House of Horror News

The Duel II Round Five

2011-04-06T17:25:00.000-07:00

Round Five

Sylvester P. Gildersleeve 'V' Clownmaster

Prompt

Write about a haunted house that has one or all of the following characters:

- a man with a wooden leg

- a ghost with a stutter

- a cat with no claws

please vote for your favorite story, in the comments section

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VOIDED By The Clown Master

Willard’s phone beeped it’s low battery sound.

“I only have a minute or so left and I don’t have time to argue about whether I should have brought the charger or not,” his voice taking on a stern, almost angry tone. “I’ll be damned if I’m holding a metal lug wrench and becoming a human lightning rod. There’s a house nearby with light coming from the windows.”

He purposely left out the word creepy. Beep His phone warned again. “I’ll just ask to use their phone. I shouldn’t be too much longer.” He looked at his watch.

“It’s eleven thirty. Don’t worry about waiting up. I’ll be there before you know it. Get some sleep.” He looked at his phone. It was dead and he hoped she had heard him. His knock echoed loudly and Willard shivered out of both fear and cold. Thump…thump…thump. The door opened with a loud lingering creak.

“Yes?” Willard was taken back a bit at the sight of the frail old man, leaning on a wooden leg. “Come on in an git yerself outa the cold.” The man grinned and hobbled to the side, opening the door wider.

Willard stepped in and the man closed the door behind him. Thump…thump…thump… Willard followed the man, taking note of the deep scratches running down most of the length of the man’s obsolete prosthetic, and into a room lit up by large white candles, but harboring dark shadows.

“Take a seat. I’ll pour us a nice stiff brandy.”

Willard nodded appreciatively and sat down on the dusty and old, red velvet sofa. The man returned, handed Willard the glass, and sat down at the other end of the couch. Willard took a sip. “Hisssss!” Willard turned quickly into the face of a raggedy looking, arched black cat sitting on the sofa’s arm right beside him, and he quickly leaned back away.

“Oh, don’t mind her,” the old man chuckled. “She don’t scratch anymore. Not since losing her claws.” He laughed again, reached down, and knocked on the wooden peg leg.

Willard understood. BONG! A majestic grandfather clock, nestled in the corner, struck the first of its twelve chimes as lightning viciously flashed. Willard was almost sure that the candles flickered in unison. “Might I use your telephone?” Willard asked between the eighth and ninth chime.

“Phone?” the man questioned. “There’s no phone here.” BONG! “And besides…” he added, “it’s probably too late.” BONG! Growing increasingly transparent, the old man continued. “Almost made it out once.” He tapped the wood leg again. “Kept the other tho.” BONG! “T-t-to l-l-late,” came a deep voice from the corner shadows. Willard turned and peered toward the voice. “I-i-it’s t-t-the house. Y-y-you’re n-n-now o-o-one of us!”

Looking down at his glass holding hand, Willard watched it fade from view. By the time the glass shattered on the floor, Willard was completely gone.

“Where could he have gone,” Officer Smith thought, squinting in the sunshine. “There’s nothing out here.”

___________________________________________________________________

Ghost Story by Sylvester P. Gildersleeve

My friends were always afraid of the old Thompson house, but I was determined to show them there was nothing to be frightened of. It's true that I also wanted to impress my girlfriend, Kathy, which factored into my decision to cross the house's dusty threshold at midnight Halloween night.

The stories I'd heard painted Howard Thompson as a stuttering, one-legged giant who absolutely hated cats. The story was that Thompson would catch cats that were unfortunate enough to wander onto his property and lock them in his basement, where they would eventually starve to death. Rumor had it that the basement of the Thompson house was knee-deep in cat skeletons. And if you listened closely on Halloween night, you could hear the cats meowing, begging to be let out of the basement.

The front door was unlocked, so I pushed it open. I walked along a dark hallway, passing a large mirror. I glanced into the mirror and was shocked to see not only my reflection, but the reflection of an enormous man with a wooden leg hobbling along behind me.

“W-w-w-what are you d-d-doing here?” the ghost of Howard Thompson asked. I spun around and there he was, standing right next to me. I tried to run, but the ghost placed a bony hand on my shoulder, holding me in place.

“I...I'd heard your place was haunted,” I gulped, “I wanted to find out for myself.”

“Heard about the c-c-c-cat skeletons in the b-b-basement, eh?” he said.

“Yes, sir.”

“Follow me,” Thompson's ghost said.

I followed him toward a door at the end of the hallway. As we drew closer, I heard a sound that made my skin crawl and the hair on the back of my neck stand up. It was a cat meowing. Faintly at first, but as we got closer to the door the meowing grew louder. Did the ghost plan for me to join the cat corpses in the basement? I gulped again, fighting the urge to turn and run.

“Oh, d-d-don't mind him,” said the ghost, turning the knob and opening the door. A translucent fluffy black cat padded up the last couple of steps leading out of the empty basement and into the hallway, where it curled around Thompson's good leg. “That's j-j-j-just f-f-f-Fang.”

“Fang?” I asked.

“That's r-r-right,” Thompson said. “He wouldn't h-h-h-hurt a fly. He hasn't even g-g-g-got any claws.”

The cat leapt into Thompson's arms, purring. They both began to fade away.

“N-n-n-now that you have d-d-d-dispelled the rumors about me, I c-c-can finally r-r-rest,” Thompson said, and he and Fang vanished.

My friends were disappointed to hear that there were no cat skeletons in Thompson's basement. I only told Kathy about what had really happened. Now when she and I walk past the house she meows in my ear and I chase her, stuttering and hobbling along after her as if I had a wooden leg.

House of Horror Magazine Issue #2 Submission Call

2011-03-16T18:04:00.000-07:00

Below are the new guidelines set out for the New House of Horror Magazine. From the 1st of February there will be no more of the ezine. Instead we are going to a quarterly print magazine with a theme for each issue. Please do not sub any more stories or poetry to the editors for the ezine that has no relevence to the themed magazine, they will be instantly rejected.

First things first. A few things to remember before submitting ANYTHING to our editors.

ALL SUBMISSIONS MUST BE ATTACHED AS AN RTF FILE

PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE SENT YOUR SUBMISSION TO THE CORRECT EDITOR

SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS ARE OK. MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONS ARE NOT! PLEASE SEND

JUST ONE SUBMISSION PER EMAIL. THIS GOES FOR YOU POETS TOO!

REPRINTS OLDER THAN 6 MONTHS WILL BE CONSIDERED

NO GORE FOR GORES SAKE, NO CHILD ABUSE, IF IN DOUBT PLEASE SEND A QUERY FIRST.

MAKE SURE YOUR SUBMISSION IS RELEVANT TO THE THEME AND HAS BEEN SUBBED TO THE CORRECT ISSUE

Please make sure all things are checked on your list before hitting send.

Before your submission, please introduce yourself and give us a short bio of no more than 100 words. Please include title, your name and the word count. (This is is for payment reasons and will be checked by eye) In the subject line, please place “Magazine Submission” and nothing else.

Poetry – courtesy of Charlotte Gledson poetry@houseofhorror.org.uk

Stories – courtesy of Sam Cox stories@houseofhorror.org.uk

Payment is 1/4 per word for stories and poetry up to a maximum of 5000 words. For artwork, we pay $5 per piece unless stated otherwise. All payments will be made via a valid paypal account upon signing and receiving the contract, upon publication and no later than 30 days thereafter.

You retain all digital rights to your work, we are purchasing the rights to print and archive your work in the magazine for three months. After which all rights will revert back to you, the author.

Each issue will a themed magazine. Below are the months and themes that we will be looking for, for the four issues.

February 2011 – Valentine’s Day (Closed to Subissions)

May 2011 – Spring Break/Road Trip (I know what you did last summer theme) (Open to submissions) Deadline April 8th

August 2011 – Halloween (Open to submissions) Deadline July 8th

November 2011 – Thanks Giving/Christmas/Festive Holidays (Open to submissions) Deadline October 8th

Book Reviews/Interviews

We are always looking for books to review and new authors/editors/poets to interview. If you have something that may interest us then please don’t hesitate to contact the House of Horror Editor, Sam at horrorhouse.editor@yahoo.com

Please note:

We only interview those who have work available for purchase or who own or are a part of an ezine/publication.

We only review print books. No pdfs at this time.

Anthology Submissions

Please follow any guidelines set out specifically for the anthology.

The Duel II Round Four

2011-03-01T13:32:00.000-08:00

This round is a picture prompt.

LET THE DUEL BEGIN!

(You can vote in the comments below)

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Forgotten But Not Gone by Sylverster P. Gildersleeve

The more years that passed, the more the anger built up in Baby Dumpling's stomach. The doll sat slumped against the attic wall, where Mary had abandoned her eight years ago. Dust caked Baby Dumpling's synthetic eyelashes. Her hair, once a lustrous blonde, had thinned and turned a dull gray long ago. Her plastic skin had cracked and split. The dress she was wearing – originally a bright pink with white polka dots – was now a faded gray. Baby Dumpling's stomach burned with her fury even as she remembered happier times with Mary.

Baby Dumpling had been given to Mary as a fifth birthday present, and for the next four years the two were inseparable. Mary took Baby Dumpling with her to school. She took the doll on family vacations. Baby Dumpling even sat at the dinner table with Mary, despite father's objections.

It was on a day toward the end of that fourth year that Baby Dumpling first found herself lying on Mary's bed instead of going to school with her. Mary didn't even come upstairs until bedtime, and when she did she picked Baby Dumpling up and tossed her on a chair on the other side of the room. Mary had always slept with Baby Dumpling snuggled up next to her. That was when the fire of hatred first burned in the doll's plastic eyes.

Mary started spending more time with her friends and listening to 45's on her record player than playing with Baby Dumpling. The doll spent an entire year lying face down in the bedroom closet before Mary finally came to get her. Baby Dumpling's joy was short-lived, though, as Mary took the doll up to the attic and left it sitting against a far wall.

And there Baby Dumpling sat, eight years later. From her spot in the attic directly above Mary's room she heard Mary and her parents talking about Mary going off to college. She would leave in the morning. As Baby Dumpling considered this final act of abandonment the hate in her stomach boiled and churned until it became a living, breathing thing. Once the family was asleep Baby Dumpling's eyes glowed bright red, and her plastic hands clenched into fists. She focused all the anger that had built up insider her and struggled into a standing position. A few tentative steps later and Baby Dumpling stood at the top of the attic stairs. Mary didn't hear the faint creaking as the doll made its way down the steps. Baby Dumpling turned toward Mary's room, determined that Mary was going to pay for abandoning her.

___________________________________________________________________

Dolly Paranoia by Jerd

“Did you hear that?”

There came no reply.

“Shh. There! Again! Did you hear it this time?”

The questions, voiced by a tiny doll beneath the windowsill, again soaked into the floorboards and knotted beams before inciting any response. The attic was damp, dingy, and strangled by cob webs. This stuff has not been used in years. There are stacks of outdated furniture and books with rotted bindings. There is an old piano, made to look older because of the piled layers of dust and neglect.

The little doll’s plastic eyes clicked each time they maneuvered from side to side. Click…Click… Click... The sound reverberated off every wooden obtrusion and each musty cardboard box.

“I think someone is trying to…” The doll began but trailed off. It looked around the room, this time stretching out its hardened plastic neck along with the soulless marbles it tried to pass off as eyeballs. Clicks were met with the screeches and the whimpers of withering pink plastic.

The words came much softer now, the garbled whisperings of the dry-mouthed and the petrified.

“I think someone is trying to get through the window.” The tiny doll inhaled a quick sigh, as if startled by its own words.

“Pleeeease.” It droned, holding the sound like the somber bray of an untuned violin. “I can hear them climbing the side of the house.” The dollish thing’s voice teetered between coarse and angelic.

“Oh dear! The window is completely ajar. Anyone can just waltz right in. No. No, this cannot be.”

The doll sat silent and unmoving for a few seconds. No words. No Clicks.

The attic gave a tranquil, almost meditative, groan as it stretched out its crossbeam spine. The floorboards creaked – the sound was reverent –, they too wanted in on this structural sing-along.

“Shut up, guys.” Said the doll, practically shrieking at the first word and barely murmuring by the last. “It’s not safe. We shouldn’t make loud noises.” The doll’s arm rotated upward, setting its hand right at its hard colorless lips. The stubby underdeveloped fingers, curled like five frozen night-crawlers, came close but did not make contact with its face.

“There’s something out there.” The words were hot and lingering, wisps of warm mist that were eventually met with and swallowed by the nearby porous wood. The things in the attic simply waited. The attic itself simply waited. A splintery chest of drawers in the darkest corner baited its breath. The antiquated cast-iron stove closed its vents and firmed its footing.

Something was indeed crawling up the side of the house, confirming each handhold and foothold with precision and confidence.

“I can’t take it.” The doll’s words mirrored the resonance of miniature church bells. “I have to look.”

Using a wooden wagon wheel as ladder, the plastic infant ambled to the spot just below the sill. Could its marble eyes take what was just on the other side of the wall, methodically scaling and scaling?

The hairless plastic head finally mustered the courage and peeked over, popping up like and a decrepit jack-in-the-box and resting its chin on the malnourished wood.

It too had reached the window, stopping briefly to stare at the strange little doll before moving farther up the house. Sunlight. Early morning sunlight.

The doll was relieved to relay the message “The Bright is here again!” and the rest of the attic’s inhabitants were relieved to hear it.

But the paranoia and the panic will surely return, as it always does, whenever darkness gives in to the dawn.

The Duel II Round Three

2011-02-02T15:09:00.000-08:00

The handpicked crowd of spectators rowdily make their way through the underground passages and into the House Of Horror Dungeon. They sit and eagerly await the arrival of the Devilishly wicked House Of Horror Madam. A loud crash and bang, she suddenly appears in a puff of smoke and slowly makes her way through the crowd, taking her seat on the throne of bones.

“Bring on the contenders!” she calls, her voice demanding and pleasing to the crowd.

Clicking and ticking, the steel doors of two cages rise and the two contenders step forth into the fighting ring.

On the right, new challengers, Sylvester P. Gildersleeve, ready to step up and fight for his right to live. On the left, Lady Lych of Alethdin, her beauty and wisdom pouring from her body, head held high and ready to take the lead.

Both bow to the Madam and the crowd goes wild. Baying for blood each chant their favourite to win.

Two have arrived. Only one will leave with their life.

Who are you backing?

You can vote HERE

Let the duel begin!

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Be Mine By Sylvester P. Gildersleeve

A busy night had finally brought Jimmy to Melissa Walters' house. It was just before dawn, but still dark outside. His rage propelled him to the front door, which he unlocked with the key he knew Melissa kept under the mat. Jimmy opened the door and stepped inside. He climbed the stairs to the second floor and Melissa's bedroom. Standing outside her door the events of the day replayed in his mind.

Valentine's Day in the high school cafeteria was a madhouse. Everyone was laughing and smiling, exchanging greeting cards. Everyone except Jimmy, that is. Jimmy sat at a table by himself, scowling as he watched the other kids having fun.

Jimmy pushed Melissa's bedroom door open. In the darkness he could just make out the outline of her shape under the covers. He crept toward her bed, checking the waistband of his jeans for the butcher knife he'd stolen from his parents' kitchen earlier in the evening.

Jimmy had been held back a couple of years after having trouble with Chemistry and Algebra, which of course prompted taunting from the younger kids in his classes. To add insult to injury, Jimmy had developed a horrible case of acne. It seemed he was called “retard” or “pizza face” more often than his given name.

Jimmy was a big kid, so when he placed the Tinkerbell throw pillow over Melissa's face and pressed down it wasn't difficult for him to control her squirming. Her arms and legs thrashed silently until she eventually stopped moving.

Not a single girl had offered him a Valentine's Day card. And those he'd given cards to giggled and threw them in the trash when they thought Jimmy wasn't looking. But he was looking. Jimmy made a mental note of each girl who threw out one of his cards.

Jimmy lifted the pillow and leaned forward, putting an ear to Melissa's mouth. She wasn't breathing. He ripped the girl's pajama top off and slipped the bloody knife out of his waistband.

Melissa was the last of the girls Jimmy saw throw his Valentine's Day card in the trash. That made an even dozen. He had been sure that at least one out of the girls would return his affection, or at least thank him for the card.

Jimmy pressed the tip of the knife to Melissa's chest and pushed down, slicing through her sternum. He used his hands to spread her ribcage, then the knife to carve out her heart. He placed the organ in a plastic baggie and slipped out of the house. He ran home, arriving just as the sun began to rise. Jimmy pulled a soggy cardboard box out from under his bed and opened it. Inside lay eleven human hearts. He opened the baggie and added Melissa's heart to the collection. He shed his blood-soaked clothes and climbed into bed, holding the box tight to his chest and smiling. Jimmy had won a few hearts this Valentine's Day, after all.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Romantic Traditions By Lady Lych of Alethdin

“There’s an old tradition where I come from.” He turned to the girl beside him on the bench. “Will you accept a traditional gift on this very special Valentines day?”

She smiled. “Of course.”

He handed her a box with a glittering ribbon around the thick red card.

She took it, weighing it in her hands. “It’s heavy.” Untying the gold ribbon carefully, she lifted the lid and took out the two carefully wrapped packages.

“Open the smallest one first.” His excitement was infectious and she laughed.

“Okay.” Ripping the paper from it, she snapped open a box. “Oh! It’s beautiful.”

He took the diamond ring out. “Will you marry me?”

“Yes! A thousand times yes.”

He slipped the ring onto her finger and kissed her briefly. “Open the other one now.”

The waiting as she unwrapped the parcel was unbearable. The silence stretched out.

“Well? Do you like them?” he asked.

“What are they?” she picked them up and weighed the two small leathery balls in her hand. “Why are they so heavy?”

“Do you remember Steven Hicks?” He watched as she fondled and examined them.

“That bastard? Of course I do, he bullied us in high school.”

“I’d been talking to my father about getting married and he reminded me of this tradition. So when Steven attacked me in Grey Alley last night, I took the opportunity to fulfil it.”

“Steven attacked you? Did you get hurt? Where is he?” she glanced around wildly.

“Sweetheart, don’t worry. I’m a lot stronger now and besides I carry a gun for work remember.” He slipped his arm around her.

“He’s dead.” she guessed and he nodded.

“I harvested those before he died though. That’s traditional too.”

She looked at the soft spheres in her hand. “They’re…”

“Yes, that’s right. This is a traditional betrothal gift in my tribe. The Balls of my most Hated Enemy.”

Preditors and Editors 2010 Polls

2011-01-16T15:32:00.000-08:00

Wow, I am so honored to find that both myself and House of Horror has been nominated in the P&E Polls 2010. House of Horror is nominated as Best Fiction Zine and is currently at number 8. If you want to push up that leaders board then you can vote for us HERE It wil only take around two minutes of your time but would be a huge achievement for us if we got to number 1.

I as an editor am also nominated in the Best Editor Poll and am currently at number 1!! Yes thats right, number 1!! Please hel to keep me there and vote for me HERE if you like what I do.

The poll is open until the 26th January, so please vote now.

I thank you in advance on behalf of myself and everyone on staff at HOH.

Open to Submissions: Deadication, an anthology dedicated to all things zombie

2011-01-06T13:04:00.000-08:00

Deadication is the first anthology to come out of Panic Press and as Zombies seem to be on the up at the minute, we thought we would start the New Year with a zombie antho for all you flesh eating fans!

The anthology will be edited by myself S.E. Cox, editor of Panic Press and illustrated by talented artist, Darren James who designed the cover. The introduction will be writen by Darren James, introducing the origin of the zombie myth.

Submissions are open now and will close 1st February. Estimated publication time is the end of February 2011

Deadication Guidelines

What we are looking for:

25 stories and poems dedicated to all things zombies. We want well written zombie tales in any era, be it the end of the world, the future, the past, as long as it's interesting and well written, we want it. Minimum word count 500 words and maximum 2000 words.

