Category Archives: horror short stories
Announcing the TOC for 34 ORCHARD’s Spring 2022 Issue 5!
In wall-bound creatures, leucistic birds, and murderous gardens and forests; in natural disasters and terrifying hauntings; in everywhere from modern-day skyscrapers to the Old West, the upcoming issue of 34 Orchard’s twenty-five artists focus on the things we refuse to see, and what that might mean.
I’m excited to announce 34 Orchard‘s Table of Contents for the Spring 2022, which will be released on April 25—and thanks to several generous donations, this issue is even larger than our last one! We’ve even arranged for an exclusive Read the rest of this entry
Fan of RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER? My short story “No Sweet Bird” now available!
I actually scared myself writing my contemporary gothic ghost story, “No Sweet Bird,” which is now available to read for free over at Crow & Cross Keys! See below for link to the story.
I read this and all I could think of was ‘WTF—didn’t these guys read The Rime of the Ancient Mariner?
Every one of my tales has a story behind it. This one is about what happens when you spit in fate’s eye. I’ve recently seen this happen to someone—if you believe in that sort of thing—and I think it’s interesting that a story I wrote two years ago saw it coming. It seriously is weird that, metaphorically, I described what would happen.
While the brain’s a really amazing thing, the moral of story? Karma’s a bitch. When the universe gives you a gift, you don’t throw it back.
And for God’s sake, don’t be dumb enough to kill an albatross. After all—the Franklin Expedition actually did this, and look what happened to them.
You can read “No Sweet Bird” free online over at Crow & Cross Keys here: https://crowcrosskeys.com/2022/02/02/no-sweet-bird-kristi-petersen-schoonover/
I’m incredibly honored to have this story featured in this publication. They publish some stuff that’s in my wheelhouse, so be sure to check out the other stories, as you might like them, too (no really, if you do enjoy my stories, you will definitely enjoy what they’ve got going on over there).
Free Facebook Live Writing Craft Discussion THIS Thursday night, February 3
Grab your favorite beverage for a special cocktail hour! Author Katherine Silva and I will be discussing Character Driven Horror at 8 pm Thursday, February 3, on Facebook Live. The discussion will last about an hour. It’s free and open to the public.
If you’re not familiar with a Facebook Live event, it’s the easiest thing out there—it’s just like watching television. If you’d like to attend, you simply click on this link at 8pm ET on that day, and the video will play right on the page—you do not have to register, sign up, or login to anything except your Facebook (and most of us stay logged in to that anyway). You will not see yourself on screen, and no one will know you’re there.
W-interview Series 1: Episode 4 – Character Driven Horror with Kristi Petersen Schoonover
https://www.facebook.com/events/532611934501325/?ti=ls
I hope you can join us for what promises to be an interesting chat!
“Floor Song Tango” accepted to OUT OF TIME: TRUE PARANORMAL ENCOUNTERS!
My house from hell.
I’m thrilled to announce that my piece, “Floor Song Tango”—a short memoir about the powerful grip the haunted house I grew up in had on me for most of my life—has been accepted to and will be published in Timber Ghost Press’ upcoming anthology Out of Time: True Paranormal Encounters!
As painful as this was to write–talk about things you’d rather forget? Um, yeah–this was cathartic. I was finally able to get this place to stop haunting me and put it where it belongs: in the past.
I’ll keep you posted on the publication date, which will be later this year.
“Mating Call” now available in PARabNORMAL
It’s here! How pretty are these copies of parABnormal Magazine’s December 2021 issue? The issue contains my story “Mating Call”—I don’t want to spoil anything, but I will say there are angry bird ghosts involved!
This is the only place you can get this story, so if you’re on the hunt for something new of mine, you can order a PDF or print direct from the publisher.
