural, psychological, post-apocalypse, survival, sci-fi, body, comedy, ghost, vampire, zombie, serial killer, and slasher horror
See: A selection of horror movies released, 25 to 31 Oct 2026
“Halloween was the worst offender, the one day of the year when people revealed the faces they wished they could wear every day.”
― Sasha Harding
A selection of horror TV shows released this week
5 horror TV shows this week. Themes: Supernatural, vampire, serial killer, and survival horror
See: A selection of horror TV shows released, 25 to 31 Oct 2026
“But no matter where I ran to or how loud I played the music, I could still hear a low chuckling coming from the thing on our front step.”
― C.V. Hunt, Halloween Fiend
What we were thinking about this week
What we’ve been reading this week
Understanding Your Michael Myers-Briggs Type by Simon Henriques (article, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency)
Sheep by Dan McCoy (short story, Deathbed)
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins (novel)
What we’ve been recommending this week
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: Halloween horror
Season of Mist by Paul Finch
“It was amazing how quickly the autumn closed in that year.”
Hallows Eve by William Oswald
“It was the type of house that evoked the very essence of the word haunted.”
Hill Haven Creeps and the Halloween King by Brandon Berntson
“Because when you see something out of the ordinary, you know it.”
The Legend of Sunny Ville by Nicole Milazzo
“…her eyes landed on a vintage motel that seemed frozen in the 90’s…”
Devil’s Hill by E. Reyes
“That was Grandpa Johnny, always in the spirit of Halloween.”
Halloween: The Official Movie Novelization by John Passarella
“We were hoping to have this opportunity before he is transferred to the new facility.”
Mister Glow-Bones and Other Halloween Tales by Ronald Kelly
“You can take the rest, but Mister Glow-Bones stays here.”
“When you reach the stars, boy, yes, and live there forever, all the fears will go, and Death himself will die.”
― Ray Bradbury, The Halloween Tree
Horror fun
Thanks for reading
Hey, everyone who made it this far. There may or may not be a FearSome Fiction newsletter next week. I’ll do my best, but life things may get in the way.
Thanks for reading. Catch you on the other side.
Jayson
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