Category Archives: Short Stories
HAPPY RELEASE DAY! 34 ORCHARD ISSUE 13 HAS ARRIVED!
Posted by kristipetersenschoonover
34 Orchard Issue 13 is here!

Sooner or later, that delusion you created to make the pain of a traumatic reality feel safer, the one you created to get through it, breaks down. When the delusion you created to make the pain of a traumatic reality feel safer breaks down, it’s like being destroyed all over again.
Visit the house that won’t let you live the lie … get your copy at https://34orchard.com/issue-13/ today!
Once again, our ToC:
Cover: Leaving Las Vegas – Trisha J. Wooldridge
Boys – Jeremiah Towle
I Found a Leg Bone in My Yard – A.M. Symes
An Orca Mourns in Puget Sound – Kelsey Oliver Imanishi
September Whitecaps Whip Up in the Bay – Kate LaDew
Once in a Black Moon – Mike Deady
A Heart Broken – Míša Hejná
The Fire – Keira Reynolds
Rot – Meg Douty
Fortune Telling – MJ Vickers
Descent to the Planet of the Gremlins – J.H. Siegal
The Last Road Tripper – Andrew Majors
The Bath – Elizabeth J. Coleman
The Alligator – Christopher Hann
The Unrequited Love of the Ocean – Ray Chanteur
The Ocean is Haunted and So Am I – H.V. Patterson
Last Year – Jennifer Winston Mayette
What Sort of Angels and Why – Matthew Thomas Bernell
The Fox – Priya Evans
I Was an Irrelevant Man – Cassondra Windwalker
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Posted in 34 Orchard, Horror Stories, Short Stories
Tags: 34 Orchard Spring 2026 issue, A.M. Symes, Andrew Majors, Ann Lowe dress designer, Cassondra Windwalker, Christopher Hann, dark fiction, dark poetry, Elizabeth J. Coleman, H.V. Patterson, international horror magazines, J.H. Siegal, Jacqueline Kennedy’s wedding dress, Jennifer Winston Mayette, Jeremiah Towle, Kate LaDew, Keira Reynolds, Kelsey Oliver Imanishi, literary magazine that publishes dark pieces, Matthew Thomas Bernell, Míša Hejná, Meg Douty, Mike Deady, MJ Vickers, Priya Evans, Ray Chanteur, the breakdown of delusion, Trisha J. Wooldridge
Announcing 34 ORCHARD’s Spring 2026 ToC!
Posted by kristipetersenschoonover
The ToC for 34 Orchard Issue 13, Spring 2026, has arrived! The issue will be released on Saturday, April 25, 2026.

Sooner or later, that delusion you created to make the pain of a traumatic reality feel safer, the one you created to get through it, breaks down. When it does, it’s like being destroyed all over again.
In Issue 13, twenty artists cope with the breakdown of delusion. A town believes Read the rest of this entry →
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Posted in 34 Orchard, Short Stories
Tags: 34 Orchard Spring 2026 issue, A.M. Symes, Andrew Majors, Ann Lowe dress designer, Cassondra Windwalker, Christopher Hann, dark fiction, dark poetry, Elizabeth J. Coleman, H.V. Patterson, international horror magazines, J.H. Siegal, Jacqueline Kennedy’s wedding dress, Jennifer Winston Mayette, Jeremiah Towle, Kate LaDew, Keira Reynolds, Kelsey Oliver Imanishi, literary magazine that publishes dark pieces, Matthew Thomas Bernell, Míša Hejná, Meg Douty, Mike Deady, MJ Vickers, Priya Evans, Ray Chanteur, the breakdown of delusion, Trisha J. Wooldridge
HAPPY RELEASE DAY! 34 ORCHARD ISSUE 12 HAS LANDED!
Posted by kristipetersenschoonover
Thrilled to announce that 34 Orchard Issue 12 is here!
The twenty artists in this issue wander the corridors of longing, which is often considered a yearning for a person, object, or location. But it can mean so much more—and sometimes be the loneliest, most isolating emotion in the human experience.
As the purported “most wonderful time of year” approaches, for those who long for anything at all, it might actually be the darkest.
