Horrific Scribes
an online archive of the provocative, scary, and strange
L. Andrew Cooper, editor
Horrific Scribes is an expanding online archive of dark short fiction (and some poetry) by authors who share the Horrific Scribblings imprintโs dedication to the provocative, scary, and strange. It collects dark, transgressive fiction, mostly horror (all subgenres, bloodless to extreme, nothing off limits) and โhorror-adjacentโ work in areas such as dark fantasy, dark sci-fi, the surreal, and the experimental.
Works in the archive are intended for mature readers and often contain graphic violence, explicit sexuality, profanity, and other material that some readers may find triggering or offensive. By continuing, you acknowledge that you read at your own risk.
NEW EXHIBIT!
“‘That corpse you planted last year in your garden, / Has it begun to sprout? Will it bloom this year?'” Springtime! New life everywhere, and with it lies the rot that makes it possible. That’s our seasonal mood for Horrific Scribes, Exhibit Six: Springtime Rot (The Art of Decay). Enjoy a small collection of tales designed to give you diverse perspectives on the horrifying ways things fall apart.
Best, "Dead or Alive"
Brunell, "We Have Not Died Yet"
Dutton, "Darcy's Docks"
Ford, "Why I'm Running the Spookshow Now"
Leonard, "Squatters"
McMeekan, "This Sickness Will Not End in Death"
Patrick, "How May I Help You"
Horrific Scribes does not have โissuesโ like a magazine. However, it does have โExhibits,โ selections of stories and poems collected because of commonalities (themes, subgenres, images, etc.) and united by an introduction and cover art. Selections appear in a sequence that highlights meaningful connections.
Reading an Exhibit is like reading an anthology. Past Exhibits remain available:
ARCHIVED FEATURES
After time in the feature spotlight (below), Scribes and their Scribbles (or Scribblings) remain in the archives according to the months when their works first appeared. Browse the archival depths! For a specific author, try the “Authors” link above. For something else, try the “Search” option at the bottom of the screen.
FEATURED SCRIBES AND SCRIBBLES
(SCROLL DOWN FOR THE LATEST)
J.S. Douglas
Second Scribbling, Mar. 5, 2026
J.S. Douglas loves to claw beneath the surface of human fear and see what lies beneath.
Read more.
“Like and Subscribe“
After years living under the camera’s unblinking lens, the children of the Humbart Family channel want one thing for Christmas: revenge.
Read “Like and Subscribe” (~3000 words)
Author Keywords: Christmas, Krampus, family vloggers, pranks, revenge
Author Trigger Warnings (if any): Abuse and violence
Horrific Scribes Extremity Rating:
J. M. J. Brewer
Joined March 10, 2026
J. M. J. Brewer (he/him) is a staunch supporter of nature conservation. You can find more of his fiction at jmjbrewer.com.
Read more.
“Saint Jackal“
When nomads Ana and Matty meet Jackal, a fellow vagabond obsessed with old airplanes, they find themselves on the hunt for the Spirit of St. Louis, the plane Jackal swears was in the sky during several assassinations.
Read “Saint Jackal” (~3500 words)
Author Keywords: Weird fiction, surreal horror, nomad, vagabond, van life, interstate, JFK, Marilyn Monroe
Author Trigger Warnings (if any): N/A
Horrific Scribes Extremity Rating:
“How May I Help You“
Worst day at work ever.
Read “How May I Help You” (~1700 words)
Author Keywords: Body horror, emotional burnout, work horror, library, dark humor
Author Trigger Warnings (if any): None
Horrific Scribes Extremity Rating:
Stones, Bridges, and Blades: Three Poems of Legend and Lore
The gift of legendary petrification. The loneliness of a hungry troll. The caretaker of a hungry blade.
Read Stones, Bridges, and Blades: Three Poems of Legend and Lore (~600 words)
Author Keywords: monsters, horror, myths, medusa, samurai, trolls, hunger
Author Trigger Warnings (if any): none
Horrific Scribes Extremity Rating:
Kayla Joy
Joined March 16, 2026
Kayla Joy writes with spirits over her shoulder guiding her pen. They make for fussy writing partners, but she’d be lost without them.
Read more.
“Tell It Again“
“The wood crackling on the fire is the only sound inside the four walls, save for my staggered breath, but outside the forest lives and listens.”