PRINT–$12.00– https://www.hiraethsffh.com/product-page/parabnormal-magazine-december-2021-edited-by-h-david-blalock
Or on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/3Kx4h9H
(Note: You’re better off ordering from the publisher’s website. They are faster and more efficient, in this case, and the printed books come beautifully packaged in nice brown paper—at least, my four that I ordered did. It was really a nice experience).
My copies arrived professionally-wrapped in sturdy, high quality brown paper. It was like receiving an antique book. Beautiful!
It’s GENERATION X-ED Pub Day!
I’m not so thrilled about that god-awful sweater I’m wearing in that photo, but I couldn’t be more thrilled to announce that Generation X-ed, which contains my short story “Nothing to See Here,” is now available in dust jacket hardcover, paperback, Kindle, and audiobook!
Crammed with all sorts of throwback goodies and the original collection written completely by those of us who lived through them, this should definitely be on every GenXer’s shelf (and makes a great gift for that impossible-to-buy-for GenXer in your life because JARTS are hard to find)! Here’s a look at the stellar TOC!
In From the Cold – Adrian Ludens Read the rest of this entry
Gild the Holiday Weekend with the KINDLE release of COLOUR OUT OF DEATHLEHEM for charity!
Happy Christmas Eve! The Kindle Edition of Grinning Skull Press’ holiday horror anthology Colour Out of Deathlehem, which contains my story “Feeding the Babies” (if you know what Treevenge is, you’ll love this!) is now available—best of all, 100% of the $4.99 purchase goes to The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.
This is a very worthy cause, and I worked long and hard on a brand new story just for you in the hopes that you’d all lend a hand!
The true spirit of Christmas is really in giving. If you’ve got $4.99 to spare, have a Kindle or the app on your phone or PC and love scary Christmas stories? Consider treating yourself while giving to someone else.
Edited by Harrison Graves and Michael Evans, here’s what’s in store:
Welcome back to Deathlehem, where… Read the rest of this entry
34 ORCHARD Issue 4 is LIVE!
Issue 4 is up! You can get your copy here: https://34orchard.com/issues/issue-4/
There is so much fine work in this issue, our largest yet. Don’t miss it!
The perfect accompaniment to “Carving Grace” …
Acapella group VoicePlay performs “Hoist the Colours.”
Our month of celebrating figureheads has come to an end. If you’d like to know more about real figureheads and their mythology, there are loads of resources—I didn’t spend any time this month talking about the real things because honestly, there are experts out there who have researched and published information that is much more eloquent and accurate than anything I could’ve written; there’s no point in paraphrasing something someone else did much better.
Here are some links if you’d like to learn more about figureheads and what it requires to make them:
The Historic England Blog: A Brief History of Ships’ Figureheads
https://heritagecalling.com/2019/01/31/a-brief-history-of-ships-figureheads/
Martin Jeffrey—Ship’s Figurehead Carving (he’s a real figurehead carver)
Daily Art Magazine: Wild Women of the Waves – Art of Ships Figureheads
https://www.dailyartmagazine.com/art-of-ships-figureheads/
Need a little bit of atmosphere to take with you? Here’s an acapella version of “Hoist the Colours” by a group called VoicePlay that’s absolutely unforgettable.
VoicePlay’s rendition of “Hoist the Colours”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vO8NEsx9m58
“Hoist the Colors,” while many think it’s a legitimate sea chantey, is not. It was written by Hans Zimmer for one of Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean films, but that doesn’t make it any less creepy. It’s so good it’s really hard to tell it’s not authentic—and I think it’s a perfect fit with “Carving Grace.”
Haven’t read “Carving Grace” yet? If you’d like to—and you’d like an anthology full of lots of other fun creepy creatures—you can pick up a copy of Wicked Creatures here: https://bit.ly/WickedC
Announcing the Table of Contents for the Fall 2021 issue of 34 ORCHARD!
We’re thrilled to announce the Table of Contents for the Fall 2021 issue of 34 Orchard, which will be released on November 10, 2021!
This is our biggest issue yet. Here’s what we’ve got in store for you: Read the rest of this entry