Welcome to the house so empty your own voice comes back to haunt you.
Welcome to 34 Orchard.
Get your copy at https://34orchard.com/issue-12/ today!

Once again, the ToC: Read the rest of this entry →
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Posted in 34 Orchard, Ghost Stories, Horror Stories, Short Stories
Tags: #34OrchardHouseOfFiction, #34OrchardJournal, #34orchardlitmag, #34OrchardStories, #accessiblepoetry, #amreading, #beautifuldarkness, #darkfiction, #DarkFruitFrom34Orchard, #darkliterature, #darkpoetry, #ghostlit, #ghoststories, #hauntedwords, #HomeOfTraumaLit, #indielit, #literaryfiction, #literaryhorror, #literarymagazines, #macabrelit, #mfa, #MidnightInTheOrchard, #PublishedIn34Orchard, #Read34Orchard, #readersofìnstagram, #shortfiction, #shortstories, #WritersOf34Orchard, #writersofinstagram, 34 Orchard Autumn 2025 issue, abandoned farmhouses, Annie Dunn Watson, b2bportraits, Brenna Monaghan Behel, Carolanna Lisonbee, Celeste Pfister, dark fiction, dark poetry, Eleanor Lennox, Ellen Graham, Evan H. Brisson, F.C.E. Ngwube, Geoffrey Reiter, international horror magazines, JJ Norris, liminal spaces, literary magazine that publishes dark pieces, Logan McConnell, Lynn Wiser, Maria Giannone, Megan Savage, Mia Marion, Pranav, Robbie Gamble, Scotty Milder, stories from Democratic Republic of the Congo, Vonnie Winslow Crist, Zina Mona
Announcing 34 ORCHARD’s Autumn 2025 ToC—COMING MONDAY!
Posted by kristipetersenschoonover
The ToC for 34 Orchard Issue #12, Autumn 2025, has arrived! The issue will be released this coming MONDAY, November 10, 2025.
In Issue 12, twenty artists wander the corridors of longing.
When we think of longing, we think of desire, nostalgia, hope, regret, tenderness, desperation, and resignation. But its power shouldn’t be underestimated—it can change the course of our lives. It can drive us to take a job or leave it, marry or divorce, cling to an addiction or let one go, end something or start something new—or, in my case, it can Read the rest of this entry →
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Posted in 34 Orchard, News, Short Stories
Tags: 34 Orchard Autumn 2025 issue, abandoned farmhouses, Annie Dunn Watson, b2bportraits, Brenna Monaghan Behel, Carolanna Lisonbee, Celeste Pfister, dark fiction, dark poetry, Eleanor Lennox, Ellen Graham, Evan H. Brisson, F.C.E. Ngwube, Geoffrey Reiter, international horror magazines, JJ Norris, liminal spaces, literary magazine that publishes dark pieces, Logan McConnell, Lynn Wiser, Maria Giannone, Megan Savage, Mia Marion, Pranav, Robbie Gamble, Scotty Milder, stories from Democratic Republic of the Congo, Vonnie Winslow Crist, Zina Mona
WICKED SICK receives six Best-of-’23-Horror mentions
Posted by kristipetersenschoonover

THRILLED to discover that not one, not two, but SIX of the stories that co-editor Scott Goudsward and I selected for the New England Horror Writers’ Wicked Sick anthology are on the recommended reading list for Ellen Datlow’s 2023 Best Horror of the Year, Volume Sixteen! It’s the highest number of stories selected in a single volume in the Wicked series (and also the only one I edited).
Stephen Mark Rainey—who appeared in 34 Orchard’s Spring 2020 issue with the moving piece “Night Crier”—wrote a generous introduction for Wicked Sick, writing that “these authors reach into your Read the rest of this entry →
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Posted in horror short stories, Horror Stories, Short Stories
Tags: 2023 The Year’s Best Horror, Catherine Grant, Ellen Datlow, Gevera Bert Piedmont, K.H. Vaughan, L.L. Soares, Meg Smith, Michael Deady, New England Horror Writers, Scott Goudsward, Stephen Mark Rainey, Wicked Creative anthologies, Wicked Sick
34 ORCHARD ISSUE 10 IS HERE!
Posted by kristipetersenschoonover
This issue plunges into the cavern of feeling forlorn, lost, and left behind; sasquatches, mermaids, street dwellers, siblings and jobseekers watch as the world chugs on without them. But although abandonment may feel like a death knell, we shouldn’t underestimate its positive power: a woman seeks justice, a grieving spouse turns grateful, and a mother finds strength.
