Halloween Haunts: Tradition by Heddy Johannesen

The ancient Celts celebrated the Sabbat of Samhain on the eve of October 31st, marking the Celtic New Year. Samhain means summer’s end, pronounced “samhuinn” (Scots Gaelic spelling) when they protected their herds in the stables and stored their harvest for the cold winter. They feasted, burned need-fires, and divined with the spirits of those departed. I’m a Witch. I enjoy Samhain on October 31 by performing what is known as a dumb supper. During a dumb supper, not a single word is uttered. I lay a black tablecloth on the table and use black dishes, napkins, and cutlery. I…

Halloween Haunts: Hallowe’en Over the Pond By Sara Jayne Townsend

I was born on 24 October – a week before Hallowe’en. Growing up in the North of England in the 1970s, this didn’t mean much – Hallowe’en wasn’t a big celebration. Bonfire Night, falling five days later was a much bigger deal, and we all looked forward to big bonfires, sparklers, firework displays and throwing effigies of Guy Fawkes onto the flames. It was only when we emigrated to Canada – in January 1980 – did I discover the concept of trick or treating. I was ten years old at the time. I only really got a couple of years…

Poet Z.M. Wise – Spoken Word and Spooks

Z.M. Wise is a poet, editor and poetry activist. He has been a written-word poet for almost two decades and a spoken-word poet for four years and is co-owner and co-editor of Transcendent Zero Press, an independent publishing house for poetry that produces an international quarterly journal known as Harbinger Asylum, with founder Dustin Pickering. The journal was nominated Best Poetry Journal in 2013 at the National Poetry Awards. He is also an Assistant Editor at Weasel Press. He has published four books of poetry, including: 'Take Me Back, Kingswood Clock!' (MavLit Press), 'The Wandering Poet' (Transcendent Zero Press), 'Wolf:…

Halloween Haunts: The Scariest Halloween Costumes of All by Christine King

It’s that time of year again. I gleefully walk into the temporary outlets of spook, where all my Halloween needs can be found: zombie rats, life-size skeletons, grave stones, reapers, spider webs, fog, black lights, glow paint, dripping blood, ghouls, specters…you know, the basic fall necessities. To my surprise, here is the most frightening thing I've come across in the costume shops: I’m a fan of Beetlejuice, him being a dead guy and all. But this was not the ghostest with the mostest. In fact, these outfits were apparently among the most popular costumes of 2013. Can I say Bah…

Members New Releases 2015

Welcome to the showcase of member publications! Select a book cover to purchase or learn more about it or the author. You can view the wall of amazing cover art from past years by using the dropdown in the menu above. And members, please sign into the members-only area to submit upcoming releases. Thank you!                                                                                                          

Halloween Haunts: Ramp Up Your Imagination with a Ghost Hunt! by Sephera Giron

With the season of the witch upon us, thoughts turn towards fantasies played in the veil between worlds. The ideas of neglected ghosts and spiteful succubus aren’t too far from our fleeting thoughts as the leaves spin in chilly fall winds. Fog shrouded evenings with drops of rain or flakes of snow inspire grim thoughts about what lies in the shadows, what peers from the top window of the house down the street, what would happen if...? Writers spend far too much time chained to their computers and not enough time immersed in the world around them. The same old…

Halloween Haunts: It’s The Day of the Dead – Be Happy! by Samuel Marolla

We haven’t the Halloween tradition, in Italy. Well, to tell the truth: we have had it for a few years. But it’s not a tradition, it’s not folklore, and it’s not a great, popular celebration as in United States of America. Unfortunately, in Italy it’s only a superficial, commercial business trend. We don’t really feel it in Italy. Here we have Ognissanti (“All the Saints”), the first of November. It starts the midnight of October 31. And the day after, the second day of November, we have I Morti (“The Dead”). Indeed, this holiday is more interesting for a horror…

Halloween Haunts: Halloween Spirits—and Snacks to Serve with Them or Just Let Professionals Do It, Kate! by Kate Jonez

Halloween is a great excuse to throw a party. These themed cocktails and cute snacks to serve with them are a welcome addition to any celebration—in theory. Vampire’s Kiss This sophisticated and elegant beverage looks as though it will be as delicious as it is beautiful. Ingredients: 3 ounces of vodka (vanilla, whipped cream or cake flavored is best) Strawberry sundae syrup Red sugar Plastic vampire teeth as a garnish Preparation: Dip a martini glass in the strawberry syrup. Drizzle some on the inside of the glass so it drips. Press the edge of the glass into red sugar. Wash…

Halloween Haunts: 10 Tips for Creating a Wicked Halloween Costume by Annie Neugebauer

You’re at Halloween Haunts, hosted by the Horror Writers Association; I don’t need to convince you that Halloween is the best holiday. I don’t need to regale you with tales of childhood mischief to get you in the mood or win you over to the concept of costumes. You know dressing up is where it’s at. So whether you’re going to a huge gala, a friend’s backyard party, or throwing your own shindig, you’re going to need a wicked costume. Here are my ten tips for becoming the most bombawesome of them all. 1. Follow your spark. The best thing…

Halloween Haunts: How to be Haunted by Leigh Perry

For me, October means haunted houses! Not the real ones, mind you; those are year round. I’m talking about haunted house attractions. As part of the research for my latest book, I wallowed in reading articles about haunts and stories from scare actors. I came away exceedingly impressed by the effort and creativity that goes into scaring people night after night. I also gleaned some advice to keep in mind before you visit a haunt. 1. It’s not real. Okay, you probably know that these aren’t real insane asylums or vampire castle, but unless I chant that to myself while…

Halloween Haunts: Everything I Know About Sadism I Learned From Alfred Hitchcock by Pete Mesling