Read “Tell It Again” (~4600 words)
Author Keywords: folklore, horror, maternal horror, motherhood, psychological
Author Trigger Warnings (if any): child death, child abuse, infertility/reproductive trauma, familial violence (likely not an exhaustive list)
Horrific Scribes Extremity Rating:
Meg O’Connor
Joined March 16, 2026
Poorly suited to polite society, she studies its ghosts.
Read more.
“Damned If You Float“
The ghost doesnโt kill the gay boys. He marks them as his own.
Read “Damned If You Float” (~2000 words)
Author Keywords: Southern Gothic, Queer Horror, Folk Horror, Supernatural
Author Trigger Warnings (if any): Homophobia/Homophobic language, reference to lynching, self-harm
Horrific Scribes Extremity Rating:
โSundel Bolong + Suster Ngesotโ
He should’ve gone to Bali instead of Jakarta.
Read โSundel Bolong + Suster Ngesotโ (~2000 words)
Author Keywords: Suster Ngesot, Sundel Bolong, Indonesia, Javanese, setan, hantu, hantu Indonesia, LGBT
Author Trigger Warnings (if any): Very bad things happening to creepy guys
Horrific Scribes Extremity Rating:
Samuel Kozah
Joined March 16, 2026
A pharmacist from Kaduna writing quiet horror out of the north.
Read more.
โThe Cattle That Came Backโ
The cattle came back. Zugwai is the only one who understands what that means.
Read “The Cattle That Came Back” (~1800 words)
Author Keywords: Folk horror, Nigeria, northern Nigeria, cattle, rural life, supernatural debt, quiet horror, community, family, dark cosmology
Author Trigger Warnings (if any): Implied communal violence, implied loss of life (no graphic depictions)
Horrific Scribes Extremity Rating:
Christine Lajewski
Second Scribbling, Mar. 16, 2026
Some of us get better with age. Some of us get weird.
Read more.
โMotherโs Milkโ
Her milk always let down when the news was bad.
Read “Mother’s Milk” (~2200 words)
Author Keywords: folk horror, dark myths/fairy tales
Author Trigger Warnings (if any): body horror?
Horrific Scribes Extremity Rating:
Shawn Montgomery
Fourth Scribbling, Mar. 19, 2026
Drawn to abandoned houses, crumbling cemeteries and all things (and people) creepy and unsettling, Shawn is still trying to navigate his way through the labyrinth of shadows and fog.
Read more.
“Web“
What if there are things worse than the demons in your own mind? What if they’re lurking in the dark, or over your head… spinning their webs closer and closer?
Read “Web” (~3600 words)
Author Keywords: addiction; monsters; spiders
Author Trigger Warnings (if any): Addiction and Mental Health
Horrific Scribes Extremity Rating:
“To You It Shall Be for Meat“
Home is where Her heart is.
Read “To You It Shall Be for Meat” (~3400 words)
Author Keywords: dysfunctional family, female monster, haunted houses, obsession, sentient forests, suburban horror
Author Trigger Warnings (if any): implied child death
Horrific Scribes Extremity Rating:
John Davis
Second Scribbling, Mar. 26, 2026
John Davis wants to challenge you with his stories.
Read more.
“About a Girl“
Two peopleโs lives are changed forever following the horrific events of a house party.
Read “About a Girl” (~4400 words)
Author Keywords: Extreme horror; transgressive; disturbing; trauma; misogyny; toxic masculinity.
Author Trigger Warnings (if any): Graphic depictions of sexual violence; violence towards women; drug abuse
Horrific Scribes Extremity Rating:
Nenad Mitroviฤ
Second Scribbling, Apr. 9, 2026
Born and raised in the eastern part of Serbia, a region marked by rugged landscapes, fading industrial towns, and a rich substratum of folklore, Mitroviฤโs prose often draws from local myths, oral traditions, and deeply personal memory.
Read more.
“The Teeth Remember“
Thirteen jaws. No bodies. Each tooth carries a message. Not from the killerโbut from the dead.
Read “The Teeth Remember” (~3600 words)
Author Keywords: literary horror, weird horror, gothic horror,
psychological horror, body horror, Serbian, Slavic folklore, Balkan
mythology, rural folklore horror, pagan motifs
Author Trigger Warningsย (if any): graphic injury, bite wounds, physical harm, psychological distress, paranoia, supernatural horror elements
Horrific Scribes Extremity Rating:
