Behind the Horror
Where dark stories come from
Happy Monday horror weirdos!
This week we're getting a sneak peek behind the scenes. See how a story gets mapped out in real time, from a single cryptic note to a half-mad survivor in a swamp. A horror writer answers the question everyone asks, and his answer is more unsettling than anything he's ever put on the page. Explore the crumbling, long forgotten spaces in our cities and towns. And meet a father who sits beside his daughter's bed, listening to sounds he's learned to ignore.
Do your best not to scream.
Announcements
Macabre Monday’s Summer Drive-In Contest:
Macabre Monday is in the midst of a summer-long community event: the Summer Drive-In. Every week through the end of August, we’ll post a new horror prompt. Write something inspired by it (2,500 words or less), post it to the Macabre Monday chat, and it’s in the running. The team will curate favorites along the way, and at the end of summer, the community votes on the best of the best, and the winners get a shot at being featured in a limited-run Macabre Monday anthology.
Submissions are open all summer, so jump in anytime. You don’t have to start this week to participate later.
Excited about our summer event? Spread the word! Share this post.
(To submit, simply link your story in the weekly chat. This allows us to easily facilitate community voting and keep track of things on our side.)
Prompt:
The Last Show: A drive-in theater that's been closed for decades begins playing a film every night. Someone in town can see the screen lit up from their window, but they soon find out they are the only one.
Track the prompts via the post below!
J Wirrowac offered a juicy horror prompt in a story telling competition, The Author Arena. Read the story submissions in the comments, and stay tuned for future opportunities!
Have an announcement to share (releases, calls for submissions, or milestones)?
Let us know in the comments or the chat, and we’ll help spread the word.
Featured Stories
Standout posts from last week.
For the first time, Leigh Parrish of Halcyon Horror is pulling back the curtain on her writing process. In the first installment of a new craft series, she takes a single seed of an idea from her notebook and works it into something genuinely eerie. Part 2 drops July 13th.
EJ Trask posted a link to a digital zine, Hinterland: An Anthology of Abandoned Places. In this collaboration from Substack’s most popular horror writers, you’ll find yourself sat square in the middle of the places we left behind. Come enjoy the ruins.
Our very own John Coon of Strange New Worlds answered the question every horror writer gets asked. Why do you write this stuff? And his answer is as harrowing as anything he's ever put on the page. John's life reads like source material. This essay is honest, and a reminder that the best horror writers aren't just imagining things. They draw from their personal lives.
Community Recommendations
Have a story you think deserves more readers?
Reply to this post or respond in the chat we’re always looking for pieces the community loves.
Recent Publications
Have a book or a story in a magazine or anthology published recently?
Post a link in the comments, and we’ll include it in an upcoming issue.
New Voices
GrousyGirl is brand new to our community! Show some love, read this first post that was shared to chat, and give her a warm welcome!
A father brings his sick little girl a present. A story about grief, love, and what a parent will do to keep from losing a child.
New to the Macabre Monday community?
Post a link to your Substack in the comments! We’ll feature your work in an upcoming issue!
The chat is open. Bring your stories, your poems, your freshly published pieces and your works-in-progress. Bring the thing you wrote that you’re not sure anyone will understand. Someone here will. Come say hello.
Thanks for the welcome!