If you’re feeling forgotten as the grayer days of autumn darken into winter, 34 Orchard’s Autumn 2024 issue may offer the camaraderie and light you seek. Get your copy at https://34orchard.com/issues/issue-10/ today!

Once again, the ToC:
Cover Art: Between Worlds – Sonali Roy
Attn Attn – Nichole Lightner
Connection – Yash Seyedbagheri
Things We Did on the Internet – Beth Boylan
Dolphin – T.L. Antoff
Medium Fries – Jilian Elisabeth
When I Scramble Eggs – Jacqueline Jules
Our Parents’ Children – Mia Scattergood
Shantytown – Gordon Linzner
The Day After – Claire Francis Collier
A Stranger in Winter – Rob Francis
The Dark Reflection – Melina Ekic
No Sanctuary – David H. West
Meeting Mary Bloody Thighs in a Convenience Store in Arkansas – Josie Levin
Let Him Roll – Sarah Bradley
When Nature Calls – Craig Thornton
Gardens – Kevin J. Fellows
Mother, Father, Us – Miel MacRae
The Museum – Gregory L. Norris
For Only an Hour – Susan Brush Jonas
Selling the House – Rasha Abdulhadi
Footprint – Kyle E. Miller
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Posted in 34 Orchard, horror short stories, Horror Stories, News, Short Stories
Tags: 34 Orchard Autumn 2024 issue, Beth Boylan, Claire Francis Collier, Craig Thornton, dark fiction, dark literary fiction, dark poetry, David H. West, Gordon Linzner, Gregory L. Norris, international horror magazines, Jacqueline Jules, Jilian Elisabeth, Josie Levin, Kevin J. Fellows, Kyle E. Miller, literary magazine that publishes dark pieces, Melina Ekic, Mia Scattergood, Miel MacRae, Nichole Lightner, Rasha Abdulhadi, Rob Francis, Sarah Bradley, Sonali Roy, Susan Brush Jonas, TL Antoff, Yash Seyedbagheri
MONSTERS IN THE MILLS in Westerly RI this Saturday!
Posted by kristipetersenschoonover

Super excited to announce that Saturday, September 28, at 7 p.m., I’ll be at the UNITED THEATRE in Westerly, RI for a spooky book talk and signing for Monsters in the Mills with my ToC buddies and friends Jessica Wick, Ricardo Rebelo, Errick Nunnally, Christa Carmen, Brennan LaFaro, possibly Steven Belanger and there are rumors a couple more might show up!
Tickets are just $5 and it’s the perfect way to get a little Halloween flirt-on before the season OFFICIALLY begins!
Get tickets here: https://unitedtheatre.org/shows/monsters-in-the-mills-author-talk/
Here’s the book’s trailer, made by awesome contributor Ricardo Rebelo: https://youtu.be/Xey0BHFMQh8?si=IPjvfcDBaPQCC-S9
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Posted in Events, Horror Stories, News, Short Stories
Tags: Brennan LaFaro, Christa Carmen, Errick Nunnally, Halloween events in Westerly RI, history of New England abandoned mills, horror stories set in abandoned buildings, Jessica Wick, Monsters in the Mills, Ricardo Rebelo, Steven Belanger, United Theatre, We Are Providence Writers Group
34 ORCHARD ISSUE 9 IS HERE!
Posted by kristipetersenschoonover
The twenty-one artists in 34 Orchard Issue 9 examine all aspects of waiting: its ups and downs, its held-breath nature, its power. A dead girl languishes instead of going towards the light and a predator banks on his next meal. One mother is driven to pursue a reunion with her daughter, another’s moment for revenge finally arrives, and generations of sons resist—yet compulsively anticipate—the inevitable. A frozen town dreads its death knell. An angry specter prays for her misery to have company, while spirits trapped in the brick and mortar of a bridge wait for nothing more than the next passer-by.
