A Grab Bag of Horror News, 24 to 30 Nov 2024

A selection of things that caught our attention in the world of horror this week

Bite-Sized Horror News

Vale

Condolences to family, friends, and fans of author Trent Zelazny. Zelazny wrote horror, crime, thrillier, sci-fi, and humorous novels, novellas, and short stories, as well as being an accomplished playwright. RIP.
Condolences to family, friends, and fans of actor Michael Villella. Villella’s debut movie role was serial killer Russ Thorn in The Slumber Party Massacre (1982). RIP.

Horror Book Bits

Ellen Datlow has so many Best Horror of the Year (2023) recommendations that she’s had to split it into 2 blog posts: Part 1 and Part 2. How many have you read?

Horror Movie Morsels

Backers on the slasher holiday horror movie Fiendsgiving crowdfunding campaign can expect to learn how to make a movie. In exchange for your money, you get to “join livestreams from production meetings, special effects tests and physical production on set, plus post sessions in the edit bay”. If you give over $85, you’ll also receive an invitation to the private Fiendsgiving Discord server.

Horror Game Goodies

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl has sold a million copies.
Eight new skins inspired by Junji Ito are coming to Dead By Daylight early next year.

“Where there is no imagination there is no horror.”
Arthur Conan Doyle

Writing Horror

Some places accepting submissions

Horror novellas (Little Ghosts Press)
Pays: Signing bonus plus 40% royalties
Looking for: Horror fiction 17,000 to 40,000 words
Submissions close: 31 December 2024
Best Trans Horror of the Year anthology (Ghoulish Books)
Pays: 2 cents per word
Looking for: Reprints of work published in 2024
Submissions close: 1 January 2025
Illustrated Poetry Anthology (Graveside Press)
Pays: 2 cents per word, $75 for artwork
Looking for: Grim, gothic, morbidly funny, terrifying works
Submissions close: 31 May 2025
Short stories, novel, novellas (Graveside Press)
Looking for: Tales geared toward younger readers (middle grade and young adult)) spooky, but with a little restraint

“Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality.”
Edgar Allan Poe

Trailer Horror

A taste of things to come.

Horror TV Trailers

Dexter: Original Sin. Serial killer horror. Origin story of Dexter Morgan and his transition into an avenging serial killer. Paramount+, 13 Dec 2024
The Haunted Season: To Fire You Come at Last. Anthology ghost horror short. A grieving father promises double wages to 5 men to carry a coffin to its final resting place if they can survive until sunrise. Shudder, 1 Dec 2024
The Summer Hikaru Died. Anime horror. Yoshiki’s life is thrown upside down when his best friend Hikaru is replaced by “something” that looks and acts just like him. Netflix, Jul 2025

Horror Movie Trailers

Breathing In. Supernatural horror. In 1901 in South Africa, a wounded soldier seeks refuge in the home of a woman and her daughter and soon notices something is off about them. Release date TBA.
Fear Cabin: The Last Weekend of Summer. Supernatural horror. Six friends head to a remote cabin deep in the woods for what’s meant to be an unforgettable final weekend of summer fun. Their plans take a dark turn when they discover they’re not alone. Release date TBA
Jitters. Clown horror. A detective’s investigation of a woman’s death sets him on a perilous journey filled with chilling secrets and unsettling revelations. Release date TBA
Night of the Zoopocalypse. Animated comedy horror. When a meteor unleashes a virus that turns zoo animals into zombies, a wolf and mountain lion join forces with other survivors to save the zoo. Cinema, 7 Mar 2025
What Lurks Beneath. Mermaid horror. The crew of USS Titan find themselves on the brink of World War 3 when a stowaway appears in one of their torpedo tubes. Captain Banks fears she may be Russian, but she’s something far more dangerous. VOD, 13 Dec 2024

Horror Game Trailers

The Cabin Factory. Psychological horror. Step into the shoes of a newly hired cabin inspector and carry out a simple job: inspect the cabins and decide whether they’re haunted or not. Steam, 13 Dec 2024
Paradise’s Secrets. Psychological horror. Contrary to popular belief, the Paradise company is not innocent, it is up to you to reveal their secrets. Steam, 13 Dec 2024

“Part of what horror is, is taking risks and going somewhere that people think you're not supposed to be able to go, in the name of expressing real-life fears.”
Jordan Peele

A Selection of Horror Books Released this Week

6 horror books this week. Themes: Supernatural, survival, witch, and holiday horror

See: A Selection of Horror Books Released, 24 to 30 Nov 2024

“Some people ask why people would go into a dark room to be scared. I say they are already scared, and they need to have that fear manipulated and massaged. I think of horror movies as the disturbed dreams of a society.”
Wes Craven

A Selection of Horror Movies Released this Week

6 horror movies this week. Themes: Supernatural, found footage, music, animal, Christmas, and slasher horror

See: A Selection of Horror Movies Released, 24 to 30 Nov 2024

“What scares me is what scares you. We're all afraid of the same things. That's why horror I”s such a powerful genre. All you have to do is ask yourself what frightens you and you'll know what frightens me.”
John Carpenter

What We Were Thinking About this Week

Writing as Resistance by Tim Waggoner (article, Writing in the Dark)
Finding Horror in the Mundane by AM Sutter (Graveside Press)
Black River Orchard – Chuck Wendig (novel)

“If one horror film hits, everyone says, 'Let's go make a horror film.' It's the genre that never dies.”
George A. Romero

And Now For Something Completely Different

Optipess Comic on Instagram

Horror-Themed Shopping

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.