Bite-Sized Horror News
Horror Book Bits
- Join the online chat with authors Tananarive Due, Rachel Harrison, Alma Katsu, and Jennifer McMahon on the Women in Horror Author Panel on 26 Mar 2026, 6:30pm to 8pm. The event is free and the panel will be moderated by author and horror advocate Becky Spratford.
- Anyone can nominate a book for the 2026 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction. Nominations close 31 Mar 2026.
- The End Times – the post-apocalyptic newspaper by Stephen King and Benjamin Percy that was released in monthly instalments – will be released as a hardcover novel with Volume 1 expected to ship in Q1 2027.
Horror Movie Morsels
- Evil Dead actor Bruce Campbell says he’s been diagnosed with cancer. We wish him all the best.
- Scary Movie 6 will hit cinemas a week earlier than expected (5 Jun rather than 12 Jun 2026).
- 3½ years after being announced as a thing, Wolf Creek 3 is finally in production and is called Wolf Creek: Legacy.
- 14 years after being first talked about, a Maniac Cop remake might finally be happening.
- Disney says musical comedy Zombies 5 will be released in 2027 and is adds mermaids with siren songs into the mix.
- Godzilla Minus Zero will have a worldwide IMAX release.
- Sinners will need to build a special shed to keep all its awards in. The latest awards won by the movie are 7 x Golden Schmoe awards, 2 x Actor Awards, and 7 x Dorian Awards.
- Weapons might need to rent an annex off Sinners’ awards shed for its own awards. The latest awards for Weapons are 7 x Golden Schmoe Awards, 1 x Actor Awards, and 2 x Dorian Awards.
- Will Godzilla x King: Supernova include Space Godzilla? Maybe.
- There will be a Smile 3.
- Pssst … did you know … you can now buy Twilight-inspired perfume.
Horror TV Treats
- Kevin Williamson says he’s working on a new TV series “based in the Universal monster land” that will include “Dracula and Frankenstein and the Wolf Man” and it could be explained as “an adult Vampire Diaries”.
- Ted Raimi’s new interview show is called Your Dearest Darkest Friend with Your Host Ted Raimi and will air on Screambox in Oct 2026. Raimi describes it as “a wacky show – somewhere between Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Pee-Wee’s Playhouse“.
- While The Last Drive-In With Joe Bob Briggs is officially finished on Shudder, there will be 4 new specials airing this year, starting with Joe Bob’s Wicked Witchy Wingding on 24 Apr 2026.
Horror Game Goodies
- Ice Nine Kills’ frontman Spencer Charnas will have a role in the Halloween video game, but there’s no hint of what his character will be doing in there.
Horror Festival Fare
- Boston Underground Film Festival, 18 to 22 Mar 2026: schedule and tickets are available.
- Unnamed Footage Festival, 24 to 29 Mar 2026: second wave of movies announced.
- BeyondFest Chicago, 2 to 5 Apr 2026: schedule and tickets are available.
- 9th Salem Horror Fest: dates are 30 Apr to 3 May 2026.
“Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere.”
― Albert Einstein
Writing Horror
Some places accepting submissions
Plott Hound Magazine
Pays: USD 8 cents per word short fiction, $50 poems, $100 nonfiction essay
Looking for: Stories with anthropomorphized animals as viewpoint characters and protagonists (fantasy, science fiction, horror)
Submissions close: 15 Mar 2026
Flash Phantoms
Pays: $20 for featured story of the month
Theme: Evil Easter horror stories up to 1000 words and microfiction of 100 words
Submissions close: 29 Mar 2026
Varnish MagazinePays: AUD $250 fiction or essay, $100 poetry
Looking for: Writing that is as vital today as it will be ten years from now, play with form, play with length, play with the reader
Submissions close: 4 Apr 2026
What Elegant Stars: Queer Tales of Impossible Style (Neon Hemlock)
Pays: USD 8 cents per word
Looking for: Space opera stories involving style, fashion and society
Submissions close: 15 Apr 2026
Upcoming submission calls
Anomaly
Pays: USD 8 cents per word
Looking for: Sci-fi under 300 words
Submissions open 1 Apr and close 7 Apr 2026
“You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.”
― Mark Twain, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court
Trailer Horror
A taste of things to come.
