Bite-Sized Horror News
Vale
- Condolences to family, friends, and fans of actor Anthony Head. Head played Rupert Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV show, video game and animated series. Other horror credits include podcast series Slayers: A Buffyverse Story (2023), TV show The Canterville Ghost (2021), and movies Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2011), The Great Ghost Rescue (2011), and Let the Wrong One In (2021). RIP.
Horror Book Bits
- From the looks of the social media pictures, everyone at StokerCon® 2026 is having a fantastic time this weekend.
- Lindsey Anderson Beer’s debut novel Hollow, a reimagining of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, is getting a movie adaptation starring Sydney Sweeney. The novel releases in Fall 2027.
- Robert McCammon’s short story Yellowjacket Summer is getting a movie adaptation with Daniel Kraus writing the script.
- In new comic series Archie in Hell, Archie literally goes to Hell. The series is expected to release in Nov 2026.
- Max Brallier’s middle grade horror The Last Kids on Earth is getting a live-action movie adaptation, adding to its existing adaptations (animated TV series, graphic novels, video games).
- Congratulations to all the shortlisted authors and those that made it into Apex Magazine’s final TOC for ECO25, the next in their ECO anthology series.
Horror Movie Morsels
- Joe Bob Briggs is working on a new show and workshopped a couple of movies in Austin, TX, to work out what type of movies to focus on.
- 1981 psychological horror movie Possession is getting a remake.
- Zack Snyder will write and direct the remake of John Carpenter’s Escape from New York.
- You can watch 2018 psychological thriller Cam for free on Daniel Goldhaber’s website.
- Found footage horror movie Hunting Matthew Nichols is getting a sequel.
- Tim Curry will have an “expanded role” in slasher sequel Stream 2: Sudden Death.
- Horror short Mimic is getting a feature adaptation.
- Kaiju: Island of Fire, a new giant monster movie that includes familiar people from the Godzilla and Gamera franchises, is aiming for a 2026 release.
- Preorders are open for In Search of Darkness ‘70s which takes a look at iconic ‘70s horror. Preorders include the chance to get your name in the credits as well as the Blu-ray, a companion book, and other merch.
- The Thing and They Live actor Keith David received his Hollywood Walk of Fame star. You can watch the speeches on the MaximoTV YouTube channel, including one from John Carpenter.
- In movie ratings news, South Korean zombie movie Colony has been rated R, slasher movie Pinocchio Unstrung has been rated R, and Mexican stop-motion movie I Am Frankelda has been rated PG.
Horror TV Treats
- The Cape Fear series finale will have its world premiere at this year’s Fantasia International Film Festival.
- Animated series Devil May Cry is getting a 3rd season and it will be its last.
- In Guillermo del Toro’s opinion, Widow’s Bay “may very well be the best streaming series in a long time…”
Horror Game Goodies
- Is Norman Reedus considering making a live-action Chainsaw Man movie?
- One of the playable maps in the new Halloween video game is the Haddonfield town center which allows you to explore places like Nichols’ Hardware, Patty’s Pub, the A-Side Music Store, the Hill Garden Center, the post office, Margie’s Auto Repair, and the cemetery.
- There’ll be a 10th anniversary livestream of Dead By Daylight on 14 Jun 2026.
Horror Festival Fare
- Are you interested in the 2nd wave announcement of Fantasia International Film Festival titles?
“I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.”
― Sarah Williams
Writing Horror
Some places accepting submissions
Savagery on the Salty Seas, Volume 1 (Campfire Publishing)
Pays: $50 + 4 contributor copies
Looking for: Maritime horror
Submissions close: 15 Jun 2026
Baneberry – A Literary Horror Annual
Pays: USD $500 / CDN $600
Theme: Literary fiction between 500 and 7000 words with horror elements
Submissions close: 8 Jul 2026
Upcoming submission calls
One Story
Pays: $500 and 25 contributors copies for First Serial North American rights
Looking for: Literary fiction that leaves readers feeling satisfied and are strong enough to stand alone.
Submissions open 8 Jun and close when cap of 2000 is reached
Diabolical Plots
Pays: 10 cents per word
Looking for: science fiction, fantasy, horror (everything must have a speculative element)
Submissions open 13 Jul and close 27 Jul 2026
AdventitiousPays: USD 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 Aug and close 5 Aug 2026
“The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds; and the pessimist fears this is true.”
― James Branch Cabell, The Silver Stallion
Trailer Horror
A taste of things to come.
