by Warren Benedetto

“Arrivals at Hope Station Have Been Indefinitely Postponed” makes Stupefying Stories’ Top 10 of 2024

My dark sci-fi story Arrivals at Hope Station Have Been Indefinitely Postponed is one of the Top 10 Stories of 2024 on Stupefying Stories. It’s framed as an urgent announcement on an interdimensional travel platform.

Attention, Travelers. Due to circumstances entirely within our control—but beyond our collective will to change—all arrivals at Hope Station have been indefinitely postponed, and the Station is now closed. Travelers entering the Station should abandon Hope and proceed to the exits immediately.

This story was published back in February, so I am pleased to announce that—as of July 21—Hope Station has resumed service.

by Warren Benedetto

“Something’s Wrong With Mom” published in Lockdown Horror #8

My horror story Something’s Wrong With Mom has been published in Lockdown Horror #8 by Black Hare Press. It’s the story of two brothers who wake up in the middle of the night to discover that their mother is on the ceiling. Again.

I actually submitted this story way back in May 2020—it’s one of my very first acceptances. The Lockdown Horror series was put on hold for a long time, but it finally found it’s way to print. I’m glad it did … the cover art is awesome.

Content warning: suicide (implied)
by Warren Benedetto

“Uncle Pumpkin’s Tongue” published in 7th Circle Pyrite

My Halloween horror story, Uncle Pumpkin’s Tongue, has been published in Issue 5 of 7th Circle Pyrite. It’s about a Halloween carnival ride with a sinister secret.

I wish I had warned someone about Uncle Pumpkin. Maybe I could have stopped him. Maybe I could have saved those poor kids. But until recently, I had no memory of the man at all. It was only after the bodies of the missing children were found—one boy still clutching a deflated pumpkin balloon in his shriveled, blackened hand—that I remembered what happened that night. And I realized that one of those kids could have been me.

by Warren Benedetto

“Blame” published in the Shadowed Realms anthology

My techno-horror story Blame has been published in the Shadowed Realms anthology by Horror Tree, featuring the best publications in indie horror in 2022.

Blame is about an audio engineer at a software company investigating strange sounds heard during customer voice chats. It’s a “found footage” story told through emails, Slack conversations, Reddit threads, phone transcripts, and more unusual artifacts like git commits, JIRA tickets, door entry logs … even a Walmart receipt.

Content warning: misogyny, sexual assault (mentioned), suicide (mentioned)
by Warren Benedetto

Listen to “A Piece of the Sky” on The Lost Poetry Club podcast

The audio production of my dark sci-fi story A Piece of the Sky has been released as part of The Lost Poetry Club podcast’s inaugural episode, The Chronicle. Almost all of my stories have been produced as audio versions, and I can confidently say that this is one of the best. It’s not just a narrator reading the story—it’s an actor performing the story as a monologue, and it is extraordinary.

The story is told through the testimony of the surviving member of a two-person asteroid mining crew that picked up an unfortunate souvenir during their expedition.

Content warning: gore

My story starts right around the 38:00 mark.

by Warren Benedetto

“The Salt Circle” accepted by Moonday Magazine

My weird fiction story The Salt Circle has been accepted by Moonday Magazine for their first annual Halloween issue.

Imagine a werewolf story where, instead of the main character turning into a wolf, he turns into a slug. A were-slug? Yes, a were-slug.

“I just don’t want you to get hurt,” Linda said, wiping at her nose with a soggy, crumpled tissue. “I’m worried about you.”

I extended my eye stalks toward her, giving her what I hoped was a look of indignation. I couldn’t believe she was trying to spin it like it was my fault. “If you didn’t want me to get hurt, maybe you shouldn’t have been so quick to deploy the chemical weapons.”

by Warren Benedetto

“Blame” accepted into the Soul anthology by Graveside Press

My techno-horror story Blame has been accepted into the Soul anthology by Graveside Press.

Blame is about an audio engineer at a software company investigating strange sounds heard during customer voice chats. It’s a “found footage” story told through emails, Slack conversations, Reddit threads, phone transcripts, and more unusual artifacts like git commits, JIRA tickets, door entry logs … even a Walmart receipt.