How we want it:

No fancy fonts, Times New Roman is fine 12pt. Please indent all paragraphs, no hard returns after paragraphs and indicate scene breaks with ***

Please send us your story as an attachment with a short cover letter and bio of no more than 100 words in the email. Send all submissions to panicpressbooks@houseofhorror.org.uk

Payment:

Payment is 1/4 cent per word and a pdf copy of the book. We also have a royalty program in place where if someone purchases a copy of the book quoting your name either on the order or emailing me directly, you receive $5 for every book that you sell.

Payment will be sent via paypal and only paypal upon publication. No monies will be paid until you sign and I receive the contract.

Rights:

We are accepting new stories and poetry and also reprints. We will be purchasing First World Rights for a period of one year, after that all rights revert back to you.

The Duel II Round Two

2011-01-03T16:34:00.000-08:00

“Bring on the contenders!” she calls, her voice demanding and pleasing to the crowd.

Clicking and ticking, the steel doors of two cages rise and the two contenders step forth into the fighting ring.

On the right, new challengers, Morticia, ready to step up and fight for her right to live. On the left, Lady Lych of Alethdin, her beauty and wisdom pouring from her body, head held high and ready to take the lead.Both bow to the Madam and the crowd goes wild. Baying for blood each chant their favourite to win.

Two have arrived. Only one will leave with their life.

Who are you backing?

Let the duel begin!

You can vote Here

________________________________________________________________

Happy New Year By Morticia

Mattie held the match in her hand. No need to be in a hurry; she had plenty of time before midnight. One stroke, one flick of her wrist and her life would start over fresh as the new snow. And it must be at the very instant the old calendar died. She stood on the sidewalk checking the time on her phone every so often.

She thought about the people inside the dark house. Her mother and her mother’s lover of more than ten years had become too old to stay up much past ten o’clock. They would have put out the cat, locked the door and turned off the television long ago.

And that was exactly what Mattie wanted. She wanted the shock of reality to get them long before the flames ever did. Her mother and her scheming little brain! She and Darryl deserved each other. She would no doubt sit up in her bed, tap Darryl and tell him she smelled something burning.

He would sit up and sniff the air. “It’s just a fireplace somewhere in the neighborhood,” he would tell her. “Go back to sleep.” He would never believe that Mattie had left prison on her twenty-fifth birthday after ten years and come back to cook a great feast for the New Year.

She pushed the button and the screen lit up on her phone. Five minutes ‘til blast off. She smiled.

She wondered if her father had felt the blast when Darryl’s car bomb exploded. She remembered screaming as the explosion knocked her into the snow drift in the yard. She continued to scream as her father’s car roasted with him inside in the driveway in front of their house. Her mother had been seeing Darryl for a while and Mattie knew all about them. She knew that her dad would’ve taken everything from his wife, and Mattie hoped to see her mother begging in the streets. She had screamed this at her mother on her sixteenth birthday.

Darryl was a dangerous man; Mattie knew this because she had been on the sore side of his fist a couple of times, but Mattie’s mother, Florence, seemed to love that about him. When the police showed up and her mother pointed to her teenaged daughter telling them her well-rehearsed story of the imaginary father-daughter fights that had gone for a year, Mattie made the resolution that she would have her revenge for herself and for her father.

One more minute. The emptied gas cans were tucked neatly in her trunk as she took a step closer to the house. A single fire cracker popped down the street as she struck her match and flicked it. If any other fireworks went off, they were overpowered by the monumental explosion of the house where Darryl and her mother lay sleeping.

“Happy New Year!” She sang Auld Lang Syne as she got in her car and drove away watching the flames in her rear-view mirror.

________________________________________________________________

An Evening to Remember By Lady Lych of Alethdin

Women wearing sexy waitress costumes, carrying trays of shot glasses with coloured liquid in them, circulate through the crowd outside the town clock tower on New Year’s Eve. One of them stations herself near you. Men drift over, drawn by the woman’s figure.

“What’s this then?” One man asks.

“It’s a new drink.” The waitress replies. “Contains an aphrodisiac guaranteed to make this evening one you will never forget.”

Another man grins. “Sounds like my kind of drink. How much?”

“Free, until I run out.” she smiles back.

Amused, you watch the byplay as one after another downs the drink.

A shout rings out from the crowd “One minute left!”

Everyone cheers and begin to surge towards to the railings, in preparation for the fireworks. The bunny slips away with an empty tray and climbs into a black van with the rest of the waitresses.

“…Five…Four…Three…Two…One…Happy New Year!”

As the town clock tolls out the twelve strokes welcoming the New Year into being, the crowd cheers and strangers turn to hug each other. It's obvious to you who has had the new drink, they get more involved with their partners, the lust contagious.There’s a scream. You recognise the first man who took a drink from the waitress. He’s collapsed to the floor, his skin lime green. His trousers bulge and writhe, each movement drawing a shriek of pain. Fascinated, you watch as the cloth tears and a cyclopean head peeps out of the hole on a long neck, swinging and looking at each personaround it. With a hiss and a wriggle the creature pulls itself out of the material, blood flooding out of the wound left behind.

“It’s a trouser snake!” Someone shouts. A titter ripples amongst the crowd.

A circle widens around the dead man, everyone watching the creature which darts towards a woman wearing a short skirt. It moves too quickly for her to react, disappearing up her leg and under the skirt. She gasps, her face flushing and breathing quickening; she cries out in ecstasy, dropping bonelessly to the floor beside the man, hundreds of tiny cyclopean snakes pouring from her body. The front row of people try to move away, but there isn’t enough room. Each tiny snake selects a woman and slithers up her legs.

Sirens blare; police shout, but it’s too late. The crowd are a panicking mass that can’t get away: those who aren’t lying at feet in pools of blood, anyway. Each wriggler feeds on the blood, growing and seeking out more sustenance. The first snake reappears having stripped the flesh from the woman, huge and sluggish. Rearing its ugly head, the snake stares up at you balefully before exploding, goop splattering over your body. The fine mist accompanying the explosion is breathed in by every one around you.

The next morning, the waitress reappears. She looks up at your bronze prison. “England is finally ourssss, my sister. We shall free you soon… and the Medusai shall rule.”

House of Horror Books Prices slashed!!!

2011-01-02T09:48:00.000-08:00

House of Horror is going to print after issue 20 so to celebrate this we have slashed our prices on past House of Horror Books as they will be going out of print in 4 weeks time. Grab one while you can. All prices are inclusive of shipping.

House of Horror Best of 2010

Was: £11.99

Now: £9.99

Buy Here

Tales of a Woman Scorned

Was: £10.99

Now: £8.99

Buy Here

Stitched Up!

Was: £9.99
Now: £8.99

Buy Here

Creature Features

Was: £12.99

Now: £6.99

Buy Here

The Duel II Round One

2010-12-06T06:26:00.000-08:00

“Bring on the contenders!” she calls, her voice demanding and pleasing to the crowd.

Clicking and ticking, the steel doors of two cages rise and the two contenders step forth into the fighting ring.

On the right, new challengers, Morticia, ready to step up and fight for her right to live. On the left, Doree Weller, her beauty and wisdom pouring from her body, head held high and ready to take the lead.Both bow to the Madam and the crowd goes wild. Baying for blood each chant their favourite to win.
Two have arrived. Only one will leave with their life.
Who are you backing?

Vote Here

The Cold By Morticia

I feel so cold.

The glass tinkles like pretty little Christmas bells as I go through it. The wind whirls around trying to hold me in place, but the snow pushes me on.

I see him standing at the window watching me leave his presence. He’ll never have the chance to open my gift and know the truth that will die with me.

My evening started as I nibbled on a few crackers to keep my dinner down. Searching my apartment I found the perfect sized box and a scrap of shiny red foil wrapping paper. I would announce this new fact to him as a gift. The little object displaying the answers would make the perfect present to give him.

I laid a bed of tissue paper in the box and carefully placed the little stick on top of the fluff. Then I wrapped it with the cheerful bright paper and tied the ribbon around it. Beautiful, just as our love was, just as our child would be. I grabbed my coat and my box and left the apartment heading for his office.

“Not long,” he had answered the last time I asked him when we could be together forever. “Not long. I’ll tell her about us after Christmas.”

After Christmas! He would leave her and be totally mine in just a few short days!

I rode the elevator up to the fourth floor humming Christmas songs. I knew that he would open my little gift and realize that we could never be apart again. My baby needed its father close.

As I opened the door I smelled a woman’s perfume and knew SHE was there. I hated her and all the cruelties she had put him through. She wanted to smash him down and I wanted to build him up.

I walked into the inner office and saw them. He had his face to hers in a passionate kiss. I felt the blood draining from my face as his hands eased the zipper down on the back of her dress. Their breathing grew heavy and I hiccupped a tear.

“I brought you a gift,” I said holding the box out in front of me. He backed away from her and just looked at me as if filth covered my entire body.

“Is this her?” She asked him as blood drained from my cheeks. I started to walk closer to him. She moved closer to me and I turned my back to her.

“Go away. I told you I don’t want you here.” He batted the box out of my hand. The hot tears spilled out of my eyes, then I felt a pair of hands push me toward the window.

As I went through the glass I saw his hard stone face watching me fall as he dropped the gift out to follow me.

The ground is reaching up to stop my plunge and the snow blanket waits to cover me. And I feel so cold.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Christmas Cookis By Doree Weller

“…and if you don’t behave, Santa won’t bring you any presents.”

Six-year-old Monica scowled at her mother. “What if I don’t want stupid Santa to bring me presents?”

“How can you not want presents from Santa? One day your bad attitude is going to be a problem.”

Monica rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

Becky sighed and shook her head. “Go to your room.”

Monica flounced to her room. Stupid Santa, telling me to be good or he won’t bring me any presents. I’ll show him.

* * *

Monica sang “Jingle Bells” as she helped her mother mix Christmas cookies.

“It’s so nice when you’re a good girl,” Becky said.

Monica’s little sister, Allison, gurgled and banged a block on the tray of her high chair. Monica, still singing, walked over to her and Allison started screaming.

Becky rushed over, her hands still full of cookie dough. “What did you do to her?”

“I didn’t do anything!” Monica shouted over Allison’s screaming. “You blame me for everything!”

Frustrated, Becky stomped her foot. “If you can’t behave, Santa won’t bring you anything for Christmas.”

“I don’t care!”

As she ran out of the room, Becky spotted the red mark on Allison’s arm from where Monica had undoubtedly pinched her.

* * *

“Monica, it’s bedtime. You want to get to sleep early so Santa brings your presents.”

"Mommy, I want to make hot chocolate for Santa."

"Okay, I'll help you."

"No, I want to do it myself. I know how to use the microwave and everything."

Becky hesitated. It didn't seem worth fighting over, and it was a nice gesture. "Okay, honey. Just be careful not to spill it on yourself. I'll be in the living room if you need me."

Monica put a large mug in the microwave and pushed the buttons to heat the water. She pulled the stool over to the cabinet and took out two packets of cocoa to make it extra chocolately.

After Monica emptied the packets in the mug and stirred, she crept to the kitchen doorway and saw that mom was focused on the TV. Quietly, she stepped back to the cabinet where she had a small paper cup of antifreeze stored. Daddy showed it to her the other day and said to stay away from it because only a little bit could kill her.

She poured the antifreeze into the steaming mug of cocoa and stirred. Walking slowly, she carried it out to the living room.

Becky looked up and smiled as Monica placed the mug next to the little plate of cookies before going upstairs without argument to get tucked in.

Monica hadn't been asleep long when a sound woke her. She ran to the stairs, wondering if Santa had come already. Two men lifted Monica's daddy onto a stretcher.

Monica scowled. The cookies and hot chocolate were gone. Daddy ate Santa's cookies? Now I have to wait a whole ‘nother year to get even.

Children in Need

2010-11-19T05:53:00.000-08:00

Please help House of Horror pledge £200 to Children in Need tonight. Its an excellent cause and last year we managed to donate £100. I want us to beat that target this year with your help. Just a small donation from everyone I know will help us do that. Do it for the children.

Come Grab Your HoH T-Shirts!!

2010-11-10T14:00:00.000-08:00

House of Horror is now offering t-shirts with our HoH logo on the front. All proceeds made from sales of these t-shirts will be split between keeping the site alive and free and small donations to our children's charities. Please consider picking one of these up. They really do look great!

Rumor has it that I nominated some stories for a Pushcart Prize...

2010-11-04T14:06:00.000-07:00

Yes, it is true. Seeing as House of Horror is here to stay, I decided that it was time to give back to all my wonderful authors. So, I nominated six stories and poems for the prestigious Pushcart Prize. Congratulations to all of the nominees and I hope you do well in this. You can also add that you were a 2011 nominee or winner in your new bios. Below are the nominations:

Charlotte E. Gledson - Presence

Stacey Bolli - The Rock Garden

Alan Spencer - Suffering Begins in the Mouth and Ends in the Belly

Marc Lyth - Bad Teeth

Roxanne Hoffman - Rattle Them Bones

Seb Naylor - My Own Private Spook

Help me raise money for Children in Need

2010-11-03T11:16:00.000-07:00

I can't run a marathon, I can't bake all that well, but what I can do is sell my book to all of you vampire lovers to raise money for Children in Need this year. Even if it is just one or two copies, that is enough to help House of Horror get to our target of £200 which will beat last years pledge.

So if you have a spare $20 hiding in your pocket or down the back of sofa somewhere, please consider buying my book Rosella ~ Forbidden Love, as ALL proceeds are going to Children in Need. You can click HERE and a copy will be sent out immediately.

Alternatively, if you would like to make a small donation, please click the donation button. A donationa as small as a dollar or pound would be gratefully appreciated.

If you get a moment, please share or blog about this post to get the word out. I am hoping to sell at least 5 copies of this book. Please help me get to that goal.

HOH Best of 2010 on sale NOW!

2010-10-23T16:29:00.000-07:00

House of Horror best of 2010 Anthology is now on sale for just £11.99 with free shipping. Containing all the best work from House of Horror from Issue #8-17 including interviews, book reviews, artwork and photography. Grab a copy now and mention a contributor on the order form. Doing this will give them a $5 royalty each time and also £1 from every sale goes to our childrens charity fund.

260 pages of terror that awaits you in every room, this book is a great present for any horror fan. Take a look below at who made the cut this year.

House of Horror Best of 2010 Line Up.

Issue #8

The Rock Garden By Stacey Boli
Blind Date By John F Taylor
Bloody Cup By Kim Talafuse
Dies Irae By Sharla Anderson
Elsie's friend By Sharon M. White
Photography By Roy Walker

Issue #9

My Sweet Prince By Nandy Ekle
Rope – Gayle Arrowood
Lunch Date By R.A. Hunter
Shane Mckenzie Interview

Issue #10

My Final Masterpiece By Richard H. Fay
Dark Water By George Wise
Route Cobra By Jason Duke
Fur to Suite By Rhonda Parrish

Issue #11

Leech By Travis Gate
The Victim By Jason D. Brawn
Mike Patterson By Joleen Kuyper
Cactus Face By Joseph Hill
Lori Titus Interview
Night Knuckles Review

Issue #12

A Little Bit of Heaven By Aaron J. French
Presence By Charlotte Gledson
Death Comes in Pieces By Shells Walter
There's a Light By A.E. Churchyard
Family Legacy By John Miller
David Dunwoody Interview
Inside the Perimeter Review
Artwork By Darren James, Nick Rose and Sandy Swagger

Issue #13

A New Day By Alva J. Roberts
Pocket Giant By Gary McKenzie
Grandpa Jack O Lantern By Ken L. Jones
Price to Sell By Kevin L. Jones
Unbound and Other Tales Review
Ruthless Review
Eric S. Brown Interview

Issue #14

Phases By J. Derris Ward
Incarnation By E.W. Bonadio
The Disappearers By Jeffery B. Burton
Night of the Demon By Stephanie Smith
Jerrod Brown Interview
Artwork By Bret Jordan
Articles By Shells Walter and A.E. Churchyard

Issue #15

Bad Teeth By Marc Lyth
Mayonaise By Neil Leckman
Serial By Stephen D. Nadaud II
Darkness Within By Ash Krafton
Kevin Wallis Interview
Suza Kates Interview
Whispers of a Witch Review
Lucky Stiff Review
Artwork By A.W. Gifford

Issue #16

Raggedy Hag By William Andre
The First Cut By Doree Weller
Getting Home By David Bernstein
Dinners on the Table By Chris Dean
Tonia Brown Interview
Desiree Review
The Occult Files of Albert Taylor Review

Issue #17

Theatre of Pain By Lee Pletzers
Suffering Begins in the Mouth and Ends in the Belly By Alan Spencer
Blood Bound By Graylin Fox
Rattle Them Bones

Artwork By Gary McKlusky

The Duel: The Next Level

2010-10-13T14:04:00.000-07:00

The Duel is once again upon us. The House Madame had so much fun the last time, she wishes for more brave contenders to sign away their lives and fight to the death in her dungeon.

Do you have the guts to put your name forward?

But last time was way too easy. This time, the Madame has reduced the word count to just 500words. Now you're really beginning to question your bravery aren't you?

We're looking for 30 brave contenders to sign up with their dueling names before the 3oth of November 2010. There is an entrants fee of $3 this is to cover the price of the prizes and anything left over, cash prizes for the top three contenders.

The Game

Every 2 weeks, two writers are given a prompt and have three days to write a 500 word story. They then email them to the House Madame where they will be posted in the dungeon at House of Horror http://www.houseofhorror.org.uk/ They have 7 days to get as many votes as possible and the winner stays on and the next contender goes up. The winner of the final round will play two other plays that had the most winning rounds before they were knocked out. The overall winner takes home the prizes of books, t-shirts and cash. All stories then go into an anthology which those three will receive a free copy of.

Scared yet?

If you wish to sign up please click the link below which will take you to paypal. Pay the fee then email your receipt along with your real name and your dueling name to horrorhouse.editor@yahoo.com

Many will join, but only one will be victorious. Will that be you?

Good luck people... You're guna need it!

HOH Best of 2010 Available to order NOW!

2010-10-10T04:48:00.000-07:00

House of Horror Best of 2010

Its almost here, ladies and gentlemen. The long awaited second collection of all the best work from House of Horror ezine. Including horrific and terrifying stories, bloody poetry, and horrotica to stimulate your fetish for sexual horror. Also including artwork, photography, news, reviews and interviews and also work from the editors, Sam, Charlotte and Nandy. Come grab your copy now for just £11.99 with FREE shipping HERE

When you order, don't forget to quote a contributors name and they will receive $5 every time you do. Help House of Horror and help these fantastic writers, artists and photographers. £1 from every book sold goes towards our childrens charity where we hope to make a big pledge for Children in Need this coming November.

Just a thank you to everyone and updates from House of Horror

2010-10-08T09:22:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to show my appreciation to everyone who has supported House of Horror as we head into our second year of publication. All of you who have submitted your stories and shared links with friends, it is you who keep House of Horror alive. Without your submissions, House of Horror would cease to exist. We now have over 100 members at House of Horror and if you haven't joined us yet, please do. Every month you will recieve an emailed newsletter every month to keep up to date with everything that is going on including a first look at open sub calls for special issues and anthologies.

I also want to say a huge thank you to my hard working staff. Charlotte Gledson, for taking poetry submissions and choosing the best and Nandy Ekle, for copy editing the anthologies and other works that come through the doors of House of Horror, its a well oiled team with us girls at the helm. And also a big thank you to AJ Brown for proof reading works for me and the artists who do book covers for us too.

After Christmas, we do not plan on doing any anthologies for at least 6 months. Instead, weare embarking on a new adventure and taking novel submissions. We already have two being looked at and I hope to receive more over the next 6-12 months. This also includes poetry collections, sort story collections and chap books. All works will be looked at by all three editors and we will all work together to bring out some fantastic titles. For this seperate venture, we may open up a new site just to keep it seperate from House of Horror Ezine.

If you have any last minute submissions for the special halloween edition of House of Horror out on the 31st October, please get them in asap. I am already working on the issue but will accept submissions until I am finished.

Submissions for Tales of a Woman Scorned Anthology are now closed. The book should be available in around 3 weeks time.