Horror TV Trailers
Silo, Season 3. Dystopian horror. In the present, Juliette survives her forced “cleaning” but returns with memory loss as the silo recovers from rebellion and faces a dangerous new threat. Meanwhile, in the “Before Times,” journalist Helen Drew and Congressman Daniel Keene uncover a conspiracy that pulls them into a chain of events with catastrophic, irreversible consequences. Apple TV+, 3 Jul 2026
The Walking Dead: Dead City, Season 3, teaser 2. Zombie apocalypse horror. AMC+, 26 Jul 2026
Horror Movie Trailers
Black Box. Supernatural horror. Vero Airlines Flight 298 from New Orleans to Seattle becomes the center of a chilling supernatural mystery. VOD, 7 Jul 2026
Hold the Fort. Comedy horror. A young couple is trapped in an epic battle between their new HOA and an onslaught of monsters from hell. VOD, 23 Jun 2026
Fall 2: Deadpoint, teaser. Psychological horror. Two friends climbing in Thailand are left fighting the elements and the impact on their bodies. Cinema, 2 Sep 2026
Ice Cream Man, red band trailer. Splatter horror. An idyllic summer town descends into madness when an ice cream man serves kids sweet delights with horrifying results. Cinema, 7 Aug 2026
Onslaught. Creature horror. When a rogue squad of genetically engineered super soldiers breaks loose in the desert, an army sniper must protect her young daughter. Cinema, 4 Sep 2026
She Saw Us. Witch horror. Four friends are trapped in a remote house haunted by the lingering presence of a vengeful witch and a two-headed doll that embodies the souls of her conjoined daughters, burned alive centuries ago. Release date TBA
Horror Game Trailers
ILL. Supernatural horror. A dark fort has been overtaken by a mysterious entity. Releases 2027
Saw: Genesis. Survival horror. One player becomes the Judge, a precursor to Jigsaw, and three others fight to survive as the Accused. Release date TBA
Silent Hill: Townfall. Supernatural horror. Returning to ‘put things right’, Simon Ordell descends into a world of tense evasion, explosive confrontations, and mind-bending puzzles that slowly surface the truth of St. Amelia. PlayStation 5, 24 Sep 2026
Until Dawn 2. Supernatural horror. Join a group of ghost hunters as they “chase their next viral hit on a remote island haunted by a woman’s chilling story of something far darker than they bargained for.” Releases 2027
“A man that flies from his fear may find that he has only taken a short cut to meet it.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Children of Húrin
A Selection of Horror Books Released this Week
13 horror books this week. Themes: Supernatural, psychological, zombie, slasher, dark fantasy, gothic, witch, and monster horror
See: A Selection of Horror Books Released, 31 May to 6 Jun 2026
“Make up a story… For our sake and yours forget your name in the street; tell us what the world has been to you in the dark places and in the light.”
― Toni Morrison, The Nobel Lecture in Literature, 1993
A Selection of Horror Movies Released this Week
10 horror movies this week. Themes: Supernatural, psychological, comedy, revenge, witch, dark fantasy, urban legend, and a horror documentary
See: A Selection of Horror Movies Released, 31 May to 6 Jun 2026
“Freethinkers are those who are willing to use their minds without prejudice and without fearing to understand things that clash with their own customs, privileges, or beliefs.”
― Leo Tolstoy
A Selection of Horror TV Shows Released this Week
3 horror TV shows this week. Theme: Survival, sci-fi, and anthology horror
See: A Selection of Horror TV Shows Released, 31 May to 6 Jun 2026
“Death is a strange thing. People live their whole lives as if it does not exist, and yet it’s often one of the great motivations for living.”
― Fredrik Backman, A Man Called Ove
What We Were Thinking About this Week
What We’ve Been Reading This Week
Timor: A Dark Fiction Horror Universe (Substack)
The Bird’s Nest by Shirley Jackson (novel)
Something in the Walls by Daisy Pearce (novel)
Monsters in the Archive: My Year of Fear with Stephen King by Caroline Binks (non-fiction)
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: Fairy horror
The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher
“I am going to try to start at the beginning, even though I know you won’t believe me.”
The Cunning Folk by Adam Nevill
“A motionless man stands alone in the hall…”
The Call by Peadar O’Guilin
“3 minutes to save your life”
Faerie Tale by Raymond E. Feist
“This is no bedtime story…”
The Kind Folk by Ramsey Campbell
“When did you start to have doubts that Luke was your son?”
The Cottingley Cuckoo by A.J. Elwood
“I realise I’m staring at the pictures.”
The Tooth Fairy by Graham Joyce
“The thing was gone before Terry understood what had happened.”
“…man alone suffers a paralyzing fear that no other creature endures. A fear of time running out.”
― Mitch Albom, The Time Keeper
Horror Fun
Thanks for reading
Thanks for reading. Catch you on the other side.
Jayson
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