My psychological horror story A Perfect Fit has been published in The Unknown, Issue #17 of Shooter Literary Magazine. It’s the story of a middle-aged woman who will do anything to maintain her youthful appearance.
I stepped back to admire Poppy’s frame, noting the slight swelling of her hips and the fine vertical lines above her upper lip. The ghost of a gray hair peeked out from the bangs she had added to hide her creased forehead.
“Poppy! Look at you!” I gushed. “How are you so perfect?”
Matches, my dark(er) retelling of Hans Christian Anderson’s The Little Match Girl, has been published in Edition Two of The Stygian Lepus Magazine. In it, a young peasant girl dreams of a better life while fighting off the stinging chill of the bitter winter wind.
As a frigid wind gusted down the narrow lane, the girl side-stepped into an alley to avoid the chill. She sat down cross-legged on the cobblestone, drawing her feet into her folded knees to try and restore some feeling to her toes. She was freezing, but she dared not go home. Her father would be there, waiting, expectant. How many matches had she sold? How many pennies had she earned? None? The girl winced involuntarily at the crack of her father’s belt. She knew what was in store for her if she returned empty-handed.
My psychological horror story I Row has been published in Flash of the Dead: Requiem by Wicked Shadow Press. It’s a story about trying to escape from the past by any means necessary, no matter how many tries it takes.
The place is as idyllic a house as one can imagine, with its gables and turrets overlooking the Cape. But the house is just a facade. Its true nature isn’t visible from the outside; it can only be glimpsed from within. It’s a place that is everywhere. A place that occupies you as much as you occupy it. A place with doors but no exits. A place you can leave but can never escape.
My historical horror story Breathtaking has been published in the Ill Winds and Wild Weather anthology by Smoking Pen Press.
Set in 1930s Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl, Breathtaking tells the story of a young girl and her brother who see a mysterious woman in white screaming outside their house during a dust storm.
“Banshee,” I whispered, mouthing the words as I read. “A spirit in the form of a wailing woman who appears to members of a family as a sign that …” I trailed off. I felt my stomach tighten. Icicles formed down the center of my spine. “That one of them is about to die.”
My holiday horror drabble Up on the Rooftop has been published in Christmas of the Dead: Krampus Kountry by Wicked Shadow Press. It’s the story of a brother and sister on Christmas Eve who hear someone—or something—climbing on the roof.
There’s something on the roof.
My sister and I huddle behind the couch, our tearful eyes glistening in the glow of the Christmas lights. The house shakes with each heavy footfall thudding overhead. Plaster dust drifts from the ceiling like snowfall. A low growl echoes down the chimney, followed by the metallic scraping of a heavy blade.
My historical horror story Everything As It Was has been published in Volume One, Number Three of Litbop: Art and Literature in the Groove. Set in the dust-plagued landscape of 1930s Oklahoma, it’s a story about lost hope, lost faith, and lost children come home.
“I prayed that you’d come home, and the crops would come back, and everything would go back to how it used to be. And now, glory be, here you are.”
My short horror story Many Deaths Before Dying has been published in Arcana Deck Three by Underland Press. When a giant, silvery puddle appears in the field where they play, four boys encounter an inexplicable horror that will change them forever.
Content warning: suicide (implied)“We need to get help,” I said quietly. But I didn’t move. I felt rooted in place, as if my feet had bonded to the Earth’s crust. I was frozen solid, utterly paralyzed with fear. Shah hadn’t just fallen into the puddle. He had been pulled.
My post-apocalyptic eco-horror story From Below has been published in Apocalyptales: The End is Nigh by Wicked Shadow Press.
In the flooded remains of Old Manhattan, the wealthy stay dry and well-fed in their penthouses, while everyone else is left to fend for themselves against the unseen horrors lurking just below the surface.
The boy from the boat—the one who had spoken to him only minutes earlier—was at the window, pounding on the glass. His face was a mask of pure terror. Panicked, the boy looked over his shoulder, then down at Jeremy. He screamed, his lips forming two words that Jeremy easily understood, even through the thick, soundproof glass.
“Help me!”
My short horror story Things Are Looking Up has been published by 7th-Circle Pyrite. After a man and his wife are in a fatal car accident, the man decides he will do anything to see his wife one more time.
She’s so close, I can practically touch her. The only thing between us is a few feet of freshly-turned earth.
All I have to do is dig.
My post-apocalyptic eco-horror story From Below has been published by MetaStellar.
In the flooded remains of Old Manhattan, the wealthy stay dry and well-fed in their penthouses, while everyone else is left to fend for themselves against the unseen horrors lurking just below the surface.
Content warning: cannibalism (implied), gore, suicide
Warren Benedetto 