Halloween Haunts: Never a Night Off by Lincoln Cole

Halloween Haunts: Never a Night Off by Lincoln Cole

Halloween is the best time of the year for enjoying the scarier parts of life. People who normally are prudish and uptight about horror will discard their preconceived notions for one night and just allow themselves to enjoy life. It is the one night of the year where everyone is allowed to throw on a costume and pretend to be someone else… Never a Night Off “Did you see where he went?” Dominick asked, stepping up alongside his friend and glancing out over the crowd. The Halloween party at The Rusty Nail was in full swing and everyone was wearing…
Halloween Haunts: Honoring the Dead by Heddy Johannesen

Halloween Haunts: Honoring the Dead by Heddy Johannesen

  Samhain is a time to honor those who are still in spirit.  During Samhain, practice divination with the dead. The veil between the world of the living and the dead is thin. The dead like to be remembered. They continue to care about you after death. Perform prayers and leave offerings to show your devotion. Offerings could be something they loved in life such as a particular song, favorite aftershave or a rose. It tells them you remember them as they were in life and that they are loved. To honor those who have passed before you, keep a…
Halloween Haunts: Edinburgh Terror by Denise A. Agnew

Halloween Haunts: Edinburgh Terror by Denise A. Agnew

While I’ve been published in the romance genre for many years, this year I’ve turned my attention more toward the horror genre. I was thrilled to hear HWA was doing this Halloween blog event and knew I had to contribute. All my life I’ve been interested in the paranormal, and I’ve had a few strange things happen to me from the time I was a child that I might classify as strange and/or paranormal. I’m a skeptical believer. I am also an empath with some clairvoyant/clairsentient abilities, so I frequently pick up people’s feelings. I’m also a paranormal investigator. I’m…
Halloween Haunts: Be A Better Writer With JAWS by Tom Leveen

Halloween Haunts: Be A Better Writer With JAWS by Tom Leveen

Let’s assume for the moment that Jaws is, in fact, a horror movie. Cool, thanks. Now: So what aspect of the Father of the Summer Blockbuster might we study for writing tips? There are many to choose from in this A+ of a film, but I’m choosing two that probably slipped by unnoticed: One set of three lines, and character backstory. Police Chief Martin Brody, father of two boys and happily married to Ellen, came to Amity from New York City where he was a police officer. A dangerous job, to be sure. Almost from the beginning, the family seems to wonder…
Halloween Haunts: A Guide to Finding Horror in Star Trek by Kevin David Anderson

Halloween Haunts: A Guide to Finding Horror in Star Trek by Kevin David Anderson

As a fan and writer of horror, I tend to look for and find the horror in everything. From romantic comedies to presidential debates, I can somehow see the terror, the dread, and the worse case scenario in all stories, real or imagined. But when it comes to my favorite science fiction franchise, Star Trek, the search for horror, both dark and scary, is never difficult. Not the dystopian horror of 1984 or The Hunger Games, but good old fashion B-movie creature feature Halloween horror; vampires, zombies, shape shifters, body snatchers, and even serial killers can all be found in…
Halloween Haunts: A Día de Muertos Primer by Vanta M. Black

Halloween Haunts: A Día de Muertos Primer by Vanta M. Black

Día de Muertos is more widely-celebrated each year. Chances are you’ve heard of it, and may have even attended a festival. The beautiful art and costumes that surround this holiday are hard to ignore. Though Día de Muertos falls close to Halloween—our favorite time of the year by the way—its origins are diverse. Primarily a Mexican celebration, other cultures and countries observe the occasion, too. To prime you on the history and customs, let’s look at the beginnings of Día de Muertos, how it is celebrated, and the traditions associated with it. History of Día de Muertos In Mexico Día de…
Halloween Haunts: Staying at the Monster House by John Palisano

Halloween Haunts: Staying at the Monster House by John Palisano

A wonderful connection between songwriting, filmmaking and writing. After several years in semi-retirement, this late summer I put on my filmmaking hat in order to help my favorite holiday: Halloween. My longtime partner Fawn spent the past year recording a new record of original Halloween songs and needed me to help her shoot not one but two music videos. Wow. It’d been so long since I’d been in the mindset to take on such a huge shoot, from concept, to shooting, to editing, to post-production and distribution. For her first music video, "Monster House," we broke out her green screen…
Halloween Haunts: Hanging on to Halloween by Chad Lutzke

Halloween Haunts: Hanging on to Halloween by Chad Lutzke

  For those of us born with horror in our blood, I believe the love of Halloween comes in two phases.  In our younger years, Halloween is a little less about frights and more about candy and being able to parade around after dark dressed as our favorite creatures--an excuse to break our otherwise strict curfews, our curious little minds entertained by the taboo that is nightlife in the neighborhood--like our parents preached:  “No good thing can ever come from staying out at night.” But while the aesthetic of the holiday is pleasing to both the horror-loving youngster and our…
Halloween Haunts: A Scream on Burke’s Circle by Marlena Frank

Halloween Haunts: A Scream on Burke’s Circle by Marlena Frank

It’s difficult to convey just how much I love Halloween. We spend hours each September (cause decorations always go up early around here) putting up our wall clings, making sure the front door is suitably creepy, and getting the lighting on our fireplace mantel just right. For us, it’s an aesthetic more than just a holiday. But unlike most horror fans, I was terrified of horror movies as a kid. Most of the time I just tried to avoid them because I got too anxious. It took a long time for me to be desensitized to the gore I saw…
Halloween Haunts: Do People Still Bob for Apples? by Peter Sutton

