by @SemaphoreRaven Humans are social creatures. We need human contact like plants need water—without it, we wither and die. Quarantine brought that into sharp focus. As we learned to bake homemade sourdough and finally sat down to teach ourselves French, something slowly gnawed away at our souls. When would we actually see another human being… Continue reading The Hole by Hye-Young Pyun
Author: HOWL Society
The 2020 HOWLS Awards
by Joseph Andre Thomas (@bunttriple) 2020, don’t let the door hit you on the way out. During a year in which we spent more time at home than ever thought possible, of course all of us looked for an escape: some turned to exercise, others to Netflix, to booze, to self-help books, to morning yoga… Continue reading The 2020 HOWLS Awards
Zombie by Joyce Carol Oates
by @Asenath Monsters in horror should disturb us. And what monster is more disturbing than . . . a human? Yes, the serial killer. No fangs, no fur, no claws, just an incredibly charismatic and charming exterior hiding the desire to destroy, hurt, and humiliate. And we can’t get enough of them; there are thousands… Continue reading Zombie by Joyce Carol Oates
BURNT OFFERINGS BY ROBERT MARASCO
by Lindsey Ragsdale (@Leviathan15) The house is always innocuous at first appearance. It sits on a lonely piece of land, it’s usually quite large, and always a few generations old. The group that moves in, temporarily or permanently, is typically a family, although sometimes it’s a loose bunch of acquaintances. No one stays in a… Continue reading BURNT OFFERINGS BY ROBERT MARASCO
Ghosts of Christmas Past: The Stories of M. R. James
by Paul Anders (@Senobyte) There is something about winter that makes people think of ghost stories. Maybe it’s something primal in us, the longer nights and the colder weather urging us to gather round the fire. Compelling us to tell stories about the dreaded things beyond the protective fortress of hearth and home.Regardless of the… Continue reading Ghosts of Christmas Past: The Stories of M. R. James
A Choir of Ill Children by Tom Piccirilli
by Lindsey Ragsdale (@Leviathan15) Horror novels set in small, isolated towns are a dime a dozen. The idea of characters harboring their own dark secrets, while simultaneously wanting to know every bit of their neighbor’s business, is a familiar and successful trope in fiction. Perhaps this is because many readers are all-too-familiar with this setting,… Continue reading A Choir of Ill Children by Tom Piccirilli
Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant
by @Asenath Science and horror go together like peanut butter and jelly and have remained enduringly popular as topics, from Mary Shelley’s original tale of the ethics of scientific creation to the several thousand zombie virus novels that have been published over the last decades (including one of Mira Grant’s). Sci-fi horror forces us to… Continue reading Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant
Why Are We Drawn to Horror Fiction?
by Amanda Nevada DeMel The first person who asked me why I love the horror genre was Judith O’Dea, the actress who played Barbara in Night of the Living Dead. I met her at a horror convention in my teenage years. I was so nervous to meet her. I’m always anxious, and even more so… Continue reading Why Are We Drawn to Horror Fiction?
Wylding Hall by Elizabeth Hand
by Brandon Bernstein (@MantisShrimp) A quick search of “horror and music” brings up articles on the importance of a suspenseful soundtrack to a horror movie’s tense atmosphere and suggestions of spooky Spotify playlists for Halloween (or, if you’re like many members of the HOWL Society, all year round). But suppose you’re less interested in music… Continue reading Wylding Hall by Elizabeth Hand