Halloween is not unlike death itself, I suppose. We know it's only a matter of time before it arrives, whether we want it to or not. It's more predictable than death, of course, arriving like clockwork every thirty-first of October, with its jack-o-lanterns, scary costumes and dry leaves that blow through the moonlight. But it carries with it the same kind of fascination and dread with which we contemplate our own demise. So to celebrate Halloween is to celebrate ... not death, exactly, but the idea of death. The possibilities that death presents us with. There is hope in death.…

Halloween Haunts: Spooky Lit – Why Spooky Matters to Young Readers by Angela Yuriko Smith

Not every little girl loves dolls and pink ponies. I grew up in Wyoming. My dad was an overly avid hunter with an undiagnosed case of PTSD. My mother was second generation Okinawan from a long line of mediums. I didn't understand the other girls my age and shared few, if any, similar interests. Needless to say, I did not fit in with my peers. A latch-key kid, my parents locked up the television while they were gone so I wouldn't rot my brain, something I'm grateful for. Books were my only entertainment and I combed through their well stocked shelves…

Halloween Haunts: Introducing New Readers to Horror by Adrian Ludens

Let me be clear: horror is NOT just for Halloween! I believe this with heart and soul, and yet, I’m guilty of perpetuating that stereotype. Think about the average reader: the stay-at-home parent seeking diversion during a few quiet minutes; the businessman or businesswoman reading during their commute on the subway; the person who turns up their nose at everything that isn’t “literature;” the person who only reads non-fiction; the person who read one horror author once and gave up on the genre. This list could go on. Horror is often marginalized, much to my frustration. Here are a couple…

Halloween Haunts: A Peak Through the Leper Window–Finding Unholy Inspiration in Holy Places by Frazer Lee

When the Season of Mists comes, and Halloween with it, I enjoy nothing better than sitting beside the fire with a book – often in search of inspiration for my next story. A couple of Halloweens ago I was leafing through an old history book, Ecclesiastical Curiosities (ed. William Andrews, 1899) – if you must know – and chanced upon the term 'leper window'. My imagination began to run wild with the revelation that these 'low windows' (also known as hagioscopes or squints) were incorporated into church buildings so that lepers could watch services without upsetting other members of the…
Halloween Haunts: The Last Winter of Newgate by Freedom Chevalier

Halloween Haunts: The Last Winter of Newgate by Freedom Chevalier

It crawled toward midnight, outside the Old Bailey in the echo of Sepulchre’s bells The moon wrapped himself in a blanket of clouds the winds screeched a bone-chilling yell I turned up my collar to stave off the night a stranger I walked on alone Feeling the cold, arthritic fingers of death start to ferry me home   The old road stretched on, bloodless and pale in the flare of the snickering moon Baring its moss-covered, black, rotting teeth with gobs of putrid, slick drool Something blurred the horizon, I unsheathed my sword with a clink from its talisman chain A leftover trinket from gods who abandoned mankind on the night of the rain  …
Halloween Haunts: Technology and Fear by Poppy Dennison, DSP Publications

Halloween Haunts: Technology and Fear by Poppy Dennison, DSP Publications

Fear is one of those deeply personal things. I, for one, am absolutely terrified of clowns. There’s no good reason for this fear, and my mother assures me she never abandoned me at a circus during my childhood. I’m not sure I believe her, but there you have it. I remember back in the day finding certain horror movies the most terrifying thing in existence (other than clowns, of course.) Take A Nightmare on Elm Street, for example. Freddy Krueger was scary with a capital S. That was then, though, and this is now. I recently attempted to scare my…
Halloween Haunts: Halloween Doldrums by David B. Riley

Halloween Haunts: Halloween Doldrums by David B. Riley

My first few Halloweens when I was young were simply awesome–just a pinch of scariness coupled with an adventure with my friends. The trick or treating was almost secondary to the costumes and comradery of what excitement awaited us–almost. I was particularly fond of my skeleton costume for reasons I can no longer remember. As I grew older, I also became aware of a darker side of the holiday–vandalism. The first time I encountered it someone went along the street and took people's Jack-O-lanterns and smashed them to bits. That made little sense to my young mind. I'd carved that…
Halloween Haunts: Halloween October Fest by Ian Welke

Halloween Haunts: Halloween October Fest by Ian Welke

It’s that time of year again. October is upon us once more and with it come the same sets of expectations and disappointments that come every year for those of us that still hold that ideal Halloween in our memories, whether we ever truly experienced it or not. When I was growing up, Halloween was my favorite time of the year hands down. In school I started drawing cemeteries, bats, and haunted houses well before the teacher instructed us to, and I often kept drawing them well after I was supposed to. Who wants to draw a turkey anyway? Even…
Halloween Haunts: 9 Novels for the Novice Writer by Richard Evans

Halloween Haunts: 9 Novels for the Novice Writer by Richard Evans

Interested in writing horror but don't know where to begin? Here is a list of the 9 essential horror novels you need to read to get you started. In no particular order. No one can tell you what the greatest horror novels ever written are, nor would I tell a new writer to read the best of the best, it can only make your job harder knowing what you are up against. What you need to do is build the skills to tell your own stories by evaluating how others have done it, regardless of whether the book is critically…
Halloween Haunts: Bloody Mary by James Chambers

Halloween Haunts: Bloody Mary by James Chambers

As far as I know, no student ever saw inside the room with the yellow, rippled glass window. The only one on the second floor of St. James School not part of a classroom row, the window glared down like an angry eye at the parking lot where we played every day during recess. I never found the room it belonged to before I left there for another school, because where it fell between classrooms, no door or other feature existed to explain it. That alone inspired plenty of speculation amongst my third grade class, but the faded red stains…