Made Up Horrors
It's Monday. You know what that means? Yeah you do.
“We make up horrors to help us cope with the real ones.” — Stephen King
Steve King’s quote says it all, and the stories featured in today’s post were a brilliant escape into the underworld after a packed weekend. Next week is our first feature post after trying on this new format, and I can’t wait to deliver up a deliciously weird one for all of you. I know life gets busy and hard, but I want you all to know that reading your stories helped ground me this week. Much love to you all and as always, thank you for writing.
New Voices
New to the Macabre Monday community?
Post a link to your Substack in the comments! We’ll feature your work in an upcoming issue!
Featured Stories
Standout posts from last week
J.J. Walker posted a short story, “Hook Line and Sinker.” If you have never read J.J.’s work, fix that problem today. He is a brilliant horror writer who has published three books. My introduction to him was Waxwing Creek, a collection of interconnected horror stories that I gobbled up in a couple of nights. His newest novella, The Flowers at Flood House, is a must read for anyone who loves indie fiction. Beautiful, sad, and terrifying. Both are available in ebook or paperback on Amazon.
David has loved fishing since he was a boy. But it isn’t the lake or his father’s memory that keep him coming back for more. David loves to see the look in their eyes, when they realize they’ve been caught.
Mata Haggis-Burridge wrote a 777-word horror story, “Low Stakes.” This one came as the result of a prompt randomizer. Read Mata’s post for the story, and a little behind the scenes extra.
Doris Peabody’s job was easy: wait with the sleeping infant until the parents finished their gambling. But when a flashy casino dealer catches her eye, she finds herself in a high stakes poker game with all her money on the table. Her opponent isn’t folding, and she’s out of chips…until she decides to wager something more valuable.
Nick Winney gave us “Who Looks Inside Awakes,” a new short story set in a mythic roadside tavern, where a mysterious one-eyed barman invites weary travelers to test themselves at his arm-wrestling table, under the watchful eyes of broken men who came looking for the same thing and never left. But this is no ordinary contest. To win, a man must face the ghosts he’s been running from his whole life. And sometimes, the only way to beat them is to stop fighting altogether.
They said you couldn’t look for it. That need had to find you. The Man has walked a long road to reach The Traveller’s Fist, a place where men come looking for what life failed to give them. The barman has one eye, gold teeth, and a table called Bellodora. The rules are simple, best of three. But some things can’t be won by force.
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
Sean Thomas McDonnell recently published a novel, Cherry Kills, with J. Curtis independent publishing collective, Tiny Worlds Publishing. If you don’t know Sean’s work, you can find it here on Substack at Automatic Writer. If you like punk, horror, literature, a little bit of cowboy and a lot of weird, you’ll love his work.
Cherry Kills wants to be left alone.
Unfortunately, her Alternates: an overprotective lug, a happy-go-lucky child, and a mute rabbit the size of a man, have other plans.
The doctor calls them hallucinations, symptoms of trauma.
But when her Alternates start interacting with the world around her, Cherry realizes it might not be all in her head.
•••
Sean Thomas McDonnell’s breakthrough novella is as unique as his characters. Written in a quick, punk style this paperback merges a 90s ethos of music and fantasy as it unravels the mystery of Cherry’s imaginary friends.
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Announcements
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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.
Hi all! I don't write straight horror but a few of my stories slide into that territory, including this one which I published about a week ago.
https://hammondjohns.substack.com/p/coverage
Wow thank you for the amazing review!
Such esteemed company!
😊😊😊