A Grab Bag of Horror News, 26 May to 1 Jun 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 Scott Wampler. Wampler was an entertainment journalist, film critic, and co-host of Kingcast, the popular podcast that discussed all things Stephen King. RIP.

Horror Book Bits

We hope everyone is enjoying StokerCon® 2024 in San Diego this weekend.
To celebrate StokerCon® 2024, Dark Matter is running a giveaway. Three winners will receive 21 eBooks and a $5 gift card to the Dark Matter shop. You need to enter before 3 June runs out.

Horror Movie Morsels

Blumhouse has confirmed that Mike Flanagan is writing, directing, and producing the next The Exorcist It won’t be a sequel to 2023’s The Exorcist: The Believer and will be about Jesuit priests and demon-possessed people.
The SpongeBob SquarePants voice actor is writing and directing Death Castle, a comedy-horror short that will become the pilot for a full adult animation series.
The 2019 rom-com Isn’t It Romantic is getting a horror sequel called Isn’t It Scary.
Ari Aster’s Midsommar (The Director’s Cut) is playing in IMAX on 20 June 2024.

Horror TV Treatso

Bill Skarsgård will be executive producing and starring in Welcome to Derry, the It prequel TV series.
RubyRock Pictures is developing a TV series adaptation of Stephen Lloyd Jones’ The String Diaries, and also one of Justin Stomper’s the Vampirates book series. The String Diaries is a supernatural thriller and Vampirates is about vampire pirates.
With season 2 of Silo in post-production, it looks like there might be another 2 seasons after that.

Horror Podcast Pieces

Queen of the Damned is the latest episode of Grady Hendrix’s Super Scary Haunted Homeschool.

Horror Festival Fare

London’s Soho Horror Film Festival has announced Sohome Horror Pride, a virtual film festival celebrating queer horror from 11 to 14 July 2024. The online gala features 11 movies, over 20 shorts, and 5 special live events.
Sir Henry’s Haunted Trail will be hosting its first ever Sir Henry’s Summer Camp between 15 and 19 July 2024. Located between Tampa and Orlando, the camp will teach young people how to build haunted houses.

“A short story is a different thing altogether – a short story is like a quick kiss in the dark from a stranger.”
Stephen King, Skeleton Crew

Writing Horror

Some places accepting submissions.

The Fires of Retribution anthology (Three Ravens Publishing)
Pays: percentage of sales divided equally between contribution authors
Looking for: Stories that show the struggle between man and dragon
Submissions close: 1 June 2024
Songs from the Void anthology (Max Blood)
Pays: 5 cents per word
Theme: Short horror tales set in the bleakness of space.
Submissions close: 31 August 2024
Max Blood Publications
Looking for: Space horror novels
Submissions close: 31 August 2024

“Write the kind of story you would like to read. People will give you all sorts of advice about writing, but if you are not writing something you like, no one else will like it either.”
Meg Cabot

Trailer Horror

A taste of things to come.

Horror Movie Trailers

Amp House Massacre. Slasher horror. A group of social media influencers sharing a mansion in the Hollywood Hills find themselves in a life and death game of survival as a killer reveals their deepest secrets before killing them off one by one. Limited release on 17 June 2024.
Lumina. Sci-fi horror. Four friends desperately search for their abductee friend in a deep underground military base. What they find will change their lives forever. Releases in cinemas on 12 July 2024.
Scared to Death. Comedy horror. A group of filmmakers attend a seance at an abandoned children’s orphanage in order to do research for a movie … and that’s their first mistake. Release date TBA.

Horror Game Trailers

Scholar’s Mate. First-person horror game. Play as Judith, a young woman who wakes up in the gloomy facilities of a psychiatric hospital and must escape by solving mysteries while avoiding capture by Eddy, the sinister hunter. Available now on Steam.
Silent Hill 2 (remake). Supernatural horror game. As James sinks deeper into the fog of Silent Hill, he meets a familiar face: Angela. Releases on PS5 and PC on 8 October 2024.
Nightmare Operator. Action shooter horror game. Hunt Youkai in the haunted ruins of Tokyo. Release date TBA.

“Some of these things are true and some of them lies. But they are all good stories.”
Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall

A Selection of Horror Books Released this Week

9 horror books this week. Themes: Supernatural, psychological, sci-fi, and zombie horror

See: A Selection of Horror Books Released, 26 May to 1 Jun 2024

“The worst thing about new books is that they keep us from reading the old ones.”
Joseph Joubert

A Selection of Horror Movies Released this Week

7 horror movies this week. Themes: Supernatural, psychological, dystopian, home invasion, and serial killer horror

See: A Selection of Horror Movies Released, 26 May to 1 Jun 2024

“To live will be an awfully big adventure.”
J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan

What We Were Thinking About this Week

8 Sizzling Summer Horror Books
Little Miss Dead by Amy Cross (novel)
The Bursting Place by Max Blood (short story)
Guest Post: Disney, Books, and the Copyright Claims Board by Jonathan Bailey (Writer Beware blog)

“It is likely I will die next to a pile of things I was meaning to read.”
Lemony Snicket

And Now For Something Completely Different

Loading Artist comics 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.