Halloween Haunts: Do People Still Bob for Apples? by Peter Sutton

When I was a child, before the commercialisation and Americanisation of Halloween, apple bobbing was always a part of the Halloween celebration. I also remember that we used to carve turnips rather than pumpkins. Ah Britain in the 70’s , truly a different country. The increasing popularity of Halloween in the Uk from the 80’s onwards was probably mostly due to Bonfire Night celebrations becoming less family and community oriented due to safety concerns. Bobbing for apples, for those not in the know, involves filling a bucket with water, adding floating apples, tying the arms behind the back and forcing…
Halloween Haunts: Dirty Ghost by David Ghilardi

Halloween Haunts: Dirty Ghost by David Ghilardi

"I'll trade you three Clark bars for one Snickers." Jerry said. My little brother nodded. They made the candy exchange quickly, both satisfied with what they considered a total score. They both ripped into the candy like sharks. Jerry had never found a food group he didn't like. We all were pillaging from our full bags of treasure. It was a great night. We had scored big. One of the only Halloween's in memory where it had not rained, in Chicago, that was a miracle. It was building though, you could feel it. The weather was changing, pressing at my…
Halloween Haunts: Satansville: Collecting Ghost Stories by T. Fox Dunham

Halloween Haunts: Satansville: Collecting Ghost Stories by T. Fox Dunham

Local legend tells of a conclave of buildings hidden by dense forest and fences that can only be reached by haunted back roads. This urban legends draws ghost hunters and daring teens to a small patch of forest in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, deep in the Delaware Valley on the border of that name state. The locals call this domain Satansville, also been called the Cult House—a colonial building made of brown river stone sitting on a hill. And the stories abound, frighten and challenge. The foundation of the building drank the blood of sacrificed virgins in rituals that called upon…

The Seers’ Table October 2016

The Seers Table! Linda Addison, Member of the Diverse Works Inclusion Community Happy October! Give yourself a treat by picking up books by writers you haven’t read before! We have an outstanding selection of authors this month to choose from. Linda Addison recommends: Steven Van Patten is a Brooklyn native, raised in Fort Greene. After graduating from Long Island University's Brooklyn Campus on a full scholarship, he pursued a career in television production. When he's not writing scary stories, he can be found stage managing various TV shows in the New York area. The storyline of his first novel was…
Halloween Haunts: Four-Color Frights by James Chambers

Halloween Haunts: Four-Color Frights by James Chambers

Every Halloween I follow certain traditions. A handful of movies I dig out to watch, some music I like to play, favorite candies to pick up at the store. But my favorite is diving into some classic horror comics. There’s nothing quite like the experience of reading a well-written, beautifully drawn, scary story. And my favorites and perennial Halloween reads are EC Comics. There’s something special to those creepy, old tales from the 50s that makes them resonate as much today as they ever have, something beyond their tightly plotted stories and stunning illustrations, something vital and fundamental to the entire…

Interview with Matt Betts

Matt Betts is a pop culture junkie-sometimes to levels that are considered unhealthy by the Surgeon General. He grew up on a steady diet of giant monsters, comic books, robots and horror novels, all of which creep into his own work. Matt’s speculative poetry and short fiction have appeared in a number of anthologies and journals. His poem “Godzilla’s Better Half” was nominated for a Rhysling Award for speculative poetry in 2010. Matt’s first novel, the steampunk/zombie/alternate history adventure Odd Men Out was a finalist for the Eric Hoffer Award for excellence in independent publishing. Matt is a former radio…

Officer Candidate Statements 2016

Officer Candidate Statements collected by the 2016 HWA Election Committee (Chair: Jason V. Brock). Ballots will be distributed on 9/26/16. Only Active and Lifetime members may vote. There are three open Trustee positions.

The Seers Table – September 2016

The Seers Table! Kate Maruyama, Member of the Diverse Works Inclusion Community Happy September! Take advantage of that back-to-school feeling by picking up some books by writers you haven’t read before! We have a fantastic selection of authors this month to choose from. Linda Addison recommends: Paula D. Ashe is a writer of dark fiction, who only feels comfortable writing about herself in third person. Originally from Ohio, she resides in Indiana with her wife and too many animals. Paula works as an instructor of English at a community college. She is also a Ph.D. student in American Studies at…

HWA Poetry Showcase: An Interview With The Judges

At 9:59 AM on February 11, 2014 I wrote an email to Rocky Wood (then President of the Horror Writers Association), Lisa Morton (then Vice-President), and Board Member Marge Simon. For purposes of historical accuracy, here is the email in its entirety: I was trying to think of something that the Poetry Page could do for future months and, in speaking with Marge who suggested tying one thought into National Poetry Month in April, I had an idea I was hoping to get board approval for. I was wondering if we could do an HWA Poetry Page poetry contest for…

Halloween Recipes Contest!

Something fun for HWA members only... Please send submissions to either Robert Cabeen or Marge Simon. Now get cookin'!
Ambiguously Ever After: Ending the Children’s Horror Story

Ambiguously Ever After: Ending the Children’s Horror Story

There’s much handwringing in publishing for children about what is “right” or “appropriate.” There are many controversial subjects and editorial choices, but today we’re talking about endings. Do endings in books for children need to be happy? Or should writers of children’s books portray a realistic version of the world where things don’t always end well? Critics and authors have come down on both sides of the issue. When the 2014 Carnegie Award was given to The Bunker Diary, it set off a flurry of controversy in the UK and prompted an opinion piece for The Guardian in which two…