House of Horror Best of 2010 is now available for pre-order from the House of Horror Book Shop. 300 pages of pure terror from behind the doors of House of Horror. The book is filled with stories, poetry, artwork, interviews, book reviews and also work from the editors too. You can pick it up now for £11.99 HERE

The Duel Anthology is now on sale for just £9.99 including shipping from the House of Horror Book Shop. This anthology is a collection of all the stories and duellers that took part in the House of Horror Duel. 14 competetors took part but only one won. It was a lot of fun and please, if you would like to join in the next duel, keep your eyes open for news updates when it will start.

Last of all, please please please go and pick up one of books. If you do and you quote a contributors name, then said contributor will receive a royalty payment of $5 each time and also £1 from every sale goes into a childrens charity fund. If everyone who is a fan of House of Horror just bought one book, just think how much we could pledge this year for Children in Need.

Thank you so much to everyone and hope to work with some new writers and some golden oldies very soon. For now, I hope your nights are filled with bloody nightmares and your days are filled with terror.

Darkets Regards

The House Madam!

Editor, House of Horror

http://www.houseofhorror.org.uk/

The Duel Anthology Volume One is available now!

2010-10-06T08:17:00.001-07:00

The long awaited Anthology of the House of Horror Duel is out now and available for purchase from The House of Horror Book Shop now and from Amazon in couple of weeks. Come grab a copy for just £9.99 with free shipping! Quote a contributors name on the paypal order and said contributor will receive $5 each time. £1 from every book sold goes towards our childrens charity where we hope to make a hefty pledge this coming November for Children in Need. The book is 150 pages long. Please look out for upcoming details on the next Duel coming soon...

Contributors:

Mandy Ward
Bob Eccles
Jared Blair

William Pauley
Sean Grigsby
Adam Bloomquist
David Harlow
Alan Baxter
Anne-Marie Bogart
Kaolin Fire
Lucas Pederson
AJ Brown
Sharon M. White

Review of The Occult Files of Albert Taylor by Derek Muk

2010-10-02T16:15:00.000-07:00

Meet Albert Taylor, an anthropology professor who investigates cases of the paranormal on the side.

The Occult Files of Albert Taylor written by Derek Muk, is a collection of stories told from the point of view of anthropology professor, Albert Taylor. Each story is sectioned into cases from a haunted asylum, a vampire on the University Campus to Jack the Ripper coming back from the Dead.

Personally, this book wasn't my cup of tea – I can only tell the truth, but that is not to say that it isn't an enjoyable book. I thought the stories that I read were interesting and the plots very well thought out and I am sure anyone who enjoys paranormal investigative collections, would love to get their hands on this book. There are eleven stories in this collection, though I am sure that after reading all about Albert Taylor, you will want to learn more about him.

One thing that I personally think this book could have benefited from was some sort of introduction to Albert Taylor, as I felt that his character was repeatedly described in every story and wasn't needed. If we had learned something about his character in an introduction then I think I personally wouldn't have rolled my eyes every time his character was described. Other than that, I thought the stories were very interesting and executed excellently and the other characters making an appearance in each one stood out as likable.

The Occult Files of Albert Taylor was published by Impact Books in 2010 and printed in the USA. A handful of the stories can also be found in various other publication on and off the web including Sonar4 Magazine, Switchblade Magazine and Night to Dawn, to name just a couple.
The Occult Files of Albert Taylor can be found at Amazon.com Amazon.co.uk and all other good. retailers

Review of Desiree By Ken Goldman

2010-10-02T16:12:00.000-07:00

Don't kiss Desiree Chappelle!

Desiree is a weird and wonderful tale by author Ken Goldman, of a young woman who literally possess the kiss of death. Anyone who gets close enough to touch her lips becomes madly obsessed with Desiree up until the point she is practically controlling their every thought and move.
On the outside Desiree looks and acts like a normal beautiful young woman, but even at the age of thirteen, she was desired by almost every adolescent boy. They all strangely wanted to be near her.

The story begins at Tommy and Tamara (twins) thirteenth birthday party. The young teens decide to play a game of spin the bottle. Tommy finally gets his wish to kiss Desiree Chappelle but at what cost? As Goldman puts it, it was Tommy's best birthday ever, but it would also be his last.

Goldman then takes us through various point in the characters life, winding strange little side tales within each section. There really are no chapters, just broken up sections. One thing that did annoy me about this layout, was that I occasionally got lost within the story because each section did not always follow suit. But it did make me go back to sections and made sure that I did not skip any parts. I did however like the twist that Goldman set up towards the end.

Desiree was published by Damnation Books in 2010, was edited and copy edited by Heather Williams and Penny Lockwood Ehrenkranz. The cover art was created by Julie D'arcy and the book layout by Ally Robertson.

Review of The Horror Zine Volume 2: Twice the Terror by Jeani Rector

2010-10-02T16:08:00.000-07:00

The Horror Zine- Twice the Terror, edited by Jeani Rector, editor of The Horror Zine, is a wonderfully put together collection of works that have appeared on The Horror Zine at some point. This 370 page collection is filled with stories poetry and fantastic artwork. Twenty-Six stories by such authors as, David Bernstein, Chris Reed, and Bentley Little, sixteen poems by authors such as Joe R. Lansdale, Peter Steele and Jane Blue, and work from fifteen artists, this book is jam packed with everything a horror fan would want. This collection also include two very interesting stories by the editor her self, Under the House and The Burial.

The Book is beautifully and professionally edited by Jeani and very well presented. The stories are easy to find by the contents table and I like how each section is broken up into categories with artwork opening each section.

Speaking of artwork, you should really check it out. I particularly like the piece that sits right on the very first page, before you even read anything about the book. The piece is by artist Adam Scott Miller. Amazing stuff. Other works included by Stefan Meisl, Jason Beam, Rosario Battiloro and many many more.

The Horror Zine's Mission is to provide a venue in which writers, poets and artists can exhibit their work. The Horror Zine is an online publication spotlighting the talents of creative people and displaying their deliciously dark delights for the world to enjoy. They are now accepting submission of fiction, poetry and art work all year round. I urge you to send them something if you want to get seen by the big boys and girls of the business. You can visit the site at http://www.thehorrorzine.com/

Volume two: Twice the Terror was published in the USA by Bear Manor Press, the book design by Brian Pierce of Red Jacket Press,. The front cover illustration was done by Dan Harding and the back by Larkin.

Over all this was a fantastic representation of what the Horror Zine is all about. If interested you can also look up volume 1: And Now the Nightmare begins.

HOH Best of 2010 Line up SO FAR. . .

2010-10-02T15:38:00.000-07:00

House of Horror Best of 2010 Line Up.

Please Check if your name and story appears in the list. If it does then please email with confirmation that your story can be used in the anthology. Unfortunately there is no upfront payment for this book, but royalty payments will be made when someone orders a book quoting your name. Also you will be able to purchase a copy with free shipping. If you are friends with someone in this list then please let them know also. Please post this on your facebook account, blog and myspace to makesure everyone sees it.

Thank you

Sam, Editor of House of Horror

http://www.houseofhorror.org.uk/

Issue #8
The Rock Garden By Stacey Boli
Blind Date By John F Taylor
Bloody Cup By Kim Talafuse
Photography By Roy Walker

Issue #9
My Sweet Prince By Nandy Ekle
Rope – Gayle Arrowood
Lunch Date By R.A. Hunter
Shane Mckenzie Interview

Issue #10
My Final Masterpiece By Richard H. Fay
Dark Water By Geaorge Wise
Route Cobra By Jason Duke

Issue #11
Leech By Travis Gate
The Victim By Jason D. Brawn
Mike Patterson By Joleen Kuyper
Cactus Face By Joseph Hill
Lori Titus Interview
Night Knuckles Review

Issue #12
A Little Bit of Heaven By Aaron J. French
Presence By Charlotte Gledson
Death Comes in Pieces By Shells Walter
There's a Light By A.E. Churchyard
Family Legacy By John Miller
David Dunwoody Interview
Inside the Perimeter Review
Artwork By Darren James, Nick Rose and Sandy Swagger

Issue #13
A New Day By Alva J. Roberts
Pocket Giant By Gary McKenzie
Grandpa Jack O Lantern By Ken L. Jones
Price to Sell By Kevin L. Jones
Unbound and Other Tales Review
Ruthless Review
Eric S. Brown Interview

Issue #14
Phases By J. Derris Ward
Incarnation By E.W. Bonadio
The Disappearers By Jeffery B. Burton
Jerrod Brown Interview
Artwork By Bret Jordan
Articles By Shells Walter and A.E. Churchyard

Issue #15
Bad Teeth By Marc Lyth
Mayonaise By Neil Leckman
Serial By Stephen D. Nadaud II
Darkness Within By Ash Krafton
Kevin Wallis Interview
Suza Kates Interview
Whispers of a Witch Review
Lucky Stiff Review
Artwork By A.W. Gifford

Issue #16
Raggedy Hag By William Andre
The First Cut By Dorris Weller
Getting Home By David Bernstein
Dinners on the Table By Chris Dean
Tonia Brown Interview
Desiree Review
The Horror Zine Review
The Occult Files of Albert Taylor Review

Issue #17
Theatre of Pain By Lee Pletzers
Suffering Begins in the Mouth and Ends in the Belly By Alan Spencer
Blood Bound By Graylin Fox
The Secret By John Lewis
They Had Goat Heads Review

The Duel Anthology OUT on Pre-order

2010-09-13T13:34:00.000-07:00

The long awaited collection of the House of Horror Duel stories is now available for pre-order at £9.99 with free shipping. Come grab your copy and meet all the brave warriors who took on each other and defeated Death, all for the pleasure of The House Madame!

Order it HERE now at the House of Horror Book Shop and get it in time for Halloween!

Review of Lucky Stiff by Tonia Brown (Explicit Content and Language)

2010-08-30T15:57:00.001-07:00

Well, what can I say about Lucky Stiff! This book had me roaring with laughter, biting my lip in tears and almost all the way through it trying to force myself NOT to read the book with one hand! Tonia Brown is an amazing writer of horrotica. Her ability to make each and every scene something new and unique is amazing, afterall there is only so many words you can use for the male and female genitalia!

The story begins with young Peter Lyles visiting New Orleans with his friends for spring break. But of course he isn't into the partying his scene much to his friends despair. After studying hard, all Peter wants to do is rest, relax and enjoy the scenery. But for some reason he cannot seem to switch off and rest. Stupidly, he accepts what he thinks are sleeping pills off one of his friends and winds up dead. Of course you would think that was where the story ends. But you are so mistaken. This is where the story begins.

Peter's friends drag his body to the house of a mystery voodoo witch where she is able to bring his body back. But there is a catch. He an only come back as a zombie. But no ordinary zombie. He is still looks and acts relatively human.

After saying goodbye to his friends and telling his mom and dad he won't be going back to school or coming home for a while, Peter lives with the voodoo witch, Madame Sangrail where she teaches him how to stop himself from eating human flesh like the M.O of a zombie. The only way for him to do this is to feed off the light given off when a woman orgasms. Madam Sangrail teaches him all kinds of things until it is time for him to leave the nest and go out into the world, and even make a visit back home to see his mom and dad. This he does, but things don't go so well.

Peter travels the world, shagging his way through the female population to feed his hunger, and meets a whole load of people. He even works for an escort agency and his new Madam, Niki, advertises his services as a vampire escort. He uses a range of medical conditions to explain his features, one of which is a constant erection and the inability to come.

I loved this book. At times, I wondered whether the sex was over-done as there was a sex act on almost every page, but the rest of the story balanced it out well and Tonia's ability to take it from the boring x goes into y, made it a much more interesting read.

I have never really been into zombie stories, but this mix match of zombies, love, hate, sex and rivalry and betrayal was exciting and I thoroughly enjoyed joining Peter on his journey to sexual enlightenment.

There really is only one word to describe this book and that is H.O.T. Trust me, once you start this story, you better cancel all dates, unhook the phone and turn off the TV. You are in for one hell of a ride and you will not want to put this book down until you have ridden Peter all the way. Let him take you to the brink, let him dangle you there while you scream his name and let him FUCK the living daylight out of you!

Review of Whispers of a Witch by Suza Kates

2010-08-30T15:54:00.000-07:00

Whispers of a Witch is an enchanting tale of mystery, adventure and sexual awakening. The tale of Shauni, a young woman with the ability to talk to animals, takes us on a path of enlightenment where Shauni's life will change forever.

The story begins with nine young women suddenly sensing the need to pack up everything and move to the beautiful Savannah, but why, they do not know. It is a calling and they all must answer it. Shauni is one of them and takes her cat – who she can communicate with – along for the ride. It turns out that when all of the women come together, they all own cats and their names are unusually meaningful. The nine women are confronted with another young woman named Anna and are taken to a large secluded house where they are told why they have come together and what they must do.

Amongst the madness and the magic, Shauni manages to find love. The delicious Michael. And we know that he is delicious because Kates describes him in so much detail, you can feel your eyes glazing over and your heart pumping faster when he enters the scene. Even with all of her secrets, Michael wants her and will do anything to have her. But he too has his own secret and will eventually use it in a bid to save Shauni's life and inadvertently put his own in danger.

Kates has a remarkable way of expressing every little detail throughout the book. She concentrates on painting a picture so vivid, that the reader can almost smell th fresh air and feel the wind on their face. Her ability to make the readers read the words like they are playing out like a movie in front of their eyes.

I really enjoyed living Shauni's adventure with her and sharing her thoughts and feelings about her new life. And when things get hot and heavy with her new found love, well, lets just say I could not put the book down. I enjoyed the underlying tone of this book too. The fact that despite everything that is tossed in front of you, love and understanding can conquer all in the end. Even if there are bumps a long the way, fate will find a way for two people to come together.

I look forward to reading the next instalment of this enchanting tale and more from this wonderfully talented writer. If you are going to pick up a book this week, then let it be, Whispers of a Witch. This is one book that you can snuggle up with by the fire.

Exciting, enthralling and at times erotic, you will surely not want to put down Whispers of a Witch. Suza Kates is an upcoming name to look out for.

Inteview with Suza Kates, Author of 'Whispers of a Witch'

2010-08-30T15:46:00.000-07:00

Suza Kates was born in Jacksonville, Alabama, the youngest of five children. Growing up surrounded by siblings and parents who were bookworms, she naturally developed a love for the written word. She attended Jacksonville State University, majoring in English and biology.
After receiving her degree, Suza pursued a lifelong dream to live abroad, teaching English to students from various countries. A long, cold, German winter caused her to pick up the pen and begin writing. Then she was hooked.
Upon her return home to the States, she taught at a local community college while going back to school herself for a degree in nursing. During the few hours that remained between classes, clinicals, and studying, she worked on her novel, She Who Is Hidden. This book opened the door to a world of romance fueled by history, adventure, and peril that developed into the She Trilogy.
Shortly after graduating, Suza moved to Savannah, Georgia. It is there among the moss-covered oaks and whispered secrets that she continues to find inspiration for The Savannah Coven Series and the various kinds of trouble her witches seem to conjure.

Welcome Suza to my House of Horror, probably a little different to your other interview locations huh?

Different, yes, but I feel right at home. I was a horror fan long before I discovered romance. The first movie I ever saw was “Bambi.” The second was “Jaws.” I’ve been warped ever since. Halloween is THE holiday, so…thanks for the change in venue!

Now, this book was vey forthcoming with details of the craft. Are you in fact a fellow Wiccan?

I don’t practice Wicca but have a great deal of respect for the basis of the craft. I embrace many of the same ideals in my life and find some similarities between Wicca and Native American customs. Having said that, I am fascinated by the idea of potions and spells and would love to find a little power in myself someday. Who wouldn’t?

Tell us a little about the book

“Whisper of a Witch” is the first of book of the series, so it introduces us to the coven as well as telling Shauni’s story. The nine women that make up the coven find themselves pulled to an island off the coast in Savannah, Georgia. There they discover something about themselves and a prophecy they are meant to fulfill. Oh, and there are a few “hot points” (as my mother calls them) between the hero and heroine, just to spice things up a bit.

What were your inspirations behind writing "Whisper of a Witch"?

I’ve always wanted to write a book about witches, and the opportunity presented itself after I moved to Savannah. The scenery here is gorgeous and mysterious, the perfect setting for my witches! The idea of a group of women banding together to fight evil surrounded by a rich, southern background seemed delicious, and I can hardly wait to start plotting each witch’s story!

I hear that there will be a sequel out next year. Can you tell us anything about this one and will it follow the trait of being centred on one member of the coven.

Yes, it will be another witch’s time to play her part, though I can’t tell you who it will be! I’ve gotten a great reaction to the coven, and some readers have written in asking for a certain woman to be next. I love these witches, and I’m so glad others do, too.

How long have you been writing for?

Technically for about nine years, but seriously writing for three. Something clicked inside me, and I realized I wanted to write full time. I’m not there, yet, but the response to “Whisper of a Witch” is very encouraging. My dream life is waking up every day to make coffee, fire up the computer, and have a cat in my lap as I write the next book.

Tell us about any other projects you have coming up or in the works.

“Conviction of a Witch” will be out in February of 2011, but a couple of other projects are slated for this fall. My first romantic suspense titled “She Who is Hidden” involves some history, adventure, riddles, and, of course, hot romance! I just found out another of my books will be released in e-book format in September. “Hallowed Eve” is also a romantic suspense and will be out just in time for Halloween. It definitely satisfies my horror addiction. Mua ha ha!

If you were to have a fantasy dinner party, who would be your guests - living or dead - and why?

Ooh. Fun question. Of the dead, I would pick River Phoenix, because he was just gone too soon. I would also love to have Joan of Arc, because c’mon, how cool was she? Mary Queen of Scots and Sir Isaac Newton because they are both supposed to be ancestors of mine. I’d like to know if that’s true or not. : )
In the world of the living, I would have M. Night Shyamalan. I love his twisted mind! Nora Roberts, to ask her how she writes so fast. And if I can play a little with this fantasy, I’d like to have Eric Northman from True Blood, because…well, isn’t it obvious?

Do you have any inspirational words of wisdom for those seeking to become a better writer to trying to get published?

Absolutely. Go to writer’s conferences and join a critique group, but try to stay in your genre. I have found that a sci-fi writer does not always understand romance, just as a romance writer might want to soften up a horror novel. Other writers in your genre will know the market you’re writing for and give more valuable feedback.
A new author might also want to submit shorter works to e-book publishers. Be open, and don’t hoard your works for that “big break.” Small presses are a great way to get started, and any editorial advice is worth its weight in gold. (Oops. That was a cliché.) Plus, it will get an author’s name out there and the sooner the better.
Words of wisdom? I tend to be a little bit of a rule breaker, so I would tell authors to write to please their readers, not agents and editors. If the story is there, the readers will be, too.

Thank you so much for being here today, Suza. Just because I like you, I am going to give you a free pass out of here. Just take this bag of past guests brains and throw it at the zombies as you near the door. If they get you, it ain’t my fault! Any final words?

If I don’t make it out of here, make sure someone feeds my cats!

Inteview with Kevin Wallis Author of 'Beneath the Surface of Things'

2010-08-30T15:38:00.000-07:00

Kevin, welcome to my House of Horror, how are you? Here have a glass of red wine. . . or at least, I think it's wine. . .

Hmm, I'm more of a beer drinker . . . Less bodily fluids to confuse beer with. Well, I guess that's not true.

So, you have a book out now, Beneath the Surface of Things. Please tell us a little about it.

It comes out September 1st through Bards and Sages Publishing. It's 25 stories of horror, sci-fi, and fantasy, woth a humor piece thrown in for grins. It's gotten some good, positive reviews so far: Gary Braunbeck said, "An impressive, often unnerving, and always gutsy collection . . . showcases Wallis' determination to break through the so-called boundaries of dark fiction . . ." Bailey Hunter from Dark Recesses Press said, ". . . a vivid tapestry of horrific prose. While the stories seem to have an underlying theme of human condition, they are anything but common. This collection runs the gamut of the classic cool creep to the more visceral and gut-wrenching."

It's been a long time in the making, from the writing to editing to finding a publisher, so I'm very excited about it, and I hope it's a springboard to bigger and better things. I've always wanted to be a major league catcher, so maybe this will help.

You also work as an editor for Liquid Imagination Publishing, I see. I can imagine that takes its toll on your spare time. How do you manage your own writing with that of being an editor and also your personal time?

