My novelette Make It a Double has been published in the August issue of Dark Horses Magazine. It’s a cautionary tale of the “be careful what you wish for” variety, about the unfortunate consequences of unchecked envy and greed.
My second-person psychological horror story You Are Reading This Story has been published in the This Is Too Tense charity anthology by Bag of Bones Press. The story is an ouroboros: the reader is the writer reading the story he is writing, as he considers how to write the story he is reading.
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My short horror story Leftovers is now free to read at Teleport Magazine. It’s a story about an elderly woman whose son moved out and left her to fend for herself in a decaying, crime-ridden neighborhood. She’s not worried about the junkies and the gangsters though—there’s something far worse out there.
My sci-fi horror story One Last Step has been published in the Summer 2022 issue of The Sirens Call. You’ll find it on page 226 of the downloadable PDF.
It’s a story about a little girl stalked by an unseen shadow-thing across a post-apocalyptic landscape. The key to her survival? Following the instructions her dead father tattooed on her arm.
My techno-horror story Blame is now available to read for free on The Dread Machine.
It’s 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.
Also, 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 change the your interpretation of the ending.
My sci-fi horror story The Door Is Open leads off the Another Dimension anthology from Smoking Pen Press. It’s hard to describe the story without spoiling it, so let’s just say: never open a door that can’t be closed. You never know what may slip through.
My apocalyptic horror story Die on Your Feet is part of the Suddenly Shocking Vol. 15 episode of The NoSleep Podcast. 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. The episode is only available to NoSleep Season Pass holders, so subscribe now to listen. You won’t be sorry.
The audiobook version of my body horror story A Thing of Beauty is now available on Audible as part of the Screaming in the Night anthology by Sinister Smile Press.
My techno-horror story Blame has been published by The Dread Machine. It’s 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.
Also, 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 change the your interpretation of the ending.
The Tales to Terrify podcast has produced my short horror story Baby Food as a standalone episode. It’s a story about pregnancy, giant insects, and a camping trip gone horribly wrong. As usual, the narrator did an incredible job, perfectly nailing the pace and tone. The story starts at around the 6:40 mark and runs for just under an hour. You can listen to it on any of your favorite podcast apps and websites:
You can also read the story online, or buy the All Dark Places 3 anthology where it originally appeared.
And if you missed the earlier Tales to Terrify episodes featuring my stories, check out their productions of Something’s Wrong With Mom and Those Who Turn From God.
Warren Benedetto 