A selection of things that caught our attention in the world of horror this week
Terry Pratchett, Lords and Ladies“If cats looked like frogs we'd realize what nasty, cruel little bastards they are. Style. That's what people remember.”
The First Line
Pays: $25 – $50 fiction, $10 poetry, $25 nonfiction
Story must begin with this sentence: Jayce recognized the man right away but couldn’t remember his name.
Submissions close: 1 Feb 2025
The Last Line
Pays: $20 – $40
Story must end with this sentence: I called back a week later and told them we were good to go.
Submissions close: 1 Oct 2025
NonBinary Review
Pays: 1 cent per word for prose, $10 for poems, $25 for art
Theme: Mistaken identity
Submissions close: 1 Feb 2025
Fantasy Magazine
Pays: 10 cents per word for original fiction, $50 for original poetry
Looking for: Original speculative works that can be described as Fantasy
Submissions open 22 Jan, close 29 Jan 2025
The Last Girls Club Magazine
Pays: 1.5 cents per word, $37.50 maximum
Theme: For Your Own Good
Submissions open 1 Apr, close 1 May 2025 (may close early if quota is met)
Lemony Snicket, The Wide Window“If you are allergic to a thing, it is best not to put that thing in your mouth, particularly if the thing is cats.”
A taste of things to come.
Are You There?. Supernatural horror. Paranormal psychology student Rosa Gonzalez lights a ritual candle used to contact the dead and opens a door to a demonic game of 20 questions. VOD, 7 Feb 2025
The Baby in the Basket. Supernatural horror. When a baby is left on the steps of an isolated monastery, on a remote Scottish island during WWII, the nuns take it in, planning to care for it until a storm passes. VOD, 17 Feb 2025
Bone Face. Summer camp slasher horror. When a masked killer slaughters several counselors at a small-town summer camp, the police track the murderer to a local diner where they must confront a diverse and unruly group of patrons and staff to uncover the actual killer. As the night wears on and tensions rise, the truth becomes more elusive than they had imagined. VOD, 21 Jan 2025
Creep Box. Supernatural horror. After his wife’s death, a scientist tries to use ground-breaking technology to determine if there is life after death. VOD, 24 Jan 2025
Freelance. Psychological horror. A down-on-her luck video editor takes a well-paying job cutting snuff films and finds herself seemingly haunted by the people in her videos. VOD, 28 Jan 2025
Inhabitants. Ghost horror. A young woman moves in with her lapsed Catholic boyfriend, only to discover that they’re being haunted by the vengeful ghost of his childhood youth minister. VOD, 14 Feb 2025
Mom. Psychological horror. Meredith, abandoned by her family after a horrific incident at home, is left alone to relive – and relive – the darkest moments of her past. VOD, 11 Feb 2025
The Monkey (red band trailer). Psychological horror. When twin brothers find a wind-up monkey, a series of deaths tear their family apart. Twenty-five years later, the monkey begins a new killing spree, forcing the estranged brothers to confront the cursed toy. Cinema, 21 Feb 2025
Until Dawn. Killer horror. A year after her sister disappeared, Clover and her friends head into the remote valley where she vanished in search of answers. Exploring an abandoned visitor center, they’re stalked by a masked killer and horrifically murdered one by one, only to wake up and find themselves back at the beginning of the same evening. Each time the killer threat is different, each more terrifying than the last. Cinema, 25 Apr 2025
The Woman in the Yard. Psychological horror. A mysterious woman repeatedly appears in a family’s front yard, delivering chilling warnings or unsettling messages, leaving the residents to question her identity, motives, and the potential danger she might pose. Cinema, 28 Mar 2025
The Cecil. Adventure horror. John and Sarah’s dream vacation at the Cecil Hotel turns into a nightmare. John wakes up locked in a dark cell and Sarah is missing. Release date TBA
Backrooms Level X. Liminal horror. After a freak accident, you find yourself trapped in the Backrooms, a place where logic and reality vanish. Explore endless corridors of yellow carpet, empty rooms, and areas of flickering light as you try to find a way out. Release date TBA
Kryva Hora. Found footage horror. You’ve just found a tape taken in 1987 after the tragic explosion in Chornobyl. Survive and escape from the mutants and the hostile environment to finish your mission and close a portal to an alien world. Release date TBA
SCP: Fragmented Minds. Space action horror. Mars Site-113 was once the most secure facility, but is now a cradle of horrors calling you to uncover its secrets. Steam early access, 27 Jan 2025
Winston S. Churchill“I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.”
6 horror books this week. Themes: Supernatural, psychological, ghost, and witch horror
See: A Selection of Horror Books Released, 12 to 18 Jan 2025
Garrison Keillor“Cats are intended to teach us that not everything in nature has a purpose.”
6 horror movies this week. Themes: Supernatural, psychological, creature, slasher, and werewolf horror
See: A Selection of Horror Movies Released, 12 to 18 Jan 2025
P.C. Cast, Chosen“You know how it is with cats: They don't really have owners, they have staff.”
1 horror TV show this week. Theme: Animated vampire horror
See: A Selection of Horror TV Shows Released, 12 to 18 Jan 2025
Hippolyte Taine“I have studied many philosophers and many cats. The wisdom of cats is infinitely superior.”
Robertson Davies“Authors like cats because they are such quiet, lovable, wise creatures, and cats like authors for the same reasons.”
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: 18 January 2025
Horror-themed clothing, notebooks, homewares, and accessories