I usually let the submissions from Liquid Imagination build up until I can't ignore them any longer, then I spend a few days ignoring my own writing and strictly going through the LI stories. It wirks good for now, but when Liquid Imagination blows up and takes over the online literary world, I'll probably need to hire some help.

You're a family man with a wife and three children. What do they think about what you're doing?

Ha. They're extremely supportive and proud of me, but my wife does not understand, appreciate, or have any need for anything horror-related. I think the Amityville Horror traumatized her as a kid, and I'm paying for it now. But, her dislike for scary stuff just makes her support of what I do that much more special to me.

As for my kids, they understand that they won't be able to read most of my stories for another decade or so. I write stories specifically for them, though, so it evens out. (One of the stories I wrote for them, and starring them too, is being published in Yarns For Our Youths by Static Movement soon.)

What other genres do you write?

I still write mostly horror, but I like the more subtle scares. I don't write blood and guts stuff. That's boring to me. I still try to keep it about the characters rather than the scare.

I write sci-fi occasionally if the plot calls for a setting like this, but I'm not smart or tech-savvy enough to pull it off usually. And there are several stories in my book that aren't horror or sci-fi at all, but more mainstream and personal stories that don't fit nicely into a specific genre.

Tell us about any other projects you have coming up or in the works.

I finally started my first novel, after saying I'm gonna do it for ten years now. Hopefully it'll help attract an agent, which is the next step in my writing goal flowsheet.

What were your inspirations for writing this collection?

Every story was inspired by something different. I actually include a short explanation after each story stating what inspired me to write that particular story.

I grew up reading King, Barker, Lovecraft, Poe and the like, so I guess much of my writing is directly inspired by the masters, especially Lovecraft.

When did you first begin writing and at what moment did you realise that it was what you wanted to do most in life?

I've been writing since I was a kid, although not many people knew I was doing it. After getting a couple stories in my high school fiction magazine (man, those stories were bad), I didn't write much until after college. Maintaining my stellar B and C average just didn't allow for the time.

I finally got serious about it about 3 years ago. I never thought I'd even get one story published, but after having a modicum of success these past few years, I want more and more - score an agent, publish a novel, become the starting catcher for my Houston Astros . . .

Do you have any words of wisdom for those seeking advice from a pro?

This sounds cliche, but just don't quit. Take every rejection and turn it into a lesson to improve your writing. Study the craft, don't ever take rejection personally, and put in the hours. Too many aspiring writers want success but aren't willing to put in the hard work to achieve it.

Thank you so much for being here Kevin, I was beginning to wonder what I could feed to the zombie girls. Do you have any last words before I let them loose on you?

I have 23. Thanks for the time. I hope people enjoy my book. And next time feed me some O+. O- goes straight to my thighs.

Run Kevin, run for your life! It makes your meat taste better mwah ha ha ha ha!

A Pint of Bloody Fiction closed to submissions. ToC's announced

2010-08-26T17:53:00.000-07:00

“200 Words” Neil Leckman

“Pistol Whipped” Dave Rex

“The Blade Bites Deep” Stanley Riiks

“Insomnia” Pat Lewis-Bussard

“The Toy” Charlotte Emma Gledson

“Jilted” Brian Barnett

“I love my Job” Gary McKenzie

“Jars” Neil Leckman

“Crimson” Meagan Elizabeth Hightower

“The Worse Thing I Ever Did” Jason M. Tucker

“The Yearning” Sara Saint John

"A Woman of Taste” Angel Zapata

“The Idol” Terence Kuch

“Ladies Man” Pat Lewis-Bussard

“Library Of Souls” Neil Leckman

“Night Song” B.A. Sans

“Home Movies” Kevin L. Jones

“Salvation” Gary McKenzie

“Rorschach's Vampire” Jason M. Tucker

“The Door” Adam Francis Smith

“The Devil's Quest” S.E.COX

“Instruments of Torture” Flo Stanton

“Spiders” Neil Leckman

“The Lady or the Vampire” Ken L. Jones

“The Shoot” Brian Rosenberger

“Funeral at Louisiana Bayou” Theresa C. Newbill

“The Winner” Gayle Arrowood

“Water's Pity” Chris Keaton

“Little Nikita” S.E.COX

“Down a Hole” Gary McKenzie

“Gift Wrap” Neil Leckman

“In the Moment” Nandy Ekle

“The Good Husband” Christina Hugh

“Bellies Bucket” AJ Brown

“Faceless” Nate Burleigh

“Shard” Brandon L. Rucker

“Jack” Francis W. Alexander

“Three Degrees of Freedom” Theresa C. Newbill

“Lost Connection” Neil Leckman

Anthology Call ~ Tales of a Woman Scorned

2010-08-26T17:28:00.000-07:00

Tales of a Woman Scorned

This anthology will be a collection of all those stories of what women will do to get what they want. From bunny boilers, to black widows, we want to read your darkest stories about these psychotic women.

Story Guidelines

We are looking for stories of between 2000-5000 words. Reprints are welcome as long as you have permission to sell your story again.

Submission Guidelines

All submissions should be pasted into the body of an email. We do this simply to keep out any computer viruses as the editor’s laptops and computers are most precious to us, and also it makes for an easy transfer from editor to editor without constantly having to download an attachment. Anyone who sends us an attachment will not be read and their submission will automatically be deleted without notification.

Please only send one submission at a time. This means no multiple submissions. By all means, if we reject a story, then send us another – this goes for the poets too –one submission only! Simultaneous submissions are OK as long as you let us know if it has been accepted elsewhere whilst sat in our queue.

Put “Tales of a woman scorned/title/wordcount” in the subject line and send all submissions to horrorhouse.editor@yahoo.com and please be aware that your submissions may be shipped around for second or third opinions.

Please note that anyone who is a friend of the editor or from another publication/eZine etc, their work will be stripped of identity and sent to another editor for reading. I do not want to be biased when reading for this anthology. Theoretically as Editor in Chief, I will have the final say, but I will take into consideration the comments and notes from the other editors before making my decision.

Please format your submission with the following:

12pt Times New Roman – no other font please. Single spaced with a 2cm paragraph indentation. No returns after paragraphs. Mark scene breaks with three stars with two spaces between each one e.g. * * *

All em dashes – must be true hyphens – with no spaces between words. Sentences in Italics should be in italics, not underlined.

In the body of an email before your submission, please introduce yourself, maybe tell us a little about the story – we like to hear about writers that submit to us, not a lot of publications do, but we want to get to know our writers and also include an interesting bio of 100-200 words. Please make your bio’s interesting. We do not want a reel off of publications and websites, pick your favourite three and keep it at that.

Open to submissions now and closed when full. We’re looking for about 30 stories for this fun anthology so get yours in as soon as you can. Expect to be put on a short-list or a rejection. Acceptances will be given out when we have all chosen stories.

Expected Publication date:

Mid to late Octopber 2010

Payment:

We offer $5 per story and $3 per poem, Also we have a contributor's royalty scheme. Upon publication, each contributor will choose their own reference number. Any books bought quoting their unique reference number, said contributor will recieve a further $5 or $3 via paypal depending on whether they had a story or poem published. There is no limit to how many books you can sell quoting your reference number, the more books that you sell, the more money you make.

Extras:

We are also looking for some plain black and white sketches to open the anthology - just two or three. If you would like to submit any sketches in keeping with the theme of the anthology then please use the same channels as story subs. All pieces accepted will receive $5 per sketch.

Have fun writing and I look forward to reading all of your stories!

~ S.E.COX – Editor in Chief, House of Horror

House of Horror's Halloween Special Submissions Call

2010-08-21T14:03:00.000-07:00

Issue #17 out October 30th is our special Halloween edition. We are advertising now so you have plenty of time to get those subs in. Please see the regular guidelines at www.houseofhorror.org.uk on how to submit but we are looking for erotic horror, graveyard stories and good old fashioned ghost stories that are all centred on Halloween. Also looking for artists and photographers to submit their work to showcase.

Again, please check the guidelines.

Don't forget, any stories accepted by House of Horror from now until December, stand a chance of being chosen for the House of Horror best of 2010 Anthology

House of Horror to Beat Last Years Children in Need Pledge!

2010-08-16T15:37:00.000-07:00

Last year, House of Horror pledged £100 worth of donations from contributors, friends and fans. This year, we want to beat that. Even if it is just $1 if 300 of my 1000 friends on Facebook alone donate then we will have already smashed it. Please share this post with everyone you know and please pledge a dollar towards Children in Need.

Children in Need is a big charity run night on TV that runs from 7pm to 2am here in the UK. It also runs in communities such as schools and churches, fates and festivals a couple of weeks before and after the show.

I am donating £1 from every book that is sold so plase also grab one of our fab anthologies!

Pandora's Apothecary Anthology Submissions Call

2010-08-15T13:05:00.000-07:00

Pandora's Apothecary

What we are looking for:

Six stories of 5000 words or more about doing something, going somewhere or opening something that you know you shouldn't. These stories should be about curiosity taking over even though you know that it will unleash all kinds of terrors. The premise behind the anthology is that each story is the contents of a sealed jar in Pandora's apothecary.

How we want it:

Please paste submissions into the body of an email and send to horrorhouse.editor@yahoo.com Text should be Times New Roman 12pt single spaced, all paragraphs indented and no gap between paragraphs. Scene breaks should be represented by three * * * with two spaces between each asterisk.

Please also provide us with your real name, byline and Paypal information within the body of the email.

Reprints, Multiple ans Simultaneous submissions:

We will not accept any of these for this anthology. We want brand new stories – never before seen. We also do not want to be messed around with losing stories because they were submitted elsewhere. Please submit to House of Horror and only us. Please send just one story to this anthology. Should we reject your story then please feel free to send us another one – not before.

Rights:

We are purchasing first world rights for a period of six months after publication. After which, all rights will be returned to you. Once rights are returned, you are the free to submit your story as a reprint elsewhere, but we ask that you mention that it was published first in Pandora's Apothecary.

Payment:

We are offering $15 per story paid upon publication via Paypal only. Make sure your Paypal information is included in your submission.

Please note, no payment will be made without the signing of the contract.

Deadline:

We aim to have this anthology out before Xmas which means leaving the editors with at least a month for editing and formatting. With this in mind we have set the deadline at no later than October 31st. That being said, we also hold the right to bring the deadline forward if we think that we have our six stories.

The FINAL round of the House of Horror Writing Duel

2010-08-12T14:19:00.000-07:00

As the crowd are getting more and more anxious, shuffling in their seats and straining their necks to see, Dragon Queen stands in the arena, patiently waiting for her next contender. She smiles smugly to herself, knowing that one contender has already backed out, terrified of losing to this ferocious female warrior. And now she stands and waits for her new contender to step out into the arena.

Suddenly a dwarf, caped in a dark gown runs from the opponents cage and up the steps to where the House Madame sits on her throne of bones. Silence falls upon the crowd as the dwarf whispers something into the House Madame's ear.

The House Madame stands and raises a hand into the air. Dragon Queen kneels.

"It would appear that not only one, but two contenders have refused to battle against the mighty Dragon Queen!"

A loud uproar travels through the crowd. Boos and hisses spread through the stalls, disappointment among them knowing that there are no more contenders.

"Silence!" The House Madame Shouts. "We shall have one, more, duel!"

The crowd rise, clapping, stomping their feet and cheering loudly.

"We shall bring two back from the dead for one last duel. The two contenders with the highest wins shall have one more chance. If they succeed they shall become immortal."

Dragon Queen stands, a look of bewilderment on her face.

The House Madame points her outstretched finger and a flash of light fills the arean. Two figures rise from the light and stand tall in front of Dragon Queen.

"Dwight the Fright and Jayradikill. You both have had the most wins before you were defeated. Now is your chance to prove to me how much of a warrior you really are. The three of you will do battle to the death. The last one standing will be the winner. Good luck to you all. . ."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jayradikill, Dwight the Fright and Dragon Queen. This is the final round. You have all be assigned a creature. For this last round you must write a story about this battle using the three creatures I have assined you to. You must write as if you are the winner. Any narrative, any tense. 1500 words. You have one week. Stories must be emailed to me by August 12th. Readers choose the winner.

The winner shall receive a copy of The Duel Anthology, a House of Horror t-shirt, a choice of three other House of Horror Anthologies, also a Winner of The Duel certificate that will be emailed to you.

Both runners up will receive one free copy of The Duel Anthology and one PDF of any of House of Horror's Anthologies.

Assigned Creatures.

Dwight - Werewolf
Jayradikill - Zombie
Dragon Queen - Vampire

____________________________________________________________________

PLEASE READ AND CHOOSE YOUR WINNER BY EMAILING ME AT horrorhouse.editor@yahoo.com with the name.

The Final Battle - Dragon Queen

I step back, shedding my cloak. The silver on my dagger and belt, sparkles in the torch light. “Well Gentlemen? Are you man enough to take on an unarmed woman?”

“You’re not unarmed. I can smell what you are.” Dwight growls.

“And either you haven’t bathed since you were defeated or you’re as much a pure Human as I.” Leaping into the air, I somersault over the top of him, faster than most of the crowd can follow. “Of course, I haven’t been Human for a long, long time now.”

Dwight spins and as he takes a swipe at me, I dance backward. “Stand still, Bloodsucker!”

Laughing, I evade every attack with flair, drawing on my martial arts and gymnastics training to make Dwight look as clumsy as possible.

The crowd cheers as I lead him in a circle around Jayradikill who hasn’t moved or said anything since the start of the duel. Curious, I move in close to the silent man. “Jayradikill?” He raises his head and the stench from his breath almost knocks me out; I back away. He groans and reaches toward me.

Dwight skids to a stop in front of me, focused on attacking me and not noticing that Jayradikill has started to shuffle softly forward. “I’ve got you now, bitch.”

Either it’s a trick of the light, or he’s starting to change… I glance around, trying to plan my next move. …Huh? We’re not in the arena
anymore!

The cheering crowd and slimy dungeon walls have vanished. Around us lie gravestones of varying antiquity, long grass sheathing most of them. The cemetery is surrounded by a forest, conifers scenting the evening air and moss draped oaks cast eerie shadows as the last of the
sunset vanishes behind the trees.

Taking advantage of my distraction, Dwight lunges at me.

Thank Caine I jumped out of reflex. I thought hovering in mid air, about six foot above the two males.

“Get down here you-ooooo!” Dwight howls in frustration.

“If I were you, wolfman, I would get away from Jayradikill or he’ll start carving you up for lunch.” I call back, wafting myself a little
higher.

Dwight jumps, trying to grab hold of my feet; as he comes back down Jayradikill grabs hold of Dwight’s shirt. “Huh? What the…” he pullsaway and his shirt rips like paper in Jayradikill’s grip.

Stumbling, Dwight scrambles over a gravestone. In the twilight, Jayradikill looks up at me and flails his arms. “Geeeeerrrraaagh.”

“Sweet Denmother! He’s a Zombie.” Dwight heads toward a large mausoleum, climbing up onto the roof. He perches there, glaring down at the drooling Undead attempting to climb up. “Must have been out too long to be brought back to being Human properly.”

Resting on another tomb, I listen to the rasping gurgling of Jayradikill’s breathing and look up. High thin clouds scud across the sky and a faint white glow on the eastern horizon suggests the moon is
about to rise.

Running swiftly through the spells I can use, I realise I am too low on blood to do much yet. While Dwight is busy trying to crush
Jayradikill with pieces of the tomb he is sat on, I slip into the
forest, moving softly over the twig littered ground.

“There has to be a large animal around here somewhere I can feed from.” Using what is left of my last feed and stopping my breathing, I cast out an Ethereal net. Dwight shows up immediately, some three hundred metres behind me. I’m not feeding from him. I shudder and cast it again. The shape of a deer, about fifty metres to my left shows up; I begin my Hunt.

* * *

“Wheeeeree sheee gooaarrn?” Jayradikill looks around.

Dwight hefts the stone he has, aware that the moon has risen and he is minutes away from changing. “You can still talk? I didn’t think Zombies had enough brains for that.”

“Brrrraaaiiinnns!” Jayradikill moans and starts trying to climb again.

“Looks like I was wrong.” Dwight shrugs and drops the stone onto the zombie, sending half the creature’s face splattering across the grass.

“Aaarrrrggggh!” Jayradikill shuffles backward out of range.

Dwight glances up at the sky. The clouds have gathered high up and the wind has dropped. The stench of the rotting human below him fills his nose and he coughs. “Phwargh! I have got to get rid of you, Undead.”

“ooogh iiigh eiiigh geehh ooo fffiirrss.” The zombie has shambled around behind him and is slowly scrambling up the ruined back wall of
the tomb.

Dwight jumps off the tomb and runs through the tall grass toward the Chapel at the edge of the cemetery; the Zombie follows him. Half way across the full moon emerges from the clouds. “No! Not… now.” he gasps, dropping to the ground, writhing with pain, unable to move much
further.

“Goooghh ooo nnooow.” Jayradikill speeds up, obviously hoping to get the werewolf while he is vulnerable.

“That’s not particularly sporting.” I call down from my perch on the Chapel roof.

“Waaggh ooo dooinnngg abbboo ittttgh” Jayradikill spits several teeth out in a spray of blood as Dwight manages to kick him across his ruined face.

“Well, I could let you kill him, then dismember you.” I raise one hand and whisper a bloodspell. A shaft of light appears and solidifies into a transparent sword. “But then you would come after me, so …” Taking the sword I launch myself over the prone, writhing form of the part changed werewolf and slice one arm from the zombie’s body.

Jayradikill stumbles backward and I turn on one heel behind him, removing the other arm. Blood and mucus spray across the grass, dripping down nearby gravestones and matting Dwight’s fur as he
scrambles away, panting, from Jayradikill.

Ignoring the weakened werewolf for a few seconds longer, I somersault over the armless zombie, spin in front of him and slice a leg off.

Jayradikill balances on one leg. “ooo ‘ooootttennngh ammmppiiirrrghh!”

“Speak for yourself!” I continue the motion through his other leg. His torso thumps onto the earth as I stand up, flicking gore away. “Any last words?”

“Bbbiiigggtttccchh!” Jayradikill swears at me and I can see his body parts starting to inch their way back towards the torso.

“Oh, no you don’t!” with one last swipe, I cut the thing’s head from the body and mutter another bloodspell. Blue flames flare up around each part and I have to step back from the heat. “That should deal with him.” I mutter and raising my sword, I look around for Dwight.

A rank, animalistic scent tickles my nose and I sneeze, just moments before the werewolf lands on my back, knocking the sword out of my hand.

“Gotcha, Bloodsucker!” Dwight snarls into my ear. “Thanks for the help, but you just signed your own death warrant.”

I step forward. “Just because you’re on my back, doesn’t mean… you’re… going to…stay… there!”

Grabbing his paws with both hands, I bow low, sending the massive rug-like animal flying over my head and into the side of the chapel. A crack appears in the mortar holding the stones together and there’s a creak; a few slates fall from the roof, smashing on the gravestones around Dwight.

I feel at my belt as the walking wolfpelt scrambles up; my fingers find what I am looking for. “You won’t get the better of me, Animal.” Spinning, my silver dagger flies from my fingers, thudding hilt deep into Dwight’s chest.

He laughs and pulls it out, a stream of blood following it. “Nice try, but you’ve been reading too much Human Fiction. Silver doesn’t touch us.”

I shrug. “It was worth a try; I’m always well prepared.” He charges and I jump, watching him pass underneath me harmlessly.

“Stop doing that!” he growls, spinning.

“But then I wouldn’t get to do this…” Swooping down, I ram a glass bladed throwing knife under his jaw.

Dwight coughs and a stream of silvery liquid dribbles down his jaw. Dropping to one knee, he fumbles at the hilt. “What...” he starts before he falls onto his back, the silvery liquid seeping from the
corners of his eyes. He gasps.

“Quicksilver or Mercury, as it is known to Humans, is poisonous when ingested.” I say, landing beside him. “It is the only metal known to be poisonous to Werewolves, especially this particular type. Any last words?”

“Bitch!” Dwight gurgles as the spelled Quicksilver uses his blood and other bodily fluids to multiply.
There is a roar of a crowd as the arena shimmers back into being. By one wall there is a pile of ash. In front of me, Dwight coughs and bubbles.

“And the Winner is…” the Madame watches as Dwight’s mouth fills with Quicksilver and breathes his last. “The Dragon Queen!”

Retrieving my cloak, I sweep it around my shoulders and bow deeply to the House Madam. “I couldn’t have done it without help from Dwight and Jayradikill!”

_____________________________________________________________

As the Slaying Goes - Jayradikil

A great flash of white-yellow light filled the stadium. It ran through the stands, the concessions, and the blood-soaked battlefield. The crowd instinctively pulled their eyes away. Dragon Queen – the competitor with the tensed, pulsating muscles and dribbling fangs – winced at the phosphorescent phenomenon. The only figure left with wide eyes was the one atop a throne of skulls and spines: the infamous House Madame. She grinned a maniacal grin and nestled deeper into her perch of skeletal remains; the show was about to begin.

A flash. In a gladiatorial ring inside a decrepit stadium within a long since abandoned city there was a godly (or perhaps ungodly) conflagration of light and smoke; one might be inclined to call the place a ‘Ghost Town,’ but here, ghosts are the least of anybody’s worries. The flash hung in the air like a dole of doves and squirmed like a dumpster full of maggots. The light was blinding, yes, but it also carried a certain prominence that motivated all within its graces to bow their heads…all except for the House Madame.

Dragon Queen, the closest to the great light’s ghastly epicenter, moved nothing but her heavy, mascara-scarred eyelids; she did not even so much as bring a cautionary hand to her brow. Her ravaged and bruised legs dripped with torrid blood that was her own while her chin collected thick crimson dregs that were not. To say, by this point, that she had been through hell would be a gross understatement. By that token, she had already looked right into the tired face of the devil, saw the nine dark circles under his eyes, and scoffed. Out of numerous battles and innumerable gallons of blood spilled, Dragon Queen was called winner. At her feet: pools of vomit and puddles of urine, stacks of ribs and piles of broken teeth – little macabre forget-me-nots from warriors past. The Madame’s masked crew were still fervently carting off the bodies, body parts, and peculiar charred remnants that looked a lot like body parts. The air was beginning to clear when Dragon Queen saw them. She pressed her tongue scornfully against her pointed teeth. The prestigious and pestilent House Madame fingered the jagged femur that was her armrest; the show was about to begin.

As the audience too regained sight, a deathly hush fell over them. Dragon Queen’s ears perked to a peculiar and disheartening sound – that of gelatinous meat sliding over sandpaper. Out of the mostly dissipated smoke staggered a carrion-encrusted entity. The rotted hominid edged closer and closer, pulling its useless left leg behind it like a gravedigger’s shovel. Dragon Queen did not tear her eyes away from the disgusting being as she spoke, “Zombie…” The word came softly but spitefully, seeping from her lips like blood from a reopened wound.

She then heard a coarse, pummeling growl and flinched, but only slightly. Then the filthy beast appeared, leaping into Dragon Queen’s view from the remainder sprawl of smoke. It growled again through its large, gritted teeth. Suddenly, it took to its burly hind legs. Its hair stood like needles, its eyes burned like napalm. Yet, Dragon Queen did not even take a single step back. She only muttered vehemently under her breath, “Werewolf…” Her long gnarled fingers tensed just about into claws. The three grotesque combatants stood in a perfect triangle, mere feet from one another. High up in the stands, the voluptuous and venomous Madame sneered amusedly.

Dwight, the frightening man-wolf, made the first move. He took to the air from a pulse of his great hind legs. Glinting claws outstretched, he pounced upon Dragon Queen’s position with surreal speed. She smartly sidestepped, only feeling the effects of the nail on Dwight’s outstretched pinky finger, which still pried open a sizable gash on her cheek. Jayradikil, the postmortem warrior, slumped closer to the action. Dragon Queen and Dwight, vampire and werewolf, met in a heated grapple. Though wearing the wounds of war, the vampiress held her own against the wolf, keeping his treacherous maw at bay with her left hand while slashing at his leather-like belly-flesh with her right. Meanwhile, the automaton with the milky film over its eyes inched ever closer.

Through the struggle, Dwight struck the vampiress at her exposed shoulder. A rough bloody chunk left her flesh with a juicy slap and arched into the raucous crowd. Nicholas Coffin chortled as his son retrieved the blood-riddled souvenir from the area around his feet.

“Can I, dad?” Little Chris Coffin held the warm modicum of skin and muscle out before his watery eyes.

“Oh, of course, son. What kind of father would I be if I said no?”

Dragon Queen yelped hard but did not relent. She reared back her hand and swiped a baleful slash just above the beast’s blackish belly button. His liquid insides crept curiously to the surface and, once the coast was clear, filed through the impromptu orifice. Dwight sounded his displeasure to the heavens above. The enraged vampiress delved her hand deeper into the meaty cavity and riffled through the beast’s vital organs. Dwight screamed the blood-drenched scream of a man lacerated before whimpering like man’s best friend on death’s dog-bed.

Dragon Queen finally excised a greenish tubular prize – presumably a segment of his large or small intestine – and whipped it into the uproarious audience. The slimy organ flew through a group of emerald ghosts seated in the third row, smacking the bleachers behind them with a squishy thud. The middle phantom looked to the others, there was a tinge of shock across his features, yet no more than you would expect from an entity bound not by mortality: “Oh dear.” He spoke sardonically through an upturning grin.

Finally sidling up, Jayradikil made for the werewolf’s quivering bicep, its diseased teeth seeking flesh, seeking sustenance. Yet, instead, it caught the behemoth’s straining backhand upside its head as it flung out in struggle and pain, cocking the zombie’s head grotesquely down to its shoulder. A bemused breath left his emaciated lips, a feeling his former human self would have certainly categorized as disappointment. Putting a firm palm to his scalp, the zombie righted its head. Its neck crackled and projected a slivery bone-chip into the crowd which hit and pierced Dr. A, a surgeon in the seventh row. The good doctor glanced to his forearm with dejection and lethargy, where the bone-chip had stuck, then focused back on the action.

As the zombie positioned its skull back to its liking, it noticed the virulent vampiress had already felled the beast. She was straddling its gaping midsection and clawing away without aim, without pattern, and without reserve. She howled and squalled at uncomfortably high pitches, proving herself even louder than her unfortunate prey. The House Madam looked on, upright in her seat, sensing every rip and every tear deep inside her gut and along her thighs.

Mick, an empathetic werewolf in the audience, cried out as Dwight wheezed out the last few breaths he would ever take. The tension left every muscle like fleeing insects. The vengeful vampiress then felt two cold – deathly cold – hands grasp at the back of her throat. She rose and quickly vaulted back, up and over the human-like creature. The zombie stood, filled with as much confusion as his primeval brain would allow. Dragon Queen then forced her hand into its back, easily navigating through the leprous tissue. Latching onto its spine, she yanked it out like the pit from a rotten peach. The zombie’s desecrated torso fell back, causing it to double up on itself like a decomposing Jack hanging outside of its equally decomposing Box.

With a sinister grin stretched over her lips, Dragon Queen hurled the bone trophy into the crowd. It fell at the feet of two bloodthirsty adolescents.

“See, I told you that zombie was spineless.” Alex enjoyed his joke a little more than his female companion, Shelley. Yet, soon after, she too joined in the laughter.

Believing herself the victor, Dragon Queen raised her arms and let loose a long, gravelly shriek. She immediately caught the viperous eyes of the House Madame, who returned her a look of discontentment; the show was not over yet.

With the top half of its body slumped over its pelvis and legs, the zombie slapped its cold, bloated fingers around Dragon Queen’s ankle. It then buried its black and hollowed teeth into the vampiress’ calf with predatory grace, staring blankly off at nothing in particular. Dragon Queen yelped, more frustrated than anything else. She forced the ravenous body from her leg and gazed down at the freshly gushing blood. Disgusted, she wiped it and the black saliva from her calf and headed off, off toward a nearby pit of razorwire and broken glass; she could feel the change welling up from each extremity. She was downright nauseated, loathing the idea of becoming one of those things.

Dragon Queen cast herself into the hazardous hole. The airborne blood misted a married couple seated in the front row. Rick looked amiably to his wife, Debra. He would have seen the child-like smile across her face if it wasn’t for the large steel muzzle around her nose, mouth, and jaw. Rick offered her a convivial, side-armed embrace.

A strange silence took the crowd – that is, until the House Madame rose from her seat and curtsied before her disfigured champion. Rocking fidgetingly from left to right, the zombie stood as winner with his head held high – well, (thanks to Dragon Queen’s dexterous fingers and surgical precision) with his head held as high as his own cold, withered ankles.

Truth In the Midst of the Battle - Dwight Patterson

Dwight shook his head free of cobwebs, blinked and took in the cage he lay in. The wooden crate stank of feces and rot. He pushed onto his knees. Bones shifted beneath his weight; a skull toppled from a small pile. A hole sat in its center, the bone splintered.

"Where am I?"

He reached for the door, steel bars welded into a steel frame and bolted to the wooden cage. In the light of the moon, he saw the fur on his hands and arms, the extended claws of his fingers, yellowed and cracked and caked with dirt and what looked like blood.

"No," he said and patted his chest. Hazy memories of a war, of his brethren falling to an unseen enemy, of a bullet laced in silver, screaming through the night… "I should be dead."

One finger found the hole, poked around until it touched the warped slug.

"Our final combatant has awoken," a booming voice yelled, followed by the cheers of hundreds, of thousands of humans.

Dwght shook his head again. The humans, he fought for them. A deal was made… His thoughts searched the wreckage of his mind, but recollection avoided him. He stood and lumbered to the door, placed both hands on the steel bars. A jolt of electricity shot through him. His hands locked up, his grip tightened; fur singed and organs cooked as lightning ran through him.

"Away," the guard yelled and jabbed him with a rubber-tipped lance. Dwight fell away from the door, staggered and fell back. He landed in the pile of bones. A howl escaped him as one of the broken bones ripped through his thigh.

The crowd cheered at his wail.

Dwight started to rip the bone free, but stopped when the door began to open. He stood, clawed hands clenched into fists.

"Come," the guard called. "Come face your end."

My end?

The barrel of a shotgun appeared in the door, followed by the quick whispers of the guard. "Silver bullets will end your existence. If you resist or attack, I will kill you."

Teeth gritted, Dwight stepped through the door and into the arena. He scanned the screaming onlookers. They threw stones and sticks, not only him, but two others who stood outside the entrances to their own cages. A dead man swayed from side to side, his arms dangling, his head cocked to one side, mouth slackened. A vampire—a woman with long brown hair, her fangs bore for the crowd to see—held defiance in her stance, one that said if she were to live through this, she would kill every human within her reach.

"You are the last of your kind," a woman's voice called. The rabid mob grew quiet.

The last of my kind? His brain latched onto the memory, no longer searching, but knowing the truth. The gun was held, not by the enemy, but the ally, a human who had signed a treaty with the wolves; a treaty of unity after the eradication of the undead who threatened to annihilate the human race…

Anger rose as heat coursed through his body. The final words of the woman's speech trailed into his mind. "A fight to the death."

The multitude cheered.

Dwight stood still as the vampire raced toward him, not wanting to fight, to kill again.

"You don't have much time," the guard said from inside the cage. "The sun will be coming up soon."

Off in the distance, the brilliance of the moon faded and morning beckoned. "Bastards."

The vampire lunged, her hands extended, mouth open. "You die tonight, wolf."

They toppled backward. Dwight let out another howl, this one filled with the anger and hurt the onlookers lusted for, as the vampire sunk her teeth into his forearm. They rolled over, she falling away and Dwight rising to his feet.

"Wait," he yelled to the vampire, hoping to join forces against their new enemy. He read her eyes. Insanity had set in. There would be no reasoning her. Like him, she was the last of her breed and faced extinction. Any hope of getting her to help him vanished as she attacked again. He dodged, his thigh screaming as the bone jutting from it shifted, tore through muscle.

He tucked a shoulder, rolled and came up onto his feet. The vampire fell forward, falling to the ground with an exasperated shriek. The zombie approached him, a moan in his long dead throat. He scraped Dwight's shoulder with a ragged fingernail. Dwight spun away from snapping teeth, trying to keep an eye on the vampire and ward off the zombie at the same time.

Stop dancing around. His mind screamed as images of the past surfaced again. His world had been dimming, eyes struggling to stay open as… as humans advanced on the wolves' ranks. The undead lay wasted along the crumbling streets of the dying city. The vampires were on the run, fleeing at night while their numbers were still plenty, but dying during the day when the wolves and humans pinned them in buildings or caves or in the sunlight. The bullets rang out, the anguished cries of the dying wolves, their bodies reverting back to the flesh and blood of man, only to be stamped out by the humans. Their guard had been down. How many of his people fell that day?

The zombie shambled forward, his groan pulling Dwight from his memories.

"Not again. Never again," Dwight said and swiped at the rotting corpse. His claws tore through decaying flesh, snapped his spine in half and sent the zombie to the ground in a heap of fetid brown blood and organs. The zombie crawled after him, its hands sinking into the ground for leverage.

Dwight gripped the bone poking from his thigh. He gave a growl and yanked it free. Hot pain seared his leg. He raised the bone high, brought it down on the zombie's head. Its skull cracked, split and the creature went limp.

"I'm sorry," Dwight said.

He turned to see the vampire coming at him, her face a mask of hate. The moon was fading in the horizon, the sun waking. His body tingled and his fur thinned. In seconds, his thick arms and legs would be normal and average in strength at best.

The vampire pounced, her nails sinking into both shoulders. Her eyes widened, the sneer became a grimace. They landed hard on the ground, Dwight on top of her, the bone in his hands shoved upward between two ribs. Tears leaked from her eyes and her mouth moved without speaking any real words. For the second time that night, he voiced his apologies.

The sun rose higher and the vampire's skin began to sizzle. Dwight held her down, keeping the bone wedged in her chest. He stroked her hair like a lover. "I'll make them pay for this," he said. "I promise you. I'll make them pay."

A faint smile formed on her cracking lips. Her hair became brittle and broke away beneath his fingers. Hate grew within him. As her body deteriorated, he yanked the bone away. Her ashes flitted in the early morning breeze. The people cheered.

Victory was his. Freedom was—

"Back into the cage with you," the guard snapped, nudged Dwight with his shotgun.

"I won," Dwight argued. "I get to go free."

"Sure yah do. Now, get in the cage."

Dwight put his hands above his head and limped back to the blackness that awaited him. Before the door closed, he turned back to the guard, taking in his dark uniform, his helm covered head, the gloves on his hands… its lone weakness.

"Your kind are the real monsters," Dwight said.

"What's that you say?" the guard spat and poked Dwight hard with the barrel.

"You're liars. You break your promises."

The guard leaned in the door. "Well, I promise you this, wolf, you won't see another night after the last one."

"Are you certain?"

Dwight grabbed the gun and drove the bone under the guard's helm and between his breast plate to the only exposed part of his body—the front of his throat. The guard lurched forward and fell into the cage with Dwight

The crowd let out a stunned gasps and screamed when the shotgun went off. Dwight had little time to pull the guard's clothes from his body. He hoped the other soldiers wouldn't notice the hole in the ground where the shell had been discharged. He slid the guard's clothes on, set the helm on his head. For good measure, he fired the shotgun again, taking off the dead human's head.

Dwight stepped from the cage, gun in hand, as the others ran for him. "It's okay," he called, put a hand out to them. "The wolf is dead."

"Did he hurt you?" one of the guards asked.

"He tried." Beneath the helm, Dwight smiled. Tonight he would get revenge…

Stitched Up! Anthology closed for submissions.

2010-08-02T15:00:00.001-07:00

Stitched Up! Table of Contents

Quilty as Charged - Nate Burleigh

White Christmas - Joleen Kuyper

Johnny's Banner - John "JAM" Arthur Miller

The Photo Shoot - Kevin L. Jones

Brand New Lover - Jen Steffen

Lunatic Shadow's - Randy Rhon

This Meat is Legal Tender - Mike Damascus

Stitched Up - A.E. Churchyard

The Bride of Frankenstein Dances with Celebrity - Chris Hugh

Something Shambling - Ken L. Jones

Guilded by Forbidden Love - Theresa C. Newbill

The Bride Wore Black - Brian Rossenberger

Meat my Mother - S.E.COX

AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER AND FREE SHIPPING HERE

House of Horror's Next Anthology ~ A Pint of Bloody Fiction

2010-07-16T15:21:00.000-07:00

What are we looking for?

200 word horror stories and poems excluding the title. You can send up to three stories pasted into one email. Stories and poems should be single spaced, paragraphs indented and words italized for effects. Do not underline them! Please scene break with three stars ***

Payment

$3 flat rate for both stories and poems

Deadline

Open until filled. Notice will go out when we are getting close

Where should you send your submissions?

Send all submissions addressed to Sam to horrorhouse.editor@yahoo.com Please introduce yourself and include a short 1-200 word bio either before or after your submission. We do accept reprints as long as your rights have been given back to you. Please check with your publisher first.

looking forward to reading these suspense filled stories. Have fun writing!

House of Horror's New Forum!

2010-07-10T16:59:00.000-07:00

We now have new forum after not being able to get into the old one. Please sign up and feel free to post your own open market submission calls, links, contests, general chatter and join in the discussions about House of Horror.

Click Here to take you straight there. Please be aware it is still under construction but feel free to post.

Interview with Tamer of the Undead ~ Eric S. Brown

2010-07-04T07:55:00.000-07:00

Eric S. Brown is the author of numerous books including Bigfoot War, Season of Rot, How the West Went to Hell, Anti-Heroes (with David Dunwoody), and Kinberra Down to name only a few. His novel, War of the Worlds Plus Blood Guts and Zombies (with H.G. Wells), was recently picked up by Simon and Schuster and is slated for a December, 2010 release. Some of his upcoming books include ,The Human Experiment, The Weaponer, and Undead Down Under.

Eric's short fiction has been published hundreds of times in the small press and beyond. He has also been featured as an expert on the zombie genre in books like Zombie CSU: The Forensics of the Living Dead and the upcoming Extreme Halloween: Behind the Scenes of America's Fright Night. His monthly comic book column in Abandoned Towers magazine won "Best Nonfiction 2009" in the Preditor and Editor awards this year and his book Season of Rot was nominated for a Dead Letter Award for "Best Zombie collection 2009" as well.

Eric lives in North Carolina with his loving wife and son where he continues to write tales of adventure, rotting flesh, and blazing guns

Ladies and gentlemen of horror, please sit back and welcome once again the tamer of the un-dead, Mr Eric. S. Brown to the Lounge. How have you been man?

Busy, busy, busy. The writing never ends. So many books, so little time.

So Eric, tell us what have you been up to since you last sat in that chair being fondled by my zombie girls?

I have out numerous new books this year including Bigfoot War, How the West Went to Hell, and Kinberra Down. Also The Human Experiment, The Weaponer, Anti-Heroes (with David Dunwoody), and Undead Down Under (my first hardcover) along with the Simon and Schuster release of War of the Worlds Plus Blood Guts and Zombies are all slated for the near future. In early 2011, The Brethren of the Dead (a direct sequel to The Queen from Season of Rot) will be released as well.

So you have a new novel coming out with Sonar4publications this year – The Human experiment. Can you tell House of Horror fans anything about this?

The Human Experiment is my first full on venture into the superhero genre. It's a dark and fantastic novel about a smart ass, C.I.A. operative named Agent Robert Death. He's a character I have been thinking up for years who will also be featured in the book Anti-Heroes and the upcoming comic book "Agent Death and the Angels". I can't say much about the plot at this point but I will say this is a team book despite Death being the main character and it has a very Doom Patrol feel to it. I can assure you, it certainly has the level of action and weirdness I usually bring to all my projects.

Alongside The Human Experiment, you also have another zombie novella with Sonar4 slated for publication in 2011 – Brethren of the Dead. Tell us a little about this project.

