Tag / horror

by Warren Benedetto

“Feed the Worm” published in the Beautiful Darkness anthology

My horror story Feed the Worm has been published in the Beautiful Darkness anthology from Dragon Soul Press. If you like stories about carnivorous cosmic murder worms, this is the one for you!

The girl was on her knees, crouched low behind the rear bumper. Exhaust swirled around her, lit up a hellish red by the glow of the taillights. Her hair hung over her face in damp ropes. Breath steamed from her nose in short, rapid bursts. She looked up at Ben. Her eyes were wide with terror. “Hide,” she whispered.

You can also listen to the audio production of Feed the Worm on the Night’s End Podcast.

by Warren Benedetto

Listen to “A Thing of Beauty” on The Storyteller Series podcast

The audio production of my body horror story A Thing of Beauty is now available for free on The Storyteller Series podcast. As a fleshcrafter, Anastasia Dao has the unique ability to remake a person’s outside to match the beauty within. But when one of her girls is viciously murdered, she realizes that revenge can be a beautiful thing.

The body hanging from the ceiling began to writhe, straining against the inside of the translucent, teardrop-shaped sac in which it was encased. The sac stretched and distended, pressing outwards in all directions as the figure inside struggled to break free. 

by Warren Benedetto

“Butterscotch” published in HAUS: Anthology of Haunted House Stories

My short ghost story Butterscotch has been published in HAUS: Anthology of Haunted House Stories by Culture Cult Press. Renting an apartment above a funeral parlor might freak some people out, but not Ellen. Not at first, anyway.

For a moment, I imagined my grandmother laying there on one of the tables, her body cold and stiff, her eyelids stitched shut, her tissue-thin skin pulled taut over her jutting cheekbones. Nicholas had done that, I realized, right in the room where I was standing. 

by Warren Benedetto

“A Piece of the Sky” published by The Dread Machine

My sci-fi horror story A Piece of the Sky has been published by The Dread Machine. 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.

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

Three drabbles published in the Short Horror Stories anthology

Three of my horror drabbles, Curiosity Kills, The Fog of War, and Scrapple, have been published in the Short Horror Stories anthology by Shacklebound Books.

  • Curiosity Kills tells the story of a cat who brings home an increasingly disturbing series of offerings to its owner.
  • The Fog of War is about a WWI soldier and the horrors of trench warfare.
  • Scrapple is the story of a battered woman and her abusive husband, and what happens when they stop off at a roadside diner for breakfast.
by Warren Benedetto

“Baby Food” published by Teleport Magazine

My horror story Baby Food has been published in Teleport Magazine. It’s about a man who convinces his wife to overcome her fear of bears to go camping with him, only to discover that what awaits them in the woods is much, much worse.

I looked around the area where we stood. There were no signs of trouble, no other indication that anyone had been there. But obviously, someone had been. Something must have happened. And whatever it was, it couldn’t have been good. Scratched into the side of the water bottle were two words, just six letters, in all caps:

HELP ME

by Warren Benedetto

Nine drabbles published in the Nom Nom anthology

Nine of my horror drabbles have been published in the Nom Nom Halloween drabble anthology by Black Hare Press. The first six are originals; the other three are reprints.

  • Sharp Candy. Look before you eat.
  • Fresh Sushi. They taste best raw.
  • Under Leaves. Bury me next.
  • What Remains? Fucked around. Found out.
  • Sending Hugs. Never look back.
  • Practical Joke. You’ll die laughing.
  • The Angel. Just like her mother.
  • Curiosity Kills. Look what the cat dragged in.
  • Third Eye. You can only keep two.
by Warren Benedetto

“Make It a Double” published by Fiction on the Web

Another day, another reprint of Make It a Double is live. I’ve been very fortunate to have this novelette reprinted three times in the last few months. This time, it appears on Fiction on the Web, a popular destination for short fiction for over 25 years. And at least one reader (who is definitely not me) seemed to like it, already posting an awesome review: