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Andrew Smith's avatar

I love when I don't have anything to contribute for a particular Macabre Monday, knowing that this community is nevertheless going to produce dozens of thoughtful pieces every single week.

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Bill Hiatt's avatar

There's a lot that could be done with goats and horror.

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Jessica Maison's avatar

The Devil's Compass is a chilling short story to get to know Monster of the Week!

Since birth, I had possessed a dreadful sixth sense. My body could sense evil souls, and it insisted on taking me right to them. This usually occurred right before they were about to commit a most heinous act. As the sun began to set on this cooler than normal summer day, I felt more than certain that I was about to come face-to-face with an evil of a greater magnitude that I had ever seen before. That was saying a great deal since I had faced astounding evil repeatedly from a very young age.

https://open.substack.com/pub/monsteroftheweek/p/the-devils-compass?r=2gafi&selection=bbb51f2b-a59d-4344-93cd-bb0af3ba4dde&utm_campaign=post-share-selection&utm_medium=web

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Jennifer Morrow's avatar

💀 Here's the link to "Call Me Tex", my short story for August. It's a Western horror about a young man who flees New England for Texas, and he's willing to do anything to become the most famous cowboy ever.

https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/p/call-me-tex

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Stephen Duffy's avatar

💀 A tightness formed in Jimmy’s chest, stretching through his whole body. Why would a frail, defenceless old woman invite them, a pair of junkies, of all people, into her home? His instincts screamed at him that something wasn’t right. If only he'd trusted them.

https://open.substack.com/pub/shortshivers/p/mamas-boy?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=2tqike

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Jessica Maison's avatar

This is a great story! Not for the weak though.

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Stephen Duffy's avatar

Thanks Jessica! My new one will be ready soon, and its not a horror 🙂

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Jessica Maison's avatar

not horror?! I'm still interested.

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Stephen Duffy's avatar

Not horror, but still macabre 😉

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Bill Hiatt's avatar

A Dracula impersonator, a haunting house appearing from nowhere, and doppelgangers--all in the seventh episode of "North of Midnight." https://billhiatt.substack.com/p/a-haunted-house-appears

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Paige Garland's avatar

💀”After experiencing this strange occurrence, I went back to the open door. Slowly, I crept inside and saw that the person in the pumpkin costume was sitting in the living room. An elderly woman with long gray hair stood in front of them. She now held the pumpkin carving tools.”

https://open.substack.com/pub/paigegarland/p/story-monsters?r=2kavwf&utm_medium=ios

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M. N. Tarrint's avatar

Poem-Swamp Grave

“Daddy’s little spark” is a patient burning ember in a damp swirling world of life and decay, waiting for the return. Waiting to watch someone’s world burn.

https://open.substack.com/pub/aghostinthedoorway/p/swamp-grave?r=3b39ng&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

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M. N. Tarrint's avatar

Short story- The Fire Pit:

“Mama’s got such a pretty voice.”

“How are you supposed to hear Mama in all that clanking around? It’s creepy,” I said. And really, it was. Those charred bones swaying in the wind sounded like dry death to me, but not to Sara. Back at the woods, she had stuffed as many of them as she could fit into her pockets, and she tried to shove them into mine too, but I didn’t want any bones in my pockets, thank you. That’s just before school started back up again and that’s when Uncle Eli took us to the fire pit in the woods where he goes hunting.

https://open.substack.com/pub/aghostinthedoorway/p/the-fire-pit?r=3b39ng&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

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Hanna Delaney's avatar

🪦The Devil At The Door is my latest gothic horror novel that I am serialising for free on Substack.

When Frances Bryant and her family arrive at their new home at number five, Percy Street, she doesn’t feel welcome. Something lurks within the house, trying to catch her at every turn. What Frances discovers will force her to uncover the unforgivable, shattering the life she craves to pieces.

Read here: https://hannadelaneywrites.substack.com/p/the-devil-at-the-door-chapters-1

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