The Brethren of the Dead is a zombie pirate book set in the post apocalyptic world of my novella The Queen (available in Season of Rot from Permuted Press). It's a book that is best described as Waterworld meets Dawn of the Dead. It's my current project so it's a still a work in progress but I think folks who enjoy my take on the zombie genre will certainly find it lives up to The Queen. I can tell you for folks who read Season of Rot that you will see the war between the remaining humans and the dead really pick up on the waves of the ocean in this book.

So, how have you been balancing success with your family life?

It's not easy, I'll tell you that. It's hard to find the time to keep up with my writing projects and my four year old son but I juggle it as best I can. I just kind of dive into everything headlong and hope for the best. It's worked so far.

You won “Best Non-Fiction 2009” in the Preditor and Editor awards for your monthly comic book column in Abandoned Towers Magazine. How did you feel when you heard the news?

It was very flattering and I felt very honored. Being a comic book geek my whole life, it was pretty cool to win for writing about them.

Your book, Season of Rot was nominated for a Dead Letter Award for “Best Zombie Collection 2009.” How on earth do you keep up with all these nominations and awards? I didn’t even know when I was nominated “Best Fiction eZine Editor,” until someone informed me that they had voted.

Well the Dead Letter Awards are given out by the Canadian horror/zombie show Mail Order Zombie. They sent emails to all the people chosen to be nominated by their panel of horror judges. It was really cool to hear I was on the list regardless of whether I won or lost.

What is it like knowing that you are adored by many many zombie fans and probably hated by unsuccessful authors? How does one cope with the attention such success brings?

Yeesh, I hope I am not hated! And I certainly don't feel that successful either. I think I have a long way left to go as a writer besides, I am really just a fan with a pen in my hand who can't stop writing. If by the grace of God my work can give a reader or fan something they always wanted to see done in the genre that no one else was crazy enough to try, then I am happy. Take my latest book, Bigfoot War, now available on www.amazon.com, etc. It's a book truly from the heart of my lifelong fandom of horror. I loved Bigfoot movies but always wanted there to be more than one monster. I longed to see a movie or book where there was like a whole pack of Sasquatches just tearing people to shreds so I made it happen. There isn't a lot of hardcore Bigfoot horror out there in book form and certainly not any that feature over five dozen of the creatures descending on one poor, little town to my knowledge. It's a deeply personal book to me on a lot of levels and I really hope that folks give it a shot.

Do you have any advice for those approaching the next rung on the ladder, keeping up-to-date with everything, while trying to balance their fiction life with their real life?

Pray, work hard, and hope for the best. It's what I do.

Thank you so much for coming back to visit us Eric, it is such an honor to have you here. Now, if you’re staying the night, I do charge and if you’re taking one of my zombie girls with you, I charge for that also. Either way, I hope you enjoy your stay.

Thanks, it was great to have a chance to chat again and if any one wants to check out the new release of War of the Worlds Plus Blood Guts and Zombies from Simon and Schuster's Gallery line, www.amazon.com already has it up as a pre-order so you can reserve your copy now.

Review of Ruthless Anthology ~ Edited by Shane McKenzie Published by Pill Hill Press

2010-07-04T07:52:00.001-07:00

When editor of Ruthless, Shane McKenzie first approached me with the idea for this Shock Horror anthology, he was actually working as an editor for House of Horror. I was a little unsure at first, I thought it too way 'out there' for our audience even though we are a magazine of horror. These days a lot of the so called horror that is put out to the public is so diluted that I don't know why it even as the word 'horror' associated with it. And that goes for films as well as books. You have to be very careful and very aware of political correctness when you are addressing the public in such a way that we are. But you know what? Why the hell should we? Its a simple case of if you don't like what we put out then don't read it!

Shane's idea of bringing together the most gruesome, vulgar, horrific pieces of writing, was ingenious and it works. Being one of the most popular anthologies on the web at the moment, sadly I wish I was apart of it. Unfortunately House of Horror was under so much pressure at that time and could not continue with the project. But stories had been chosen and contracts signed. Boy am I glad that Shane decided to take the project and go solo. He did everything so professional – from hiring a model and using special make-up effects and a professional photographer, to hunting down the famous Bentley Little of all people to write an introduction to the book.

Mr McKenzie worked so damn hard on seeing this project to the end and it most certainly paid off. I am holding a print copy now in my hands.

Regarding the stories themselves, well they are some of the sickest stories I have ever had the pleasure to read. The premise behind this book was to seriously make the reader question the sanity of the authors. And they did just that. My favorite stories have to be 'Crankin' by John Arthur Miller and 'To Boil' by Lucas Pederson. They have most certainly made me question whether I want to be associating with gruesomely awesome talented writers.

Ruthless was eventually picked up and published by Pill Hill Press and was brought out just recently. If you haven't gotten a copy already, I highly recommend that you do. Stop reading the boring teen claptrap horror and come read some real deep and terrifying horror for a change. With 19 stories and an introduction by Horror author Bentley Little, this anthology is not for the faint hearted. The morbid and macabre words on these pages will surely cause night terrors. Do not read near children. Do not read aloud. And one final warning; do not read alone after dark . . .

Review of Unbound and Other Tales ~ David Dunwoody

2010-07-04T07:48:00.000-07:00

When I found that I would get the privilege of reading a book by David Dunwoody, I felt truly honored. I had heard a lot about this author around the web and in our writing community. His book, Unbound and Other Tales, did not disappoint me.

In this book of one novella and eight short stories, we explore the depths of Dunwoody's psyche and some may be afraid of what they find on the pages of this book. Some of the collection are stories previously published on and off the web in anthologies and magazines, while the others are new stories. Though I haven't completely finished reading the short stories in detail yet, I have a clear idea of the type of writer Dunwoody is and I like what I see. He has no boundaries – or not many, and will let the story speak to him rather than the other way around. You can most definitely see it in this book. The novella Unbound, held my interest right the way through. I was really intrigued by the story of horror writer, Matthew Rudd, whose evil character in his book comes to life to continue writing the series of brutal murder books, Rudd so desperately wants to bring to an end. The character Sharpe is an evil man, who drives up and down the 1-15 highway in his truck, delivering goods and murdering innocent people for kicks. On his travels he comes across victims from all walks of life. No one is too young or old or innocent for their life to end at the hands of him.

The main character 'Josh Talbot' believes along with Agent Logan that Sharpe in the Sharp books is actually the alter ego of Matthew Rudd. But upon find him after being missing for some time, Rudd pleads his innocence claiming that Sharpe has literally stepped out of his books and is on a real life killing spree.

Confused yet? Well you should be! This book will have you believing one thing, then having to second guess yourself. It is filled with numerous plot twists and exciting explanations. I for one, could not put it down.

If you're one for enjoying the psychoanalysis of an author when reading a book, then Unbound is most definitely one for you.

You can purchase a copy of Unbound and Other Tales from the Library of Horror Press. If you would like to learn more about this author, you can catch an interview with him in Issue #12 and also a more indepth interview when Dunwoody sits down with The House Madame in The Lounge, House of Horror's Blog Talk Radio.

House of Horror interviews ~ The Dunwoody!!

2010-06-24T16:21:00.000-07:00

David Dunwoody is the author of the zombie novel Empire, as well as the collections Dark Entities and Unbound & Other Tales. An ardent fan of Lovecraft, Matheson and Barker, he writes horror with a bent toward the weird and the subversive. Dave currently resides in Utah.

Published works include the zombie novel EMPIRE (Permuted Press) and the collections DARK ENTITIES (Dark Regions Press) and UNBOUND & OTHER TALES (Library of Horror Press).

1. Please welcome David Dunwoody to The Lounge. Woah, wait!! David, you of all people should know not to get too close to my zombie girls. That one in particular will have your arm off quicker than you can say "Eat Shit Zombie." Now back away slowly and sit, please. How are you this evening?

I'm well! And right at home, even if the zombie girls aren't crazy about me. I just hope you don't have a clown lurking around here somewhere. Though I suspect you do. Story of my life.

2. Now you are quite a prolific writer, how many projects do you have in the works at the minute?

I have a few things in various stages of development - I'm learning as I go how to set my hours, and not to load my plate with too much at once. Right now I'm writing a novella for Library of Science Fiction and Fantasy, while outlining a few stories and a novel that I will start on in the coming months.

3. You wrote and published the zombie novel Empire, put out by permuted press. Can you tell the zombie fans what this book is about?

EMPIRE is set 105 years after a global zombie outbreak. Death himself leaves his post to restore order by slaying the zombies wandering the American badlands. He ends up crossing paths with a lot off oddball characters and some very unusual zombies.

4. You have been in more than ten horror anthologies, have you not? If you had to choose, which of them is your favorite and why?

I'd say THE UNDEAD: HEADSHOT QUARTET, which is actually a collection of zombie novellas by four authors. The other tales are great and my contribution, "Lost Souls," is one of my favorite works, and is actually an update of one of the first stories I wrote as a little kid.

5. Where will David Dunwoody be regarding success in ten years time? What are your goals as a writer?

I can't say I have a ten-year plan. I'd love to be making a living just off of my writing, but to be where I'm at now - writing and selling at a fairly steady clip, and having a blast doing it - is pretty cool in itself.

6. Who are your influences when writing, dead or alive?

H.P. Lovecraft, for the way he tapped into our most primal terrors, and built a mythos around them. The filmmaker David Cronenberg's exploration of what threatens from within continues to have a growing influence on my stories. Clive Barker creates beautiful and original monsters that make for fascinating characters.

7. Tell the fans something about David Dunwoody, they don't know.

In 2005, I co-wrote a short film with my buddy Gene Mazza II that appears on a DVD called DETOUR INTO MADNESS VOL. 1. The short is a fun little bit of T&A (torture and abuse) called "Snuff," of which a full-length version was written just this past winter. I love the lead characters and hope it'll be produced.

8. If you had to choose one greatest moment in your writing career so far, what would it be and why?

The easy answer is the acquisition of EMPIRE by Simon and Schuster last year, which has been an incredible and unexpected blessing. But I have to say that seeing the first edition in print for the first time was just as awesome. Having the two editions side-by-side now...that's just surreal.

9. Do you have any words of wisdom to any young aspiring horror writers who may be reading this?

Read. Read often, and mix in different genres. I think that's the best advice I can give. There's no surefire key to breaking out, but always exploring what's out there - including the works of other aspiring newcomers - is essential to one's own growth.

10. Finally, before I open the trap door and send you straight into the Dungeon, do you have any last words?

Trap door?? I sense a dungeon clown in my future. Dungeons and clowns - story of my life. Well, thanks for having me, and supporting small-press horror!

Inside the Perimeter by Alan Spencer Book Review

2010-06-24T15:52:00.000-07:00

When the world of horror seems to have been dumbed down somewhat to make way for the young adult versions they still like to call horror, out crawls a relatively unknown horror writer to make those films and books look like a walk in the land of fairies. Alan Spencer has once again brought the word ‘Horror’ to its knees. He has stripped away all the overdone and over used tiresome plotlines and themes and given life to something new and never before seen.

Inside the Perimeter on first look would seem like your average run of the mill zombie novel, where the dead come to life and attack the living blah blah blah. Oh no my friends! THIS book puts other zombie books to shame.

What I love most about this book is the way that Spencer gives us both good guy and bad guy perspectives by having each alternate chapter in the other’s point of view. He is able to give us what is going on in each of the character’s heads giving you reasons to pity or hate them and identifying with their plight.

Inside the Perimeter begins with Detective Boyd Broman being taken out of prison where he is being held for accidental murder. Boyd is taken to a facility that is surrounded by high walls and barbed wire and literally thrown inside. On first look, the facility looks like an abandoned town, with a post office, a school, hospital and houses, but something eerie floats about the place and something doesn’t sit right with Boyd. On answering a strange phone call, Boyd is given his orders; to capture cannibal serial killer, Hayden Grubaugh and bring him to the Perimeter walls to be taken into custody. Then Boyd would be free. Or so he assumes. Easy right? Not so much.

It soon becomes apparent to Boyd that the abandoned town isn’t so ‘abandoned.’ Creatures that appear to be some sort of zombies begin attacking him and when he gets away and hides he watches exactly what they are and what they do. But even blown apart by his gun, the severed pieces keep moving, pulling themselves back together or go in search of new parts. And the new parts come in the form of other prisoners that have been thrown into the facility.

But Boyd is not alone. Through the many of the dead humans feeding the crazed undead, he comes across a young woman, Cindy who attaches herself to him as they move through the facility in search of Hayden.
But Hayden is also looking for them also. He is sick of feasting on the dead and wants fresh meat again. But for now he will make do with feasting off the undead until he can clasp his hands around Cindy who becomes overly desirable to him.

In a frantic mad mess of cat and mouse, Inside the Perimeter is certainly not one for the squeamish. Spencer’s ability to make words on a page become real, it so great that you can almost smell the rotting corpses as he is describing in great detail everything that the characters come across whilst in the facility.
And this definitely shakes all the cobwebs off any other zombie novel out there. It’s very different, gruesome and gory and has the ability to put you right there next to the characters.

Another great read for hardcore horror fan’s, a book you just won’t want to put down with almost every chapter leaving you on a cliff-hanger.

Just be warned, those with weak stomachs shouldn’t eat before reading this book. You may never want to eat anything again!

Free Books From House of Horror!!

2010-06-24T13:01:00.000-07:00

To celebrate House of Horror's One Year Anniversary, we have a special offer on at House of Horror. Buy any one of our Anthologies and get one free! Yes that is right free books! Just simply order a book from the House of Horror Book Shop, then on your paypal order form let me know your chosn free book! It's that simple!

So go head on over to House of Horror now because this offer ends June 30th 2010. Please allow 3-4 weeks for delivery upon ordering.

Blog Talk Radio - The Lounge is back!!

2010-06-18T16:36:00.000-07:00

Yes! It is back! If you would like to be a part of this particular episode then please let me know.

Call-in Number: (917) 889-7295

Upcoming Show: 21/06/2010 11:00

Host Name: House of Horror

Show Name: House of Horror's One Year Anniversary Show

Date / Length: 21/06/2010 11:00 - 1 hr

Length: 1 hr

Description:

We are celebrating one whole year of House of Horror, talking to past guests and discussing favorite stories and artwork. Whats your favorite issue? Join us and call in. We would love to hear from our fans!

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/house-of-horrorthelounge/2010/06/21/house-of-horrors-one-year-anniversary-show

House of Horror in need of...

2010-06-18T12:09:00.000-07:00

Ok Issue 13 is approaching and we still have some space.

What we are looking for:

~Stories

~Poems

~Poetry on artwork (like what Jack and Jazz do)

~Artwork

~Photography

~Drawings

~Books for Review (Not poetry books at this time)

~Interview requests (If you have something to promote)

~Extra Long Ficton 12-25000 words (For the Attic - pays $10)

~Short stories under 1000 words (For the Audio room)

~ Submissions for our newest anthology - Stiched Up!

For all details on how to submit, please refer to the submission guidelines over at House of Horror

House of Horror gets near on 4000 hits a week on a good week. Because we have great traffic, I am now offering advertising for a very small cost to fund the upkeep of the zine and to go towards paying our contributors. If you would like to take advantage of this, then please check the homepage of House of Horror for the link to more details.

HOH's Next Anthology STITCHED UP! Submissions Guidelines

2010-05-17T04:49:00.000-07:00

Stitched up Submission Guidelines

Well we are back here again, about to read through another great bunch of stories for our next anthology. This time round we are lending our eyes towards the Zombie/Frankenstein theme. It doesn’t just have to stay with these monsters – this is an anthology of stitched up flesh, so think about that when writing your story.

Story Guidelines

We are looking for stories of between 2000-5000 words based on some form of stitched up flesh. Stories can be of a pure horror nature, splatter punk or satirical (comedy) We don’t mind as long as your story has well driven characters and plot.

What we do want:• Horror stories,

• Funny stories
• Long fiction
• Poetry
• Zombies/Frankenstein/re-animation
• Well driven characters and plot
• Good use of grammar and punctuation
• Following of the guidelines

What we don’t want:

• Over use of explicit language. (We understand that it can heighten the suspense in a story, but the use of the F word over and over will not be accepted.
• Blood and Gore just for the sake of it. Let’s face it, blood and gore is what we are about, but if you are shoving it in there just for shock value, it’s just not going to cut it. It must be integral to the story.
• No child abuse – but on the flipside, children can be the one dishing out the abuse as long as there is no written reference to any child being harmed.
• No rape – Children/women or otherwise.
• No sexually explicit scenes that have no reference to your story whatsoever. If it doesn’t need it, don’t write it.

Submission Guidelines

All submissions should be pasted into the body of an email. We do this simply to keep out any computer viruses as the editor’s laptops and computers are most precious to us, and also it makes for an easy transfer from editor to editor without constantly having to download an attachment. Anyone who sends us an attachment will not be read and their submission will automatically be deleted without notification.

Please only send one submission at a time. This means no multiple submissions. By all means, if we reject a story, then send us another – this goes for the poets too –one submission only! Simultaneous submissions are OK as long as you let us know if it has been accepted elsewhere whilst sat in our queue.

Put “Stitched Up Submission” and the title of your story in the subject line and send all submissions to horrorhouse.editor@yahoo.com and please be aware that your submissions may be shipped around for second or third opinions.

Please note that anyone who is a friend of the editor or from another publication/eZine etc, their work will be stripped of identity and sent to another editor for reading. I do not want to be biased when reading for this anthology. Theoretically as Editor in Chief, I will have the final say, but I will take into consideration the comments and notes from the other editors before making my decision.

Please format your submission with the following:

12pt Times New Roman – no other font please. Single spaced with a 2cm paragraph indentation. No returns after paragraphs. Mark scene breaks with three stars with two spaces between each one e.g. * * *

All em dashes must be true hyphens – with no spaces between words. Sentences in Italics should be in italics, not underlined.

In the body of an email before your submission, please introduce yourself, maybe tell us a little about the story – we like to hear about writers that submit to us, not a lot of publications do, but we want to get to know our writers and also include an interesting bio of 100-200 words. Please make your bio’s interesting. We do not want a reel off of publications and websites, pick your favourite three and keep it at that.

Open to submissions now and closed when full. We’re looking for about 30 stories for this fun anthology so get yours in as soon as you can. Expect to be put on a short-list or a rejection. Acceptances will be given out when we have all chosen stories.

Expected Publication date:

Mid to late July 2010

Payment:

Stories - $5

Poems - $3

All payments made by paypal only upon publication.

Have fun writing and I look forward to reading all of your stories!

~ S.E.COX – Editor in Chief, House of Horror

Updates From House of Horror

2010-04-17T13:58:00.000-07:00

Firstly, I must apologise for the lateness in issue #10. There has been a lot I have had to catch up on but were all go now and here it is. This issue is the biggest issue yet with stories, poems, the final installmet of Home Bound by Bret Jordan and three audio stories in the new audio room.

Shane McKenzie has now left the post as Co-Editor and I'm sure you will as I do, wish him all the luck with his writing. The Ruthless Anthology is now no longer part of House of Horror as I decided that Shane should take control of the project as he put in all the hard work. It has now been picked up by Pill Hill Press, and will be available soon. A link to where you can purchase it can be found on the home page of House of Horror in a few weeks.

Im sure a lot of you have already dealt with our new Co-Editor, Des McEwan. He has taken over the post at last minute and is now handling all long fiction submissions.

The Duel has been on hiatus for a month but we are now back with the next contestant on Wednesday 8th April so watch out for two fantastic stories to read and vote on.

The Frighten Fables and Freaky Fairy Tales Anthology is almost complete. You can pre-order your copy with free shipping from the House of Horror Book store. Grab it soon as, as soon as it goes to print, shipping will be billed at £5.

The special quarterly print is now definitely dead and buried, but the BTR show may be coming back. Please watch this space for details on that front.

As of today, submissions for The Attic are now open again. We are accepting stories from 12-25000 words to be broken up and serialized. Payments for thse submissions is $10 paid via paypal upon publication.

We are open all year round for submissions of stories and poems and thank you to all who have submitted work to us, though we are lacking photography and artwork and also stories for our new room, The Gallery. Please check the guidelines to see if you have anything that we may like to take a look at and publish. Please get in touch.

