My weird horror story Uncle Pumpkin’s Tongue has been accepted by 7th-Circle Pyrite. It’s the story of a Halloween carnival ride with a sinister secret.

It wasn’t the slide itself that scared me—it was the character of Uncle Pumpkin that I found most terrifying. He was supposed to be a silly, clown-like figure that brought joy to children around Halloween, but the only thing he brought to me was a sense of profound unease, a lingering dread that left me feeling like I had a sandbag in my stomach.