Category / Stories

by Warren Benedetto

“No Bones, Just Skin” published in Night Terrors Vol. 25

My obscure cryptid horror story No Bones, Just Skin leads off the new Night Terrors Vol. 25 anthology by Scare Street. It’s about a brother and sister who have a terrifying encounter with an abúhukü, a rainforest demon known for dissolving the bones of its prey and leaving the empty skin behind.

Content warning: mild gore

Manuel’s older sister, Liliana, stood next to him, looking up at the body hanging high in the tree overhead. The carcass was little more than a shriveled husk of a man, a wrinkled bag of skin draped boneless and formless across the jungle’s dense lattice of vines and branches. It was almost as if the man had been turned into a garment, as if someone had slit him down the back, extracted his skeleton, then tossed him carelessly into the tree like an old bathrobe.

by Warren Benedetto

“Blame” published in Brave New Weird, Vol. 1

My techno-horror story Blame has been published in Brave New Weird: The Best New Weird Horror, Vol 1 (in print and ebook) by Tenebrous Press.

Blame is a “found footage” story consisting of emails, Slack conversations, Reddit threads, phone transcripts, and more unusual artifacts like git commits, JIRA tickets, door entry logs … even a Walmart receipt.

Like many found footage tales, the story is ultimately pieced together based on incomplete information. Multiple reads of the story should reveal new hidden details that may change your interpretation of the ending.

Content warning: misogyny, sexual assault (mentioned), suicide (mentioned)

Blame also made the preliminary ballot for the Stoker Awards, for Superior Achievement in Short Fiction. Voting closes next week, so if you’re an HWA member, please check it out and (hopefully) give it your vote!

by Warren Benedetto

“Set For Life” published in MYTHIC #20

My cyberpunk story Set For Life has been reprinted in MYTHIC #20. It’s the prequel to my novella Override, about a man’s first day on the job picking up bodies for Syntech and the disturbing secret about where they come from.

Lifting bodies wasn’t like lifting boxes. Boxes were symmetrical. Structured. You could lift properly: squat down, straighten your spine, lift with your legs. Bodies were limp. Awkward. Their limbs flopped in odd directions. He still hadn’t figured out the best way to lift one without damaging it. Or himself. Or both.

by Warren Benedetto

“Wine List for the Apocalypse” published by The Weekly Humorist

My post-apocalyptic satire Wine List for the Apocalypse, Courtesy of Your Olive Garden Sommelier has been published by The Weekly Humorist. Listen in as tonight’s sommelier, Giovanni, reviews the wine list against a backdrop of flickering firelight from our ruined Earth.

Our Pinot Grigio? Unfortunately, we’re unable to properly chill it to our satisfaction, mostly due to the lack of refrigeration and basic human sanitation. Without electricity, the closest thing we have to refrigeration is the cold realization that all is lost.

by Warren Benedetto

“Die On Your Feet” published by Havok Magazine

My short horror story Die On Your Feet has been published as part of Havok’s Thriller Thursday series. It’s only free to read for the next 24 hours, so catch it while you can.

The story is about a group of survivors huddling close to the ground to avoid whatever is lurking in the fog just overhead. It’s an allegory about what happens to people who deny the reality of their situation, despite all the evidence telling them they are wrong.

Content warning(s): mild gore

“It ain’t real,” Grady insisted. “Think! Have you ever actually seen one of the things up there?”

“No, but I’ve seen what it does to people.”

by Warren Benedetto

Two stories published in The Literary Hatchet

Two of my favorite horror stories, They Say Crows Can Remember Faces and Something’s Wrong With Mom, have been published by The Literary Hatchet. The entire issue is free to download for the next month, so grab a copy while you can.

  • They Say Crows Can Remember Faces is the story of a what happens when a bully picks on the wrong girl, who may or may not be a witch.
  • Something’s Wrong With Mom is the story of two young boys who wake up to discover that their mother is on the ceiling. Again.
by Warren Benedetto

“The Man Who Ate the Road” published in Haven Spec Magazine

My weird horror story The Man Who Ate the Road has been published in Haven Spec Magazine. When a woman tries to return home after visiting her abusive father, she discovers that the road is closed … but just for her.

It wasn’t until I had already steered onto the narrow shoulder and rolled to a stop that I began to realize how risky it was for me to pull over. I was a woman driving by myself down a deserted highway in the middle of the night, in the middle of the woods, in the middle of nowhere. I was completely and utterly alone.

by Warren Benedetto

Listen to “A Piece of the Sky” on The NoSleep Podcast

The audio production of my sci-fi horror story A Piece of the Sky has been released by The NoSleep Podcast. It’s told through the testimony of the surviving member of a two-person asteroid mining crew that picked up an unfortunate souvenir during their expedition. The story starts around 33:00.

The story was originally published by The Dread Machine in October. It’s free to read online now and will appear in their Issue 2.4 print issue soon. The print magazine is gorgeous and copies sell out fast, so you should pre-order one now while you can.

With all due respect, sir, you don’t know what you’re talking about. There was no way Bakely could’ve known what the thing was when he picked it up. It looked like a rock. Hell, it was a rock, just a hunk of the asteroid’s crust that he grabbed as a souvenir for his kid. There’s no way he could’ve known it was a nest.

by Warren Benedetto

“Set For Life” Audio Edition released by Dark Matter Magazine

The Audio Edition of my cyberpunk story Set For Life has been released by Dark Matter Magazine. This is an extraordinary production, with top-notch narration, acting, and sound design. The MP3 can be purchased for $1.99, or you can get it for free as part of your Dark Matter Deluxe membership. You can’t go wrong with either choice.

Andy loaded the body into the back of the van, then slammed the door. “Last one,” he called out, knocking on the rear door with his knuckles.