And finally, look out for details on our next anthology project, coming soon....

Frightening Fables Anthology submissions - CLOSED

2010-03-13T11:05:00.000-08:00

Thats right! Its over guys. We have had over 100 submissions for this anthology with an average of three versions per fable/fairytale. I had the hard job of going through all of these and finally came up with a selection that will truly thrill and disturb you.

Pre-orders are now open. You can buy this anthology on pre-order for £9.99 with free shipping for 2 weeks from this date. After that a cost of £5 will be added to cover postage and packaging.

Please visit The Book shop at House of Horror www.houseofhorror.org.uk and click the link to buy through paypal. Order quickly though. I only bulk buy once I have a lot of orders as it keeps costs down.

2010-02-12T12:56:00.000-08:00

So far for this anthology I have received 100 submissions. Fortunately there is still room left for some excellent stories from you guys so please get yours in asap.

I am leaving it open for two more weeks only and then it shall be done lol.

I am only accepting one twisted fable or fairytale. Below are those accepted.

Little Red Riding Hood
The Angel
Cinderella
The Red Shoes
Death Messengers
Hansel and Gretel
Three Little Pigs
Mary Mary
The Sandman
The Musician
The Rabbit Bride
Only two weeks left to submit.

send submissions to horrorhouse.editor@yahoo.com with FFFF submission and the title in the subject line.

HOH updates PLEASE READ!

2010-02-12T12:55:00.000-08:00

House of Horror update: Issue #8 is now up with the new audio room where you can listen to three stories being read aloud. The radio show and the quarterly print issue have now been dropped due to the massive response we are getting in submissions and anthology submissions. Issue #9 Valentine special will be up on the 14th Feb.

Shane will be leaving the post of co-editor at the end of issue 10 and I am very sorry to see him go. Because of this, changes to the submission guidelines will be made and posed everywhere to make sure we don't lose any subs in the transfer. I do have a new editor in mind - he is someone non of you know, and if he accepts the post then I will be introducing him here so you can all get to know him.

I hope that you will along with me wish Shane all the luck with his writing and it has been a blast having him be a part of HOH. I really am sorry to see him go as he has been a huge help with the amount of subs we have been getting of late.

Ruthless is almost here, Shane is working real hard on putting it together, the contracts have gone out and most have already been returned to me. Pre-ordering will be made available very soon.

All books purchased from HOH have now been sent out. Please look out for them and let me know when they arrive. Any problems please dont z-mail me as I don't get on as often as I like now with the back log at HOH. Please instead, email me at horrorhouse.editor@yahoo.com

Payments for the House of Horror Best of 2009 are being made as I write this and will continue throughout the week and the weekend as I need to refill my paypal account.

The Attic will once again be open for longer fiction very soon. I am looking around April time. Stories accepted there will be paid $10

I need more valentine stories for issue #9 special. Issue goes up in 4 days so please send them asap if you have any.

Still looking for books to review and also artwork and photography so please get them in to me.

Horror Duel Round 8

2010-02-12T12:53:00.001-08:00

CONGRATULATIONS TO JAYRADIKILL FOR WINNING YET AGAIN ANOTHER ROUND.

ROUND EIGHT.

JAYRADIKILL V's BRUNDLE

Prompt: Werewolves

Word count: 1500

Voting ends 17th February.

Check out the dungeon to read the stories.

www.houseofhorror.org.uk

HOH Duel Round 6

2009-12-16T16:21:00.000-08:00

Here it is. Sorry its a week late, we've all been really ill here and I don't just mean me and the kids LOL. BOth my neighbours are sick, my friend who takes my daughter school everyday - her kids are sick and her 4 month old baby has swine flu! My kids dad has been sick with a chest infection and both his mom and dad have swine flu.

Anyway, if you on't hear from me for a while its because Im trying to take some time away from the computer in a bid to build up some effort to do things. As of now I have zero energy and really cannot be boethered, and that is just wrong.

Running leader Jayradikill

V

Newbie Grim Squall

Can Jayradikill stick it out another week, or will Grim Squall shread in to pieces, all for the House Madams Goodies.

Who knows?

Two arrive, only one will leave. Who will it be? Only YOU can decide.

Who are YOU backing?

Save your Fav and vote now!

The Dungeon

Voting Ends Saturday 19th December

Introducing HOH's next Anthology...

2009-12-09T19:02:00.000-08:00

Frightening Fables and Freaky Fairytales

Original Photography by Linda Manning

What I am looking for is stories such as Hansel and Gretal or Peter and the wolf but with a twist of horror. These stories don't need to have the morals within them at all just think about the horror element while keeping to the original Fable or Fairytale.

Stories from 500 words to no longer than 2000 words. I am looking at having about 30 stories in this book.

Official reading period begins 10th January but you can begin sending in your stories now.
Submission close when filled.

Acceptances/Rejections as I receive submissions.

Please send submissions to horrorhouse.editor@yahoo.com with 'FFFF' and the title of your story in the subject line. Include a short bio of around 100 words and be creative and unique. I don't want a list of your credits, just pick one or two you are most proud of.

Please paste your stories into the body of an email, single spaced, no indents and a hard return after paragraphs. Please indicate scene breaks with three stars with two spaces between each star * * *

Payment is $5 per story.

I am looking for ONE poem to open the anthology which will be paid $3. Please do not title your poem as if accepted it will be titled the same as th anthology.

Ok guys, have fun writing, I know you will!!

Wana earn some extra cash?

2009-12-02T16:05:00.000-08:00

I can vouch that this is not a scam. I take part in two of these sites and make good money from this one and I earn vouchers from the other one. Its a great way to make just a litle extra funding, especially people like the most of us who aren't working but trying to fund our sites. Its easy to navigate and it pays via paypal or cheque. If you are interested in having a go then sign up here: Sign up here

Here it is:

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HoH's First Blog Talk Radio show

2009-11-29T15:29:00.000-08:00

Call-in Number: (917) 889-7295

Upcoming Show: 30/11/2009 22:00

Host Name: House of Horror
Show Name: House of Horror 'The Lounge' with Author Alan Spencer in the Chair!

Blog Talk Radio Show

Length: 1 hr

Also on the show:

Shane McKenzie talking about the ruthless anthology
New openings for submission calls
A short story Reading
News on House of Horror
Discussion on Stephen King

Hope to see you all there!!

New Room at the House of Horror

2009-11-29T14:55:00.000-08:00

Starting with Issue #8 House of Horror will be opening up a new room called 'The Gallery.'This will be a special room for stories and poems with illustrations to go with them. Either over an illustration or simply a piece of art that goes with it.Please send your submissions to the usual addresses

Short fiction under 2000 words to me (sam) horrorhouse.editor@yahoo.com

Long Fiction 2-5000 words to Shane horrorhouse.coeditor@yahoo.com

Poetry to Charlotte horrorhouse.poetry_editor@yahoo.com

Please add the words 'Gallery submission' in the subject line and attach submission in rtf or jpeg, please nothing else or it will be returned un-read.

Sam

House of Horror Duel Round 4 winner!!!

2009-11-26T16:53:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to The Atomizer for dethroning Dwight (The Fright) Patterson!!

The Atomizer will now take the lead and go up against Jayradikill.

Next Duel begins Tuesday 1st December.

Dwight is so far the longest running leader, so if no one else manages as many wins as he has by the end of the twelv weeks, Dwight will take away the Runner up prize and also begin the next Contest in 14 weeks time.

House of Horror Duel - Round Four has begun!

2009-11-14T05:41:00.000-08:00

The ATOMIZER has threatened to dethrone Dwight so I say BRING IT ON!!

Dwight(The Fright) Patterson V The Atomizer!

This weeks prompt was Zombies. If you enjoy a good old zombie tale, give these two a read and vote for your favorite. Voting ends next Friday.

The Dungeon

Last Chance to vote, your vote could make all the difference SAVE YOUR FAV!!

2009-11-10T09:53:00.000-08:00

Dwight (The Fright) Patterson our reigning champion versus fresh faced Wolverine.

Can Dwight stay on top, or is the duel just too much for him to take and hes beginning to flag?

Will Wolverine be able to take him down and out and take the lead?

Heads will roll, but whose will it be? Who are you backing?

Only YOU can decide.

Read and vote for your favorite story. Voting ends midnight next Tuesday.

The Dungeon

Would you like House of Horror to review your book?

2009-11-10T09:32:00.000-08:00

House of Horror is always looking for new and exciting books to review. I have just finished my back log of books to read and Issue #7 will be reviewing two fantastic books that I highly recommend.

If you have a book you would like us to review (printed only please) Please send a query to horrorhouse.editor@yahoo.com

We not only write a review for your book to appear in the issue, but we add your book to our library with direct links where to purchase it.

I'm a little bored now and need something new and gruesome to read, be it wereworlves, vampires, ghosts, or psychological thrillers, send them along and I look forward to checking them out.

House of Horror Duel - Round Three!

2009-11-06T09:56:00.000-08:00

Dwight (The Fright) Patterson our reigning champion versus fresh faced Wolverine.

Can Dwight stay on top, or is the duel just too much for him to take and hes beginning to flag?

Will Wolverine be able to take him down and out and take the lead?

Heads will roll, but whose will it be? Who are you backing?

Only YOU can decide.

Read and vote for your favorite story. Voting ends midnight next Tuesday.

The Dungeon

Chapter One of my NaNo story

2009-11-03T09:33:00.000-08:00

Chapter One

“Feo, are you alright?” asked her mother walking into her daughter’s bedroom. It was morning and she had been woken by Feadora’s screams.

Feo opened her eyes to the sound of her mother’s concerned voice. The morning sun was peeking through the crack in the curtains. She watched the dust motes dancing in the ray of light letting her mind wonder to thoughts of cleaning her bedroom again, dusting especially.

“Yes, sorry I’m OK thanks mom,” she replied with a heavy sigh. “It was just a dream.”

“The same dream you’ve been having for a while?”

“No, no, this was a different one,” she lied, wiping her sweat drenched fringe from her face. “I’ll be fine in a minute.”

“OK, well, you're going to be late for work if you don't get up soon.”

Feadora nodded and stretched. Her mother left the room.

She lay there in her bed for a moment thinking about the dream. Her mother was right. It was the same dream that she had been having for a while now. It had been plaguing her her for several weeks and was beginning to impact on her life. The young girl in her dream was so terrified. Every dream was different but all had the same theme. A young kidnapped girl being tied up and tortured. Last nights dream hit a whole new level. She was sure the girl had been raped by her captor. Feo could almost feel her pain. Everytime she closed her eyes she was right back in that dark and dingy room with – him. She never once saw his face.

Trying to shake the images from her head, Feo sat up and swung her legs over the bed. Checking the clock she realised there was only an hour before she had to be at work, and raced to get in the shower. Work was in the local burger bar. Leaving school with virtually no qualifications had hit her life bad, and that was about the only job was hiring. Her mother had tried to convince her that re-sitting at college would be much more beneficial but Feo had decided the more money she could make, the quicker she could get out of this godforsaken town. In a small town like Cheslyn, everyone knew your business. There were no secrets.

Turning on the shower, Feo let the water run while hunting her bedroom for a clean uniform. The steam from the bathroom filled the landing and crept into the bedroom. Closing the wardrobe doors, Feo turned around and froze. As the steam from the bathroom swirled around her room, it began to take on the shape of a person. A girl, a young girl. It swirled around Feo, a voice echoing in her head.

Help me Feo, help me, please.

Feo screamed and waved her arms about her head, cutting through the steam, trying to make it go away. It filled the room until she couldn't see anything. Huddled on the floor she squeezed her eyes shut begging for the voice to go away.

“Feo, Feo, is everything alright?”

Feo slowly opened one eye and then the other. The steam had left her room but filled the landing outside her door.

“Feo, what the hell are you doing?” cried her mother racing up the stairs.

Clambering to her feet, Feo looked around the room. Had she fallen asleep and dreamt the whole thing? She could hear the shower running in the bathroom.

“I-I must have fallen asleep,” she stuttered, as she shakily headed for the bathroom. Her mother had beaten her to it and turn the shower off.

“Were you actually planning on taking a shower this morning?”

“Yeah, I was. But forget the shower, I'm going to be late.”

“Damn straight you are,” her mother stated angrily. “What were you doing?”

“Mum, not now, I have to get to work.” Feo walked back into her bedroom and slammed the door behind her.

“This isn't finished young lady,” cried her mother from the other side of the door. "Mark my words!”

Laying her uniform out on her bed, Feo began to get out of her pyjama's. She thought about the strange voice calling out to her. Was it at all connected to her dream? She had never heard that voice before. In her dreams the girl never spoke. Not even a whimper. It was as if she was mute. Surely these dreams didn't mean anything more than eating too much junk food late at night.
But there was no time to think about it, she had to get to work. Burgers needed to be flipped and money needed to be earned.

* * *

“Late again, Miss Banderaz,” said Mr Coslack, tutting and tapping his watch at the door. “That would make it three times this week.”

“I'm so sorry, Mr Coslack,” puffed Feo, rushing through the doors and ripping open her coat. She threw her ruck sack onto one of the tables and grapped an apron from behind the counter.

“And what have I told you about coming to work in your uniform? You get changed when you arrive Feadora, not before you leave the house. It is un-hygienic.”

“I know, I know. I got up late and thought it'd be quicker just to put it on and race on over here. It won't happen again Mr Coslack.”

Mr Coslack shook his head and sighed. He was a tolerant but firm man. He expected the rules to be followed, but believed that everyone makes mistakes. He had been tolerating Feo, ever since he had given her a job and there was only so much he could take.

“Feadora, this is happening way too often now. There are a hundred other kids who want this job and many that would do a much better job. But I know that you need the money so I am prepared to give you one last chance. Consider this your final warning.”

Feo, hung her head and nodded. She understood him all too well. He was a fair man and she had been messing up way too many times recently. At work and at home. She needed this job and was grateful to her boss for allowing her to prove to him she could work harder. She nodded and looped the apron over her head, tying it in a bow at her back.

“Now get to work.” He smiled and winked at Feo. She smiled back, grabbed her bag from the table and hurried into the staff room to put her things away in her locker.

* * *

Coslack Burger Bar, was central to the town of Cheslyn. Most of the kids from the two schools came here every lunchtime and many of the workers from the other shops near by. It didn't bother her that she waited on girls from her high school, that once looked up to her. It didn't even bother her that her mother and grandmother would often come in for a burger meal. What did bother Feo, was knowing that until she had enough money for her over sea's trip, she would spend every morning, noon and night, flipping burgers and salting fries and going home every night with her once beautiful blonde hair, stinking of smoke and grease. It was times like these, that she wished she hadn't goofed off so much at school, and actually knuckled down and studied. Maybe if she had gotten a few more qualifications, she may have been working a better job, paying more money and better prospects. Not that she would have stayed in the job for any length of time. As soon as she had enough for a round the world plane ticket and plenty of spending money, it would have been a case of 'goodbye job, goodbye mum, hello Hawaii!' At least in a better paid job, her dreams would realise much sooner. But no, she was destined to serve fat slobs who ate nothing but fast food, and snickering cliques of girls from her old school, laughing behind her back about how tragic the Famous Feadora Banderaz – school joker and detention queen, had become. Not that any of that mattered much anymore. If she didn't get her at together soon, she would once again be out of a job with no chance of getting a good reference.
Feo stood in front of the fryer, silently watching the round slabs of meat sizzle, the smoke rising and swirling around the kitchen. She thought about what had happened in her bedroom.

Help me Feo, help me, please!

The voice swirled around her head as did the smoke, until another voice, an angry one, broke through her thoughts.

“Hello? Can I order please?” an angry customer was shouting from the other side of the bar.

Samantha, one of the waitress's, walked into the kitchen clutching a bowl of rubbish under one arm. She was more of a bus girl, collecting the rubbish from the tables, but occasionally took the odd order. But today, Mr Coslack had put Feo on the till as well as the kitchen in an attempt to fire up her work attitude.

“Feo, aren't you serving today?” asked Samantha, dumping a load of empty coke cups and burger boxes into the bin. “You do realise you have a customer right?”

“I think everyone realises, his mouth is big enough,” she muttered under her breath.

Mr Coslack appeared in the door way to his office. He leaned up against the door frame and crossed his arms. Feo glanced at him then averted her eyes as she wiped her hands on her apron and moved to acknowledge the angry customer.

“Yes sir, what can I get you,” Feo asked through gritted teeth, a fake smile planted across her face.

“Some lunch before lunchtime is over, would be nice,” replied the man sarcastically.

“Sorry about that sir, I was just getting some burgers ready. Now, what would you like to order?”

NaNoWriMo 2009 is here!!

2009-11-03T08:18:00.000-08:00

OK, so its day 2 of NaNoWriMo and I'm chugging on quite nicely. At 5350 words, I am above the daily target which I am happy about. The only thing, is finding the time to actually sit down and write. With kids and housework, and everything I have going on with House of Horror including the Duel and the Best of 2009 anthology, it is just so tiring! I managed it lasy year and sailed through it finishing my 50,000 word novel 'False Awakenings' in just 29 days, and I really pride myself on being able to do that. But last year I wasn't the Editor of an ezine growing in popularity. I didn't have 50+ submissions a month to go through etc.

I can see me getting about half way through and ending it there. I plan to at least make it half way through anyway and then even if I don't complete Nano this year, at least I will have something of Novella length that I can work with. I only have one completed novel to date and a few unfinished ones. It would be nice to see more of my work in print - something to show the kids when they are older, and definitely something to sell (Not that my first novel is doing oh so well!!)

So, all in all, I really should get back to it. The housework is done, the kids have been fed and watered and come bedtime, I will finally be able to sit down with a cheap glass of wine and stare blankly at the computer screen! No, seriously. I know what I have to write and after finishing off last night, I managed to set up my next scene and chapter quite well so I know I will manage at least another thousand words tonight if not more. But I am still working on another novel along with the stuff for House of Horror. I can't let NaNoWriMo get in the way of other more important priorities.

So, how are all my nano friends doing out there? Are you finding it hard to keep the momentum. Is the first day flow of writing beginning to slow already? Let me know how you are handling Nano with everyday life also.

Thats me done moaning for the day, off to start the bedtime routine with the kids. The earlier they go to bed, the earlier I can get to that glass of wine....

House of Horror Best Of 2009 Anthology

2009-10-31T10:43:00.000-07:00

Stories:

The Ocean and my feet - Shells Walter
Little White Crosses - Kerry Morgan
The Making of Me - Chris Bartholomew
The Family - John Arthur Miller
Dead Love - Lucas Pederson
PussyKat - Allan Leverone
Neighbors - Angel Zapata
Theres always someone dying - Matt Baker
Scrabbled - Steve E. Lowe
Out of Order - Linda Evans
A New Way of Being - Davin L. Kimble
Acceleration - Natalie L. Sin
The Magnificent Maggot Face - Neil Buchanan
On The Third Day - Graeme Reynolds
A Job at the Blood Bank - Scott Wilson
The Cat Called Follow Me - Sean Greenhill
The Haunted - C.A. Dawson
Deadly Climax - Donna Jean Lyons
Getting Any Bites? - Shane McKenzie
The Waiting Room - Seve Mazy
Road Map - Chad McKee
Cicadas - Annemarie Boggart
Welcome Home - Rober C. Eccles
Caught in a Time Warp - Suzie Bradshaw
Staying Dead - AJ Brown
A Shot Gun Wedding - Matthew Glen Ward
Victor - Linda Manning
Stalkee - Gayle Arrowood
Figaro, Figaro - Norman A. Rubin
Cauliflower - Chris Reed
The Samhain Dance - Jesse Janicki

Poems:

Ragnarok - Thom Olausson
Halloween - Sharon M. White
Graven Images - Ken L. Jones
Macabre! Macabre! - Roxanne Hoffman
Eternity's Basement - Samuel Minier
Mres Seatons Study - Kristine Ong Muslim
The Languishing - John C. Mannone
Killing You - Alba Spahi
A Zombie's Voice - Theresa C. Newbill

Artwork:

Milan Smith
Teresa Tunaley
Christopher Woods
Jack S. Rogers
Richard Sampson

Interviews

Eric S. Brown
LB Goddard
Michael H. Hanson

This book will be available on pre-order from tonight, details to be given later.