Horror Movie Trailers
1000 Women in Horror. Horror documentary. A deep dive into how women pioneers revolutionized horror cinema through their groundbreaking work as directors, actors, and creators since 1895. Shudder, 20 Mar 2026
American Dollhouse. Psychological horror. Caught between a grotesque Christmas fantasy and her own childhood trauma, a woman’s search for a fresh start in her home town is violently interrupted by a psychopathic neighbor. Release date TBA
Bug-Eyed Monsters Invade Earth! Sci-fi comedy horror. A band of misfits and their childhood hero face off against an alien menace. VOD, 10 Mar 2026
Bury the Devil, teaser. Supernatural horror. A nurse locked inside the home of her dementia patient begins to suspect something demonic is seeping through the cracks of this old home. Release date TBA
Capture. Supernatural horror. Abby inherits her parents’ long-abandoned house and finds a 30-year-old camcorder hidden among a collection of videotapes. As she reviews the footage, she begins to unravel horrifying secrets tied to her family’s past and about the camera itself. VOD, 17 Mar 2026
Crybaby Bridge. Psychological horror. After a pregnant teen is bullied at school, her family moves from the city to the countryside, unexpectedly revealing a coveted secret of her past that threatens the fresh start they seek. VOD, 24 Mar 2026
Dead Eyes. Psychological horror. Paul vanished in a remote forest after the death of his youngest daughter, Lilly, and has been conducting experiments aimed at resurrecting her. Release date TBA
Dead Lover. Comedy horror. When a stinky gravedigger’s lover drowns at sea, her attempts to bring him back result in grave consequences and unlikely love. UK/Ireland cinemas, 20 Mar 2026
Dragn. AI horror. During a team-building retreat in a remote forest, a group of colleagues unwittingly becomes the prey of a rogue AI-driven drone. VOD, 17 Mar 2026
Mermaid. Creature horror. A drug addicted Florida man finds a wounded mermaid and as word spreads about his secret, he’ll stop at nothing to protect her. Cinema, 8 Apr 2026
Pinocchio: Unstrung. Slasher horror. A dark coming-of-age tale following the puppet’s disturbing journey toward becoming real. Release date TBA
Rabisu: Curse of the Demon. Found footage horror. A team of social-media ghost hunters enters a warehouse and discovers a djinn capable of possession, shifting corridors, and turning friends into violent threats. VOD, 3 Apr 2026
Red Riding. Survival horror. After her mother’s overdose, a teenager moves to her estranged grandmother’s Scottish estate, where dark family secrets, missing children, and a monstrous wolf blur reality. Limited, 13 Mar 2026
View From the Edge. Psychological horror. Three couples spend the weekend at the cottage of a peculiar man they meet at an online event. Release date TBA
Wizard of Death: Rise of the Tinman. Slasher horror. A family outing spirals into a fight for survival against a heart-hungry machine risen from the ruins of Oz. Release date TBA
Horror Game Trailers
Claim Denied. Comedy sci-fi horror. As a special department of Quark.Inc, investigate a series of mysterious incidents on a spaceship. Release date TBA
Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss. Lovecraftian horror. Investigate an underwater mining colony after losing contact, explore an ancient sunken city, and face the horrors alongside an AI companion. Releases 16 Apr 2026
Grave Seasons. Serial killer horror. Amidst relationship building and crop harvesting in a small farming town, figure out which of the townsfolk is a supernatural serial killer. Release date TBA
Phantom Lamb. Psychological horror. Survive an early-20th-century asylum as horrors haunt the halls. Release date TBA
The Road. Driving horror. Take in the scenic yet haunting views of an eerie world in search of loot, friendship, and the thrill of escaping a menacing creature. Release date TBA
“Imagination is like a muscle. I found out that the more I wrote, the bigger it got.”
― Philip José Farmer
A Selection of Horror Books Released this Week
10 horror books this week. Themes: Supernatural, psychological, werewolf, and bigfoot horror
See: A Selection of Horror Books Released, 1 to 7 Mar 2026
“Imagination does not become great until human beings, given the courage and the strength, use it to create.”
― Maria Montessori
A Selection of Horror Movies Released this Week
11 horror movies this week. Themes: Psychological, zombie apocalypse, monster, survival, slasher, cursed object, and Frankenstein horror
See: A Selection of Horror Movies Released, 1 to 7 Mar 2026
“Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality.”
― Lewis Carroll
What We Were Thinking About this Week
What We’ve Been Reading This Week
The Queen by Nick Cutter (novel)
My Ex, The Antichrist by Craig DiLouie (novel)
Will the Last One to Leave Please Turn Out the Lights by Gordon B. White (short story, Nightmare magazine)
What We’re 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: Women in Horror
A Wasp for a Fig by Natalie Pinter
“David rolls down the window and Sylas smells something fresh and sweet.”
A Pale Shade of Winter by L.B. Stimson
“She turned and faced the house in hopes her father had changed his mind.”
Wrathburn by Hayley Bernard-Ryan
“Eric Wrathburn was frequently troubled by vivid nightmares…”
One Hell of a Night in Mexico by Sunni Ellis
“Sundown in Acuna was a skull-crusher.”
Nowhere Land by Pamela K. Kinney
“Is there anyone of the spirit realm in here with us?”
A Whisper in the Dark by Elizabeth S. Devecchi
“She closed her eyes, the hypnotic echoes traveling just under her skin…”
Good For Her – Nefarious Bat Press
“Elise Brennan shuffled the blank papers on her desk and beamed at the camera…”
“Books say: She did this because. Life says: She did this. Books are where things are explained to you; life is where things aren’t. I’m not surprised some people prefer books.”
― Julian Barnes, Flaubert’s Parrot
Horror Fun
Thanks for reading
Thanks for reading. Catch you on the other side.
Jayson
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