Sooner or later, the waiting’s over, but when we finally get what we want, was it everything we’d imagined? At the end of it, was it really worth it—or did it turn out to be the beginning of yet another long wait for something else? Find out and get your copy at this link today!
Once again, the ToC:
Cover Art: When the Light Dies – Keith Molden
D-Day – Norie Suzuki
Revenge – Dan B. Fierce
Lake Effect – Jason P. Burnham
There – L.T. Ward
First Day Jitters – Donna J.W. Munro
Humans Suppress and History Reveals – Sonali Roy
The Man in the Gray Suit – Fariel Shafee
You Have Summoned a Demon – Ray Daley
Search Underway for Missing Submarine Bringing Tourists to Titanic – John Jeffire
Stillbirth – Jaclyn Eccesso
Suyuntu – Christine Lajewski
Skyline – Jennifer Fanning
Hot on the Trail – Josh Schlossberg
The Seduction – Elizabeth Falcon
Halloween Notes from Bloody Mary of the Philippines– Caroline Hung
The Ghosts at Yazá Bridge – Andrea Ferrari Kristeller
Family Heirloom – Christopher Emmerson-Pace
Last Stop – Brenna Monaghan Behel
Eleven Ways the World Could End – Jack Powers
Unidentified Climbing Object – Angelique Fawns
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Posted in 34 Orchard, horror short stories, Horror Stories, Short Stories
Tags: 34 Orchard Spring 2024 issue, Andrea Ferrari Kristeller, Angelique Fawns, Brenna Monaghan Behel, Caroline Hung, Christine Lajewski, Christopher Emmerson-Pace, Dan B. Fierce, dark fiction, dark literary fiction, dark poetry, Donna J.W. Munro, Elizabeth Falcon, Fariel Shafee, international horror magazines, Jack Powers, Jaclyn Eccesso, Jason P. Burnham, Jennifer Fanning, John Jeffire, Josh Schlossberg, Keith Molden, L.T. Ward, literary magazine that publishes dark pieces, Norie Suzuki, Ray Daley, Sonali Roy
IT’S RELEASE DAY!! 34 ORCHARD ISSUE 8 is here!
Posted by kristipetersenschoonover
It’s release day for 34 Orchard Issue 8! You can head here to get the PDF: https://34orchard.com/issue-8/
(Issues are free, but donations are appreciated).
A clown questions his actions during the Hartford Circus Fire, a woman spends hours calling for the missing, and a man’s unsettled conflict with his brother rents his world in two. A dog mommy may fail at making the ultimate choice and an uncertain slaughterhouse worker may end up without one. In Issue 8, twenty-four artists ponder the dangers in unanswered questions, and the effects on us when things are left unresolved. Once again, our Table of Contents: Read the rest of this entry →
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Posted in 34 Orchard, horror short stories, Horror Stories, Short Stories
Tags: 34 ORCHARD Autumn 2023 issue, Anj Baker, Autumn 2023 issue, Bethany Bruno, Cormack Baldwin, dark fiction, dark literary fiction, dark poetry, Deborah L. Davitt, Harrison Demchick, Jackson Kuhl, Joshua Rex, Julie Sevens, Kathleen Smith, L.E. Daniels, Leen Raats, Liam Hogan, Lynne Barrett, Lynne Schmidt, Megan Wildhood, Melanie Simutis, Nancy Byrne Iannucci, Patrick Malka, Robert Mayette, Sam Rebelein, Sarah Cannavo, Susan R. Morritt, Trisha J. Woodridge, Wailana Kalama
If you missed the “Candlewood’s Creepy Tales” I-95 interview… listen here
Posted by kristipetersenschoonover
If you missed the Halloween drive-time Ethan & Lou Show interview on the creepy tales of Candlewood Lake, you can listen to it here…lasts about ten minutes!
The original “7 Creepy Tales of Candlewood Lake,” in case you’d like to read those, are here:
http://nehw.blogspot.com/2016/08/legends-of-candlewood-lake-guest-blog.html
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