Payment will be:

Stories $5
Poetry $3
Artwork $5

Interviews are not paid for.

Sneak Preview of th Ruthless Anthology Cover (Incomplete)

2009-10-26T14:52:00.000-07:00

RUTHLESS
An Extreme Shock Horror Collection

House of Horror’s Co-Editor Shane McKenzie, will be taking on the hard slog of putting together a new anthology for House of Horror. This venture will not be for the faint hearted or the easily offended. Submissions are open now and will close 1st December.

Formatting:

Standard formatting. Prefer to have stories in the body of the email. No attachments please.

Send all stories to horrorhouse.editor@yahoo.com

Submission Guidelines:

We are looking for stories that will shock the reader, make them feel uncomfortable as they read. Give us your sickest, weirdest, craziest stories. The gorier and stranger, the better. That being said, the story still has to be strong. Gore for gores sake will not cut it, but a great story full of gory details is what we are looking for. Since House of Horror donates to the Birmingham Children’s Hospital, we cannot accept any child brutality stories. On the other hand, children handing out the brutality is fine.

Nothing cliché is going to cut it. We want stories that will make the reader wonder about the writer’s sanity. Give us your worst.

Stories between 2000-5000 words, no flash fiction. We have a limited amount of space, so no stories longer than 5000 words please. Place “Ruthless” in the subject line.

We want Bios from all writers as well. Make it fun. No boring lists of previous publications. Pick your favorite 2 or 3 if you like, but we want creative bios.

We will be giving a prize of $25 for our favorite story. We are unable to give contributor’s copies at this time.

Shock us!

House of Horror Duel - Round Two

2009-10-23T16:20:00.000-07:00

The next Duel has begun!

Victorious, Dwight (The Fright) Patterson v New Meat, Sir Bodsworth Rugglesby.

Can Dwight keep his head on his shoulders for another seven days, or will this time next week be his final walk on the earth?

Will Sir Bodsworth be able to keep his cool, or will he crumble in defeat?

Only YOU can decide the fate of these two brave warriors fighting for their life and the House Madams Goodies....

Please read and vote. Voting ends this time next Friday.

The Dungeon

Week One of the Horror Writing Duel From House Of Horror

2009-10-13T14:04:00.000-07:00

Because of the excitement building up for this new contest. House Of Horror decided to go ahead and begin tonight.

The first duel is live! Please visit the Dungeon, read and vote for your champion.

http://www.houseofhorror.org.uk/#/the-dungeon/4536120352

Can you Defeat Death? House Of Horror Duelling Rules!

2009-10-13T04:47:00.000-07:00

Ok we've had so much response for this and have around 20 competitors so far.The first duel will begin October 31st.

Dwight (The Fright) Patterson 'V' Nightmare!

Prompt: Horrotica

Word Count: 1500 words.

Both Stories will be displayed in 'THE DUNGEON' of House of Horror with one comment/vote box and will run for 7 days. Readers can leave a small comment but must make it clear who they vote for within their comment. On the 8th day, the winner will be announced and also the new contender will be contacted and the next prompt will be set. The next duel will have four days to prepare their story and will go up on the 14th day.

So in effect there will be a new duel every two weeks. Please join in with the votes. Reminders will be left here, facebook and myspace. The contest will run for 12 weeks and the winner of the final duel will win all the prizes and will be the reigning champion into the second contest.

I hope to make this a regular thing if everything goes well.

Can you defeat Death? House Of Horror's Writing Duel!

2009-10-08T12:32:00.000-07:00

House of Horror are looking for duellers to fight to the death with words of terror. Two challengers take the stand, they have one week to write a 1000 story based on the House Madam's prompt.

The two stories will be put up at the House of Horror for three weeks and the public will vote on a winner. The Winner and the new competitor will be announced one week before the next issue goes out.Only one will win. The Grim Reaper takes away the loser in shame and the winner stays on. (The looser will receive a banner for their efforts to display on their webpage and sticks and bookmarks in the post.)

The contest will run for twelve weeks beginning on the 31st October. The champion will win a collection of prizes - Books, T-shirt, book marks, stickers and a yearly subscription to the House Of Horror special print Edition.Who is ready for a challenge?

Contact the House Madam! at horrorhouse.editor@yahoo.com with your duelling name and you will be placed on the list.

Female Horror writers - Girls Night Out!

2009-10-06T16:50:00.000-07:00

Join Sonar4 Blog radio show Nov 4th 6pm EST for a female horror writers girls night out. Or should that be girls night in?

Myself and L.B. Goddard will making guest appearances again along with show hosts Shells Walter and Tonia Brown.

Come join in all the fun, ask us questions by calling in or just listen and chat with others in the chatroom. I can tell you now that when us girls get together, all hell breaks loose and all boundries are crossed. Not for the faint hearted, prudish or easily offended!

Come and learn more about some of the most prolific female writers in the horror industry and see what makes us tick, and how we deal with real life against the dark back drop of the horror world.

Well October is here horror fans!

2009-10-04T11:50:00.000-07:00

October - my favorite month of the year! Nights are drawing in earlier, yet it is still relativly warm in the evenings with a light wind. Halloween is almost upon us. A time for the elderly to double lock their doors, home owners to stock up on Candy and children to figure out what their tricks will be this year.

In actual fact, nothing really happens around here on Halloween. I may let me eldest go trick or treating as we live in quite a close knitt village where we know pretty much every one who lives here - no doubt her friends will be doing it this year as they are a little older. She has a costume, she will beg me to let her wear it so I may just cave in. I of course will stock up on candy and will probably carve one - just one (we're still in a rececession ya know!) little pumpkin for the front window.

As I am Wiccan, when the kids have gone to bed, I will be receiting my usual yearly chants etc, giving thanks to the goddesses for all the luck I have had this year.

Some things to look out for from House Of Horror:

Creature Features is now available for pre-order by visiting the book shop at House Of Horror www.houseofhorror.org.uk It should be ready for shipping just in time for Halloween so you will all have a great monster book to read.

Mausoleum Memoirs sales have fallen a bit. Please grab your self a copy of HOH's very first anthology.

The Special Edition Print Issue 2 is out 1st November, featuring the best of the last three months of stories, poems, art work, interviews and reviews. Look out for it and grab a copy for just £7.49

Tonight myself and L.B. Goddard - Editor of The Monsters Next Door ezine, will be appearing live on the Sonar4 mag Blog Talk Radio sho, talking about our recent projects. Please join us in the chatroom at 11pm UK time 6pm EST

A couple of new publishing ventures have been posted also, the guidelines are listed in blogs below.

I think that is pretty much it for now. Hope you join us for the interview - House Of Horror will be giving some special prizes away too!

Special episode of Sonar 4 Talk show! Sam Cox and LB Goddard

2009-10-03T18:49:00.001-07:00

Special episode of Sonar 4 Talk show! Sam Cox and LB Goddard

Shared via AddThis

Submission call for New Anthology: Ruthless!

2009-10-03T12:51:00.001-07:00

RUTHLESS
An Extreme Shock Horror Collection

House of Horror’s Co-Editor Shane McKenzie, will be taking on the hard slog of putting together a new anthology for House of Horror. This venture will not be for the faint hearted or the easily offended. Submissions are open now and will close 1st December.

Formatting:

Standard formatting. Prefer to have stories in the body of the email. No attachments please.

Send all stories to horrorhouse.editor@yahoo.com

Submission Guidelines:

We are looking for stories that will shock the reader, make them feel uncomfortable as they read. Give us your sickest, weirdest, craziest stories. The gorier and stranger, the better. That being said, the story still has to be strong. Gore for gores sake will not cut it, but a great story full of gory details is what we are looking for. Since House of Horror donates to the Birmingham Children’s Hospital, we cannot accept any child brutality stories. On the other hand, children handing out the brutality is fine.

Nothing cliché is going to cut it. We want stories that will make the reader wonder about the writer’s sanity. Give us your worst.

Stories between 2000-5000 words, no flash fiction. We have a limited amount of space, so no stories longer than 5000 words please. Place “Ruthless” in the subject line.

We want Bios from all writers as well. Make it fun. No boring lists of previous publications. Pick your favorite 2 or 3 if you like, but we want creative bios.

We will be giving a prize of $25 for our favorite story. We are unable to give contributor’s copies at this time.

Shock us!

New Publishing Venture.

2009-10-03T12:11:00.000-07:00

Dreams And Screams

John Arthur Miller (JAM) from Liquid Imagination has come up with a publishing idea involving (so far) 6 publications:
Lame Goat Press, House of Horror, Silver Blade, Liquid Imagination, Static Movement and Aurora Wolf

What we are going to do is take two stories from each publication listed here and two totally new stories never before published and put them all in a book entitled: Dreams and Screams - it's a Fantsay/horror book. Here is the pay scale:

Each story is paid $10.00.

Cover artist would receive $10.00.

We'll have one poem to launch the work. Poet receives $10.00.

If you want to be a part of this on the House Of Horror side, please email your submission to horrorhouse.editor@yahoo.com place Dreams and Screams in the subject line and write a short bio. Stories must be between 3-5000 words but not exceed 5000 words. No Horrotica and no child abuse/violence. Stories must be of a horror/fantasy nature.

The final four chosen authors will be contacted and told of the next stage and their contracts.

My two favourite stories have already been chosen so there are only two spaces left for new stories.

Submissions must be BRAND NEW NEVER BEFORE SEEN stories and cannot be simultaneously submitted to any of the other publications involved in this project. You can of course submit a story to each of the publications but not the same one.

We will ask for first anthology printing rights and payment will be made via paypal upon publication

This will be published by LIP (Liquid Imagination Publishing)

The deadline is somewhere around two months...

Creature Features Book Trailer!

2009-10-02T16:32:00.001-07:00

Mausoleum Memoirs Book Trailer!

2009-10-01T17:12:00.000-07:00

Everyone knows where they can find a haunted house. Some may have even lived in one, taken a tour of one, or even just simply set up a den in an old abandoned one as children. There are so many stories of ghosts and paranormal activity plaguing these interestingly old buildings, but who knows whether these spooky events are facts or fictitious? We all live in a society where a good old haunted house ghost story is the height of every child’s sleepover, or a party at Halloween, but have you ever experienced anything that is even close to being terrifying?
‘Mausoleum Memoirs’ holds thirty haunted house stories, written by very talented writers of the horror fiction community.
This anthology is hosted by House of Horror ezine, an on-line magazine for horrific tales, poems and erotic stories, along with book reviews, author interviews and upcoming horror movie-trailers.
You can check out the site www.houseofhorror.org.uk and see what we are all about. Mausoleum Memoirs will ultimately rekindle those lost thoughts of that strange house in the middle of nowhere; unusual activity emanating from it – especially on Halloween. Mausoleum Memoirs is a book to read when you need to give yourself a good scare.
If you love a good horror story, then Mausoleum Memoirs is for you!

S.E.COX
Editor, House of Horror ezine

Novel Excerpt ~ Forbidden Love

2009-10-01T10:13:00.000-07:00

I raced down to Faroaks forest hoping to catch Jonas before he left for home – wherever that may have been. I was lucky, as I ran I could see him walking at a relatively slow pace in the distance.

“Jonas,” I cried breathless as I pushed my speed to the limit. There was no one around so hopefully there was no one to see me dart through the forest leaving only a blur between the trees. “Jonas, please wait up!”

He turned around briefly, and then continued walking. I slowed down as I reached his side, grabbing his arm spinning him around.

“Rosella, I can’t do this, we can’t do this, you know we can’t, it’s just too hard,” he said to me, not able to meet my eyes.
I wanted to hold him so tight and tell him that everything was going to be ok, but in theory it wasn’t. We were effectively from two completely different worlds.

“Jonas, I love you,” I cried in earnest. “I have never met anyone like you before. You can’t leave me!”

“Rosella, I have killed people. I am sure your father has filled you in on all of the details.”

As if on cue the sky turned dark and slowly, the much anticipated rain descended upon us. I shivered as the rain soaked my clothes, raindrops balanced on my eyes lids as I blinked them away several times. “Jonas, I don’t care,” I almost gargled, as rain poured into my mouth as I spoke. “If you could just try and speak to Ricardo...”

Jonas laughed and flicked his head back running his hand through his hair. Rain sprayed all around as he did so. “Were you not in the kitchen just?” he cried exasperated. “You saw what he was going to do to me if I hadn’t of left when I did.” He yanked his arm away from me in frustration and turned to walk away.

Again I ran to his side. “Jonas you can’t go.” I lifted up my arms and tried to wrap them around his neck to show him just how much I needed him. “Meeting you was like finding a missing piece of my life.”

With one swift move, Jonas grabbed both of my wrist and held them up in front of him. His grip was painful, I was suddenly frightened of him, something I never thought would happen. The expression on his face scared me. It was almost clear how much of an Avelonian he was. His eyes darkened and he clenched his jaw tight. His grey skin faded several shades and I could see the anger of the situation taking over him. As I tried to wriggle out of his grip, he held my wrists tighter.

“Jonas, you are hurting me,” I cried, unable to understand why he was doing this to me – deliberately trying to cause me pain.

“See what I mean,” Jonas growled at me. “Don’t you see Rosella? If I stay, I will only hurt you in more ways than I dare to even think about.”

My eyes flickered involuntary from the rain that was now falling harder. It was almost complete darkness as the clouds gathered together in the thunderous gloomy sky. “But if you go, I might as well be dead.”

He ignored the harshness of my words. Obviously he didn’t quite understand that I surely couldn’t go on without him. I had been waiting so long for someone to come along and change my world. I wasn’t about to let him go without a fight. “Don’t you realise how long I have waited for you?” I cried.

He screwed his face up in a painful scowl. I wasn’t sure if it was the pain of having to leave me or the pain that he had just realised that he had been leading me on all along.
He took a deep breath. “Rosella, I have to go,” he said, finally releasing me from his grasp. He walked away.

“Jonas, please don’t do this,” I wept, chasing him through the forest. I made another attempt to grab his arm and try to make him see sense. Within seconds he threw me to the ground with such force, I skidded backwards through the gravel sending a cloud of dust into the murky air.

“Rosella, are you OK?” shouted a voice, somewhere beyond the trees.

I jerked my head up, trying to see where it was coming from. Jonas stopped also. Out of the shadows I could make out a figure racing towards me. It was Adrian Torres.

“Hey!” he shouted. I assumed it was directed at Jonas. Adrian ran over to me and helped me to my feet, all the while glowering at Jonas. “Is that any way to treat your girlfriend?”

Jonas turned and began walking towards us. As he approached I could see the differences in size and height between the two of them and urged Adrian to back off. “Addy, please just leave him, he isn’t my boyfriend anymore.”

It was no use. Adrian had already taken a step towards Jonas. With his shoulders square, he puffed out his chest, ready to take whatever Jonas had to throw at him, hopeful he could get in a few of his own.

Jonas smirked. “You think that you can take on me little man?” he said with a hint of sarcasm in his low gruff voice. “Well, bring it on friend.”

“You’re no friend of mine, and I think Rosella would be better off if you just went back to wherever you came from,” said Adrian, trying to make his words sound strong and bold. I could see in his stance just how scared he was of Jonas, but I guess he thought that by standing up to Jonas, it would somehow win points with me.

That wasn’t how I saw it.

He was crazy if he thought squaring up to a vampire was clever, although he didn’t know that. He soon would though.

With one quick swoop he had his hand tightly compressed around Adrian’s throat. “You wana’ take me on now friend?” sneered Jonas, lifting Adrian into the air until his eyes were level with his own. Adrian’s feet thrashed about, around two feet from the ground. I could hear the compressed chokes escaping from Adrian’s mouth and the loud grunts being forced from his nose.

“Jonas, put him down. Now!” I screamed at him. “He has done nothing wrong.”

Jonas glanced at me and then looked back at Adrian. “Are you in love with Rosella?” he asked, still with a look of malevolence etched across his face. “Well, do you?” He shook Adrian high in the air.
“Let him go Jonas!”

Without taking his eyes off me, he threw Adrian to the ground. Adrian gasped for breath, choking as he tried to stand. I ran over to him. “Addy are you ok, has he hurt you?” A bit of a superfluous question, I thought as the words left my mouth. All he could do was nod, gasping for air.

I whipped my head up and glared at Jonas, my blood pulsating, anger overtaking any feelings of love that I had for him.

“See what I mean?” was all that he could say before he ran and disappeared into the darkness.

My heart swelled quickly and the feelings of worship came flooding back now he had gone. He had only done this to Adrian to show me what he was capable of doing if he got too close and stayed amongst humans. But how could I go on without him? I had to figure something out. I couldn’t just let him walk into my life and then walk straight back out of it like this. I had to find a way for us to be together without hurting anybody.

Creature Features Anthology - Final Line-Up

2009-10-01T06:17:00.000-07:00

Earthen Demons - Kerry Morgan

The Lake - Jack Burton

The Things Lullabye - Rick McQuiston

The Promise - Terrence Kuch

The Third Floor - William Pauley III

Butter Flower - A.J. Brown

So That's How the Cookie Crumbles - A.E. Churchyard

The Messers - Suzie Bradshaw

Jonah and the Dead - Eric S. Brown

Lunatic Brigade - Kevin Wallis

What is Left Behind - John C. Lewis

Night Crawler - Donna Jean Lyon's

Manifestation - John Bruni

Mardi Growl - Shane McKenzie

Returning to Eden - Jameson T. Caine

The Thought Things - Jeff Skinner

Mine - C.A. Dawson

Wet 'N' Wild - William Wood

The Worms - Deborah Walker

The Beast of Hindu Kush - Steve E. Lowe

Derelict - William WildeOscar - Doug Murano

Big Sisters Get What They Deserve - Kathryn Ehrlich

Tooth - Philip Harris

Breaking and Entering - Stephanie Scarborough

Then Silence - Philip Frank

Incubites - S.E. COX

The Lake Pact - David Bearnstein

Beach Comber - Kevin White

Creature Features (Poem) - Charlotte Gledson

Introduction - John C. Lewis

All stories will be illustrated by the fantastic Shane McKenzie

Cover art by Kaolin Fire .

BLATENT PLAGIARISM!

2009-09-30T12:54:00.000-07:00

I couldn't believe my eyes when I opened up an email from a fellow writer yesterday to find that she had read an article on another writers blog about plagiarism. http://arageofangel.blogspot.com/2009/09/ive-been-plagiarizedand-im-not-alone.html . What is worse, is that when I read the blog post, it was revealed that a writer whose submission I had just recently accepted, had been ripping off stories of others.

Then it got worse...

This guy had not only ripped off relativly unknown writers, but also a story by Stephen King of all people!

What shocks me the most about this blatent plagiarism accusation, is that this guy didn't even try to hide the fact that he had simply copied and pasted others work into his own stories! He even sent the Stephen King rip off to me, as a submission to our up coming anthology - Creature Features. Luckily both me and my co-editor didn't like it and rejected it anyway!

You wana know the guys name?

RICHARD RIDYARD.

Well that has been the name he has used for all of this, but no doubt he has several other alias's.

Anyway, I urge everyone to read Angel Zapata's post and thank him for his fantastic detective work on this case. Thanks to him, a lot of zine editors and writers have been saved a lot of trouble.

Angel, if you happen to read this - you really are an angel!

So, OK. I am new to blogging!!

2009-09-30T12:34:00.000-07:00

I have tried several times to blog and never once kept it up for more than a few days. I think now I have become an editor, I need to get my ezine out there more and maybe this is the way to do it.

So why are you really here? I hear you all whispering.

Well.

I am the editor of House of Horror ezine www.houseofhorror.org.uk and I would like all of you great writers out there to come visit us and take a look around. I thought I would use this blog to tell you what is going on with us up at the old horror house.

Come meet the staff -

Me, House Madam!

Shane McKenzie - co-editor and occasional artist

Charlotte Emma Gledson - Poetry Editor

Kaolin Fire - Anthology cover artist

Lucas Pederson - Special Edition Print issue cover artist

So come, come take a tour of our humble home. Join in all the fun. We'd love to have you over for dinner some time...